Broke Girls ’

1970 Kajukenbo program a local artifact

Iheld a book signing at the Vacaville Museum a couple of weeks ago and a gentleman named Grayson Hunley from Fairfield High School’s Class of 1971 had me sign his copy of my book, and he brought something for me to peruse. It was a copy of a program from the 1970 U.S. All American Karate Championships held at Vallejo Senior High School.

Now it was a little ironic that I would be sitting in a museum and viewing what I considered to be a local artifact. While I was never personally into martial arts beyond watching Bruce Lee movies, I did recognize quite a few of the people in the program, and knew that it would be treasured by many locals.

Kajukenbo was the focus and a brief history of the how it came to be included this: “Kenpo-Karate is a combination of two of the world’s most devastating self-defense forms. Kenpo means “Law of the Fist” and karate means “Empty Hands.”

According to Wikipedia, in 1947, Adriano Emperado, Peter Young Yil Choo, Joseph Holck, Frank F. Ordonez and George “Clarence” Chuen Yoke Chang banded together as the Black Belt Society and developed what came to be called kajukenbo. The name kajukenbo is a combination of the various arts from which its style is derived: KA for karate, JU for judo and jujutsu, KEN for kenpo and BO for boxing. The discipline incorporates a blend of striking, kicking, throwing, takedowns, joint locks and weapon disarmament. Professor Emperado from Hawaii was present at the 1970 event and joined his devotees, who were from all over Northern California and Washington state. The tournament producer was Tony Ramos, who generations of Fairfielders studied under. Ramos, later a 10th-degree black belt, earned the title Ahgung – a Chinese term of respect meaning grandfather and “man who walks a righteous path.” In the beginning of the program he said that for the past 22 years he endeavored to “preach karate with fairness and a positive attitude.”

The tournament kicked off with the national anthem followed by an invocation from John Mraz of the Fairfield Police Department (later a city councilman). Then Ramos gave a welcoming address and there were demonstrations, two-minute competitions and trophies awarded. The three belt classifications were white, brown and black. Each contestant had to be certified or registered at an established club or organization whose instructor held the rank of at least first-degree black belt. Officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces could compete if they were certified by the commanding officer of the military branch they represented.

Charles Gaylord, inventor of the Gaylord Method who would eventually reach the honorable rank of Great Grandmaster before his death in 2009, was the head referee. Other referees included Emil Bautista, a 1957 Armijo High School graduate who later become a Senior Grand Master and ran a dojo in Vallejo for 53 years, and Al Reyes, also later a Senior Grand Master who had generations of local students.

Another referee was easily recognizable even to people not into martial arts: Chuck Norris.

There are photos throughout the program and for kajukenbo aficionados it is probably a gold mine. However, even for people who are just local history buffs like yours truly who just happened to write a book about bygone restaurants, the vintage advertisements were cool to see as well. They included ones for Baskin-Robbins, Sham’s Pizza, the Acacia Club and Wonder World among others. I even learned something. I had no idea there was a Flaky Cream Do-Nuts in Vallejo as well as the one in Fairfield.

One last interesting note about the program, they also had a Karate Queen. She was Miss Claudia Costello and was pictured holding a bouquet of

Tony Wade Back in the day flowers and wearing a sparkly tiara. The caption, however, said that she had just earned her purple belt. So, queen or no, she evidently was not to be trifled with.

Grayson Hundley/Courtesy photos The cover of the 1970 U.S. All American Karate Championships program and a picture of the tournament’s producer, Tony Ramos.

Fairfield freelance humor columnist and accidental local historian Tony Wade writes two weekly columns – “The Last Laugh” on Mondays and “Back in the Day” on Fridays. Wade is also the author of The History Press books “Growing Up In Fairfield, California” and “Lost Restaurants of Fairfield, California.”

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Japan News-Yomiuri

Tourists in Japan learning about Buddhism through yokai, ghosts

Japan news

KYOTO, Japan — There is a prestigious temple in a popular tourist area of Kyoto City that transforms itself into a haunted temple in the summer. Ghosts and yokai supernatural beings are on display in the form of pictures and dolls.

At the exhibition, you can see a doll of a female ghost dressed in white wearing an eerie smile. There are also beautiful but mysterious women depicted on bright red fusuma sliding doors, and a picture scroll that shows lifeless tools with arms, legs and faces parading on streets at night.

Located in Higashiyama Ward, Kodaiji temple was built by Kita no Mandokoro (known as Nene) to pray for the soul of her husband Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a warlord who ruled Japan in the late 16th century. The temple delights visitors with its tranquil visualization of beautiful autumn leaves. “It was a mind-blowing experience,” said a 79-year-old woman from Tokyo, who visited the temple with her granddaughter.

The idea for such an exhibit came from the former head monk of the temple, Tensho Goto, 74. He came up with ideas to familiarize people with Buddhism and the temples, including the introduction of a robot statue of a Buddhist deity. He set his sights on attracting visitors to Kyoto its many famous temples and shrines, as well as the scenery along the Kamo River. However, it has also been a burial ground since ancient times.

About 800 meters southwest of Kodaiji is Rokudo no Tsuji – the intersection of the six realms. The intersection is believed to have been the entrance to Toribeno, one of the three major burial grounds in Kyoto, so people thought it was a border between this realm and the other. Kodaiji turned its attention to ghosts and yokai partly because Higashiyama is a place with close ties to the dead.

The temple has also begun exhibiting ghost paintings. In 2006, on the 400th anniversary of the temple’s founding, Kodaiji produced a new yokai picture scroll, “Hyakki Yagyo Emaki” (Night parade of 100 demons), to go with the one that has been in the collection for generations, and held an exhibition. It was so successful that it became a regular summer event.

As well as being scary, the depiction of yokai dwelling in old tools implies that we should treat things with care. Buddhist teachings depicted in an image of hell and paradise tell us that our actions in life determine what happens after death.

“Are you living your life to the fullest? I hope you will come to visit us, think about this while appreciating the ghosts, and experience Buddhism,” Goto said.

Japan News-Yomiuri A smiling female ghost doll created by Sadoko Marukido is displayed at Kodaiji temple in Kyoto.