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A Ghampion in Three Decadesl
Toyotaro Miyar.kf
S".?":archfor Tradition
the glow of the limelightthat brings him out. And while all competitors chance the tournament game lor somepersonalgain,he is not looking for the proverbialpot oI gold or tame andfortuneat the endof lhe rainbow: the chainot schools,the lucreoI the seminar,the stab at Hollywood.lt is not the high of competition that makeshim tick, but insteadhis selfaoDointedrole as the "ambassador lor the traditional"- his needto keep the ideas ot classicalkata alive on t h e c i r c u i t h a t b r i n g sh i m t o t o u r n a ment atter tournament,Year after year. To fully sketchthe Miyazakispirit, the Miyazakicharacter,a brief diver'
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sion into historyis warranted.Back in pletelytraditionalform.Further,he also the 60s when he first started com- believedby competinghe could be a peting,there were no nationalratings publicrelationsvehicleto show com(and no Kl until 1969).Becord books petilors and spectatorsalike what the must subsequentlybe substitutedby originalforms were. Miyazakinotes that by regularly fading memoriesand dim recollections. To rememberMiyazaki is not competing, he tricks himself into easy;in all honestyhe lackedthe color maintaininga certain levelol practice of a Joe and a high degree of perfection."lt of a Mcoallum,the arrogance andtlashy keepsme up on my martialart and also Lewis,the coolcalculations lf ljust taught toggeryof a "Nasty" Anderson.Yet he eachspecitictechnique. class and practicedby myself,it would was as tough as the best of them, ls "He was veryclean,verysharp,"re be different.But whena tournament membersChuckMerriman. "Thething comingup, I am lookingforwardto gc that always stands out in my mind about Miyazakiwas that he used excellent karate techniques;he didn't resortto any type of flashy thingsjust to get points. He was alwaysa guy I looked to because he never compromisedhis ideals of karatejust to win tournaments." "He was a gentleman,"adds Fred Hamilton,"but he also hada greatdeal ot courage. He would nerer take a cheap shol, but h€ could be aroused. Because of the foibles of lhe tournaments-poor retereeingor fegionalism-there were guys who got inF aginaryvictoriesand that fi€(b their career,but they reallydidn't b€at him. Theyran aroundandtalkedabouf,'OhI beat Miyazaki,'when in reality th€y didn'tbeathim." Miyazakiwas not a big travelerin ing, so l'll practice harder. That's those days so his standing slipp€d helped me a lot. The youngerpeople, somewhatbeforehis injury.Afler retire their movementsare so muchfaster:it ment, he was content to retum to his is reallygood for me to competewith schooland maintaina lull sciEduleof them." teaching.So why all of a suddendid he Notlcably lacking among hls reareturn to competitionatter a tive year sonsfor returningis the desireto place absence?lt's hard to pin him down to high in the nationalratings."Well, I the exactreason,but Miyazakidoesad- thoughtabout'numberone'of course, mil that it was a quick decision.He but it is not easy to go to all the tourpegs his choiceto returnaroundthree naments.I have my own business;I factors: first, he saw a strictly tradi- conducl classes in two schools. we tional AAU tournamentwhich slirred also have some of our own tourmemoriesof competing;second,he felt naments.Travelingtakes up the whole the numberof classical kata comDet- we€kend;it's reallynot easyfor me.So itorsin opentournaments was lacking it's not my goalto be in the numberone and third, he believedactive participa' spot." Miyazaki wouldn't mind it he tion would maintainhis own levelof endedup there, but he franklyadmits proficiency in his art. that it is nothisend-allanddoall ambi"l saw the AAU tournament;the Iton. tightingdidn't impressme too much. on the circuit His contemporaries But in the katacompetition, especially don'treallyviewhimas a rival."l would women,thatreallyimpressed me.Then say that he's at a level where he that night,well,lstartedthinking.lreal- doesn'tevenhaveto compete,"notes ly enjoyedit and lsiarted thinkingof Stuart Quan. "He doesn't have to be competingagain.Thatnightlcouldn't out there,but I think it's good that he evensleep." showsp€oplewhat old martialarts,the Miyazakialso felt lhe emphasiswas old way,is all about." too strongon openas opposedto clas"l remember reading about him sical kata. Accordingly,he wanted to when lwas a kid," recalls Sonny prove to himself and to his students Onowo."l don't want to makehim loel thal you could still win with a com- old or anything, but hs has already
Ottenin lhe winnofsclrclaIn lir igHire days,Miyazakistands at th. f|. rlglttda 1970toumamont. MlkoWr r rJ Jo Hayossil al hr lsll Fred Hamilton adds, "Tts€ isn'l much ot a diflerence;I grB it's tike Tom Seaver.He rnay heE ld a toot ott his fast ball, hrl lt|al's abn dl-" Miyazakiis in the unklF podtbn to surveythe lasl throed€c& of td,]r!* ment karale. Whib rivals lrqn tE dls may now be judging d 9(nElho d just droppingout, ho sdll c-t ar fE action from lhe sarrE va.irga gdthat of a competila- Acco.tlqgt |F has developedstrmg o|t.nir|! ot Adl tournamentjudgin0 ard b|r! cd} petition. Havinga blad( bdt t5 rd U.rg madeonetrip aroundon the circuit.lt busy during a partlrlr b|t! tftbn is reallysomethingfor me to compete are not suftici€f rElfrrur!4 Ht with somebodythat I readabout;that's yazaki believes-"To lin o! ltarFe, why it's alwaysbeena thrill to me. I we'd spend malto sL nEd6, €aqht whenI was months or a year to nS lt goo4" he wantedto be like N4iyazaki comingup in karate,and to compete explains ol the tratnhC tu t€ fradiwith him is somethingelse. He has tionalist. "Othet p€ada irn (b splits in thenational all the way to the froo.,hn ldFs are I blendedwhatis reouired competitionwith his skill, with what more i mpressedwiltr tl!|. To nre,lo get karateis, a good,strongsta'r b fls3 difticult "He'salso a wise person.Miyazaki than a split.Som€lirrE3| s gpodpec is not vocalwhenit comesdownto.a ple losing.For exanple,sey I se.d two problemor wheneverthere is a con- peopleto a tournaflsrt andone is bef thing.He'sverystable,so the ter than the other.&rl atl€r thejudging, lroversial wholecircuitleanstowardhim as far they come out the op0o6iteway. That as whenit comesdownto a questionol bothersme." To remedythis prcblem, Miyazaki onethingor another." that judgesshouldmeetsome compliments aside, is Miyazaki stresses All as goodas he was in the 60s,or hasthe eligibility requirern€.rtlor lhe large pool of competitorsjUStweakenedto open tournament,psataps gren testhis advantage? "l think he is muchbet- ing. He doesadmit lhal such a change ter now,"arguesMerriman. "l thinkthe wouldtakea periodof time;however.in olderyou get,the betteryou get if you the interim,thoseiudgingshouldstudy And in his case,he has to familiarize ttEmselves with the train properly. neverstoppedtraining.He hasthal in- basics of a numberof differing arts. nerthingthatmostpeoplelookfor;the Evenafter 24 years of iis own study, spirit has to reallyshine. Everybody Miyazakiurges that he would not be tries to put his finger on what qualifiedlo judg€an opendivisionor Miyazaki'sgol that a lot ot otherpeople nightfinal. Has he everbeenhurt by poorjudgdon'thave.I thinkit's the strongspirit everybodyteels when he does his ing?Whilehe hints withoutspecifics that he has.othersare moreexDlicit."lf kata."
lhey were judging just on form and stances and focus and technique," Quan notes, "he should score higher. But a lot of judges don't know; they d o n ' t u n d e r s t a n d .H e ' s t r a d i t i o n a l where everybodyelse is doing open forms. even in the Japanesedivision." While he doesn't particularlyhave anythingagainst open forms, l\iliyazaki is not their most enthusiastic supDorter.lt is fine to compete in the open division, but one should be able to enter with a traditional torm as well. Additionally,Miyazakistresses that a fighter should not feel restrictedfrom also enteringthe kata competition-to the extent that there almost might be the same number of entrants in both divisions. The key to understandingthe traditional, and accordinglya traditionalist such as Miyazaki,he explains,is to discover that there is meaningunderlying the classicalforms, regardlessol how new or how many changesit has under' gone;opentorms are merelya personal expression. And while an anti-tradi' tionalist might argue that certain Okinawanforms are not that old, his adversary will argue that the meaning,the historyand the understandingin those kata must be Preserved. Allow Miyazakito elaborate."lf you want to really study the meaning of kata,you haveto know what Chinawas or what Okinawa was. For example, many kata were made up in the dark.In some movementswe go to the floor and look up; it is reallyto look up at the sky and seeyour opponent'sshadow.lf people just go down to the floor, they don't know, thus they don't imagine. They just go down to the floor." Don't be mistaken;Miyazakiis not some stern Puritan scowling the tournament circuit. He is often compli" m e n t e d m o s t o n h i s a d h e r e n c et o standardsand also his ability to adapt. Duringa night finals,you're more likely than not to see him bare-chested, swinging his kama to music. Yet he notes that under the added glitter, he still pretty much follows traditional weaponsapplications. Anothervariationfor Miyazakiis his off-handinvolvementwith fullcontact. Three days a week he acls as a quasitrainer for lightweightworld champion Paul Vizzio. "He keeps me in shape; he's the one who really trains me. We do actuallysparringand air work. I do all of my stretches,all of my calisthenacswith him." But Vizziois quickto add that Miyazakidoes not train him in tull' contact; it is only in the traditionalapplicationof karate.
What does the future hold for Miyazaki? He has made no concrete plans.While he hints that he may soon taper the number of appearancesat tournaments,which may cause him to lose his national standing,he has no plans to stop again altogether. The t i m e n o t s p e n tt r a v e l i n gh, e w i l l s i m p l y
apply to teaching,which he considers his most imoortant achievementand role. When Miyazakiis asked what he would be doing il Kl could take a time machineahead anofhel three decades and check him out, the reply? "l am teachingmy class," Miyazaki
responos.
IC
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ILLUSTRATED THEKARATE
COMPENTION RATINa F.l'rEs
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Rq*tE standings fot 1983 appeanng ur ,116€ pages are based on the tout YE t '?]sulls submitted to KARATE ,t!;I,STRATED by rcpresent atives ol ip tdtmaments listed below. A-E@ fo,tr',,o'€|nts arc listed in bold lacc. fu ot the magazine scheduling ttp atLlt date lor processing rYas Jarp Z fE results ot toumaments not '/'a 5 bf then can be expected to aW ia the next issue in which we incht(b tt! ntings. Kl invites compelitors wfio app€at in out Regional Ratings to submit theil photographs (black and white) lol possible publication. Competilors whose names are misspelled,or competitors Iisted as rcnked in the wrong regi1n, Ate encourcged to write the Ratings Department, Kl, 1813 Victory Place, P.O. Box 7728, Buhank, CA 91510-7728.Kl statt members will not 58
accept phone calls from either promoters or competitots about the ratings system.All inquiries and corrcctions should be made in writing. Written requests for information will be answercd, when accompanied by a se/f"addressed sta mDed enveloDe. Diamond Nalionals,Minneapolis,MN; Tampa Bay Open,Tampa, FL; Viva Karate, Aurora, CO; Hidy Ochiai's Chal' lengeCup, Binghamton,NY; First State Karate Championships, Dover, DE; 1983 RoanokeValley Championships. Roanoke,VA; EasternCanada Karate Cup. Tracy, Quebecj North Coast Karate Championshipslll, Lakeland,OH; 3rd Chesterfield lnvitational. Richmond. VA: 2nd AlexanderOoen. Newlon. KS: Nick Adler's & Tdrry Maccarrones 4th Long lsland Open. Sayville. NY: Northwest Karate Classic. Lake Oswego, OR; Wurtz's 2nd Karate
Classic, Colonial Heights, VA; 6th Durham Open, Durham, NC: West Texas Championships, Midland, TX; '1983 West Virginia-OhioAAU Championships,Charleston,WV; East Coast Invitational,South Plainfield,NJ; 7th N/id-SouthKarate Championship,Dalton, GA; 20th Patapsco/Linthicum, Balf imore, MD; Landisville Tournament, Lancaster,PA; 11thAppalachianOpen, Boone, NC; Glenn Hiatt's Southern Oregon Karate Championships,Roseburg, OR; l\4idwestRegionals,Midwest C i t y , O K ; N o r t h e r nP a c i f i cN a t i o n a l s , F a i r f i e l d ,C A ; H a m z y ' s 2 1 s t K a r a t e Tournament,Torrington,CT; Big Apple 1983 Open, Brooklyn, NY; 4th Carver Karate Championships,NoMalk, CT; California Nationals,Upland,CAI Torrance South Bay Arts Alliance Championships, Torrance, CA; Southeast TexasOpen,ClearLakeCity,TX.
REGIOI{1l
REGrOltt2
HG}TTING MEN FIG}MNG E 1. TooyOverton 1. BillyBlanks 2. "Dr. Hook"Albanese 2 Sam Roberts 3. John Hamzy 3- J€rryFontanez 4. "Spiderman"Pitters 4- AbdulMutakabbir 5. MarkDana t Le S.niih 6. WayneHector 6. l$liam Oliver 7. MikeMoan 7. Xt€ $eigerwald 8. AlbertoPena & Estgr Trotman 9. CarlJenkins 9. Jotn O wade 10- Elillb Arvis 10. LarryRogers WOTE}' FGIITIIIG WOMENFIGHTING 1. DaE'nTriDb€d 1. KarenHarvey 2. DonnaJohnson-Kelley 2. Linda Lal(e 3. DawnStanton 3. Kattry Banet 4. Judy Modafi€dT€dn€y 4. AmyZaluki 5. ElizabethGonzalez 5. LynnMarino (MEN& WOMEN) FORMS(MEN& WOIEO FORMS '1. ToyotaroMiyazaki 1. RonaldBoucher 2. Jetf lanuzzo Z DeniseRouleau 3. BensonLee 3. AlbertoPena il. l(arenHarvey 4. LittleK.A. 5. KathyBaxter 5. John Aheida 6. Judy Modafferi-Tearoey6. St6€ Best 7. StreliaMadden 7. SheilaHigh 8. RockyDiRico 8. LindaLake L BrianRicci 9. Jim Dorsey 10. John Hamzy 10. KenduAllah WEAPONS wEAPO},|S (MEN& $OnErO (MEN& WOMEN) '1. BrianRicci 1. ToyotaroN4iyazaki 2. RonaldBoucher 2. GregTearney 3. Steve Best 3. MikeSteigerwald 4. Mike Bogdanski 4. BensonLee 5. GlennHarl 5. BillAdams