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Sensei Ota,
This is Harlock Hero. I'm one of the orange belt students that Sensei Juan Queris brought to your seminar in Orlando, FL last month. We weren't able to speak to one another very much at the time, so I'm writing you now to thank you again for your instruction and the opportunity to train with you. Being able to keep up with all the hard training you put us through amazed me. I wouldn't have been able to if not for the similar training that Sensei Juan puts us through on a regular basis. When I first started with Sensei Juan six months ago, I never would have been able to do any of the things that I can do now; I simply didn't have the health or stamina for it. He's a great teacher who has gradually helped build me up to the level where I can really begin to experience the benefits of Karate-Do, and we all appreciate his and your teachings very much.
I recently bought the first of your kata DVDs, the one where you demonstrate Fukyugata Ichi and Ni, and the five Pinan. I've found them very helpful, especially in illustrating the proper way to move the body when turning; there is a subtle art to putting the hips and hara into everything you do that makes techniques many times more powerful; I'm now beginning to grasp this.
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Again, thank you for taking the time to develop a video like this and to share your knowledge with us. With great instructors like Sensei Juan and yourself, I can only begin to imagine the level of Karate-Do to which I'll eventually aspire, provided that I continue to keep up my end of the deal and invest hard work and training. I suspect that I'll see you at the AAU tournament in Miami next month, and then again at our dojo's seminar in March. Until then, I'll keep practicing, developing my kata and basics, and hopefully you'll notice an improvement when you see us again.
ありがとうございます,
Harlock |
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SKKA
1134 W. Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90247
Open Letter to Sensei Ota & Students’m so glad my friends and I took the time to travel down to see Sensei Ota and visit his Dojo. During the entire drive we talked about the Dojo, wandering what it would look like, who we would meet. We also talked about how it would be to work out there and could we live up to expectations. When Sensei Ota said he had a “kids” class and we could join in we all felt better (relieved?). We didn’t want our visit disrupting the usual routine for the Dojo.
The next morning we left the hotel. heading straight to the Dojo, looking forward to the day ahead. It was early when we met Sensei Ota and went over to the coffee shop to talk before class. Talking about karate and his future plans for the Dojo really got us focused and ready to start warming up. As students were arriving I was surprised to see so many Black Belts. Remember, I thought it was going to be a kids class. By the time we started there to, could stay and work on sparring skills. We stayed and got to work with a great group of skilled, students, that were extremely helpful and polite. We became so focused that it was well into lunch time before we finally stopped and said good bye to our new friends.
Rich Sauer
Sensei Ota continually inspired us throughout the day. As you probably guessed, the drive home was filled with excitement and lots to talk about. I can’t thank you enough for spending your time with us and sharing your knowledge. I can instruction when we finished. After that class, we had enough material to work on for six months.
Sincerely,
Richard Sauer:
I Richard Sauer
9777 Witter Springs Rd.
Witter Springs, CA 95493
Phone (707) 349-0042
someone@microsoft.com |
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Dear Sensei,
Thank You again for your seminars this past weekend. It is always an honor to train and to spend time learning with you. I know that training is very important, and the more I can train the better I become as a student. We work very hard in the school and we are very consistent with how we are training. I have noticed that the students are making the same movements in the kata, and we are able to work with each other to help understand how we can improve. It is always fun when you show us a movement that improves our power or speed, and after we practice the new movement the old movement is no longer comfortable.
I will continue to work on my fundamentals, and increase my distance and setup.
Thank You very much once again, and I look forward to seeing you in the heat of August!
Respectfully Yours;
Bob |
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Dear Sensei,
Thank you for coming to our Dojo recently. The information and knowledge you
shared with
us was very helpful in our understanding and ability to help others learn.
We will concentrate
on foot speed, changes in direction, stances and speed drills you worked on
with us.
Look forward to your return in August.
Martin Koski |
Dear friends,
as promised I send you the email adresses of some of the participants of our seminar -as far as I know them- for further communication (if wanted).
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you again for taking part in our seminar (especially the ones that were ready to travel long way just to come here like our Romanian friends and Olli who came here from Hamburg, Germany).
Please share photos of the seminar if you have any.
Kind regards and hope you all enjoyed our seminar with Ota Sensei and your stay here in Vienna.
Walter |
Thank You once again for a great seminar last weekend. It is always a great learning opportunity for us as students of South County Martial Arts to train with you and to check our progress.
I have read discussions on your Website about what makes a Good Master Instructor. I would offer that the Instructor who is skilled and practiced at his art such that he can invent techniques for learning is a Good Master Instructor. You explain a technique and how to increase our effectiveness, but that does not mean we are finished learning that technique; You will visit us again and show a new approach to the same technique that will increase our speed and/or power even more. I think it may be easy to just show us the final answer, but you can't until we are ready to practice it. ( Of course I am assuming that there may be a final answer to a move.....I should know better).
You continue to teach us that it is very important for the practitioner to develop the correct techniques as he/she trains and progresses. We have been working with you for 5+ years now, and as we work on our combinations, it is so important to be practiced with the fundamentals. I know that practicing the techniques correctly in the beginning is a great benefit to our learning later as the combinations become more complex and the need for speed and power becomes more a function of efficient movement and proper set-up. You tell us that it is easy to learn the movements of a Kata, but that it is another thing altogether to build skill at the application of each movement and do so effectively.
You left us with plenty of things to work on, moves that we can improve, training that we can use, and muscles that need more exercise ("where you are sore, is where you need to practice"). I have plenty to work on, particularly building up speed in my hips and my foot work, before you come back; I know that if I practice hard enough you may show me another new way to improve a technique or two. As always, it is and honor to learn from you.
I look forward to your next visit.
Regards,
Bob Mulligan |
| as promised I send you the email adresses of some of the participants of our seminar -as far as I know them- for further communication (if wanted).
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone of you again for taking part in our seminar (especially the ones that were ready to travel long way just to come here like our Romanian friends and Olli who came here from Hamburg, Germany).
Please share photos of the seminar if you have any. |
Dear Ota-sensei,
I would like to thank you once again for the interesting seminar you presented us a few weeks ago in Vienna. You pointed out important concepts for us to work on. Even as a practitioner of shito-ryu karate I was able to profit a lot from this seminar. I'm sorry to have missed the last session - Walter gave me an update.
Walter, the other practitioners and I will organise regular sessions in order to practice the especially the kobudo concepts.
I wish you all the best and hope to see you again in Vienna or in Europe.
Best regards
Philipp Graf |
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"Joche Zapata, Sensei Visit to Ota, Hanshi's Dojo APR-2008"
I want to share some of the thoughts and expiriences I had in my recent visit to Ota, Hanshi's dojo in Gardena, California.
First I have to thank Ota, San for his great generousity inside and outside the dojo. Mr. Ota selflessly put himself at my disposal and made my trip to California a great expirience.
In his dojo I met some of the best Karate people I've seen in my life. To mentioned a few, and I hope they forgive me if I leave someone out: Mr. Michael Rovens, Kyoshi 7th Dan, Mr. Mark Polland, Sensei 6th Dan, Mr. Garret Ginoza, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Leonardo Gomez, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Norman Miyamoto, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Mac Karimi, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Tomoshige Miyazato, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Joshua Taurek, Sensei 5th Dan, Mr. Lee Cohen, 2nd Dan and many others. Most of these individuals have been training with Mr. Ota for over 15 and even 20 some years. Their abilities in Ota, Hanshi's way of Shorin Ryu shows in their swift and strong movements and the speed with which they move.
Classes were taught in the old Okinawan fashion, diligently and with everyone giving 115% effort. Tuff workouts, as tuff as they come, repetition, repetition & repetition. Trully the expert way to master a Ryu. Everyones concentration in each exercise drill and in performing as the Hanshi imparts makes this a great dojo with great Karate. If you are week of heart or legs I do not recommend showing up. But, if you are serious about real Karate training, as it has been done for the past hundreds of years, call up and ask Ota, San to grant you a visit.
Ota, Hanshi is trully a living legend and his constant and diligent practice of Karate has allowed him to keep in top form at the young age of 62. I did Kumite with the man and I must say that I have never been hit that hard with a fist before in my entire life. I carry a powerful fist myself, and I have put people down with it but, I do know when having met my match and believe me when I say a punch in the ribs by Ota, Sensei is a humbling expirience. Not counting the freeking kick that followed...!!! I do like to think that I got a couple of shots in but, that might be in my mind only.
I enjoy been a part of the SKKA and I hope that this text of my expirience in visiting the Hombu Dojo will inspire others to go and visit or to contact Ota, Sensei in order to have this great man come visit you and assist you in your training.
To my brothers in the art at Ota, Hanshi's dojo I say: Thank you all for letting me train with you and for all the knowledge and laughs you shared during my visit. And, to Ota, San, a great man, instructor and friend I say: "Arigato, Sensei" I am humbled in your presence.
Joche Zapata, Sensei 5th Dan
Chief Instructor
SKKA Puerto Rico
APR-2008 |
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Thank you again for your seminar in vienna. Although we have been a very small group with the one or the other different style you did not show any signs of demotivation training us. To me as a shotokan stylist who is traveling for 3 years now also to other karate styles in order to find one style to stay with, it was a very remarkable seminar. I got tired after being about 15 years into shotokan only because this style (shotokan) stays somewhat more at the surface of the traditionell art and principles of karate. I felt already a big sympathie to the shito ryu and the matsubayashi shorin ryu styles of karate before.
Now I know, the matsubayashi shorin ryu style is the one, I'd like to intensify my studies on karate with. Thanks to you :o) During my researches for the shotokan kata gangaku I found the matsubayashi chinto and immeadetly loved it. Knowing only the more straight shotokan kata it was difficult to me to get the enbusen into my brain. Know I start to learn the matsubayashi kata beginning with the pinans, naihanchi, ananku.
You showed us a straight way to enhance the karate techniques by focussing on how to involve the hole body into each technique in order to get the most effectivity possible out of it. Your book compliments your teachings on the seminar very much.
Did you download the picture folder, I put onto my homepage? Otherwise I will send the pictures of your seminar in vienna via email to you. Some pictures from the sightseeing tour are attached to this mail.
Many greeting from germany,
Olli
OlliHofmann@arcor.de |
Alexandra Herbeck
Walter Herbeck
