In the text below you will find a summary of my trip to Okinawa. The long hours of training while there necessitated that I record the days activities either in the early morning or late night in most instances. I have attempted to compile in such a way that you can personally get a glimpse of my thoughts and of the experience. I sincerely hope you enjoy that which is written. The photographs, in the Okinawa Album on this website, will enhance that which you are about to read.

The Invitation and Preparation:
It is September 28^th of 2003 and I am in Sherman Oaks, California attending Higaonna Morio Sensei's Training Seminar at the Suiho En Dojo. It is mentioned at this seminar that Higaonna Sensei will hold, in the summer of 2004, The World Budosai, an event bringing hundreds of Goju practitioners together under one roof in Naha, Okinawa, the birthplace of karate and the home of our styles founding father Miyagi Chojun Sensei. Higaonna Sensei invites me to attend. Several Masters will be in attendance I am told. A voyage to the birthplace of karate had always been in the back of my mind and an offer from Higaonna Sensei to attend his event made that desire even stronger. After much consideration on behalf of my family, finances and job I decide for sure in January of 2004 to make the journey. I immediately curb my diet and begin training intensely as the seven training days will be approximately twelve hours in length. I also begin a daily ritual of listening to tapes of the Japanese language in an effort to enhance my communication abilities once I arrive on the island. I secure my airline ticket through Delta Airlines and make my hotel reservations through the All Nippon Travel Agency in Okinawa and the agency that is representing the Budosai event. It is now July 9^th, 2004 and all preliminary work has been completed. My airline ticket is in hand, camcorder and digital camera are packed, clothing for the trip and three white gi's are neatly folded, confirmation for my hotel and event passes have been received and I have just converted my American dollars to Japanese yen. I am also feeling pretty good about my ability to communicate as I have been working on the language for about six months now…time will tell! It is now July 13^th, 2004, seven days until I depart, and I'm looking at my airline ticket. It will take me from Chattanooga to Atlanta, Atlanta to Tokyo Narita where I will board a bus to Tokyo Haneda for my destination flight aboard Japan Airlines to Naha City, Okinawa. My only anxiety at this point is about getting from Narita to Haneda via the airport bus and the ensuing seventy-five mile bus ride. There are no flights out of Tokyo Narita to Naha and the reason for the bus ride to Tokyo Haneda. I have prepared well, I have trained hard, and I am ready to go…

The Night Before Departure 7/19/2004 11:00pm:
Although I am very excited about my travel tomorrow I have no real concerns or fears. I am at peace. I will surely miss my family desperately as I love them so much. I have asked for intervention for safe travel and an injury free week of training as well as safety for my family while I'm away. I have completed my last minute checks for proper attire, money, documents and necessities and everything is in order. I will lie down for a good nights sleep. It will be ten days before I am back home to sleep in my own bed once again. Thank you Lord for my life and the doors that you open for me. Thank you Lord for giving me a family that will share me with your world and allow me to participate in the wonderful art of Goju Ryu karate in the most profound way - a journey to Okinawa.

The The Day of Departure 7/20/2004 4:00am:
Since my flight departs at 6:05am eastern time, I awake and arise early on this day. I am still excited, like a kid waiting to see Santa, but without fears or concerns. The day that I have been preparing for for six plus months has finally come. In the next thirty minutes I will shower, shave, dress, load my luggage and then make the twenty-five minute drive to the Chattanooga Airport to catch the Delta connection to Atlanta to board the Delta International flight to Tokyo.

At The Chattanooga Airport 7/20/2004 5:30am:
Check-in is uneventful and I proceed directly to the terminal gate. At this point it seems like any other business flight routine - walk to security, show your identification, strip down until the buzzers quit going off, redress and wait for boarding! As I wait for boarding I scan every individual looking for anything out of the ordinary and as usual I will board last. As a warrior and student of the arts I feel that it is one of my duties to look out for others and confront danger if it is presented.  Even though I'm extremely thankful for the security measures that have been put in place since 911, I long for the days of "Mayberry". I understand the need for security but take personal that outside circumstances have ridded me, as an American, of some of my freedoms. If necessary I would fight to my death to preserve as many freedoms as possible. I pay tribute now to those that have given the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms of this country, my family and my children. These are my usual thoughts as I go from airport to airport. As you can see from my mindset at this point, the reality of the trip has obviously not sunken in yet.

On The Plane From Chattanooga To Atlanta 6:05am:
Once in the air it still does not seem like I'm going eight-thousand miles to the heartland of karate. Will it ever hit me I wonder. I scan the passengers once again and am comfortable finally that they are all onboard for the right reasons. Twenty-five minutes later we land at the Atlanta airport and taxi to the gate. I deplane and head for the International Concourse to board my flight to Tokyo.

At The Atlanta Airport 7/20/2004 7:30am:
On my way to the International Concourse I stop at Burger King and have my usual tater tots and Coke. Unless you travel through Atlanta frequently it will amaze you how many people circulate through this place. All different kinds of people going to an array of places - people watching from my seat at BK! I finish up "breakfast" and proceed to my gate, again going through my ritual of inspecting all of the passengers that will be on this long flight - some fourteen hours. I see nothing out of the ordinary. I board and prepare myself mentally for the trip.

On The Plane From Atlanta To Tokyo 7/20/2004 10:00am:
The plane is a Boeing 777, a huge plane. It is Delta's international version with individual media controls allowing each passenger the ability to have their own TV and game controls. The plane is surprisingly only about half full and I end up having a row of seats all to myself. The flight plans call for us to travel slightly northwest crossing Tennessee, the Midwest, across the southern tip of Canada, over Anchorage Alaska and along a mountain chain into Tokyo. We are now flying at 31,000 feet. The air temperature is thirty-six below zero Fahrenheit. Head wind is 32mph, air speed is 528mph with a remaining flight time of 13 hours and 5 minutes.

On The Plane From Atlanta To Tokyo 7/20/2004 3:30pm:
Five hours into the flight we are now over Juneau, Alaska, just a little over one third of the way to Tokyo. We have a slight tail wind now and our speed has increased. Hopefully this will make the flight a little shorter. All of this sitting could drive you nuts if you allowed your mind to dwell on it! Have tried to sleep but no luck yet. Have watched tons of TV, played games and watched tons of flight information! We have flown mostly over land and I would have expected to see more water. It is hard to believe that in a few hours I will be in Japan.

On The Plane From Atlanta To Tokyo Over the Bering Sea 7/20/2004 6:30pm:
Looking out the window I now see nothing but water. A few clouds dot the sky below us. Only five more hours and we will be in Tokyo.

On The Plane From Atlanta To Tokyo 7/20/2004 11:35pm(12:30pm 7/21 in Tokyo):
We passed the International Date Line. Tokyo is thirteen hours ahead of EST and thus it is "tomorrow" in Tokyo and I'm almost there! We are now preparing to land at the Narita Airport in Tokyo. Still have no anxieties or concerns. Maybe I'm numb from the flight. They served three meals on this flight - lunch, a sandwich and snack, and supper. We touch down and proceed to the concourse.

At Narita Airport Customs, Tokyo 7/21/2004 1:00pm Tokyo Time:
Getting through customs is easy compared to Mexico. It only takes about ten minutes or so. The task at hand now is to find the shuttle bus to Haneda Airport, which they say is about seventy five miles, where I board a Japan Airlines flight to Okinawa, the land of karate. There are lots of English speaking personnel at the airport and finding the bus is relatively simple. I buy my bus ticket (about $26.00 US dollars) and board for the ride to Haneda. It is extremely cloudy today but the ride is pleasant and the scenery beautiful. It is more Americanized than I would have thought. I guess I expected to see more pogoda's and bicycles and less regular looking houses and cars. Did not see even one bicycle! The cars here are extremely small and they drive on the wrong side of the road. We passed under the Tokyo Bay via a tunnel which was about ten miles long. Lots of rice fields and small gardens everywhere. The people so far have been very helpful and extremely nice. I wonder though what it would be like had there been no war? The drive was uneventful and we make it to Haneda Airport in plenty of time. I now have a four hour wait for the JAL flight on to Okinawa. Getting tired as I have been awake for almost twenty three hours now. Could not sleep on the flights. Dozed off once for about ten minutes. Sitting here now with absolutely nothing to do and sure would like to have something chocolate but none here. Talk about humid…is it ever humid here! Even the people who work and live here sweat!

At Narita Airport 7/21/2004 7:30pm Tokyo Time:
We finally board the JAL flight for Okinawa. I have been up exactly twenty seven hours now. The flight to Okinawa is another two hours. This flight is booked and cramped. No way to sleep. So many stewardesses on this flight! I see no other Americans and appear to be the only one who understands nothing! As we prepare to land in Okinawa I realize that my dream is about to come true. Okinawa is absolutely beautiful from the air at night. Moon is so bright and glistens off the water below. We exit the plane and enter the terminal. The Naha City airport is absolutely beautiful with flowers and plants everywhere. I am so tired. Maybe I can catch a cab to the room quick. It is now 10:00pm Okinawa time (same as Tokyo). I have now been up for almost thirty hours straight with no sleep. Outside the Naha airport at the taxi stand I summon a taxi. Luckily she (the driver) speaks limited English. With my limited Nihongo she determines that I need to go to the Hotel Sun Okinawa and she knows exactly where it is. Thank You Lord! The ride to Hotel Sun is about twenty minutes. Surprisingly the check-in is very simple. The Nihongo (Japanese language) that I had worked on for eight months paid off! I call home and turn in for the evening. It is now about 11:30pm in Okinawa. I have no trouble sleeping but manage only a couple hours of sleep as my body clock is messed up! I lay there relaxing for the rest of the night.

In Room At Hotel Sun Okinawa 7/22/2004 5:50am:
The morning brings an absolutely gorgeous day. The city streets are bustling and the monorail train eases by the window. I shower and prepare for my first day of training in Okinawa. I wonder what is in store?

Breakfast At Hotel Sun Okinawa 7/22/2004 6:50am:
Breakfast is actually pretty good. I have a few french fries, bacon, an orange, a banana, a small piece of toast and orange juice.


At The Budokan In Okinawa 7/22/2004 8:55am:
Wow! What a magnificent work of architecture! This building is eighty thousand square feet plus and absolutely beautiful. It has a sumo ring, three ten thousand square foot martial arts rooms, a judo room the same size and an arena with a jumbotron TV and is about 35, 000 square feet. It is the Okinawa Prefectural Hall of the Martial Arts. It is to Okinawan martial arts what the Smithsonian is to our culture. The exterior roof is brilliantly shiny with a red piece of architecture running across the top. It is said to resemble the back of a dragon. I still wonder what the day has in store! The orientation prior to beginning training has been delayed due to late flights. There are already about seven hundred karateka here. Even though the facility is cooled the windows have already been opened to let out some of the heat and to create a circulation of air. It is both hot and humid outside and extremely hot and humid inside! The orientation is ready to begin and Higaonna Sensei summons everyone to the second floor of the building. He welcomes everyone and tells everyone to sweat together and follows his comment with a big and humble laugh! He also tells everyone to make a new friend and follows that with the introduction of all of the instructors for the week. We bow in at about 10:00am in the traditional manner and move to our designated areas by dan rank. I have chosen to train as a Shodan since I am outside of the IOGKF family. There are so many people in this room! We are literally elbow-to-elbow. Higaonna Sensei decides to do basics all together and in this same room. With a heavyweight gi it is already so terribly hot and we have not even started our training! One hour later we finish warm-ups and basics! Higaonna Sensei says, "this is Okinawa" and humbly laughs again. He is a great human being with such humility. We now move to separate floors by dan rank for group instruction. Higaonna Sensei says, "take your tops off guys - ladies no"! We all know what the next four hours hold - Sanchin training! What a rush, thrill and experience to be tested by those that trained directly with Miyagi Sensei such as Aragaki Sensei and A'nichi Sensei. As I stated above, out of respect for Higaonna Sensei I always train as a Shodan with his organization. I immediately see that I should be training at a higher level as very little correction is made to my kata - a tribute to Sensei Mallin, and my inner desire for perfection of the kata. My kata still felt poor in the presence of such men. Except for my black belt test, I have never sweated, hurt and tired so much! Kept up with the young guys though! We gi back up, and bow out apparently for the walk back to our training room. But Higaonna Sensei stops everyone and states that he has a surprise for us. With much assistance in walks Sakiyama Sougen Roshi, Zen Master. The room immediately falls completely silent and all bow to him out of respect. At eighty four years of age he slowly makes his way over to a solitary table and chair that has been set for him, he takes his seat and pulls out a tattered black pouch which contains some scribbled notes. Everyone in the room is silent and in seiza on the hardwood floor. Sakiyama Roshi begins to speak with Nakamura Sensei acting as his interpreter. He explains that karate is not about fighting but rather about inner growth. He says to train kata daily and you will be able to train into your old age. Don't train to win a trophy but to make yourself a better person. It is more than punch punch, kick kick - it is about training the mind, body and spirit to become a better person. He proceeds to tell that he trained at Chojun Miyagi Sensei's garden dojo when he was about twenty years old and that he really never figured out what karate was all about. He said that at age forty at an Okinawan Festival he figured it out. He asked a Japanese Kendo practitioner why he trained and he replied to win. He asked an Okinawan guy the same thing and he said to improve his inner being and become a better person. Roshi states that he is not saying this to degrade the Japanese but rather to make a point that karate is more than about winning - it is about becoming a better person and helping others. He said that he realized that there were many religions present in the room and encouraged all of us to incorporate our religion into our karate. It will only make your karate stronger he says. He jokingly and laughing states that he appreciates us letting him come to speak today so that he could talk more! He states that he has to share the stage with other Masters on Sunday at the exhibition and was afraid that they would not let him talk much! Everyone bows as he exits the dojo. It is now 6:15pm and the Welcome Party is to start at 7:00pm. I begin my walk back to my room. On the way back I meet Robin Petersen who is an attorney from Florida - just can't get away from them! We agree to walk to the Welcome Party at the Beer Dome together. Robin is divorced and the father of a ten year old girl. He trains in Shorin Ryu. We meet up and arrive at the party on time. It is packed with barely room to move around. The quarters are to close for me personally and I am soon ready to depart. At 9:45pm Robin and I decide to head back to our rooms which are about a fifteen minute walk from the Welcome Party. We agree to meet for breakfast and part ways to turn in for the night.

In Room At Hotel Sun Okinawa 7/22/2004 11:00pm:
Prior to turning in I wash my gi and clothes in the bathtub and hang them up to dry. Hopefully the gi will dry before I spoil my other two gi's. I will do this five more times so that I have a clean gi for each training session. It is now about 11:00pm. I am looking forward to the training tomorrow. We will have a lecture some time during the day from Shuichi Aragaki Sensei who is one of Chojun Miyagi Senseis' last living disciples and it is sure to be a treat and a once in a lifetime opportunity. What can I say about today's experience other than "WOW"! I love Okinawa and the hard training. It is good to be able to train hard with adults that which you have been taught. (In diary see two pages of Sanchin training notes on how to teach the kata, found on pages 10 and 11.)

In Room At Hotel Sun Okinawa 7/23/2004 5:00am:
Sleep pattern still messed up! Woke up at 2:41am after finally dozing off at around midnight. Finally just got up as I could not sleep. It is another beautiful morning in Okinawa! Wonder what is in store for today's training? Really thought that I would be in extreme pain from the hard Sanchin training yesterday but not sore at all and actually feel pretty normal after such hard training. At 7:00am Robin and I meet for breakfast and head over to the Budokan on foot afterwards.