In Room  7/27/2004 5:00am:
Still not much luck sleeping! Surprisingly I do not feel all that tired. Guess my body clock is not going to right itself before I leave Okinawa! As I write this morning I realize that my time on the island is quickly drawing to a close. What a great experience thus far! After a shower and breakfast this morning I will go to the Symposium and then to Matsuyama Park to photograph the monument which is dedicated to Miyagi Chojun and Higashionna Kanryo. Will call home this morning before leaving since it is late afternoon in the states. Okinawa is thirteen hours ahead of EST.

The Symposium 7/27/2004 9:00am:
The symposium was kind of boring to me. If the Okinawan masters would have expressed their opinions it would probably have been more interesting. Mostly the senior guys of the IOGKF expressed their opinions. A few questions were asked and answered and that was pretty much the jest of the Symposium. Wish that I would have spent my time doing something else. Higaonna Sensei has invited me to a black belt grading at a gym on the far side of Naha this afternoon. I think I will go for the experience and hopefully learn something as well. Went to Matsuyama Park and took pictures of the memorial and of the Tenson Shrine that housed the Bubishi, the Bible of Karate. Naha Commercial High School was much like any other school with kids all around. The memorial to Higashionna Kanryo was difficult to find but luckily I found with the assistance of a teacher and grounds keeper at the school. I was treated to a surprise here as there was a tourist attraction close by, Fukushu Gardens. It was built by the Chinese government around 1600 as a thank you to the Ryu Kyu Kingdom (Okinawa) for their trade with them. There were many beautiful sights in this five acre garden including pogoda's, fountains, ponds, statues and greenery.

The Black Belt Test 7/27/2004 2:00pm:
After a short taxi ride to an elementary school, I finally arrive at the location for the belt testing. It is in a very old gymnasium with hardwood floors, no air, and many windows. It looks like it was probably built by our military sometime soon after the war. Since the test is in Okinawa, Higaonna Sensei has opened the test to all the family members of those testing. There are two testing for Shodan and about thirty five more testing for Nidan or above. Talk about hot and humid…this place is a steam bath! The air is circulating but it is hot air. The test starts a little late due to travel problems and timing issues with the days activities. Once it starts it is non-stop for about three hours although much of the time the testing student was in seiza watching other students perform kata. There was much emphasis placed on kata. There was a Senior panel with Higaonna Sensei overseeing the grading. All techniques were called out over a speaker phone so that all could hear. Included in the test were kata and bunkai (rank appropriate), kihon ido, kihon waza and finally kumite. Since there were so many people from so far away (45 countries represented) Higaonna Sensei demanded that kumite be very controlled. He said that he was more concerned about seeing the technique and control of those testing. This was a good idea. No reason to get anyone hurt at this stage of such a great week. Five minutes into the session a guy gets knocked cold and is carried from the floor. I have never seen Higaonna Sensei upset but it was evident that he was not happy. He had Kazou Terauchi Sensei (full contact fighter) issue the kumite rules again. No one else got out of line. I was not all that impressed with the belt test but I'm sure it was much different than most with time constraints, language barriers and such. Kumite lasted no longer that 20 minutes or so total. The hardest part of the test was squat/jump pushups for three straight minutes. The test is over and the results will be announced at the Sayonara Party tonight. I'm sure there will be one disappointed individual (the one who knocked out his kumite partner!). Everyone appeared to be prepared and ready for the test. It is now 5:45pm and the Sayonara Party is to take place at 7:00pm so I catch a taxi back to the room and prepare for the event.

The Sayonara Party(on video) 7/27/2004 7:00pm:
The party was a ton of fun. Good food and drinks (Coke for me!) and great entertainment. Higaonna Sensei had arranged for many dancers to present the traditional dances of the islands. Very very enjoyable! I will never forget. Tearfully, Higaonna Sensei thanked everyone for coming to his homeland to train with him. He said that he owed all of us much gratitude. He is such a humble man…a true karateka. Rank was awarded to those passing the test. Much of it was done in Nihongo so I'm not really sure who passed and who did not. There were songs by members from different countries honoring Higaonna Sensei and the people and land of Okinawa. The mayor of Naha also attended as well as many other dignitaries. A'nichi Sensei danced a little as a result of too much O'sake (rice wine)! The people of the IOGKF are like family. Higaonna Sensei leads them well and he himself is sincerely dedicated to bringing all of the Goju Ryu factions together in one accord. If he lives long enough he may just accomplish his dream. It is now 10:00pm and the party has drawn to a close so I catch a cab and head back to my room at the Hotel Sun Okinawa.

Back In Room 7/27/2004 10:30pm:
Well my training in Okinawa is officially over. It is a sad but happy moment. I have made so many friends and memories and it will be sad to leave for those reasons. But I am so ready to see my family. Hopefully they will want to come back with me sometime. I have had the opportunity to train many hours, take tons of video and pictures, meet new people, make new friends and visit many sites on the island. What a blessing to have had the opportunity to train where it all began, in Okinawa the land of karate. The people here at the Hotel Sun Okinawa have made sure that my visit was enjoyable. What a great staff of people. I know I've said it over and over but I'm still shocked at the sincerity of the Okinawan people. They are so happy and helpful and enjoy helping others. I will be going to the Karate Museum tomorrow and that is all. It is quite a way and will take most of the day. One of the girls on the front desk has written down the directions in kanji so that the taxi driver will know exactly where the museum is located. It is about 30 miles from here, next to Ryu Kyu University. I wash all of my dirty clothes in preparation to pack for the return home. Hopefully they will dry before tomorrow night.

In Room 7/28/2004 6:30am:
I got up early this morning so that I could go back to the Budokan to take a few more pictures of the training facilities. I ate some fruit from the dining area prior to leaving. I was able to sit in on a sword class and take a few pictures of the Master with his students. From the Budokan I caught the monorail back to Shuri Castle to walk the stone path from the Castle to Naha. Most people walk from the castle down to the city…I decided to walk from the city up to the castle. It is about a mile walk straight uphill. I knew that I could walk down but wanted to know that I could walk up! So many thoughts went through my mind walking this path as Miyagi, Funakoshi, Higashionna, and many more masters and royalty have trodden this same path. It will give you goose bumps if you really think about the history and significance of this path to karate. As I reach the top of the path I am soaked from perspiration! It is so hot and humid but I made it! I catch a cab here, hand him the directions, and head off to the Karate Museum. The driver is great but gets lost. He just smiles and turns off the meter. He tells me that he is embarrassed and that he should know how to get there. He eventually spots the Museum and drops me off. My luck, the museum is closed and I'm in a rundown part of town. I am initially a little concerned but decide to just talk to some of the people…they are all just super-friendly and help me locate the guy who runs the museum! His name is Tetsuhiro Hokama Sensei and the museum is inside his dojo. He has so many old artifacts from years ago (see pictures). He charges me the equivalent of $1.00 to enter. I thought he meant $10.00 but he said no only $1.00. He told me that he only charged enough to keep up the artifacts and that the artifacts belonged to all the people of karate and that it would not be right to charge more that it took to take care of them! I did not realize who Hokama Sensei was until I got back to the states. He is a senior disciple of the late Meitoku Yagi Sensei, the inheritor of Miyagi Chojun Sensei's gi, belt and training devices! I should have spent more time here if only I had recognized his name…my loss! Hokama Sensei tells me as I'm leaving that he will be in New York in September and invites me to attend his training. Sensei directs me to the nearest taxi which is at the hospital and about a mile away. We bow, say our goodbyes and I depart on foot. Once at the hospital I find a taxi very quickly and tell him that I need to go to the Shuri gate (monorail). This ride will be an experience I'm sure! The guy speaks zero English! With my limited Nihongo this could turn into a disaster I thought! I had forgotten to get my directions back from the other driver! I know that the trip to the museum had taken about forty minutes or so and fifty minutes into my ride back to the room I see nothing that looks familiar! I finally see a sign that says Ginowa and then a sign that says Kadena. I immediately realize that there must be a gate called Shuri at the air base at Kadena. I tell the driver no no and he does not understand. Finally he throws up his hands in laughter realizing our mistake! Luckily I have a map showing the monorail and the gate called Shuri at the station. He bows his head in embarrassment and he too shuts off the meter. I have been in this taxi for almost two hours now and still have not made it to the monorail. It is now about 4:30pm. Once there he refuses to take my money. I insist and beg with him that the mistake was as much my fault as his. I knew that I had paid the other driver around $40.00 for the trip to the museum so I pay this driver the same. He did not want to accept the money but he finally agreed. What a ride! I did get to see a lot of Okinawa that I would not have gotten to see otherwise! I made another friend! Great people! The rest of this day and night will be spent packing and preparing for the trip back home. I anxiously watch the minutes pass by. Everything is packed and I'm ready to return home to see my family. I only hope that they are as anxious to see me as I them. Although the training and experience has been indescribable I have also been kind of lonely the last few days. I lay down for a good nights sleep as I will be departing for the Naha Airport at 5:30am sharp.

Naha Airport 7/29/2004 6:45am:
Did not sleep well last night either. Got up early, checked out of my room and headed to the airport at 5:30am. My flight does not depart until 8:30am. Check-in was fast and simple. This will be another long journey, somewhere between 27-30 hours. I have lived off of one old snickers that I found in a convenience store, KFC, McDonalds, Coke, and water. Ready for some home cooking. The food in Okinawa is not bad but does not compare to home. It is a beautiful morning in Okinawa as we board for departure to the states. Thirty hours later I arrive home having made the reverse trip. Thank You Lord for allowing me to make the journey and for bringing me home safely. It was so good to see my family!

(** As a note, for me moreso than anyone else: As I wrote this I remembered things that happened that were not in the hand written notes. I took the liberty to add those memories into this type written format. Therefore my journal notes will vary ever so slightly from this document. Any of you reading this who are black belts in Goju and who would like a copy of the training notes please just ask. I do not have them in a format such as this but will sometime in the near future.)