Warrior Ways
Member and Goju-ryu karate master Genna Tanaka reflects on a life of kicks and kata.
When I was a third-year high school student in Akita, a Goju-ryu karate dojo opened next to my school.
At the time, I was really into pro wrestling and was a big fan of the famous wrestler Rikidozan. To kids, he seemed so strong. I saw him wrestle and had a chance to shake his hand when he came to Akita.
As Rikidozan was famous for his “karate chop” move, I decided to join the karate dojo next to my school. I found that karate suited me as soon as I tried it. The movements felt natural to me. I would train there every day for two hours.
I chose Nihon University College of Art from among the universities where I was accepted because it had a strong karate club. There were about 50 students in the club when I joined. It was a strict environment. Gogen Yamaguchi, the founder of the International Gojukai Association, was our teacher and his son, Goshi Yamaguchi, was two years my senior. Goshi later taught karate at the Club for many years.
Every day, we did weight training, kata [karate movement] practice and kumite [sparring]. It was full-contact sparring. We had no protective gear, but I loved karate and got used to it. Although on one occasion, I broke my big toe from kicking an opponent’s shin. It hurt, but I didn’t go to the hospital. I also had my nose broken in my first year at university.
From the third year, I was club captain. I was crazy about karate and enjoyed the daily training. I used to work on my abdominal and core muscles with a medicine ball at the famous Clark Hatch fitness center and by taking punches to the stomach. I also learned wrestling techniques from pro wrestlers who visited the gym.
Even after I graduated and started a job at TV Tokyo, I continued to train at the dojo and also taught students there until I was in my 40s. Since I was in the sports division of TV Tokyo, I visited a lot of different gyms and dojo as part of my job. It was a great chance to try other martial arts and other sports.
In 1968, when I was 24, I entered the all-Japan Goju-ryu tournament. That was the only national tournament held at that time. I had seven full-contact bouts over the course of one day. It was close, but I lost in the final by a foul after knocking down my opponent.
I was good at kicking, especially spinning back kicks and roundhouse kicks. I practiced those over and over every day. Occasionally, I would train in Kyokushin karate at the dojo of Masutatsu Oyama, who founded the Kyokushin International Karate Organization. It’s a similar style of karate to Goju-ryu.
The discipline and Bushido code of conduct is what I like about martial arts. Karate gave me self-belief and the confidence to pursue and reach goals in my work. It might be a martial art, but it teaches us to avoid conflict.
As told to INTOUCH’s Nick Jones.
Top image of Genna Tanaka in 1967.
