The Legacy of Club 545

 

It's hard to believe it's been twenty years, 20 years, since Club 545 started.

It began in 2005 almost as a dare - a semi-private Yoshinkan aikido lesson in Roppongi, two students and an instructor, starting at 5:45 AM on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The class would be taught in the old school way, the way of the intensive Senshusei course, which has produced nearly every high-ranking Yoshinkan instructor around the world. Myself and my partner, Chris, an English former London cop turned investment banker working nearby, agreed to do it. If he could, I could. If Sensei Mike could, we could.

I used to get the 5:09 train from Jiyugaoka in order to get there just on time. I'd be so sleepy I could hardly open my eyes. All I wanted was to go back to bed. Still, we did it. Some mornings were hard. Others were harder. Still, we kept going. The 0700 class would come in as we were finishing our class and bowing out. They looked at us as if we were insane. We were. During the practice, we went 100%. We never pulled our punches or toned down our techniques. The risk of injury was constant. Even injured, we trained.

After a few months, we heard that others wanted to join our madness. Enter Saori and David. Saori was a slight, frail Japanese office lady. Quiet and shy, but with fluent English. We told her plainly that we didn't think she could handle it. She nodded. We told her she would not get special treatment. She nodded.

I still remember the first class, David standing strong and resolute. His muscles rippling under his dogi. Curious smile on his face. In stark contrast, Saori standing in kamae with her little hands shaking, eyes focused in concentration.

Day after day, class after class, she kept at it. She never gave up. Just like us, she attended every class. Just like us, she trained hard every class - injured or not. Over time, her hands stopped shaking and her kamae became steady, unshakeable. Confident. Her movements automatic.

While I was in Singapore from 2008 - 2010, two important things happened: First, I passed my black belt grading in Yoshinkan aikido, tested in Kuala Lumpur by my teacher, Shihan Ramlan Ortega of Shudokan Malaysia and his teacher, the legendary founder of the Shudokan, Shuseki Shihan Joe Thambu. It was an unforgettable weekend, one of the greatest moments of my life. A waypoint on the Aikido journey I started in Chicago in 1987. The second thing that happened was meeting Guro Fred Evrard and Guro Lila Evrard, the founders of Kali Majapahit, a couple who would change the direction of my martial arts journey forever. I started training in Kali Majapahit in 2008 and have continued to this day (I'm teaching tonight, actually), opening the first overseas branch of KM in Tokyo in 2011. I have neither forgotten nor abandoned my Yoshinkan foundation, and those who observe my flow can see it deeply embedded in how I move and how I think about martial arts. Sadly, Roppongi Yoshinkan is no more. The legacy and spirit of Club 545, however, remains.

I continued on my journey. I am very happy to say Saori-sensei continued on hers. I recently heard the news that she successfully passed her grading for 5th degree black belt. It's an amazing achievement and worthy of great praise. Very few students ever reach black belt at all. Even fewer reach 4th degree black belt. 5th degree black belt is probably 1-2% of all black belts globally in Yoshinkan. There are thousands ranked between 1st degree and 3rd degree (including me). Achieving this rank and recognition requires decades of focused, intense training. She is no longer a little girl, over the years she has grown to become a warrior. A teacher and leader. A true budoka. I am very proud to have been able to witness the start of her journey and thrilled to celebrate this latest milestone. 

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS SAORI-SENSEI!!

Long live CLUB 545!!

OSU!!