A Journey to Okinawa
By Mike Talish
My Journey to Okinawa began a number of years ago. I started practicing karate at Sensei Teruyuki Higa's Okinawa Kenpo Karate School, located in Uniondale, New York. Primarily, my goal was to keep fit but, little did I know, that the school's leader would set me on a lifelong journey that has gotten deeper with every step.
Let me go back to when an old friend of mine and I decided to start working out together. I didn't care what kind of exercise we did but my only stipulation was that I had no desire to join one of those so called “gyms” filled with machines and mirrors. Other than that, I didn't care what we did. When my buddy told me about this karate teacher he found, I signed up with him but didn't realize what I was getting into.
Traditional drums at the opening of the Uchinanchu Festival were so moving you could feel every beat in your heart reported author Mike Talish. Photograph courtesy of the author.
At our first lesson, I met Master Sensei Higa and was struck by his dedication to traditional training. I could probably write an entire article just about him and our training. Having been an athlete my entire life, I was never so challenged physically, mentally and spiritually at the same time. Master Higa continuously stressed the fact that his training was not just a martial art or exercise regimen, but a way of life. After some time at his school, the realization sank in that the lessons learned in the dojo were not just about karate but also apply to life. Coupled with the familial bond being formulated with my fellow students, my time in the dojo quickly became my favorite part of the week.
One day in June of 2001, Sensei Higa announced that he would be leading a group trip to Okinawa, Japan for the 3rd Uchinanchu Festival and asked who would be interested in going. My hand went up without me even knowing what the festival was about. A few months later, there I was... at the homeland. Being a part-time karate enthusiast, I understood this to be Valhalla, the Holy land, the Mecca of karate, and it was here that my path would take an entirely different direction.
Often, when people think of the island of Okinawa, the birth place of karate or a pivotal battle of WW II come to mind. At the time, I was no different. This is unfortunate because, although these are important aspects of its history, there is so much more to be considered as I would soon learn.
A local restaurant patron played traditional banjo-like instrument for author Mike Talish and his group from Sensei Teruyuki Higa's Okinawa Kenpo Karate School as a waitress sang along. Photograph courtesy of the author.
The first thing that struck me when we arrived in Okinawa was the courtesy and kindness of the islanders. Legendary for centuries, Okinawans are known for their hospitality. However, when I experienced first-hand how kind people in Okinawa truly can be, this native New Yorker was truly amazed. One experience on the trip really illustrates this characteristic. We quickly spent the small amount of Japanese currency that we brought with us after our first night out. The next morning, we were told that Sensei was busy with his own obligations and we were free to explore the area at our leisure.
Our understanding was that we could go to any ATM for yen, but without Master Higa present to translate we were on our own. Hours later, having tried every bank in the area, we were still penniless and sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for our leader to make everything better. Suddenly, Lynne, a member of our group, bounced into the lobby fanning herself with yen and smiling ear to ear. Turns out, we needed to go to an International ATM found at the local post office. The magical thing was how she discovered this. After failing to retrieve yen from ATMs at over a dozen banks, Lynne broke into tears of frustration right at the machine. Witnessing her plight, a non-English speaking bank teller came out from her post, took Lynne outside and walked her five blocks to the local post office. This complete stranger brought her right to the ATM and pressed the buttons to engage the English program. She then smiled at her, motioned to Lynne to use the machine and then bowed. Easily withdrawing money, Lynne was giddy with delight. When she turned to express her appreciation to the bank teller she was surprised to see there was no one there.
The façade of Shurijo castle. Photograph courtesy of the author.
As our group strolled along the streets of Naha city and the beautiful countryside, I was introduced to the beauty of the fine craft work and artistry that I saw, from small pieces of jewelry to large works of sculpture. The shop keepers were so pleasant and were proud to show us their work without pushing us to buy. Music, gardens, art and music were everywhere. Even the monorail had music, a different jingle for each stop. We were continuously meeting other participants of the festival, from places like Hawaii, Brazil, and other parts of the U.S.A., to name a few. We were all easily recognizable by the red I.D. placards that we wore around our necks, identifying us as overseas festival participants. This made striking up a conversation easy and we had the chance to meet many wonderful people.
I had a particularly interesting conversation with one lady from Hawaii on a bus trip back from the festival's opening ceremony. After a little small talk, she asked me who our group was and how I came to participate. I answered briefly then asked her the same. By the time that she was finished talking, she had widened my journey tenfold. My new friend told me that she felt obligated, as an Okinawan abroad, to promote the culture and heritage of her homeland. Because of events in history, many native Okinawans had left their home island. Of approximately 1.5 million islanders, about 400,000 went abroad, decimating the population. This is the basis of the Uchinanchu Festival.
Every five years, the native Okinawans abroad are welcomed home to a four day festival to celebrate their culture and way of life. I had the impression that we were celebrating traditional karate and its history, but there was so much more to it than that. When I heard the traditional music and saw their dancing, I was deeply moved. It seemed that they performed with the purpose of communicating that feeling of welcoming that I had come to appreciate in my short time there. Sensei Higa has always stressed the importance of tradition. In just two short days, I now had a deeper understanding of what he meant by “way of life” and I still had more to learn. “Invest in your life, not a black belt”, is a motto of his, and he teaches us that karate is only a small part of living. Respect for self and others is the underlying message that he is giving.
Traditional dancers at Shurijo castle. Photograph courtesy of the author.
By the end of my bus trip I was completely grateful to my new friend for having shared so much with me, a complete stranger. It is an honor to have this tradition transmitted to me. So much history was lost at the time. Therefore, it is important to recover what we can and pass down the history of these gentle people.
These events occurred at the 3rd annual Uchinanchu Festival ten years ago. Right after I left, I made a promise to myself to return to Okinawa. Back home I was glad to recognize that I brought some of the Okinawans' way of life back with me, since my interactions with others had taken a clear shift. At the time of my return home, I was a graduate student and working two jobs in service industries. One job was in a restaurant as a bartender / waiter, and the other was as a massage therapist in a spa. Simply put, I was a tipped employee. As a result of my personal experience, while in Okinawa it was very difficult for me to not tip those who had served us. “It's an insult,” Sensei explained. “They do a good job for the sake of doing a good job, not for extra money.” Having brought that memory back with me, I found work to be much more enjoyable because I saw myself as employed to help people and not just to make money. I also had a new found patience for tourists and foreigners, of which there are many in New York. I now make it a point to be very welcoming to foreign visitors of my town and help them on their way.
Traditional karate at Shurijo castle. Photograph courtesy of the author.
I was unable to attend the fourth Uchinanchu Festival, and when our group came back from that trip I vowed to make it to the fifth. Here we are five years later, and I am freshly back from my second trip to Okinawa for the 5th Uchinanchu Festival. The old saying “the second time is the charm” rings true. Things that I missed last time because of the awe of discovery were so much clearer. Having become fascinated with Okinawan culture and history, not just karate, I did a lot of reading. Now, for instance, when we visited Shurijo Castle I saw it with a deeper understanding. I could appreciate the beauty of the aesthetics of the castle itself, but also I could see what it took to rebuild it after its demolition. The hard work to do so represents, yet another, lesson from the dojo. “Nine times down, ten times up.” This represents the resolve to keep going and not to be defeated. We saw countless ruins of temples, gardens and other cultural landmarks. All had been protected to some degree, pristinely kept up, and each one of them had plaques in Japanese and English describing what was there before its destruction. I read every one with the intention to pay homage to the old Okinawan culture that refused to be wiped away.
Hokama Sensei, who runs the Museum of Okinawan Karate, also a functioning dojo, exemplifies what I am talking about. We were honored to be able to visit his museum and watch a class run while we there. The walls were dripping with history. Pictures, old weapons, school patches of previous visitors, poetry and calligraphy were hung in every available space. Unlike a lot of American dojos, there were no trophies on the walls, since the Okinawans practiced martial arts to protect themselves and not for competition. All of this history deepened my path further and provided me with a new understanding of my education with Sensei Higa. And, it was an honor to see a picture of Higa up among all of the pivotal historic figures of karate.
Two friends of the author sparring in a tunnel. Photograph courtesy of the author.
After spending a while pouring over the museum's historic displays, we decided to watch the kids practice their lessons. After the karate part of their lesson was over, it was now time to educate the students in a different way. Hokama Sensei explained to us that he teaches as much about intercultural subjects as he does about martial arts. Okinawa is a big melting pot with visitors from all over the world. As such, English, German and other languages are introduced in Hokama Sensei's dojo so that the children know a little about their visitors. And to strengthen this practice, during my visit Sensei had his kid students say the months of the year and the seasons for us in English. After that the students got to practice shaking hands with us and saying “nice to meet you.” This was probably my favorite event of the whole trip. Hokama Sensei was so nice to us, and he filled our heads with more history than could be read from a library of books. He was such a pleasant, friendly and gentle man, but having watched his teaching it was clear that he could turn into a dangerous advisory if incited to conflict. I just would like to mention that he was smiling the whole time that we were there and his level of excitement was immeasurable.
Having had the opportunity to experience, first hand, traditional Okinawan culture on my first trip, I couldn't wait to hear the music and see the drum dance and lion dances again. This is something totally unique and, to a music lover like me, a special treat. The opening ceremony of the festival was my first chance to hear the music and see the drum dance again. The precision of the movements and the power of the drumming could bring one to tears, as it did for me.
Master Sensei Teruyuki Higa and students gave a demonstration and were interviewed on the local news. Photograph courtesy of the author.
The next day our group made a trip to the former home of the Okinawan royalty, Shurijo castle. Destroyed during WW II, it was been meticulously restored and maintained. It is surrounded by acres of beautiful gardens filled with ponds and ancient shrines. The day that we were there, a special demonstration was given of dance and martial arts in the outside court yard. Even though it was raining, the show went on to a large crowd of onlookers. Again, I was struck by the precision of the dancing. The karate masters moved with a smooth grace that would instantly erupt into a burst of power, only to then transition back to slow and flowing movements. Touring the castle was like a trip back into time. There were displays of the courts of separate eras and historical information everywhere. I took the opportunity to look out of a top floor window down to the same courtyard and pretend that I was a prince of Okinawa and that the visitors were all my servants. The trip was, again another opportunity to meet fellow festival participants. On the way there, we shared a cab with a singer from Hawaii and her husband who organized the group of 1500 Hawaiian residents that they came with.
So far, I have reported on a few of my most memorable events that were a large part of my time in Okinawa. However, there are many small and almost incidental interactions that we had with the locals which enhanced the flavor of our experience. First of all, every Okinawan that we met made us feel like a welcomed visitor and not like a tourist. A group of uniformed high school kids walked passed us and a girl stopped and asked if she could help us because we looked like we were lost. We were actually staring in amazement that they were getting off the bus from school; it was Saturday. Uniforms and school on Saturday would be like a prison sentence to most American high school students that I know.
Master Sensei Teruyuki Higa and students after performing a demonstration at the Okinawa Prefectural Budokan. Photograph courtesy of the author.
Generally speaking, the Okinawans that we met took every opportunity to share their culture and make us feel at home. In preparing for my trip, I tried to learn some Japanese so I would be able to communicate a little bit. This was helpful but not one hundred percent necessary. Not only did a lot of the Okinawans know a good amount of English, they were happy to practice speaking and interacting with us in an “American” way. As someone who has heard the phrase “Welcome to America, now speak English!” way too many times, I was more than happy to be welcomed into a place where the people were more interested in what I had to say than in what language I said it in. Also, you'd be amazed at what can be communicated with nonverbal hand gestures.
We had dinner in a small restaurant one evening. A local patron approached us and asked if we enjoyed Okinawan music. When we answered yes, he removed one of two traditional 3-string guitar-like Okinawan musical instruments hanging on the wall, just like a decoration at T.G.I. Fridays. He tuned it and began to play for us. After a stanza or two, the waitress began to sing along, and before long we were singing and dancing the night away, patrons and restaurant staff alike.
We visited a karate themed bar called “Dojo Bar”. After sharing a shot of snake venom (yes, we drank actual venom from a viper), we met a group of actual Okinawan karate masters and had the honor of conversation and demonstration right there in the bar.
Master Sensei Teruyuki Higa, students and family in front of the Budokan before the Uchinanchu Festival’s opening ceremony. Photograph courtesy of the author.
One morning, my wife and I broke away from the group to go to the beach. I have to admit that we were craving a more “American” breakfast and real cup of coffee. Therefore, we wound up at a staple of American cuisine that has invaded almost every corner of the globe, McDonald's, for some egg sandwiches and real coffee. The lady sitting next to us struck up a conversation. Generally speaking, everyone that we met wanted to know why we were there, usually inquiring about a familial connection. I would always answer by mentioning Sensei Higa and our dojo, my “family”, and our participation in the festival. This particular woman was fascinating. By the end of our breakfast together we found out that she was 85 years old, has over 90 children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. After a few minutes we had the feeling that she considered us family as well. As we got up to leave, she gave us her calling card and insisted that we stay with her next time we come. We loved the graciousness of her invitation and the expectation that she would be healthy and interested in hosting us when she was 90 years old. Where I live, a person in their mid-80's is usually infirm and/or shut into a nursing home. Okinawans have an immense respect the elderly and ensure that they are well cared for. This is something that we can all learn from.
Students of Sensei Teruyuki Higa with Hokama Sensei (standing in center) at his dojo and museum. Photograph courtesy of the author.
Our last day in Okinawa before the long trip back to New York was spent on the beach. As I floated in the cool water of the East China Sea, I had time to reflect on all that I had experienced on my journey to this wonderful place. There were so many great experiences and I wish that I could share them all. Upon my return, family and friends alike wanted to know how the trip went. How do you express such a joyous and peaceful feeling? Of course, I reported on the karate demonstrations, since that was what everyone assumed that I was there for. However, I will never be able to explain my hidden reason for my trip. I needed an infusion of the Uchinanchu spirit to further me on my path. I heard it described best in an article and feel now that I am “Okinawan by Appreciation”. The lessons learned in the dojo and the experiences I've had in Okinawa enable me to walk a deeper path of respect and appreciation for all that I experience.
About The Author
Mike Talish has been an athlete since starting football at seven years old. He came under the tutelage of caring volunteer coaches who stressed proper physical fitness. Through the years, his fascination with fitness and nutrition developed as he went on to participate in various sports and outdoor activities such as mountain bike racing, orienteering and rock climbing in particular. At age 20, Mike joined the U.S. Army as a medic. It was during this time that he was introduced to martial arts by one of his Sergeants, a former professional boxer, who trained him in hand to hand combat and bodyweight callisthenic exercises. When he left the military, he had a new perspective on applying exercise for health, coupled with a desire to help others with his knowledge. After an extensive search, he found that studying acupuncture would be the career that would most suit him. He has had a successful acupuncture practice in Long Island, N.Y. since 1999 and continues his martial arts and physical training to this day.