A True Master

I received a video from Kancho Sims sensei yesterday afternoon, with some instruction and demonstration. I was again struck by how fast, sure, and powerful he is - at seventy-something. But he's not "fast for seventy" or "strong for seventy"; any young bloke would be doing damn well to keep up.

It really doesn't matter how black your belt is, what degree your dan, how high up you might be in your organisation, or whatever; you're only as good as your last kata. Here, demonstrating a bit of the kata Hangetsu, it is clear that Kancho remains every bit as good as one would expect for a 9th dan. 

And this is just a photo of a still frame...

I am very fortunate that his was the karate school my parents happened to put me in many years ago. I read a lot of horror stories about McDojos; about sensei clearly in it just for the money; about teachers who rest on their laurels and don't develop, progress, or even keep up; about sensei who are not people you could respect. I'm fortunate that my sensei (thirty years ago, and again now) is everything one would expect and hope for in a karate Master.

So here he is:

Flickr.

Even though I really like this, of the ANZAC bikkies I made (it being the ANZAC weekend, so there was no question but that they had to be).

(Some good wide-open performance there, I reckon.)

Bae@2.5;K30.

And I did a B&W selective colour thing of my purple squiggle from yesterday.