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Karate for a "Better Human Being"
William H. Rabacal and
Matsubayashi Ryu Karate
by Wayne Muromoto
Tara Higa, a young brown belt student of William Rabacal, concentrates as she practices her kata form.
No matter how you may excel in the art of te
and in your scholastic endeavors,
nothing is more important than your behavior
and your humanity as observed in daily life.--Teijunsoku (Nago Oyakata) as quoted in
The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do
by Nagamine Shoshin.
The youngsters sit in painful seiza on a worn and cold concrete floor. And they don't move an inch. In an age of instant gratification and the 30-second sound bite, that's quite an accomplishment. But for William H. Rabacal, chief instructor of the Aiea Matsubayashi Ryu Karate Dojo, it's just part of another practice session in the basement floor of the Taiheiji Soto Mission of Aiea, every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning.
You see, Rabacal could care less if any of his students became top-ranked tournament fighters or karate action movie stars. What he's concerned with is building the character of his deshi (students), so that they turn into model citizens. He's kicked out promising karateka from his class because they couldn't live up to his strict no-fighting, no trouble-making rules. Rabacal emphasizes self-discipline, taking responsibility for your own actions, and respecting others.
"Jibun no koto wa jibun de suru," he admonishes a youngster during a recent practice session in the basement of the Taiheiji Buddhist temple in Aiea, a suburb just under the shadow of Pearl Harbor and the Aloha Stadium. Take responsibility for your life. Everything else, including precision kata and spirit, comes easily after you understand this basic code of living.
Rabacal, a sixth dan renshi in the Matsubayashi Ryu system of Okinawan karate, began his own training in the late 1950s. As a Filipino-Japanese growing up in then-rural Aiea, he always wanted to take up martial arts, but his mother didn't want him to get involved in what she considered roughhousing. Perhaps, Rabacal conjectures, it was because she thought it would get him into more trouble, since he was already somewhat of a rascal in his younger days. In any case, he studied karate under different teachers before focusing on Japanese-style karate, then in 1965 he switched to Okinawan karate. Subsequently, he established a direct relationship with Nagamine Shoshin, who had developed the Matsubayashi Ryu form of Okinawan Shorin-ryu karate. (Nagamine is the author of The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do and serves as an advisor to his son, Takayoshi, who is the present head of the world-wide Matsubayashi Ryu organization.)
The 68-year-old Rabacal began his classes quietly some 30 years ago, only recently and reluctantly increasing his dues from $6/month to $10/month. Since it was never a money-making venture, his classes grew through word-of-mouth, without advertising, to its present size of approximately 75 students.
William H. Rabacal (standing, right) and the Matsubayashi Ryu
class at Aiea Taiheiji Soto Mission."I want the children here to learn. If I charge too much, some of their parents won't be able to afford it," Rabacal states simply. A retired fire captain, Rabacal divides his time between teaching karate, playing shakuhachi with some friends, teaching zazen, calisthenics and bojutsu (staff fighting) to senior citizens, and spending regular free time with his family. He also keeps himself busy as a part-time worker with the Elderly Affairs Division of the City and County of Honolulu.
Students bow in and carefully place their slippers and shoes neatly on the edge of the concrete training area. If they are in any way messy, Rabacal sensei threatens to throw their footwear in the trash can. Discipline and respect begins at the dojo door.
Rabacal studied Zen meditation and feels that zazen is an important part of martial arts. He incorporates it into his training regime, even for children.
After zazen meditation, the students go through warm-up and strengthening exercises for 20 minutes or so, then move into basic forms and kata. A short break in the middle of practice allows the children to rest a bit, and then it's back to more kata practice. Sometimes students practice ippon kumite (prearranged partner practice) or jiyu kumite (sparring), but they're not as emphasized as basics and kata.
Charles Goodin, one of Rabacal's assistant instructors, notes that, "We don't emphasize the sparring type of kumite too much. . . Karate ni sente nashi (in karate, there is no first aggressive movement). Our movements are basically countering movements. . . Training is (therefore) geared around kata."
That is not to say that the Aiea dojo's students are wimps. Rabacal points out a couple of his senior students. One of them destroyed Rabacal's makiwara punching pad with the power of his gyaku-zuki punch. And Rabacal's youngsters are steely-eyed in their practice, as they move through each grueling kata without giving up.
Goodin notes, "We never go to tournaments. We don't do shows except we have a (Christmas) demonstration just for the families (of the students). Afterwards we have the demonstrations and the pot luck (sharing food). Because it's not commercial, we're not going to do anything (just) to boost enrollment. We just train for self-discipline."
It is very rare for any youngster to attain brown belt level before they are teenagers, although Rabacal sensei relented in the case of a few very exceptional children whose kata were outstanding. But no one attains black belt until they're at least 16 or 17 years old.
"We have natural movements," Rabacal says about the special characteristic of the Matsubayashi Ryu. There are 18 kata, including Fukyugata Ichi, formulated by Nagamine Shoshin in 1940. The style makes use of natural stances, and does not include the Sanchin kata seen in the Goju-ryu style. To build up the muscles, the three Naihanchi kata are used in place of Sanchin.
Basic kata include the Fukyugata Ichi, Fukyugata Ni (developed by Miyagi Chojun of the Goju-ryu, created in 1940), the Pinan series of kata (1-5, by Itosu Anko, circa 1907), and Naihanchi 1-3. Advanced kata include: Ananku, Wankan, Rohai, Wanshu, Passai, Gojushiho, Chinto, and Kusanku. There are also weapons kata for traditional Okinawan weapons, including the bo (staff).
The Matsubayashi Ryu style of Shorin-ryu karate was developed by Nagamine Shoshin. According to a handout from Rabacal's dojo, the name was to honor Nagamine's teachers' teachers. Matsumura Sokon taught Kyan Chotoku, one of Nagamine's teachers. Matsumora Kosaku was the teacher of Motobu Choki. The title Matsubayashi Ryu was formulated in 1947. Nagamine took the character for pine tree or matsu, and added to the word for forest, or hayashi, which is alternatively pronounced -rin (the character found in Sho-rin-ryu karate).
Daniel Sakuma, 4th Dan, and Brian Higuchi, 5th Dan. The photos are from the kata Naihanchi Shodan, Kusanku and Gojushiho, respectively.
In the Bugei Ryuha Daijiten, by Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi, it notes that Nagamine was born in Meiji 47 (1915) in Naha, Okinawa. Besides his primary teachers Kyan Chotoku and Motobu Choki, he also studied with Kuba Chojin, Shimabuku Taro and Arakaki Ankichi. The book Okinawan Karate, by Mark Bishop, notes another teacher, Iha Kodatsu.
Charles Goodin, 3rd Dan. The photos are from the kata Pinan Shodan.According to Bishop's book, Nagamine was a farmer's son, who took up karate training to improve his health. He was drafted into the Japanese army in 1928, returning to Okinawa in 1931, where he began a long career with the local police force. Nagamine studied kumite and self-defense aspects of karate under Motobu Choki when he was at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Academy in 1936.
Nagamine also held a kendo ranking, and opened his first karate dojo in 1942 in Tomari. The dojo was destroyed in the Battle of Okinawa, and he struggled to build another one, balancing the needs of his occupation as head of the police force at Motobu. Nagamine finished his current dojo, the Kodokan, at Naha after retiring from the police force in 1953.
Bishop also notes that Nagamine was an avid disciple of Zen Buddhism and incorporates zazen as part of his karate training regime.
"I want the children to have self-discipline, to learn the value of becoming better human beings, and to practice daily the teachings of our master. He really wants us to practice Zen and karate, and to respect our parents," Rabacal says. "I want them to help other people before themselves, don't get an egotistical mentality but you will still be powerful enough to cope with our society. We believe in shizuka na kokoro (a peaceful, quiet spirit). . . I want the kids to be respectful, to stay within the boundaries of self-discipline."
While Rabacal uses Zen and Buddhist analogies in his karate teachings, he notes that the religious sect you belong to is not as important as the end result and proper attitude you carry with you. "I was Catholic. I became Buddhist. It's all the same. All human beings are the same, no matter what (religion) it is. They just follow a different trumpet blowing."
Note: Sensei William Rabacal and the Aiea Matsubayashi Ryu Karate Dojo may be contacted at: goodin@lava.net
Copyright ©Tengu Press Wayne Muromoto. All rights reserved.
