OSensei Hironori Ohtsuka

"I Never Fret About the Past.

I Concentrate On The Present
and Plan For the Future."
Hironori Ohtsuka was born on 1st June 1892 in Shimodate City Ibara!i "a#an. He was the
first son, and the second of four children, of Dr. Tokujuro Ohtsuka, a Doctor of Medicine. Ohtsuka
ensei was first introduced to !artial arts b" his #reat uncle, $hojiro %bashi, a sa!urai warrior,
who be#an teachin# hi! Jujitsu. This !arked the startin# &oint of his life'lon# fascination with the
!artial arts.
On the 1st (&ril, 189) *+ "rs , 1- !onths., Ohtsuka ensei started school where he studied
Shindo $oshin %yu "u&utsu , under the su#ervision o' his 'ather . /ater, when he was 10, he
studied the st"le under Shinzaburo Nakayama Sensei, the third 1rand Master of this st"le of
Jujutsu. 2nlike the other schools of jujutsu at the ti!e, hindo 3oshin 4"u s&eciali5ed in kickin#
and &unchin# techni6ues in addition to throwin#, twistin# and lockin# techni6ues.
Ohtsuka ensei continued to stud" the st"le while at 7aseda 2ni8ersit" fro! 191- to 191). He
also studied different st"les of Jujitsu, concentratin# on their &ositi8e as&ects. 9n doin# so, Ohtsuka ensei learned a #reat deal
about the bod":s 8ital &oints for both attackin# and healin# &ur&oses.
%i#ht "ears after his father died, after !uch dedicated stud", he took o8er the Mastershi& of hindo'3oshin'4"u Jujitsu fro!
Master ;aka"a!a after bein# &resented a certificate of <=ull >roficienc"< in that art. 9t was June 1, 1921, his 29th birthda".
Master Otsuka was the fourth !aster of hindo'3oshin'4"u Jujitsu.
9n 1922, Ohtsuka ensei attended the s&orts festi8al in Tok"o, where he encountered ?arate tau#ht b" (ichin Funakoshi, a
?arate instructor fro! Okinawa, and a !an widel" held as the <=ather of Modern ?arate<. Ohtsuka ensei was so i!&ressed
with this that he 8isited =unakoshi ensei on nu!erous occasions durin# his sta". =unakoshi ensei was, in turn, i!&ressed b"
Ohtsuka:s enthusias! and deter!ination to understand ?arate and a#reed to teach hi! all he knew about it. 9n the followin#
"ears, Ohtsuka ensei set u& a !edical &ractice dealin# with !artial arts injuries. His &rowess in !artial arts had led hi! to be
the $hief 9nstructor of hindo 3oshin 4"u Jujitsu at the a#e of just 0-, and an assistant instructor at =unakoshi ensei:s dojo.
@" 1929, Ohtsuka ensei was a re#istered !e!ber of the Ja&an Martial (rts =ederation. (t this ti!e, Okinawan ?arate onl"
concentrated on ?ata, which is a set se6uence of !o8e!ents a#ainst an i!a#inar" o&&onent *or #rou& of o&&onents.. Ohtsuka
ensei thou#ht that the full s&irit of @udo, which concentrates on defense and attack, was !issin#, and that kata techni6ues did
not work in realistic fi#htin# situations. He eA&eri!ented with other, !ore co!bati8e st"les such as Judo, ?endo and (ikido. He
blended the #ractical and use'ul elements o' Okina)an karate )ith traditional "a#anese martial*arts techni+ues 'rom
&u&itsu and kendo )hich lead to the birth o' ,umite , or fi#htin#, in ?arate. Ohtsuka ensei thou#ht that there was a need for
this !ore d"na!ic and fluid t"&e of ?arate to be tau#ht, so he decided to lea8e =unakoshi ensei to concentrate on de8elo&in#
his own st"le of ?arate ' Wado .
190+ &ro8ed to be a &i8otal "ear for both Ohtsuka ensei and 7ado ?arate. On =ebruar" 28th, Jiro ' Ohtsuka:s eldest son who
would one da" succeed his father ' was born. Durin# the sa!e "ear, 7ado'4"u ?arate was also officiall" reco#ni5ed as an
inde&endent st"le of ?arate. This reco#nition !eant a de&arture for Ohtsuka ensei fro! his !edical &ractice and the fulfill!ent
of a life:s a!bition ' to beco!e a full'ti!e !artial artist.
Ohtsuka Sensei-s #ersonali.ed style o' ,arate )as o''icially re!istered in /012 after he was awarded the rank of <4enshi'
#o<. He &resented a !a#nificent de!onstration of 7ado ?arate for the Ja&an Martial (rts =ederation. The" were so i!&ressed
with his st"le and co!!it!ent that the" acknowled#ed hi! as a hi#h'rankin# instructor. The neAt "ear, 1909, the Ja&an Martial
(rts =ederation asked all the different st"les to re#ister their na!es. Ohtsuka ensei re#istered the na!e 7ado'4"u *wa" of
>eace.. The neAt few "ears witnessed 7ado'4"u ?arate #oin# fro! stren#th to stren#th. ;ew dojos were o&enin# and ?arate
was bein# tau#ht at uni8ersities. Ohtsuka ensei hi!self was beco!in# a reco#ni5ed fi#ure within the world of !artial arts.
In /033 Ohtsuka Sensei )as a##ointed "a#ans Chie' ,arate Instructor . 9n 19+B Ohtsuka the second be#an to recei8e
eA&ert tuition fro! his father in 7ado'4"u ?arate.
=ro! this &oint until the 19C-s, 7ado'4"u ?arate re!ained on the three s!all islands of Ja&an. 9t was hardl" reco#ni5ed
outside of the east. Howe8er, in 19C0, a three !an tea! left Ja&an to de!onstrate 7ado'4"u ?arate to America and 4uro#e.
The tea! was co!&osed of (raka!a ensei, Takashi!a ensei and u5uki ensei. The i!&ressions the" left where8er the"
went were tre!endous, and 7ado'4"u ?arate soon beca!e reco#ni5ed world'wide.
Durin# this ti!e, Ohtsuka ensei continued to train and instruct 7ado'4"u ?arate in Ja&an. He was awarded the title ",un
(oto Suokuo ,yoku &u&itsu Shuo" in /055 b" the late %!&eror Horohito. 9t was &resented b" the %!&eror for his dedication to
the introduction and teachin# of karate. This dedication led to the further, historic, award of " 6ei&in " or The First 47cellent
6artial Artist in ,arate /8th 9an in /0:;. This was the first ti!e that this award has been #i8en to a &ractitioner of karate, and
was the sa!e status as that of ?"u5o Mifune in Judo and Hakuko ;aka"a!a in ?endo.
The !an, Hironori Otsuka, was as uni6ue and full of 8italit" as the st"le of karate he founded. %8en as an abo8e a8era#e !an
in his )-:s or 8-:s would &robabl" be content to rest and let others continue his work, not so Master Otsuka. ;e8er belie8in# that
he or e8en the !artial arts in #eneral had learned all there was to know, he continued to &ractice. >uttin# on his #i, he would
train e8er"da" for twent" !inutes on just one techni6ue and continue it for a full !onth. He re!arked one ti!e how he enjo"ed
walkin# on the unbelie8abl" crowded Tok"o streets so he could &ractice s!oothl" wea8in# and twistin# in the crowds without
lettin# an"one touch hi!.
Ohtsuka Sensei continued to teach and lead the world of 7ado'4"u karate into the 198-s. Ohtsuka the econd beca!e the
second 1rand Master of 7ado'4"u in 1982, takin# his father:s na!e, Hironori. Ohtsuka ensei &assed awa" &eacefull" on
Januar" 29th, 1982. Throu#hout the world where !artial arts are &racticed, he will continue to be re!e!bered for his enor!ous
contribution and indi8idual de8otion to 7ado ?arate. ( fittin# e&ita&h for hi! could surel" be a state!ent once !ade b" hi!D
"The di''erence bet)een the #ossible and the im#ossible is one-s )ill", for trul" to this #iant of @udo'ka, nothin# could
see! i!&ossible.
Shihan Cecil T. Patterson
The world of Martial Arts and Traditional ?aratedo lost one of its
!ost belo8ed and central fi#ures on October ;:th ;88;, with the
death of $ecil T. >atterson, 1st >resident and $hief 9nstructor of the
2nited tates %astern 7ado 4"u ?arate =ederation.
<orn on "une ;; /018, in the s!all !ountain town of Sevierville Tennessee.
>ro!&ted b" an earl", "outhful a&&reciation of law enforce!ent, >atterson ensei first
beca!e interested in the &racticalit" of self'defense while trainin# in =ederal /aw
%nforce!ent tactics under the =@9. /i!ited thou#h it was, it was this basic trainin# that
would i#nite his desire for a dee&er understandin# of the art of self'defenseE a desire
that would take hi! a world awa" fro! the !ountains of %ast Tennessee to the 8illa#e
of Iwakuni, on the banks of the Inland Sea in southern Ja&an.
tationed there durin# his tour of dut" in the 2 ;a8", >atterson ensei enrolled in a s!all 7ado Dojo under the
instruction of Sensei Kazuo Sakura ' one of the few rankin# senior students directl" under Master Ohtsuka.
Trainin# siA'se8en da"s e8er" week for hours each da", the "ears &assed with >atterson ensei #rowin# closer
e8er" da" to reali5in# his drea! of reachin# a dee&er understandin# of !artial arts.
9n 19B9, Mr. >atterson was ad8anced to the rank of San Dan, or, 0rd de#ree @lack @elt.
=i8e "ears later, he was &ro!oted to the rank of Yon Dan *+th de#ree. and in Dece!ber
of 19C8, Master Ohtsuka hi!self ad8anced >atterson ensei to the rank of Go Dan 'Bth
de#ree' the hi#hest rank achie8able in the 7ado s"ste! at that ti!e, !akin# $ecil
>atterson the hi#hest'ranked Occidental in the 7ado s"ste!, worldwide.
7ith that honor, howe8er, ca!e !an" res&onsibilitiesE includin# Master Ohtsuka:s
instruction that Mr. >atterson brin# the art of 7ado 4"u to the %astern 2nited tates. 9n
/052, that res&onsibilit" was fulfilled with >atterson ensei:s for!al establish!ent of The
US Eastern Wado Kai Federation, and takin# on the new res&onsibilit" of o8erseein#
the o&erations and instruction of all 7ado 4"u Dojos in the entire %astern half of the 2nited tates. 7ith the
for!ation of the first =ederation, howe8er, also ca!e reco#nition for $ecil >atterson. He ser8ed as both the tate
4e&resentati8e and the 4e#ional Director for the United States Karate Association, ser8in# also on that
or#ani5ation:s @oard of 4esearch. 9n addition, he beca!e one of the !ost reco#ni5ed and res&ected consultants to
federal and state law enforce!ent a#encies, lecturin# and instructin# on >olice Defensi8e Tactics at the Tennessee
/aw %nforce!ent (cade!", and ser8in# for +- "ears until his retire!ent as Director of the Arson and Fraud
Division for the Department of Commerce and Insurance for the state of Tennessee.
%8en well &ast )- "ears of a#e, this 6uiet, conte!&lati8e !an still
searched for that dee&er understandin#, trainin# e8er" da",
teachin# e8er" week, hostin# the "earl" 2%7= Tourna!ent,
and brin#in# his annual u!!er and 2w e!inars to hundreds
of 7ado students fro! 11 states. Holdin# the rank of achi!Dan
*8th De#ree @lack @elt. Mr. >atterson recei8ed !an" awards for
his role in karate, includin# bein# na!ed Father of Karate for the
tate of Tennessee, b" the ;ineteenth 1eneral (sse!bl", and
the &resti#ious "aster #htsuka Award, &resented to hi! b"
Hironori Otsuka 99 when 8isitin# Ja&an in 19)1. He authored two
books on 7ado 4"u karate and se8eral books on &olice
defensi8e tactics. On June 1Cth of 2--1. he was inducted into
the @lue#rass ;ationals &ort ?arate Hall of =a!e.
Mr. >atterson and wife Joan were blessed with four children, two sons
and two dau#hters. The oldest son John be#an trainin# in Judo and
?arate in 19C1 at the a#e of siA and continues to train in ?arate to this date. The eldest dau#hter holds a rank of
San!K$u *0rd De#ree @rown @elt. in Judo. The "oun#est son Michael also trains in karate.
The @ushido sa"s that <...a true samurai reflects his master$ of self in ever$ step% ever$ &reath%
and ever$ movement...< 7e ha8e lost a true sa!urai a #reat warrior, and a #entle !an of honor.