bree-deh!

Clarence "Hindu" Ewing and I were at Shimabuku's dojo at every opportunity. We would work out for several hours at a time, outdoors, barefoot on the concrete floor, in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. The Marine Corps paid our dojo fees.

Sensei Shimabuku would either be working out himself, correcting our movements and style, or sipping hot green tea, sometimes pounding a nail into a board with his calloused hand. When I was doing sanchin, a kata (form) based on deep and sustained breathing and the tensing and relaxing of muscles, he would at times come and kick or punch my body. This helped my focus.

I never cared for belt rankings (or awards of any other kind in my life), but was out entirely for the experience. I enjoyed pounding the makiwara with straight punches, chops, and elbow strikes. I liked attacking the body bag hanging from its chain with stationary and flying kicks. My body, mind, and spirit opened to the katas, their intricacies, and their martial meaning. Eventually, I added bo and sai to the empty-hand maneuvers.

Though Sensei Shimabuku never used the word "zen" (his English was rudimentary and my Okinawan was almost non-existent), I learned the basics of that profound ability to attend to the now with no reflection, no "self" consciousness, from him.

Sensei put on a demonstration and asked his students to be on the stage with him. The audience area was packed, mostly with Okinawans. I stood off to one side with other students expecting nothing more (which was plenty!) than to quietly observe. All of a sudden I heard Sensei shout loudly: "Bree-deh!" (which is how he pronounced my name). "Chinto!" Gulp! The fifth kata in the series (seisan, seiuchin, neihanchin, wansu, chinto) and my favorite. I moved to center stage and into preparation posture, where I shifted out of self-consciousness and into heightened awareness. The flow flowed.

I was working out at the dojo one day, wearing my white belt (I had been awarded "higher" belts but did not wear them), when Sensei Shimabuku abruptly stood in front of me. "Bree-deh! Black belt no stay?" "No, Sensei." He turned and walked off. A few days later, he gave me a black belt, one I still have, somewhat shredded from wear.