The Birth of a New Core Memory

In February of this year, my wife and I took our son (1 year 8 months at the time) to Okinawa for the first time. Part of this was a short family holiday somewhere tropical over the winter, but another part of it was to introduce George to the members of the Jundokan So-honbu Dojo.

When we arrived at around 7pm one night, a crew of people were already waiting to greet us, including Kancho and his wife, Takako-sensei; Gima-sensei, Kinjo-sensei, Higa-sensei, and more.

George happily went to Takako-sensei who immediately picked him up, before he was passed around to other sensei too. Then he had free reign to wander around the historic dojo, touching legendary makiwara and chi-ishi, all under the watchful eye of some of the greatest karate masters in the world.

I remember watching this all unfold and taking a moment to appreciate just how lucky we were to be there, but also how incredibly kind and caring the Jundokan masters really are.

Here they were doting over my son—a one-year old child they had never met before—happily sharing their time chasing him, playing with him, and watching over him tear around their dojo. They took time out of their own training and entertain us as visitors, which is something I will forever be grateful for.

For George, he was simply happy to have people to play with, blissfully unaware of how highly-renowned they really were.  And if you didn’t know any better, it would be near impossible to tell.

But for me, this is one of the things that makes the Jundokan so special. There is no ego, no level of separation or distance between “them and us”. It is a family (as cheesy as that might sound!), and one that I am very happy and proud to be apart, and excited about the prospect that George too may one day decide to follow in their footsteps.

For half an hour, I watched Takako-sensei, Gima-sensei, Kinjo-sensei, Higa-sensei, and other members of the Jundokan run around after my son, interacting with him as if he was already a Jundokan member.

I’m confident this was the birth of a new core memory for George (it certainly was for me!).

I look forward to the day when George can train under the masterful support of those within the Jundokan walls, and so that he too might learn a level of humility and modesty that sets the Jundokan apart from anywhere else.