I spent more than a month in Johannesburg, and spent much of it training with Stan Schmidt, 7th Dan JKA. The man is not only an exceptional master of karate, he is also a complete gentleman. We talked many times, and he agreed to do a formal interview with me also.

1. Sensei, when did you first start karate, and what got you interested in it?

Well, in the late ‘50’s, I had been working in a bank, and also playing in a band. I played trumpet, and still do! I was into body-building at the time. The drummer in our band was fooling around one day, and challenged me to try to hold him down. He was a lot smaller than me, so I fancied my chances, but I couldn’t hold him for a second! Then he held me down, and I was helpless! This was my first introduction to Martial Arts - Judo. I joined a Judo club, and eventually earned my black belt, with the help of my Judo Sensei, Jimmy White, and learning ground work with Claude Chanu.

Then I broke my ankle, and was out of training. Someone gave me a book on karate. I read the line " The karate man never stops training", and was hooked! I started practising karate, learning it from books.

In 1963, I went to Japan for the first time, to learn karate and bring it back to South Africa. When I got there, I had had no formal karate training. However, I was thrown into the general class. This class consisted mainly of green belts to 3rd Dans! I was only a beginner, but they seemed to like my spirit. I remember one of the seniors, who later became an all-Japan champion, asked me to spar with him. I realise now that he could have beaten me at any time, but I knew no fear. I attacked with spirit, but not much technique! I was strong and did not have much control. I had spent many hours at home practising my kicks against trees and walls, and now I tried my favourite technique, a back kick. I caught him, knocked him back and winded him! I thought he would kill me, but instead he simply told me, "Your kumite is very good - 3rd Dan level."

With the help of many of the seniors, I worked hard on my kata, and by the time I went back to South Africa, I was awarded a brown belt. I received black belt the following year.

2. Who was your first Sensei?

Nakayama Shihan was my first teacher, but there were also Senseis Enoeda, Shirai and Kanazawa, all of whom played a very large part in inspiring me. Enoeda came to my house in 1965 and spent six months there! I learned a lot from him.

Also, later on, Senseis Nishiyama, Kase, Tanaka, Ochi, Yamaguchi, Shoji, Sugiura, Ueki, Okazaki and many more great Senseis greatly influenced my karate education.

3. In "Spirit of the Empty Hand" you talk about one of your visits to Japan, when you achieved your 3rd Dan. What was it like for westerners in Japan then?

It was like going to another planet! It was completely different from anything I had ever experienced. I had to learn fast. I made many mistakes, but the Japanese were very tolerant of my mistakes, because I think they could see I always tried to do the right thing. They often made jokes of my mistakes, using humour to teach me the correct etiquette.

Despite this, the training was very hard, and the Japanese instructors were very tough. Off the floor they were the opposite. They were very kind to me, and spent a lot of time educating me. Up until I met the Japanese I think had the character of a spoilt child. (My wife says I still do!) But my respect for the Senseis in Japan was such that I tried very hard to be like them, in both karate and character. I am still trying today.

4. Why do you think the Japanese masters took such an interest in you?

I’m not sure. I think it had to do with the belief I had in myself. I always said I was never going to get hit. It wasn’t arrogance, just self-belief and spirit. I had that spirit by the grace of God, whom I have always trusted in.

Others used to wear gum shields and groin guards when going training, but I just said that I wouldn’t need them as I was not going to be hit. Maybe I have just been lucky, but I never did get hit in the groin, and I still have all my teeth!

I don’t advocate this for people today. For tournaments it is compulsory to wear these things for safety’s sake, and this is important.

5. How often do you go back to Japan now? (And who do you train with when you go there?)

I try to go back every year, although sometimes this is not possible. I would say I have been back at least 25 times in 34 years.

I now train with Sensei’s Sugiura, Ueki, Tanaka and others on the International Instructors Course in Japan. I am also a member of the Shihan-kai there, so I attend their meetings, and I sit on the grading panel there.

6. How different is it from when you went first?

Japan itself has changed a lot since the early days, but so has everywhere else. Karate in Japan has not changed much at all however. My perceptions and attitudes towards it have changed as I have grown older and (I hope) more mature. I learn every time I visit there, particularly with regard to ‘myo’, or subtle secrets.

I believe that the ‘tap root’ (chief instructor or shihan-kai) of every country should go to Japan regularly to help each national organisation to grow. As far as I know, we in South Africa send more instructors to Japan every year than any other country.

7. You have a new book out now, called " Meeting Myself - Beyond Spirit of the Empty Hand". Can you tell us a bit about it?

Well, ‘Spirit of the Empty Hand’, which was published by Randell Hassell of Focus Publications, has been a Martial Arts best-seller for over ten years. It deals with a ten year period of my karate experiences. Randell has been urging me for years to write the full story of my karate life. I have been reluctantly working on it for five years, on and off. I have always been more interested in my other projects, and did not really want to write about myself, but a lot of people have been asking me for a long time to do it, so I finally finished the book. However, I hope that the story of my karate life will continue for a long time to come!

The new book tells of the time that C.W. Nicol (author of ‘Moving Zen’) and I spent together in Japan, as well as my karate experiences before and after the period dealt with in the first book.

Actually, Nic (C.W. Nicol) and I have remained good friends over the years. He phoned me recently, having read ‘Meeting Myself’ and wants to visit me here. Nic is a great man. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a great explorer, writer and conservationist highly respected and famous on Japanese T.V.

8. You also have other publications forth-coming?

Yes, I have another book just finished. It is called ‘Myo’, which means ‘subtle secrets’. I would describe it as a mythological karate book - it is neither fact nor fiction. Twelve subtle secrets of karate are revealed in the two parts to the book. I am very excited about it, and hope that it will be published in the near future.

9. Who do you look up to in karate?

There are so many people - past and present, particularly all of the Senseis that have come from the JKA, and other styles of karate.

I also look up to other people who exhibit the qualities of karate, possibly without ever doing the art! One such person is Nelson Mandela. He showed indomitable spirit throughout his 27 years in prison, and finally achieved his goal because of this.

I have at least a hundred heroes, in and out of karate! Maybe YOU (the reader) are one of them!

10. You have had both hips replaced. What happened and how has this changed your outlook on life, and your karate training?

I was involved in two car accidents within two years of each other. The first was about ten years ago. I was hit from behind, and propelled into a car in front. This had the effect of pushing my torso backwards, and my legs forwards. I took the brunt of the impact in the hip joints. There was a lot of soft tissue damage done inside the hip joints, where the femur had been rammed into the hip bones.

I also had whiplash, and was given strong painkillers for that. This masked the pain in my hips. I went straight back into training, being careful of my neck, but not knowing that I was exacerbating the serious damage to my hips. Eventually, over a period of a couple of years, the damage became more apparent.

I had two total hip replacements. The first operation was in 1990, and the second was in 1992.

My outlook changed totally. In a sense I was reborn. I had to relearn how to walk and I started appreciating the simple things in life all over again. I felt like a white belt again.

I always had strength and spirit. Now I had to learn gentleness, finesse and forgiveness. I learned that you can achieve more by remaining calm, and keeping your emotions stable, than by trying too hard to overpower an opponent. I found that correct utilisation of energy was very necessary. Efficiency of motion, good technique, focus of energy and reserving energy all became very important to me, and I try to teach these concepts now.

Also, I now appreciate the skills of others more, where before I felt ‘threatened’ by anyone who was better than me at anything. I always felt that I should try to beat them at their own game. Now I realise that we all have strengths and weaknesses, and I can appreciate the uniqueness of others.

I am trying to be more of an encouraging influence to those I meet.

11. You have devised your own kata, with beautiful flowing moves, and very effective bunkai. Can you tell us the inspiration behind it?

The kata developed after my hip operations. I was laid up for quite a while, and the ideas for the movements came to me then. When I was well enough to move around, I developed it further. Some of my Japanese friends have named the kata for me. They gave it the name Uki Kata, which means Floating Log Kata or Floating Tree Kata.

During my recovery period, I was unable to perform the regular kata, because the turns caused me pain, but for some reason the moves in my personal kata did not cause any pain.

I do not believe that I created this kata, I feel that it was given to me from Above. I could never make up a kata like that.

12. What is your tokui kata? What adjustments (if any) did you have to make on account of your hips?

I am rediscovering kata on account of my hips. After developing Uki kata, I found the Tekki katas to be the next ones that I could manage. I spent a lot of time working on them. After that, I added Hangetsu, as I gradually strengthened.

One of my favourite kata today is Nijushiho. I love the flowing movements, and the ‘feel’ of the kata. I was wrestling with the problem that the two side-thrust kicks were presenting me with, and I felt for a while that I would never be able to do this beautiful kata properly again. Then I saw some footage of Funakoshi Sensei himself in 1924. He performed Nijushiho with no side kicks! He did fumi-komi geri (stamping kick) instead. I knew I could do that, so now this has once again become my favourite kata. I am proud to be able to do it, and in a way that is even more traditional than the current way.

I have learned that the secret is to adapt the kata (or karate itself) to suit your own body or circumstances. To do this, without changing the meaning of the kata, is to make the art your own. This is also ‘myo’ or a subtle secret.

13. I happen to know that you just turned 61, but (despite the hip replacements) you look and train like a man many years younger than that. What is your secret?

Regular training and enjoying it! There are days for hard training, and days for soft training, but there is always training! We have a little poem about this here:

"If you want to ride on the road to Gain,
The password friend is,
Train man, Train!"

I also believe that my health is helped by good, simple daily habits - and a few bad ones! My bad habit would be sipping from a glass of sparkling wine at sunset with my wife and friends.

14. Kanazawa Sensei is now teaching kata from other styles to his black belt students. One of the reasons he says he is doing this is to introduce shiko-dachi, which we do not use in any traditional Shotokan kata. He feels that this stance puts less pressure on the joints, particularly for older karate-ka. What do you think of this concept?

Brilliant! Once again, Kanazawa Sensei has shown his vision and leadership. He has always been willing to look beyond the confines of a single style and seek value in others. He is also a prime example of how karate can keep you young if you train properly, and adjust the training as you get older. Of course, he is also a Master in Tai Chi, and he brings the Tai Chi principles into his karate, and vice versa.

15. I have come to you to train as a visitor from abroad and you have made me very welcome. How do you feel about your students training in other clubs?

Early on in their training I do not think it is such a good idea for students to train in different dojos or styles, as it often confuses them and ends up slowing down their development. Once a student has reached "karate maturity" ( 2nd or 3rd Dan or above), I encourage them to go and train in other dojos that I recommend to them. No one instructor has all the abilities to satisfy all their senior students needs, so it is important for them to go and learn from others. When my students reach about 5th Dan I tell them they can train wherever they want, as they should be able to decide for themselves what is useful and what is not. When they come back with something that they have learned, I learn from them! This is important to me, to be able to keep on learning.

People may feel I am enforcing too much on my students early on in this manner, but I contend that karate begins with discipline. Then it moves to semi-freedom, and finally to total freedom. Total freedom is not possible without discipline! This is the principle of Shu-ha-ri.

16. What are your plans for the future?

I want only to be an assistance to the karate world. No, not just an assistance, I would like to be a blessing to all karateka. I feel that I have sometimes not done this as well as I should have, but I want to make a difference in a positive way, particularly with relationships between different Senseis, and between all practitioners of the Art of the Empty Hand.

We have a number of outstanding Senseis in the world. My hope is that they one day get the global credit and recognition that they deserve. Through the media, the world should be allowed to see the true soul of karate which lies in these instructors. They have given me soul.

17. What do you mean by ‘soul’?

True karate trains body, soul and spirit. For me, soul is our emotions (how we feel), mind (how and what we think) and will (what we want to do or achieve). Through karate, we learn to control these things. We train our body with technical skills, fitness and conditioning, in order to achieve a calm physical state and stable emotions under pressure. To me, spirit is ‘Ki’. It is our life-force, our energy. This is the first thing we try to harness in karate training. The spirit is trained and focused through the discipline in our training. This is as Funakoshi Sensei himself said, "Spirit first - then technique."

18. You teach a lot of grappling and groundwork in your karate classes. Why is this?

We don’t teach a lot of groundwork, but we do a little in most classes. It is a part of fighting, so it should be brought into karate more, but it must be in a controlled or gentle way. We see it as an extension of kumite. We apply karate moves on the floor. Karate techniques are groundwork, and groundwork is karate. The two are inter-twined.

19. You apply the techniques that you take from the bunkai in kata?

Absolutely! A lot of techniques in kata can be applied on the ground, and it is always interesting to see things from a different perspective. People have often been astounded when I teach them a technique on the ground to put their opponent in a hold, and then show them the kata that the move came from! Again, I feel that this area of our art is neglected.

20. A large number of students in S.A. JKA have been very successful in karate tournaments, including winning JKA and all-styles world titles. What is your feeling on tournaments today, compared to in the 60’s?

I believe that tournaments have moved away from the concept of "one killing blow". This had more meaning in the old days. Tournaments are a lot more sport orientated now, and geared towards TV audiences. Before, there would be very few strikes, but they were all very effective. In a lot of cases nowadays, there are a lot more strikes and flashy techniques, but they would not be really effective in a self-defence situation. However, the athletes are excellent at what they do!

In the old days, people never went down, no matter how hard they were hit. It was a matter of honour. Now I see people go down after the slightest of touches, to try and get their opponent disqualified. To me, this is cowardice. These people have no spirit. I always tell my students "Don’t show". This applies to telegraphing their techniques, but also to not showing pain or weakness. This is important to develop strong character for life as well as for karate.

If you look at boxing, those guys take some heavy blows and just shake their heads and carry on. That is fighting spirit. A lot of "sport karate-ka" are lacking in this fighting spirit.

Don’t get me wrong. There are also a great many karate-ka that compete in tournaments who have excellent fighting spirit and who are true warriors.

I also don’t believe in attending tournaments too often. I know of a lot of karate-ka who attend tournaments almost every week! You cannot peak your fitness and sharpness every week! People should learn how to train properly, and build up towards a tournament. Two or three tournaments per year should be sufficient. How many boxing champions defend their title every week?

I worry about the number of "sports coaches" that are getting involved in the Martial Arts. Some of these people do not understand the Art. I know of one student of mine who could break through twelve roof tiles with his fist, and an all-styles coach told him he could not punch!

There is a sporting aspect to karate, which is important, but it must not be allowed to take over the Art.

21. Finally, Sensei, what advice do you have for the next generation of karate-ka?

I would say, "The way you conceive your future sculpts your present." If you want something for the future, you must believe it will happen and work towards the goal. I have found that if you work hard towards something that you really want, nothing is impossible.

Thank you very much, Sensei.

It was a pleasure!

Sensei Stan Schmidt was the first non-Japanese to receive 7th Dan in the JKA. He is the chief instructor for S.A. J.K.A. and runs the South African Hombu Dojo in Johannesburg.

Stan Schmidt Sensei Click to see a picture of Stan Schmidt and Seamus O'Dowd.