Am terminat de citit cartea de mai sus, care, desi titlul american nu o zice, e autobiografia lui Yutaka Yaguchi, unul din sensei-i care a adus shotokan-ul in America. Mersi Marius!
Faina cartea. Desi Sensei Yaguchi e un japonez de la tara care a descoperit adjectivele tirziu in viata, surprinzator cartea e faina chiar si din punct de vedere literar. Se simte clar stilul sec de japonez „old school” peste tot. Oricum, valoarea cartii e ca Yaguchi e unul dintre putinii sensei in viata care a prins karate-le de pe vremea lui Funakoshi pina in zilele noastre. Foarte fain sa poti lega toata perioada asta intr-o istorie coerenta.
Un paragraf care m-a uns:
„I plan never to retire. I believe retirement would probably hasten ill health and death for me. It seems that the moment I event begin thinking about retiring, I’ll start to feel bad, as though my health is already beginning to deteriorate. The thing that continues to drive me forward is my love for karate. If I retired, that would be gone, and there would be only a hole where all that drive and feeling resided. I believe that when you find a place where you can relax and retire, you let down the guard that protects you and preserves your health. Your spirit, when focused, keeps you healthy. As soon as you begin thinking about retirement, you lose the benefit of a focused spirit, and your health begins to deteriorate. The way I live and stay alive now is with my spirit.”