"My love affair and obsession with the martial arts started in the winter of 1945 and has continued for the last 60 years."
We all know the names like Funakoshi, Yamaguichi, Nishiyama and Kyuzo Mifune but for most of us they are only figments of our imagination. We wish we could have known them personally or better yet trained with these the masters of Post World War II Japan but this was nearly 60 years ago and most of us were not even born yet.
Yamaguichi and chain – Never before published photo Copyright 1955 Hal E. Sharp. Reproduced with permission.
Names like Donn Draeger, Henri Phlee and more recently Patrick McCarthy have all traveled to Japan to study the martial arts and have gained fame from their writings and experience but there was one man who came first and did more then just study and write about the martial arts.
His name is Harold E. Sharp. In the winter of 1945 he was deployed by the US Army in the occupation of Japan which was the beginning of a life time love affair with the martialarts.
Not only was Hal Sharp a Judoka and a competitive Judoka he was an avid writer, photographer / cinematographer and had a passion for anything Japanese. He not only studied with the best martial artists in Post W.W.II but he also photographed them and filmed them plus he was the personal body guard of the Emperor Of Japan on one occasion and he even photographed him getting him to smile for the camera which was unheard of in those days.
Sharp San as he likes to be called is truly from the old school. He competed in and won Japan's 1 st Foreigner Judo Championships in 1954 and was presented with a beautiful silver sake cup from the Prince of Japan as his award in a private ceremony. He would later give this sake cup to his would be wife when he asked her to marry him as he had nothing else of value.
He was so talented and well liked in Japan's Kodokan that Judo Giant Kyuzo Mifune (Judo's legendary 10th Dan) sent a special representative to ask Sharp to come train with him but doing the honorable thing he politely declined as he was training with his Sensei Kawakami in one of the small village dojo's in the outskirts of Tokyo.
We asked Hal why he ever left Japan if he was so in love with the Japanese and their culture? "It was a strange thing" said Hal "I really loved Japan and have been back a few times but I honestly felt I was becoming Japanese and I wasn't. I was involved in a court martial as an auditor and after I finished my testamony the whole place started to laugh at me. I couldn't figure out why until my assistant told me what I had done. I was training so much and involved so much in Judo I had bowed with traditional dojo ettiquette in an American court. I then sensed that Japan and all its culture and I were becoming one; it was time to go and I left two weeks after I discovered I was becoming Japanese but I have never lost my love for the martial arts and it is still as strong as when I was first thrown by a friend in his living room in Tsumashima when I made that big mistake and said what is Judo. I just love the smell of a dojo and sweaty old gi's it has just never got out of my blood and I am sure many of your readers feel the exact same thing."
We asked Sharp San to tell us in his own words what each of these great masters were like.
Kyuzo Mifune – "Well Kyuzo Mifune was simply poetry in motion. Watching him one could truly understand what is meant by the sweet spot (this the point where there is no chance for your opponent) in Judo. He could hit it nearly every time. He was a small man in statute but no one could throw him he seemed to float across the floor he was just so smooth plus he was a real gentlemen."
Gichin Funakoshi – "What amazed me about Funakoshi Sensei was the undaunting respect he was given by his students. They almost seemed to worship the ground he walked on. He had this almost glow about him of niceness."
Gogen Yamaguichi – Well Gogen Yamaguichi and I actually became very very good friends. He asked me on more then one occasion to come train with him but I was involved deeply in Judo at the time we used to train at least six days a week and sometimes seven and we would train usually 3 hours a night. We were really obsessed. But Yamaguichi had so much charisma it is was amazing and this is the thing that impressed me about him and his breathing forms and how he used that ball and chain. Then there was the time when we were at his dojo and he taught me some self defence moves and then demonstarted on a supporting post in the dojo. It really was amazing the entire building shook and the dust off of the rafters was flying all over the place. He really had a lot of power.
Hidetaka Nishiyama – Well I became close to many of the Japanese Sensei's and a Judo Sensei of mine Ishikawa was very good friends of Nishiyama. On one occcasions we went to visit what they called a living God as Ishikawa was really into the mind power of martial arts. He really explored this aspect of martial arts. Nishiyama Ishikawa and I all jumped into my car and went to visit this master and I will only say this Nishiyama and I pulled a good joke on Ishikawa that night. The three of us laughed a lot and we did share a lot of sake. I just met him again after almost 50 years of not seeing him and it was as if time had stood still. All the good memories came back for us both. I gave him a rare photo I took of his Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, I am sure he liked it no one else has this photo as I personally took it and still have the negative of it.
Was there anyone else you met Hal that impressed you a great deal in your martial arts journey? Well Mito Ueyhara and I were very close when Black Belt Magazine started in fact it was I would helped get Black Belt off the ground. A Chinese gentleman came to me and asked if I would help him start a martial arts magazine called Black Belt his name was Edmund Jung. He used to put me in his magazine as a technical advisor all the time and Mito did as well. I introduced him to all the right people back in the early 1960's and then after a couple of months he sold it to Mito who really did something with it. Anyway he asked me to come out to Black Belt and be apart of a round table and discuss the idea of having a martial arts convention with Tsutomo Oshima and some others. There was a young man there that day who was full of energy and was a class act all the way. He was just like the rest of us he was totally enthusiastic with martial arts and was truly a creative and original thinker. He was the absolutely most charismatic person I have ever met his name of course was Bruce Lee. He was small but in excellent shape and totally obsessed with all martial arts just like the rest of us. He was not a big star at the time as he had just finished doing the Green Hornet series but he sure did leave a lasting impression on me.
Hal was a real photo and film buff so to speak. He always had the latest and best equipment as his brother back in the USA would send him all the latest equipment as he too was into photography. His skills fast became known in Japan not just on the tatami but also in photography. He eventually shot over 5000 still photos and hours upon hours of film including now rare footage of kobudo, karate ( he shot Takayuki Mikami doing Bassai and all the basics of karate in 1955) plus he also shot the 1st World Judo Championships in 1956 in Tokyo. This tournament is what lead Judo to getting into the Olympics in 1964.
The 1st World Judo Championships was the result of very successful tour of American Judokas including Hal Sharp, Judo Gene LeBelle and George Harris. This was the result of the most important demonstration ever in American Martial Arts History. In 1953 when SAC (Strategic Air Command) invited Japans best martial artists to come and demonstrate in America. Mel Bruno was the organizer at this end for this event. Karate sent I. Obata and Hidetaka Nishiyama, while Aikido sent Kenji Tomiki and Judo sent their best as well in Kotani and Ishigawa, Tai Ho Jitsu sent Hosagawa. We asked Hal what of all are his favorite photo's? He said "I have few that I am especially proud of, but the one on the front cover of my book the Sport of Judo is probably my favorite plus of course the photo of Funakoshi and the one of Yamaguichi are right up there as well. Then again the footage I took of the kobudo and bo training is very significant. Then there is the footage I took of Mikami doing kata and then there is….." Ok Ok HAl we get the picture if you will pardon the pun.
Hal Sharp has just signed a deal with Hollywood's Rising Sun Productions to release all this rare footage and these rare photos as soon as possible to the martial arts world. "I just want to share my love of the martial arts with the rest of my martial arts obsessed brothers" said Hal.
The first to be released will be "KARATE The Art Of Empty Hand Fighting" which will have a rare film Hal attained in 1955 in which H. Nishiyama and M Nakayama are featured and it is all in tact including the narration and the sound effects in fact it is in almost mint condition. This was shot at the same time as Nishiyama Sensei wrote and photographed his classic "Karate The Art of Empty Hand Fighting" still a best seller . This was the norm in those early days to shoot film and photos at the same time. There will be that demonstration of Takayuki Mikami doing Bassai, all the basics and students practising makiwara in 1955 at the Japan Karate Institute this was before the JKA (Japan Karate Association) was even formed. Also included will be an interview that lasted close to 90 minutes with Hidetaka Nishiyama in 1999 in which he does a tell all on the JKA from its inception till now.
The Second release in the series will be called "The Japanese Martial Arts I Knew and Loved – 1940's and 50's" This will include all the rare photos and film of kobudo, sumo, karate, naginata, ju jitsu, judo, kendo, iaido and much more. You will see and here the whole story from Hal himself as he tells you why he was privy to training and knowledge that not even the Japanese students were given, how they became jealous and in some cases tried to take it out on him on the tattami. While others accepted him for what he was and almost adopted him as a family member. Truly a fascinating story.
In summary Hal Sharp is most certainly one of the Martial Arts elder statesmen and his experiences and knowledge needed to be shared and recorded for those who will come after us all. His new series of DVD's will be called "BUSHIDO."
"This is something that embarasses me as I never shot one photo or took one frame of film for anyone other then myself but I guess its time to share these old treasures of mine and to have them called BUSHIDO is truly humbling."
Something tells us there is still some of that Japanese culture in this old warrior.
Hal Sharp is still teaching Judo twice a week in southern California at the Gardena Judo Club. Plus he still has his cameras and most recently went to Las Vegas to film the US/International Judo Championships. Oh yes he just took a course in advanced editing of films as well.
