Sensei Suzuki (left) with Ashihara, founder Hideyuki Ashihara.
Copyright – Marc Wickert
(previously published in FIGHT TIMES magazine)
Ashihara Karate was developed in 1980 out of the necessity for a style of Karate that would be effective in today's society. It was founded by Hideyuki Ashihara, who trained in Kyokushin Karate for twenty years, before formulating the more street-orientated discipline of Ashihara, which counter-measures Kyokushin techniques. Shihan Hideyuki was renowned for his ability to avoid an opponent's head-on striking power, by moving to the opponent's blind side, and counter-attacking. Hideyuki called this system of combat, where defence and offence are combined, Sabaki, which he documented in the movie "The Strongest Karate".
In 1979, Hideyuki departed from Kyokushin Karate to pursue his contemporary style of Karate, and, in 1980, opened the New International Karate Organisation – Ashihara School, establishing himself as Kancho (headman). Sensei Yoshitsugu Suzuki was one of Hideyuki's most senior students and made the transition to Ashihara with Hideyuki.
"At a young age, I took up Kyokushin, but at fifteen, our whole Kyoto club made the change to Ashihara Karate to support Hideyuki Ashihara and his new style, because we believed that Hideyuki realised some of the limitations of Kyokushin. The moves were too regimented; its practitioners mainly just moved forwards and back, facing their opponent head on – like the King in a chess match. Whereas, in Ashihara, we tend to move more like the Queen, moving in circular motions, and attacking from all angles. We also incorporate a lot of deflecting the attacker's strikes and ground-fighting," says Suzuki.
Before Hideyuki died in 1995, he realised his adolescent son Hidenori Ashihara was too young to become the new Kancho. So he called together his most loyal students, such as Sensei Suzuki and Shihan Yuasa, and asked them to help guide his son until he was old enough to become Kancho. Today, Kancho Hidenori is twenty-three, and because of their respect and admiration for Hideyuki, his men still remain loyal to Hidenori.
(left to right) Dai Sampai Darin Henry, Sampai Kondo Tetsuo, Kancho Terupe, Sensei Yoshitsugu Suzuki & Bill Wakefield.
Australian 5th Dan Karate instructor, Bill Wakefield, remembers being in Japan in 1995 for a Shotokan Karate tournament, when, due to the turmoil of the Kobe earthquake, his team of twenty students was desperately searching for a place to train. "We travelled all around town, and there were plenty of places that taught martial arts, but the dojos were run in a very close-knit manner, and did not welcome outsiders. Then I saw an Ashihara poster on a pole, so, with our team all dressed in their Australian uniforms, I took them to the Ashihara gym that night, and asked the black belt instructor if we could train with them. Fortunately, he told us we could.
"All through the class, the Ashihara instructors were making phone calls, and then Sensei Suzuki came down to welcome us to the dojo. The phone calls continued throughout the class, and there was a constant stream of black belts walking in and out of the hall. The Japanese didn't speak much English, and none of us spoke Japanese, but at the end of the lesson, I asked if we could take them out for a drink to show our appreciation and they said, 'Yes. Yes'."
On walking outside, Bill's students discovered a motorcade of ten cars parked in the road, with a black belt behind the wheel of each car. The Australians were then taken out for dinner, but were not allowed to pay a cent towards the bill. The next morning, the Australians woke up to find the ten-car motorcade waiting for them again. This continued every day for three days, with Bill's team training, dining and sightseeing as guests of the Japanese Ashihara practitioners. One evening, Bill was told that Kancho Hideyuki would be dropping by the dojo the next day to pay the Australian team a visit. Realizing what an honour this would be, Bill had his team of twenty students exercising in their full national uniforms, while they waited for Kancho's arrival.
Hidenori Ashihara with Sensei Suzuki's son.
"There were black belts walking into the hall all the time, and we were expecting Kancho to be dressed in a tie and jacket. I was running our team through a stretching routine, and this guy was standing there in jeans and a T-shirt, watching us. Then Sensei Suzuki said, 'Bill, Kancho is here'. And I kept stretching, and then I've gone, 'Oh no. It's Kancho!' because he was so relaxed, and it hadn't occurred to me that this guy in the jeans and T-shirt could be Kancho.
"Sensei Suzuki said he had never seen Kancho dressed so casually before. Kancho had made the trip especially to meet us, and it was a mark of respect that he was treating us as friends. He ended up training with us all day, and took us out for dinner that night with all his senior students. And we were the first westerners, outside the Ashihara system, to train with Kancho. It was such an honour," says Wakefield. Through attending their classes, Bill was also impressed by the Japanese students' dedication to their martial arts. In the beginning, he asked the instructors how long the lessons would go for, only to be told, "Maybe one hour". However, Bill and his students would rarely walk out of the dojo in less than five hours. They would also look on in disbelief, as Sensei Suzuki kicked suspended bags of rocks and sand to toughen his shins, before kicking through two blocks of ice – each a cubic foot thick.
The Japanese Ashihara instructors were very impressed by the Australian team's standard of training and dedication to martial arts. When Sensei Suzuki visited Bill's classes in Australia, he presented three of the Australian students with black belts in Ashihara.
Bill Wakefield (2nd from left) at the official opening of his Hombu in Nerang, Queensland, Australia.
Today, the bond between both groups continues to grow. Although Bill's students still practise Shotokan Karate, he teaches Ashihara-style Karate to his senior belts. And when Sensei Suzuki brings his instructors to Australia, they are happy to train in Shotokan techniques.
"I start teaching Ashihara to my students from brown belt level. By the time they are black belts they are well into Ashihara, because I think it's an excellent way to introduce them to a true fighting system. Taking nothing away from Shotokan, it's a beautiful martial art, but it's a sporting system, and I don't want to damage or harm the Shotokan way by bastardizing it. I adhere to the traditional method of teaching Shotokan, and then when my students get to their brown belt, and they actually understand the philosophy and history of martial arts, I teach them Ashihara. They are then going into a new system altogether, which is a fighting system, as opposed to a sporting system."
Ashihara classes are street-oriented and everything the students do during training involves moves that are included in their katas. The art includes handwork, thigh kicks, elbows, takedowns and submissions. But the body evasion is the true secret to Ashihara. When Ashihara exponents are defending against strikes they don't move away from the attack, but move around it, and take their opponent down whilst putting the opponent off balance. "It doesn't matter where in the world you go to study Ashihara, the warm-ups are always the same. They believe in starting from the feet and working up the body, so it begins with ankle rolls, leg rolls, and finishes with neck exercises.
Sensei Suzuki toughening his shins whilst kicking a bag full of rocks and sand.
"The warm-up is followed by a kicking routine, and then a break after fifteen minutes. They have a break every fifteen minutes because they believe in keeping the students focused and clear-headed throughout the class. Then they go into partner training where they will practise a single technique for fifteen minutes to ensure the technique is absorbed, rather than rushing through a series of drills," says Wakefield. Partner training is very important in the Ashihara system, and after training with one partner, students then have to defend against two and three opponents, learning to position one assailant in the way of another, to enact a multiple-attack street scenario.
Suzuki hopes to introduce his style of Karate into the schools of Japan. At present, a variety of martial arts are being taught in a few schools by private security companies, but these classes are becoming more rare. Suzuki would like to see the practice of martial arts return to all Japanese schools. "Many people in the western world are unaware that the incidence of violence in Japan has increased dramatically in the last five years. There are more cases of assault, theft and muggings occurring. And people are regularly being murdered while travelling on our trains. "By practising martial arts, students don't just learn self-defence – they also learn discipline and respect. The trouble on the streets is being caused by people who are unoccupied and lacking in respect," says Suzuki.
Sensei Suzuki visited Australia in July 2001, to promote Ashihara here, with the intention of returning in the near future to open dojos throughout Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands. "Many people in Australia are already incorporating Ashihara techniques in their martial arts routines, but by bringing our senior instructors here to run the academies, people will be able to study the art first-hand. We will also have exchange students travelling between Australia and Japan, on a regular basis," says Suzuki. "With the Ashihara schools opening in Australia, and Kancho Hidenori and Sensei Suzuki coming here to oversee their operation, martial arts in Australia will benefit enormously," says Wakefield.
Sensei Suzuki bench pressing.
