MAGAZINE FOR ALL SHOTOKAN KARATE

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By John Cheetham.

~l_~~~~~~~MASTER ENOEDA: THE LEGEND.

SHOTOI<AN I<ARATE MAGAZINE

Keinosuke Enoeda was born on the4th July 1935 in the city of Fukuoka in thenorthern part of the island of Kyushu,Japan. He was the second of fourchildren, his father and mother were bothdescended from samurai linage. Hisfather, a businessman in import/export,was also an excellent athlete, a strongrunner, who also practiced kendo.Enoeda sensei's martial arts career beganat the age of six when he took up judo,he also practiced kendo. He continuedjudo up to the age of seventeen reachingnidan level. It was at this time that hewitnessed a karate demonstration by twomembers of Takushoku university (Tokyo)karate senseis Okazaki and Irea. He

Enoeda at Takushoku university in 1953.

was so captivated that shortly afterwards(1953)he registered on a four year degreecourse in business studies at Takushoku- primarily so that he could study karate-do. He was graded shodan after twoyears at the age of nineteen and twoyears later in 1956, and now sandan, hewas promoted to captain of the universitykarate club. Master Masatoshi Nakayamawas his main teacher at Takushoku.Master Gichin Funakoshi also instructedat Takushoku about once a month whilstEnoeda sensei was there. Funakoshi diedduring Enoeda's last year at Takushoku,in 1957.

After receiving a degree inCommerce, Enoeda was invited to jointhe elite JKA Instructors course in 1959.His main teachers were mastersNakayama and Nishiyama. In 1961 hereached the semi finals of the All JapanChampionships being beaten by

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Enoeda (1972) put the 'Fear of God!' into many students with his fearsome approach to teaching!Tetsuhiko Asai who won the event bybeating Hiroshi Shirai. In 1962 Enoedalost in the final to Shirai and then in 1963he won this prestigious title, this timebeating Shirai with mae geri and gyakuzuki. Enoeda also placed fourth on threeoccasions in the Kata finals with kata,Bassai sho, Jitte and Sochin. It wasduring this period that he picked up thenickname, TaRA - The TIGER, afterNakayama sensei said that he had foughtlike a tiger during a championship. The1963 championships were watched bythe President of Indonesia, Mr Sukarnoand he was so impressed by Enoeda thathe invited him to Indonesia to instruct hispersonal bodyguards and to teach the

military and police. Enoeda sensei alongwith Nakayama sensei spent severalmonths in Indonesia. Later, Enoedatoured the USA, Hawaii, South Africa,Great Britain and Europe with fellow JKAinstructors, Kase, Kanazawa and Shirai.In 1965 he stayed with Stan Schmidt inSouth Africa for six months. I spoke toStan on the phone from South Africawhen he had just got back from Enoedasensei's funeral in Japan and he will bewriting an article in the future about histime spent with sensei Enoeda.

During part of 1966 Enoeda assistedKanazawa in Great Britain. Enoedasensei also taught in the USA in 1966with Nishiyama sensei then he came back

to settle in England and later took overfrom Kanazawa sensei as the JKA Chiefrepresentative here. He spent his firstyear in Liverpool before moving toLondon and setting up the world famousMarshall Street dojo in the West End ofLondon, which sadly closed on the 30thSept 2000. He was also made the Chiefinstructor to the KUGB (Karate Union ofGreat Britain) a position he held up untilhis passing.

In an interview in SKM issue No.5,Enoeda said.... "In those days karate inEngland was very small and the KUGBconsisted of only a few clubs mainly inLondon, Liverpool and other major cities.I believe that the foundation of the KUGBcomes from the influence of seniorinstructors from Liverpool. I rememberTerry O'Neill was only a young kid at thetime but I particularly remember AndySherry who was so keen and never evermissed any training when I was living inLiverpool. In fact he was so keen thatearly morning he would knock onmy doorand ask for some extra special training.When I started in Liverpool I decided thatthey should train exactly as we had donein Japan so that this would give them agood karate foundation."

Enoeda sensei had four Japaneseassistants here in the United Kingdomover the years, firstly was sensei S. Kato,then H. Tomita, then M. Kawasoe andfinally sensei Yoshinobu Ohta for the pasttwenty years. Sensei Tomita went back toJapan, sensei Kato set up his ownorganisation here as did sensei Kawasoe.

Although I trained under Enoedasensei many times, and took 1st, 2nd and3rd Dan under him, I did 'not' know himpersonally at all, and like the majority ofreaders, this 'memorial tribute' and SKM'special' has been an insight into the man

me.... "Tell him it's O.K., no one is goingto take it off him!" Someone saidafterwards on the way home, "BloodyHell, he could eat and drink for Japan!"

I think, with all due respect, thatunless you were a member of the KUGB(Karate Union of Great Britain) at sometime and trained many times underEnoeda sensei, then it's hard to imagineor even believe, what a MASSIVEIMPACTand INFLUENCEthis man couldhave on your view of karate. Even thoughyou had your own club instructor (sensei)and also often trained on courses andgrading sessions with all the big names inShotokan here in the UK, senseis AndySherry, Terry O'Niell, Bob Poynton, thelate Steve Cattle, Billy Higgins etc., whowere all senior KUGB instructors, youalways felt that E:NOEDA was yoursensei, or rather 'THE' SENSEI. He wasthe leading light, the inspiration, thedriving force, the Boss!

For me personally I remember thatEnoeda sensei came to Jack Tilley's dojoin Stockport, Cheshire many times duringthe 1970's and to see Enoeda's karate, inhis prime, in a very small dojo was aweinspiring and unforgettable! Jack was anincredibly strong karate-man but healways used to say after Enoeda hadgone, "Where does he get his powerfrom?"

I remember 'vividly' on one of thoseclasses that I personally 'learned' whattraditional karate and the traditionalmethod of 'learning' was all about! Andwho better to learn it from, as an average,ordinary karate student, than a trueMASTERof karate-do - ENOEDASensei.We were doing combinations up anddown the dojo, typical Dan-gradecombinations. It was a 'joy' to watchEnoeda sensei doing these combinations,he'd got it down to perfection! After"Yeme," Enoeda sensei was stood right in

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1996, Marshall Street dojo in London. Sensei Enoeda leads 'mokuso'. (photo by Rod Butler).himself, to me also. In the 1970's and80's I used to hear people say, "Oh! He'sreally nice if you get to know him, he's gota great sense of humour." Well, to betruthful, I couldn't see that at the timebecause on training sessions he was, tome, and many others...bloody frightening!

I remember in the mid-70's going foran Indian meal after a training sessionwith a group of students (plus Enoeda)and I was sat directly opposite him. Hewas like a 'celebrity', at the time. Ieventually plucked up the courage (afterabout three pints of larger) to ask him ifhe liked his curry? He said, "Yeah!Good,good!" and that was it. It was a Vindalooand 'very hot', sweat was pouring downhis forehead and he kept wiping it off witha napkin, he was really getting 'stuck-in'to his food and the guy sat next to me, intypical dry Northern humour, whispered to

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(1979 Plymouth) Enoeda demonstrates with then assistant, Tomita (photo courtesy of Colin Putt).

SHOTOI<AN I<ARATE MAGAZINEfront of me. He was looking directly at meand I thought, "Oh! shit, I'm in troublehere!" Enoeda sensei said to me, "Youneed to make your combinationssmoother," and walked away. After theclass (before we went to the pub 'ofcourse') I asked sensei Enoeda...."Sensei, how can make mycombinations smoother?" He smiled, andsaid, "You'll find a way." I went away andthought about it for months and months, Itried everything, then suddenly the pennydroppedl "Bloody well RELAX more, getrid of all that tension man!" Studentsnowadays want to know everything...."WHY, HOW, WHAT DO YOU MEAN,SHOW ME'" They miss the whole pointand traditional philosophy contained inEnoeda's few, simple words, spoken witha lifetime of karate wisdom.... "You'll findaway."

When asked about competition in hisday, in the 1984 interview, Enoeda said..."It is completely different now, it is stillserious but there is now far less emphasison blocking, more on making winningtechniques. In the earfy days, faifure toblock properly would result in injury. Thefighting then was perhaps moretraditional and blows were generally solidlike big hammers to the body! Today fthink we must keep power in thetechnique, otherwise if we only think of'sports' karate it will destroy the realmeaning of karate. For instance, wealways practiced to make a good punchon the makiwara, hundreds every day. Wemust always keep in our training the realmeaning of the whole of karate."

In the 1997 interview Enoeda said,'Traditional Karate-do is a 'martial art'which requires both physical and mentaltraining for the whole mind and body. Myobjective is to train everyday whatever theweather or the condition I am in. I neverneglect my daily training. I have nevermissed a day's training since my veryyoung age. There are many benefitswhich can be gained with practice, byboth young and ofd throughout yourwhole life. If you want these benefits thenyou should practice in the Traditional way.If too much emphasis is placed on sportkarate, you are in danger of missing thewhole point of karate training."

Sensei Enoeda did not in fact writemany books on karate but I think if thereis one 'masterpiece' in book form byEnoeda sensei, it has to be his brilliantthree volume work from 1983,'SHOTOKAN ADVANCED KATA'.Unfortunately these are now out of print.His masterful technique is clearly evidentand his 'spirit' jumps right out of thepages! This is undoubtedly classicShotokan material and have become'collectors' items. He also 'solely' featuredin two other books, 'Karate Defence andAttack' (P.H. Crompton 1972) and

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Sensei Enoeda (1983) performs kata Gojushiho-sho at his annual summer course atCrystal Palace, London. (photo by Bernard Rose).

'Shotokan Karate FreeFighting Techniques'(PH. Crompton 1975).He has appeared inmany other publicationsand books by otherpeople but these are theonly one's he solelystarred in.

Thankfully there isconsiderable footage ofEnoeda sensei on filmand video. (See SKMVideo Club advert forolder footage). And hisown marvellous fourvolume series of videos,'Advanced ShotokanKata' from 1996 whichalso features senseiYoshinobu Ohta 6thDan, Enoeda sensei'sJapanese assistant.

Sensei Stan Schmidt(JKA South Africa), toldme some stories andanecdotes about Enoedasensei in a recent phoneconversation: when he(Stan) first encountered

Sensei Enoeda's 'dynamic' style wascharacterised by long, deepstances and big, powerful techniques. (photo by Bernard Rose).

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Defence against Bo attack, kata Jitte from the1996 video series. (photo by Rod Butler).

Enoeda it was at the JKA honbu dojo inTokyo in the early 1960's (1963 I think hesaid). He'd only been training there ashort time and one day he was sparringwith a Japanese student, and Enoedawas watching! Stan said that quite byaccident (really Stan?) he knocked thisguy out with a spinning back kick (ushirogeri). Enoeda came up to him afterwardsand said in his broken English... "1 likeyou, you good spirit, I teach you goodkarate, I give you special training." And abond was struck between them from thatmoment on! And Enoeda kept his wordand gave him special training.

A few years later Enoeda senseistayed with Stan in South Africa andtaught at his dojo every day. StanSchmidt said... "In 1965 he stayed for 6

months with my family in my home andwe trained everyday, mostly in a nearbypark and it was 'one on one' - hardtraining - kihon, kata and sparringtechniques. The mood was alwaysbuoyant and carefree, however on Fridaymornings we went to the dojo where wedid serious kumite (free sparring) and thatwas always big pressure for me but whenit was over, it was always joy andlaughter over a few beers and anecdotesof his experiences in Japan.

One of these was when he visited arestaurant (bar?) in his university dayswhere he was challenged by a boxer to areal fight and he told me... "After theboxer had given me a bloody nose, Ibraced myself in sochin dachi and as hecame bouncing into me I shot my fistforward right through his guard andknocked him out." This was the type offighting spirit that Sensei Enoedapossessed... no fear, total commitmentcoupled with dynamic technique."

Stan said that Enoeda was desperateto improve his English at the time. Stansaid... "So, one day a student of mineCecil Wolov recommended that he singalong with certain records to make thelearning of English more enjoyable, andthat Enoeda should choose a record andlearn the words!" Enoeda sensei thoughtthis was a great idea and chose, 'Love isa many splendid thing'. He played it overand over and over ad nauseum! Stansaid, "Sensei I have to go out for a coupleof hours," and off he went, with 'Love is amany splendid thing' blaring away on therecord player! A few hours later he camehome. Stan said... "I could hear fromabout 2 blocks away this Pavarotti typevoice ringing out over the roof tops ..... itwas a 'deafening', guttural Japanese

Enoeda (right) in South Africa in 1965 with his close friend Stan Schmidt, seen here sparring onone of their daily training sessions in the local park. (Photo courtesy of Stan Schmidt).

Always remember. .. Do NOT disturb a 'TIGER'during a Tea-Break! (photo By Rod Butler).

voice booming out at full volume! "LOVEIS A MANY SPLENDID THING, IT'S THEAPRIL ROSE, THAT ONLY GROWS, INTHE EARLY SPRING." You could hearhim right down the street and beyond!"

In the summer of 2000 Sensei Enoedaand Stan Schmidt were both teaching onthe annual summer camp in PhiladelphiaUSA, organised by Okazaki sensei. Onemorning, very early, about 6am Stan andEnoeda sensei were walking through thewoods (in their karate gi's) whilst on theirway to teach on an early morning class.The sun was filtering through the treesand the birds were singing, it was abeautiful, idyllic day. Enoeda sensei saidto Stan, "Isn't it great to be alive Stan, andto be so fit and well at our age." Then hesaid, "Stan, will you have a competitionwith me?" Stan wondered what he wasabout to let myself in for, but said, "YesSensei, of course I will have a competitionwith you." Enoedasensei then said,

"Let's see who is the fittest in tenyears time eh!"

It just shows that none of us knowwhat lies ahead. Sensei Enoeda didn'tknow that he had cancer at that time. It'shard to believe that someone so 'fit', so'dynamic', so full of 'energy', so blessedwith a 'love of life', can be struck down byan enemy so powerful that even the 'spirit'of Sensei Enoedacould not overcome.

Master Enoedasadly died in his homecountry Japan (he had gone back toJapan at the end of 2002 to have anoperation for stomach cancer).

Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda married hiswife Reiko in 1969 and had two children,a son Daisuke aged 32 and a daughter,Maya aged 27. There's a book ofcondolence where you are free to addyour own message of respect (which isdue to be presented to his wife Reiko atthe end of the year) it's been set up at:(website) www.karatelondon.co.uk

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~l_----~~~~~ENOEDA SENSEI'S TECHNIQUE.

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Where do you start? At one time hewas attributed to having the 'strongest'gyaku zuki in the whole of Japan.Someone likened it to, "The sound of abank's vault door slamming shut." Healways used big, larger than lifetechniques, characterised by the use oflong, deep stances. He could still do thefull box splits in his late 60's. Many of ushave seen him walk onto the dojo floormaybe at an early morning session on acourse somewhere and casually, slowlyslide down into a full box splits whilsthaving a quiet yawn!

His 'timing' in kumite was alsoamazing. Look at the action photo herewhich is a 'still' from a video clip, kindlydonated by Ged Moran from LegendProductions, (www.legendtv.com) whereFrank Brennan attacked Enoeda with alightning fast gyaku zuki and Enoedaperfectly executed a slight forward step tothe left (tai sabaki) and intercepted (tai nosen/deaijwith his own kizami zuki. ... perfecttiming, marvellous! Frank's head joltsback a bit though!!

Enoeda's kicks have been describedas impossible to block! His ashi barai (andsweeping techniques generally) werebreathtaking and you will see no betterexample of the dynamic applicationanywhere, which were thankfully filmedand photographed; just take a look atNakayama's book, 'Best Karate Kumite 2'(Kodansha International ISBN 0-87011-359-3) or watch it for 'real' on the film(SKM Video Club Tape 1). It's been statedmany times that Enoeda's favourite andbest, most powerful techniques were,gyaku zuki, mae geri, mawashi geri andashi barai, in no particular order.Nakayama said of Enoeda's technique,

The 'famous' Enoeda 'mawashi geri'. MarshallStreet dojo 1997. (photo by Rod Butler).

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Sensei Enoeda was credited at one time with having the 'strongest' gyaku zuki in alJJapan!from the book, 'Best Karate Kumite 2'.....

"Keinosuke Enoeda has a reputationfor achievements that stir the imagination.Using the power of thoroughlystrengthened legs and loins, he deliversstrikes and kicks of great force, whichcannot be blocked easily with simpleevasive tactics. His ashi barai (leg sweep),which uses the whole body, is verystrong. Especially amazing is his ability tocut in deeply, catch his opponent's rearsupporting leg and send him flying.Enoeda has mastered these tactics. "Masatoshi Nakayama 1979.

Enoeda sensei's Kata can besummarised in a few words; spirit, power,

and zanshin - total concentration,intention and awareness! His favouritekata were Bassai Sho, Bassai Dai, Jitteand Sochin. On the old JKA films fromaround 1960, the young Enoeda performsBassai Dai and Jitte (SKM Video ClubTape 3). They are simply awesomeexamples of 'power karate'. Andremember that he was placed 4th onthree consecutive occasions in the JKAChampionships when people like,Kanazawa, Asai, Shirai and Mikami werein their heyday! So not only was hisfighting ability and notorious fighting'spirit' at the highest world level, but alsohis powerful Kata performance.

SHOTOI<AN I<ARATE MAGAZINEIt's interesting to compare Enoeda

sensei's Kata from the early years (early1960's) when he was in his mid-twentiesto his 1996 videos (at the age of 61). Themovements became smoother, more fluid,more relaxed, yet the un-questionable'power' is still in evidence. And theunmistakable 'kiai'.... EEEEEE! Whichcould put the fear of God into anyone....it's definitely, THETIGER- ENOEDA!

Enoeda sensei felt passionately aboutKata and maintaining its tradition, whichis why he wrote the Kata books and laterproduced the Kata videos. In his'Introduction to Kata' from his 1983 book,'SHOTOKAN ADVANCED KATA' Vol 1,Enoeda sensei stated .

"The final point about Kata that Iwould like to bring to your attention is animportant one, that nevertheless is oftenmissed, or not recognised for itsimportance. It is that etiquette is of theutmost importance in Karate-Do, andmust be maintained at all times.Therefore, whenever you practice (Kata)do so with modesty, but not timidity. Beready at all times to express yourselfthrough the Kata you are performing bybringing together your mind, body andthe movements of the exercise. Avoidhowever at all costs becomingpreoccupied with the rules and method ofthe performance of the Kata, to theexclusion of the fighting methods thatthey contain, the learning of which were,and are, the principal purpose of theseimportant and exacting exercises."

In full flow, Enoeda sensei's 'special'demonstration kata, by Jitte performed well, Enoeda is the one to watch. "

_ .... _...,.;. ....... T".'I ...... ...,......., Japanese music, in total darkness withjust a spotlight on him, which he oftenperformed at the KUGB NationalChampionships each year, was like takinga trip back in time to the days of thesamurai; it was quite simply, magnificent,beautiful, pure theatre, like a work of art.When asked about this special kata hestated ... "This was devised from variousmoves from different kata which show thetrue feeling of Karate-do. The music waswritten especially with this in mind andthrough the music and the kata, I try toshow the special fighting spirit of theSamurai warrior." You can see thisdemonstration Kata on the video availablefrom Tiger Corp, 'Beginner To Black Belt- The Master Text' and on KUGB footageavailable from Kamae International.

Regarding technique, Sensei Enoedasaid.... "Technical points are not enoughon their own. It is important to understandthe 'philosophy' behind it. "

I hope you have enjoyed this specialmemorial tribute to a truly great karatemaster, who has without doubt been oneof the most influential, inspirationalShotokan instructors ever.This is a tributeto Enoeda sensei's KARATE life, and his'massive contribution' to the art. Editor.Frank Brennan 'feels the force'. Enoeda sensei shows his fantastic 'timing' with jodan kizami zuki.

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