Mars the Roman God of War and MMA

Mars, the Roman God of war ,(fourth planet from the sun),shines with the color red resembling blood, very appropriate for the God of war.
He is characterized as a god who took savage delight in slaughter, and the hordes of slain upon the battlefield with fierce joy.
The word martial , pertaining to war came from Mars ,the god of war. A whole month of worship was given to him, the month of march, also coming from the word Mars.

My teacher , Sato Kimbei Sensei, once was asked by a news reporter what was martial arts for and what did he teach his students, he replied,　''殺し合い''! (Koroshi Ai )Skills to kill each other. I am sure the news reporter felt like he should have been given some long worded talk about the Martial Arts. Bye the way, they are not called martial arts in Japan, they are called Bujutsu 武術or HeiHo兵法. Bu, stopping spears, Jutsu, techniques. Hei , soldier, Ho, methods.
We learned many pertinent things that pertain to warfare, e.g., how to use a sword, how to use a staff, how to engage wearing armour, armoured fighting techniques etc.,I never felt I was studying a sport, I felt like I was training in the same spirit as a Bushi or a Samurai.
I do not go around calling myself a MMA fighter , because I am not. I have studied Chinese and Japanese martial arts but I do not appear in the UFC fighting tournaments. If someone wants to do that ,that is their choice and I do not care.
What I do care about is, that most people's assumption is that because they have studied Judo and Karate, Aikido, through in some boxing and wrestling then they are a martial artist. The word martial artist is more than what they represent. Martial arts is a western word, meaning war arts. If you are not studying war arts then that title should be for people who are and who have.
Maybe then Mixed War Arts Fighter?Mixed barehand skill fighrters?Prize Fighters Association?
MMWA, MBSF,PFA What is next, Mixed Samurai Artist? MSA

Hanami 花見 Flower Viewing

Hanami　花見　Flower Viewing




I always look forward to the arrival of Spring. I love all of the young green sprouts and shoots. Watching the young sprigs develop into bigger leaves. Bulging flower blossoms on the stem of a tree or bush just pressing themselves to come out. Flowers pushing themselves out of the ground. Birds flying back in . Yeah it is a spectacular show!



While living in Japan, every year everyone looks forward to cherry blossom viewing. It is one of the most spectacular occasions of the year. There are lots of parties held under the blossoming cherry trees and many kinds of festivals held all over. Lots of fun!

After returning to the states , my heart ached to see those blossoms and to attend Hanami. I would drive down to Fort Valley Ga., the peach growing region and do Hanami with all of those peach blossoms trees there.

It is really beautiful, as you arrive closer to the fields you can smell those blossoms. Such a wonderful fragrance wafting through the air. The buzzing of bees is something else you can expect to hear.

After enjoying the beautiful scenery and a picnic lunch, it would be time to go home. While driving home I would watch the sun set and think about the earlier part of that day in the peach orchard field, what had seen and enjoyed. I would think about Japan and Hanami, Then I would think about it metaphorically, e.g., flowers are luminous and beautiful yet fleeting and ephemeral. Seasons are too the same, just like the transience of ones life.



It was said that a warrior’s life could be compared to the cherry blossom. His skill and character was very spectacular like a cherry blossom, and his life was short like a cherry blossom. Scattered blossoms symbolize a fallen samurai. My teacher Sato Kimbei said that a warriors liked the cherry blossom because it made them feel calm and neutral. I guess that is what I was feeling as I drove home.



Flowers symbolize many things in different ways depending on the country. For example, the Iris ; Iris is a Greek word for the goddess of the rainbow, which she used to travel to the earth with a message from the gods and to transport souls of women to the underworld. The three upright petals and the three drooping sepals are symbols of faith, valor and wisdom.



In Japan , the Iris leaf looks like a sword so it became a symbol for boys for there bravery.

The flower forget me not, originated from a man trying to get his lover some flowers at the edge of a cliff, and slipped and fell off. While falling he shouted ,”Don’t forget me!”

The wisteria and the pine tree, are seen as a bond of love between man and wife. Never separate.

A pine tree is an ever green, so it represents longevity.

Twin pine needles are also used in weddings to symbolize long life, however if one dies, so does the other.

Sometimes it is not the flower itself, but the name, e.g., Kake -win! For persimmon, or Take-strength for bamboo, Matsu-wait. For pine tree.

The Chrysanthemum flower was an imperial symbol for Japan. Blossom period is very long and its petal resembling the sun. The Japanese being the children of the sun.



No matter what nature symbolizes in one cultural or another, it teaches us many things. People have tried to describe, associate, explain, and compare some aspect of their lives using the flowers and other nature. Most people have only a superficial and commercial use of flowers and other nature. As for my self, I can only feel a strong bond between flowers and other nature, I am natural too.

We all can enjoy Hanami, anytime any where. but in spring there is an abundance of Hanami activity that takes place. So lets enjoy something that we all have in common, nature. Let it remind you of your transitory life, gentleness, impermanence,beauty,gracefulness , etc.,and because of that understanding , we all can appreciate  and enjoy our lives more.

UFC and Hitting Below the Belt!

I new the UFC had rules but I did not know there were 31 of them. I would say more like 19 of them truly relate to physical fighting technique, e.g., striking certain areas and throwing over the ropes etc… I guess spitting on some one and cursing at someone are some of the rules that are not as physically lethal but
psychologically can lead to losing a fight, ya think? Oh, I guess that is unsportsmanlike conduct. Wow , I remember when no hitting below the belt was good enough.




My teacher once told me a story about a man that was caring something on each end of a pole and as he was transporting theses goods on his pole, he bumped into a man. When the man was bumped, he demanded an apology but the man with the pole did not apologize. This infuriated the man so he said to the man with the pole, “I am a Kendo master and I challenge you to a duel!” he took his bamboo sword out a and commenced to hit this man with the pole. The man with the pole slid his pole off the buckets that he was caring and struck the Kendo master in the shins very effectively. This devastated the Kendo Master and immediately put an end to his attacks. He lay on the ground in agony and said,” Hey, you can’t strike like that, it is against the rules of Kendo.” The man put his buckets back on his pole and walked off. As he was walking off, he said to the Kendo Master, “Kendo, I do not know anything about Kendo.” I was just trying to protect myself!



Kendo, is not a martial art that actually uses swords. The word , Ken does mean sword, but it is not a real sword , it is a Shinai made of bamboo. A real sword has weight and has a point, and is really sharp. The training using a real sword and the training using a bamboo sword are completely different.

There are also many types of cutting techniques, none which are included in Kendo. Also there are many ways to draw the sword, none which are employed in Kendo. My sensei use to say it should be called, Take Do, it means bamboo way.

The rules of Kendo are; no hitting in the back, no hitting in the legs, Ah.., where have I heard that from?, no throwing the sword, etc..

So, since the Kendo Master thought he was dueling someone else who understood the rules, he knew where he stood. But actually in real combat you are not going to have rules and will be lucky to know who, what, where ,when and how.



In old times when a Samurai had severely injured his opponent by cutting him with his sword, he purposely would go on and kill him off with a cut called , Kiri Oroshi. This cut was from the top his head to his belly button. This way of cutting insured that he would not have to live a life as a crippled man and have to be a burden .In some cases, he was let to take his on life instead if it being taken from him. Therefore he was given the opportunity to save face.

Were those rules or codes of ethics?

The only rule to fighting is there are no rules. When we look at sports martial arts and the martial arts , rules are  the contradiction.

UFC and Mixed Martial Arts

I often get phone calls from people who have watched the MMA or UFC fights and they ask me if I teach that kind of stuff. I tell them no. But, actually I do teach a lot of hand to hand combat. A whole lot more than what they are going to find in a club that teaches that kind of stuff.




Like what kind of stuff are they learning? Well wrestling each other on the ground, how to box and some kicking. I am sure they train with weights and aerobic work outs etc..



Here at the Live Oak Dojo, I teach not only skills for the ring but skills that you need to have for every kind of situation. Also , every thing is not about fighting. If you only train your physical abilities, then what happens to you when you get old and do not have that physical strength? What then?



One of the best reasons for studying martial arts is that it is a discipline that makes you a better human. Self discipline of the highest level. I do not think training oneself to get into a ring or cage to win the fight has anything to do with making oneself a better human being. I think it steps backwards into being barbaric and uncivil.

The Martial Arts provide you the discipline to rise above the petty self and lets you be self less.

I do not like having to inflict pain and injury on someone in order to get respect and a sense of worthwhile self accomplishment.

The martial artist is a humble man whose fine manners and courtesy give him great dignity. This kind of skill unattainable in the mixed martial arts.

I think it is very misleading for them to be calling themselves martial artist.



Now days you can see men sporting shirts with MMA or UFC, but the worst one is definitely the Tap Out shirts.

The tap out was not used to give up a fight it was used in class to let your partner know that his technique was effective. As soon as you slapped the side of your own leg, he would let go. Now days this kind courtesy of respect and teaching tool has been lowered down to tap out or I will not let go! What a shameful way to behave to each other.



I have been studying martial arts for 28 years and I am still dedicated to making myself a better human being. Every time I step into my Dojo I am hoping to improve something about me or to one of my students.

Laughable Determination

After discharging from the Navy in 1983 I decided to stay in Japan and live with my wife who was Japanese.


Just to stay in Japan you have to apply for a visa. In my case I needed a residential visa. To apply , you must have a doctors report on the condition of your health. You can not have STDs or any other type of contagious diseases. Next, a letter of guarantee from a Japanese. This person must vouch for you and be held responsible that you abide and obey all the rules and customs of Japan. Then you must have proof of a job unless you are applying for a school visa.

After that, you will need proof that you have enough money that in the event you are deported you can purchase your own ticket. And lastly, you will need to provide them with a written statement of why you want to be in Japan and why it will be of benefit to their country.

Finally , you will have to sit down and have an interview and go over all of your documentation. It has to be current. Then if you pass the interview, you will need to purchase the visa. It is expensive. One more thing, you will have to travel to this office . Depending on where you are living in Japan , it could be far so you will need to check into a hotel.

And the above process has to be repeated every time you apply. In my case it was every year for the first three years and every three years after that!



Being a foreigner in Japan is not easy. Think of all the things you won’t be able to do because you can not read? For example, withdrawing money from an ATM. Going to the library and checking out a book. Mailing a package, etc. Every thing is written in Chinese and Japanese Characters. So you have to have some one who is willing to help you out, a lot !

What about food? There are many kinds of dishes that you have never seen or know how to eat them.



My first apartment was a duplex. Basically it was a room with a small sink in the end with a small closet to the right. There was a two burner stove with a built in broiler. The hall in front had a toilet and small sink that I shared with the other tenant living next door. For a bath , you have to go to the local bath house.Women on one side and men on the other. Could not see each other, just hear little. It was very embarrassing to be the only foreigner amongst all of those Japanese men. The first time it was hard, but after a few times I fit right in.

Before entering a bath house , one take off his shoes and puts them in a cubby hole like shelf, normally there is a wooden key. Then slide the door open and step in. There is normally a huge 6 or 7 foot counter where someone takes you money , about $1.50. Then there are baskets provided for putting your close in after taking them off. This place is separate from the bath house. The only thing separating it from the bathing room is a glass wall which is kind of steamed up. So after getting naked, you open the sliding door and walk in. As soon as you open the door every body looks your way. That is the fun part. So you grab a bucket and a wooden stool and go to the wall , there you will find many hot and cold faucets running along at the bottom of the wall. You take a seat down and start washing. You will of course brought your shaving stuff, a wash cloth and soap. There is also a small mirror that runs all the way down the wall above the faucets so you can see what you are doing. After washing, you fill up your bucket and rinse off several times. Now you are ready for the bath. The bath is very big like a pool except it has a wall around it so you can sit on it and dangle your legs into the water so they can get use to the extremely hot water. The pool is deep enough so that you can sink up over you shoulders.There are many men in there together. Any way, it does take some getting use to going to these bath houses.

Speaking the language is difficult. When speaking to someone that you respect, like teacher or employer, you must use humble language when referring to oneself and very polite language for the respected one.

Japanese is very difficult to listen to.

In short you will need to go to school to learn Japanese.



The first time that I saw Taichi was in Yokohama China town. I was walking to work and in the park I saw some people in a group moving kind of slow all synchronized . I thought it looked kind of kool . When I went into the office I asked some of the staff what was it . They told me it was Taichi. I wanted to take a class so I found out where there club was and went there to join. The club was located in China Town next to a Buddhist temple. My Japanese was embarrassing to say the least, but I was bent on joining so I memorized what to say. It went like this, ‘’My name is Duke , I am from America, May I join your Club? ‘’ Yes, she said. Then I asked her about the tuition, and she told me. I payed her and I went home.Wow, I was glad she did not ask me a bunch of questions, cause I was nervous.I did not understand a lot of what she said.

The classes were held twice a week. I took the morning classes. Mostly middle age women and men during the week, but more of a mix on Sats.

It was awkward , I thought I was in shape but I realized how out of shape I was. I had to get instructed in Japanese. For example,Yubi ga saki, fingers first, koshi wo urumete, relax your waiste, hiza ga ashi no sumia saki knee to the toes, etc. confusing.

The first forms that I masterd was the 24 form simplified Taich. I was shown one form at a time and had to do it until I could memorize it. Then came the next form and the next, until I could string it all along and do it without stopping.I eventually mastered the 48, and 66 Taichi forms.

My sensei did not teach how to use the forms. I could do the forms but I had no idea what they meant. Sometimes I would find books at the library or book store show certain throws and attacks using Taichi. So I became curious why I was not being taught that. Well I decided to go look at other Taichi schools. To my dismay they were all the same.I was about to give up when I found a school in north Tokyo that was teaching how to use it. I went for a visit and found out they were teaching the applications of Taichi and much more.

I joined this school and after six weeks I could finally make some sense out of what I had been learning for six years at the other school. I really felt that I had wasted my time.

Anyway , can not change the past, just try not to repeat it.

The old school was more of a Taichi exercise club . You see Taichi was never intended to be only an exercise to just keep you mentally and physically healthy. It is a martial art! Yes, Yes it keeps you fit. Not arguing with that, but it is suppose to develop martial art skills. Not just some yoga.



The school in Itabashi Tokyo was more martial than club atmosphere.

It was tough. I started out taking Taichi and Yawara,yawara is another word for Jujutsu. Later on I stared taking Paqua. Paqua is a form of Chinese pugilism. The fee for one class was $7000 yen, if you took more than one style the fee was reduced 1000 yen , so my monthly total was 19000 yen

About $200.00 a month. Plus train feee. I had to take three different trains to get there all the way from Yokohama. Travel fee was about $30.00 round trip.It took about an hour and a half.



Sometimes someone will call here and ask if I teach kick boxing or mixed martial arts, I tell them no but they might find it in Atlanta. They normally say it is too far. After all that I went through to learn martial arts, I find it laughable! Firstly, even if you found something near as authentic as in it’s mother land in the USA it would be almost a miracle. And if you did and you can not muster up the spirit to go as far as Columbus to Atlanta to get it, then you are definitely not going to be able to become a fighter. Much less a champion in that sport.

You have to work hard. It may cost lots of money, travel far, and be a foreigner amongst them and speak their language. What ever it takes, that is what you will have to do if you want to achieve your goal.