Empty Hand. Kenei Mabuni

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      Preface by the Editor

      I met sensei Mabuni Kenei for the first time in November 1965. At that time I was 18 years old and sensei Mabuni came to my hometown Que­tzal­tenango for a karate demonstration together with a group of karateka from the capital Guatemala City. Already in ancient times Quetzaltenango was a Maya city and it is the second largest city of Guatemala today.

      Sensei Mabuni had already been staying in Central America for a year, at first in Mexico following an invitation by sensei Murata Nobuyoshi, and then in Guatemala where at that time about one thousand karateka were practicing Shitō ryū.

      I still had no karate experience, nevertheless I realized that there was a great difference between the way of moving demonstrated by sensei Mabuni and the performance of the other karateka representing various schools. I was so impressed that I decided on the spot to study karate. So, I joined the Shitō ryū club in my hometown. My first teachers were Jorge Sosa and Nobuyoshi Murata. I learned the basics of Shitō ryū and a lot about the history of the Mabuni family from sensei Murata.

      In 1969 when I received the 1st kyū I got the chance to attend a lesson by sensei Mabuni in Guatemala City. This was a great honor for me. About 20 disciples, all of them holders of the 1st kyū degree participated in this lesson. We all had studied different karate techniques for several years, but Sensei Mabuni exclusively trained breathing techniques with us. After two hours of such exercises, of the 20 participants only a friend of mine and myself were ready to continue. The other ones left the training room because they could not bear the constraints caused by the breathing techniques any longer. When the two of us were alone with sensei Mabuni he said: “Now you can begin to study karatedō.”

      Sensei Mabuni stayed for another year in the Guatemalan capital. To attend his lessons we traveled every week the 120 miles between Quetzaltenango and Guatemala City.

      In 1974 Sensei Mabuni came for the last time to Guatemala. At that time I held the 2nd dan. In 1976 I decided to visit my Sensei in Japan. However, on the way to Japan first I came to Europe – to Berlin. Here I met a lot of people who asked me to teach them karate. So, I stayed there.

      I met Sensei Mabuni again only in 1984 – on Corsica. He was invited by sensei Nakahashi Hidetoshi who had been living in France for many years. Hence I became a disciple of sensei Nakahashi until sensei Mabuni accepted me as his uchi deshi1. Since then I have been trying very hard to deepen my understanding of Shitō ryū karate under the guidance of sensei Mabuni and supported by sensei Nakahashi and Sensei Hatano. Thanks to sensei Mabuni I could learn a lot about the essence of budō karate. He always emphasized that karate is no sport but a way of life that can be helpful in any situation.

      I feel grateful and happy that sensei Mabuni has decided to express his ideas in this book that has become not only a source of the Shitō ryū but also shows the history of the origins of karate as martial art and way of life. When I look back to my first steps in karatedō, trying to compare my personal character of those days with the present one I realize how much I have changed. Only now I begin to understand what he ceaselessly has taught since then. Sensei Mabuni always stressed the importance of values like politeness, charity, respect and grace, and he always warned us of the dangers of mistrust, laziness, pride and envy. Although I am not always able to achieve all of this in my own life I begin to understand that these values are the basis of social and human existence. There is a motto he always uses to repeat and that is now deeply ingrained in my heart: “Try to improve, become better today than you were yesterday, and tomorrow become better than today.”

      I am deeply grateful that sensei Mabuni gave us this book. It is a treasury of wisdom!

      Shihan Carlos Molina, Corsika, 1 August 2007