ShotoBear

Cinematic Recap: Portland State Beats the Rival University of Portland on Is...

Shihan Yutaka Yaguchi 11.14.1932 - 10.26.2023. I think the year was 1971. I was at Nishiyama Sensei Dojo in LA for the Nisei Festival Karate Tournament. I was outside waiting for my event, and there was this young Japanese man in street clothes that all the black belts were hanging out with, laughing and talking. I wondered who he was and thought he must have been someone famous. It was Yaguchi Sensei! That was the first time I laid eyes on him.

A year later, Koyama Sensei invited Yaguchi Sensei as a guest instructor for a small camp we had in Northern Arizona. We had around 20-30 people attend this camp. What an impression he left on all who participated in the camp; he was amazing. Mr. Tom Hyder and I accompanied Sensei Yaguchi and Koyama to the bar after the camp Saturday dinner. Though they both had broken English at that time, Tom and I could communicate and understood both of them for the most part. I discovered that Yaguchi Sensei liked to talk, was very jovial, and could drink. We stayed in the bar after it closed until about 2:30 AM. I think the bartenders had a good time listening to us. Training was at 5:30 AM the next morning, so we caught a couple of hours of sleep. When Sensei Yaguchi arrived for class, he was fresh and ready to roll like the night before never happened! That's when I realized he was extraordinary and had such a strong spirit and presence.

Sensei Koyama was my hometown Sensei, the one I trained with daily, year after year. Sensei Yaguchi, I would like to say, was my other Sensei. I trained with him at every opportunity at his Dojo and camps. He was a team coach for the US teams I was on and was the guest instructor for camps I hosted. I listened intently to every word he said and took notes, never wanting to forget anything he told us. We played a lot of golf together in Phoenix and Denver. Sensei Koyama encouraged me to train with Yaguchi Sensei as much as I could.