To my periphery, I am being coaxed by a glance to kneel. On the shomen side of the tatami was Saiko Shihan, on the opposite side were what seemed like his regular students. On the right side of the tatami were the international and native senior ranks and on the left side was – just me. I thought this was the place for foreigners so that they would not be in the way of the class which, was definitely okay with me. Silly me, it was a place of honor and after Saiko-Shihan initiates class with a kneel, it was supposed to be my turn to follow. As it turns out I am the one causing the awkward stillness since everyone was waiting for me. As everyone sits in seiza, my imaginary pink tutu just got pinker and bigger.

This visit was arranged by Master Yagi Meitetsu Sensei of the Meibukan Hombu Dojo. Saiko Shihan had graciously written a congratulatory letter for Master Yagi’s latest book and on this visit, I had been asked to follow up with an interview for another book. In preparing to meet Yamaguchi Saiko Shihan, I called up his Canadian representative, John Preigert, for advice. In addition, I spoke with other individuals who had previously met Saiko Shihan and everyone basically said the same thing. He is professional and a nice man. During my two hours with him, I can confirm this. He had to be in order to put up with all of my protocol “faux pas”. For one, I kept calling him Sensei over and over again while everyone else referred to him as Saiko Shihan and while taking pictures, I sat closer to him than his senior students. I am sure that I must have committed dozens of mistakes. By the end of class, I felt as though I had morphed into a clumsy Charlie Chaplin of the Karate world – still wearing a tutu. If a Japanese stranger had peeked his head into the dojo, he would have shaken his head wondering who the hell is that gaijin.

Like many great Japanese masters however, Saiko Shihan and his students went out of their way to make me feel comfortable. As much as I tried not to mess up, their efforts are equal in exercising understanding and patience. Just like Meibukan Hombu Dojo, if one is lucky, the dojo will go further out of their way to correct you which sometimes may seem a little blunt to us in the west. We might not take too well to it but I suppose, like any relationship, we should also exercise understanding and patience too. Understanding each nation’s protocol is one aspect of developing good diplomatic relations as is forgiving each other when one makes an honest mistake. It’s a lot like the Asian custom of fighting for the bill. Each person knows which party is to pay but it would be rude not to offer to help.

Thank goodness I get scrutinized all the time. Is this because of their graciousness or my social ineptness? Likely a little of both. Either way, applying well meaning corrections have always helped me socialize better in Japan which opens up a whole different world of cultural understanding to me. From what it seems, I will probably be making a lot more visits to other dojos in the near future. So if you happen see a bumbling black belt making a fool of himself in one of your classes, it will likely be me so please don’t hesitate to correct me.  I promise though that I’ll only be wearing the pink tutus in my mind.

He gets by on what people want to call a pair of prosthetic limbs. Not the super, high tech, bionic, space aged materials, and better than nature type but the ones that look more like wooden batons with shoe trees. That’s how they made them in 1985. Mere stumps hinged only at the knees.  Up until now, I hadn’t really paid much attention to him. Not because I chose to ignore him, but rather he seemed “normal.” He attended classes regularly, did his kata without complaints, sparred a little, loved movies, and had a good sense of humor. Up until now, the fact that he had no legs was a non-issue. Oh, he has no legs. Really – no legs. He wanted help with a spinning hook kick. …And why not.  He wanted to learn how to do a spinning kick and why should anyone deny him this lesson. Little would I have predicted however that the lesson was more of a learning experience for me than it would be for him.

With the dojo to ourselves, we bowed informally to signify the beginning of the lesson. He had already made it to green belt and his next wish was to learn a fairly advanced technique that is not very practical for most of us. Those who are good at it though make it look spectacular. At first, it seemed so natural to say pivot the foot, twist the body, raise the leg, and make contact with the bottom part of the heel. Of this list though, perhaps he could raise his prosthesis, but everything else was not so easy or maybe not even possible. As we began to dissect the techniques into tiny tasks, it had finally occurred to me that simple chores such as getting up and getting changed, going to the washroom, riding a bike, or even running to catch the bus is really not so simple for him. Yet, I don’t recall any complaints about blisters, bruising, or joint pain of any kind which happened in every class. Surprisingly, his reaction was typically quite the opposite. He tackled his disability on a daily basis with a positive mental attitude that made him seem fearless. By hour’s end, his stoic tenacity had him achieve what he wanted. He was performing the spinning hook kick consistently. “Normal” people would have already given up. BRAVO! His perseverance humbled me. If only we could harness his positive thinking.

That’s the thing about Karate. It can bring out the best in you. It doesn’t matter if you are 4 or 94, super-fit and unfit, rich or poor, with or without legs. You can’t say that about Judo or Golf. Back in 1985, I thought I was giving up my time for this boy but instead he gave me an appreciation of patience, seeded a positive mental attitude, and sparked a belief that the power of change exists in every human being. It was a gift that would forever change the way I approached Karate and my life. Ever since that day, I have come to appreciate the journeys that each student has taken to come to train in the dojo. Not just the drudgery of travel but the emotional obligation to make the decision to train. To commit. Everyday when some one needs a little extra motivation I think of – what’s his name. The angel of positive thinking. Yeah, the angel.

Fast forward to today. Uber couple du jour Dawood and Ayesha are training in the dojo. Together, they have lost well over 130 pounds since joining the dojo 3 years ago. They admit however that greater benefits of the dojo are found beyond the tangible measure of the scale but in the strengthening in the soul. In just a few days, Ayesha will be traveling to Morocco where she plans to hike for four days in the Sahara to bring awareness to and volunteer her time to build a school for young girls. The cause is vital to the community because the male dominated culture in Morocco systemically denies women an education and promotes the cycle of poverty and dependency. Without the tools of an education, women are stuck in a subservient role for the rest of their lives and for future generations. Like the angel of 1985, Ayesha prefers to go unnoticed. She is quiet and doesn’t say much. Like the angel of 1985, she has her own blisters and daily scars. Like the angel of 1985, Ayesha will be changing lives – of an entire community.

It was as though the angel himself is holding Ayesha’s hands. Without his touch, perhaps I would never have cultured such an atmosphere within the dojo. I might have gone purely sport karate and maybe even totally commercial. Instead, I had vowed to contribute to a better world. I hope I have done him justice. I hope that Ayesha changes the world these girls live in and I hope these girls one day contribute also to a better world. Perhaps one day these girls will grow up to be doctors or engineers. Perhaps one day my angel’s legs will be built by one of these young girls. Ayesha is their angel.

I wish I remembered my angel’s name.

Please be an angel to help a generation of Oulaid Driss visit http://aeww.org/mrcco.html and donate.