Get Your Kicks at Nisei Week Karate Show

With the possible exception of the Green Berets, virtually all martial artists trace their origins back into millennial mists where monks, most likely Buddhist, endeavored to teach their flocks how to defend themselves against the depredations of marauders.

Karate is no exception. Leaving aside frenetic movie versions of the art and what California-based shihan (master teacher) Tsutomu Oshima calls “shopping-center karate,” this particular physical endeavor was conceived about 1,400 years ago in China, refined on the island of Okinawa, introduced to Japan in 1922 by shihan Gichin Funakoshi and exported to the United States in the mid-1950s by Oshima, one of the last disciples to have studied directly under Funakoshi.

Karate Exhibition

Oshima--whose Caltech Karate Club was arguably the first in America, will be present tonight at the 33rd annual Nisei Week Karate Exhibition in Los Angeles, claimed to be the oldest and largest such tournament in the United States. Attracting teams from around the country, the free exhibition (6-8 p.m. at the Nishi Hongwanji gym, 815 E. 1st St. in Little Tokyo) will include kihon (basic blocks, punches, kicks and stances), kata (series of prearranged forms and movements simulating combat situations) and kumite , the actual competition.

As much as the evening promises a spectacle of action commingled with the grace of the sport/art, the underlying philosophy of karate will be a subtext to what sometimes seems to be ritualized mayhem. Attainment of the prized “black belt” for physical proficiency is, Oshima says, only a beginning. The ultimate object of true karate practice is perfection of oneself through perfection of the art. Karate, reads the brochure announcing the L.A. tourney, “develops composure, deeper insight into one’s mental capabilities and more confidence,” not to slight the ability to knock an unwary attacker into next week.

Self-discipline is paramount: “Our own opponent is ourselves,” Oshima says. “We have to cut out our ego first.” Easier said than done, and not all that easy, either, to put into words: “It’s like trying to teach what hot and cold is,” says Oshima: “You have to experience it, feel it yourself.”

‘Perfection of Character’

First-time spectators at tonight’s tournament may find the concept difficult to grasp--rooting for a particular contestant or team is quintessentially American--but tournament spokesman James Uyeda, while stressing the physical benefits of karate to both old and young, men and women, reminds neophytes to consider the words of Okinawan Funakoshi, modern karate’s first great teacher:

“The ultimate aim of the art of karate,” said Funakoshi, “lies not in victory or defeat but in the perfection of the characters of its participants.”

For further information, call (213) 839-5170.

(Meanwhile, an international karate championship will be held today and Sunday at the Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd. The program includes kata , kumite and demonstrations of Oriental weapons. Today 8 a.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 8:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m., finals at 7 p.m. Admission $15-$20; children 11 and under half price; tickets valid both days. Call (213) 436-3661 or (818) 441-0676.)