O'Sensei Richard Kim ~ Biography

In Memory Of O'Sensei Richard Kim

Black Belt Magazine referred to O'Sensei Kim as "Karate's Guiding Light." To myself and many of his students he certainly was our "Guiding Light." O'Sensei Kim was a great martial arts instructor, but he was also an untiring student. He was constantly studying, practicing and learning throughout his entire life, right up until the time of his death. He taught the technical aspects of many traditional martial arts such as Karate, Kobudo (Okinawan and Japanese weaponry), Aiki-Jujutsu, T'ai Chi Chuan, P'a Kua and others. The depth and extent of this instruction was phenomenal. For example, it would not be unusual to find a veteran black belt who had been taught as many as sixty empty hand kata and forty or more weapons kata. It would be safe to say that a yondan in his headquarters region would have one-hundred-eight empty hand and weapons kata in his or her memory bank. Then along with the kata was the instruction in the application of the moves of the kata, the use of the weapons in combat, the body dynamics and self defense principles and techniques. The physical training was endless.

But there was much more to O'Sensei Kim's teachings than physical techniques alone. In fact, it would be safe to say that the physical aspects of the training was just the proverbial "Tip of the iceberg." He lectured and spoke about martial arts philosophy, psychology, history and strategy endlessly. For you see, O'Sensei was not just training martial artists, he was developing artists of life. O'Sensei was certainly a master's master. I trained with him for almost four decades and what seemed incredible to me is that throughout all those years he was always teaching us something new. Students that stayed with O'Sensei for five to ten years might say that from their perspective O'Sensei taught Shorinji-Ryu Karate and lots of bojutsu (Stick fighting). If you talked to other students who trained during a different period they would say he taught Shorinji-Ryu and T'ai Chi, with some P'a Kua. And students from even a different period would say "Yes, he taught Karate, but he also taught lots of Aiki-Jujutsu." Those that stayed with him for a relatively short time learned much, those that saw him a few times a year also learned much, but for those that stayed with him for year upon year found themselves plunging deeper and deeper into an incredible world of the martial arts that few seldom have the opportunity to experience.

O'Sensei touched the life of literally thousands of students spread across the United States, Canada and Europe. For many of us I would have to say that he had a profound impact on our lives. He was not just the "Guiding Light" in our martial arts studies, he was the "Guiding Light" in our lives. He started us down the path to becoming "Artists of Life." Now that he has passed away, it is up to each of us how far down that path we will travel.

O'Sensei's dedication to learning and then passing on that knowledge serves as a wonderful inspiration to those of us who struggle to past on his lessons. As I said above, he was always a student himself. His thirst for knowledge was amazing. He has left us with the lesson to always keep the "Beginners Mind," to never stop learning. He unselfishly passed on the lessons that he learned to those who were willing to listen. One thing that will always remain with me is how he always opened up his seminars to beginners as well as experienced black belts. Instructors attending his seminars would find themselves alongside their own white belt students learning kata and other lessons together. There was no room for ego, you simply trained. And the training never stopped. We would often get up before five in the morning and get out to the training area. The lesson began as soon as O'Sensei arrived. That lesson continued through your practice, through breakfast, on into the morning workout, through lunch and into the afternoon workout, through dinner and into the formal evening lecture. Following his lecture many of us would then be invited to his room for continuing lessons. Sometime after midnight we would be excused for a few hours sleep and then start the learning process all over a five in the morning. When you were with O'Sensei you immersed yourself into the martial arts.

Whether it was to meet O'Sensei for training, traveling, a meal or whatever, you always wanted to arrive before he did. And he was always early. Striving to arrive before O'Sensei was quite an adventure in itself. Many a student heard these words, "Don't worry, you're not late, I haven't started yet." But of course the lessons had started. Because they never stopped. I can not remember a time when I was with O'Sensei when he was not teaching us. It didn't matter whether you were in a hotel lobby, on a plane, sitting at a meal or just walking down the street, he was always teaching! And that is the way it was all his life, up to the very end. O'Sensei brought us in and taught his last seminar, just two weeks before his death. He never stopped giving, he never stopped learning.

So it really seems to me that O'Sensei Kim dedicated his life to his students. He gave of himself unselfishly. And as one of his instructors I always ask myself, "Can we do any less?"

For his guidance, patience and insistence on individual perfection, we thank him, very much,

Sensei Rod Sanford

O'Sensei Kim's History

Some may find the history of O'Sensei Richard Kim of great interest. The following is only a brief glimpse of the life of O'Sensei Kim.

O'Sensei Kim was born on November 17, 1917, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He began his study of the martial arts with Judo at the age of five in the early 1920's under Kaneko Sensei. At about the same time he began a study of Karate. He studied under Arakaki Sensei (a disciple of Yabu Kentsu) and Tachibana Sensei. Before World War II he traveled to both China and Japan. In China he spent many years studying the internal arts under Chen Chen Yuan and Shorinjiryu under Choa Hsu Lai. At the Nobori Butai he continued his study under a number sensei. As a young man he gained entrance into the Dai Nippon Butoku-kai in Japan. It was then that he was taught the Budoju Happan, the eighteen arts. While in Japan O'Sensei studied Daito-Ryu under Yoshida Kotaro and actually lived with the master for seven years. He became proficient in Japanese weaponry including the sword, spear, tanto and bo as well as in Okinawan weaponry including the bo, jo, sai, tonfa, tecchu, and kama.

In 1959 O'Sensei Kim arrived in San Francisco and began to teach there on a permanent basis. Throughout the years that followed he taught in San Francisco and Sacramento. He traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe teaching the martial arts. As well as teaching the physical aspects of the martial arts O'Sensei taught the philosophy, history, strategy and spiritual aspects of the arts. He was an excellent lecturer and a story teller second to none.

O'Sensei wrote a monthly column for "Karate Illustrated" magazine and wrote a number of books including: "The Weaponless Warriors." "The Classical Man." And a Kobudo series. He was named Karate Sensei of the Year and later inducted into the Black Belt Hall of Fame. He was the Director of the American Amateur Karate Federation and Vice President for the International Traditional Karate Federation. As a testament to O'Sensei's achievements, at his memorial service Master Hidetaka Nishiyama of the International Traditional Karate Federation presented O'Sensei Kim with the rank of Judan.

Although O'Sensei Kim is not physically present, his spirit will be with us always.

Quotes And Lessons From O'Sensei Richard Kim

"Do you see what you see?"

Those of us that trained with O'Sensei probably heard this one sentence more than anything else. O'Sensei taught that most people see and hear only that which they want to see and hear. There is a huge difference between hearing and listening, seeing and understanding. One of the goals of the martial arts is to "See It As It Is!" This refers to what we would call mushin.

"Patience"

"Patience is the ballast of the soul." In the Japanese language patience additionally means perseverance and indomitable spirit. He would say that perfection demands time, patience and persistence.

"Ichi go, ichi i."

One moment, one life time. This second is the only second, right now! When you clap your hands, you can never get that moment back. Therefore, O'Sensei would say that each moment is the most important moment of your life. Take care of now, and the future will take care of itself. Live each moment of life to its fullest.

Along with this O'Sensei would say that we can not control our birth or our death. The one certain bet in life, is death. And since we can not control this fact then we should not waste our time running from death, but should concern our self with living life, one hundred percent, to its fullest! In our journey from the womb to the tomb we can not control our death, but we can set the conditions of our life. As a side light, one of my black belts who is a sailor said, "I can not change the wind, but I can set the sails." This does a pretty good job of explaining O'Sensei's meaning. O'Sensei would give this example. If you place a seed in a dark, cool drawer and leave it there for a month, you will only find a seed when you open the drawer. But if you take that same seed and plant it in fertile soil and give it water and sunlight it will gown into a beautiful plant. The soil, water and sunlight are the conditions. We can set the conditions of our own life and greatly influence the end result.

Each day, O'Sensei taught, we can choose to live in plus one or minus one. It is our choice. We might call this, "Waking up on the right, or the wrong side of the bed." If you think good thoughts, you will bring good results. It is simply the power of positive thinking. The power of the mind is incredible, never forget it!

Going along with this is another of O'Sensei's favorite quotes:

Watch your thought, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch you actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become character.

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

Some other favorites:

Wealth is lost, nothing is lost.

Health is lost, something is lost.

Character is lost, all is lost.

The greatest compliment that you can give another is that they are trustworthy.

We should treat others with the common dignity and respect respect that one human being owes to another. After all, we are all members of the same tribe.

True character is doing the right thing when no one else is looking.

If it is to be, it is up to me.

If you make a mistake, don't make an encore.

There are no mistakes, there are only lessons.

The only mistake is to not learn the lesson.

To the true martial artists the words "try" and "impossible" do not exist.

"Letting Go."

And as O'Sensei would often say, "Take my word for it!"