The Meaning of Ma-Ya
Ma-Ya is an abbreviation of a name. A person’s name actually, but he is no ordinary person…
I think the term ‘master’ is used too frequently in martial arts and in the media. Having said that, I know a Budo Master, a true ‘master’.
He lives just outside the central part of a huge metropolis called Tokyo, in Japan. He looks like any other aging Japanese man, but when he wears his do-gi (karate suit), there is an aura of excellence. This aura comes from thousands of hours of training, constantly aiming for unreachable perfection. His level of knowledge and understanding surpasses many.
He practiced Wado Karate with Ohtsuka Sensei, the founder of Wado and has continued to practise and develop the true Wado and Budo principles after Ohtsuka Sensei’s passing. He has practised many different martial arts including kendo and sumo.
Despite his small frame he had a few sumo matches and won! He told me how he practiced against a large tree. He practised and tried very hard to push the tree over. The tree was immovable. This was hard training, but because of this, the other sumo wrestler was easy to push.
When training in Japan, I asked Yanagawa Sensei if he could think of a name for my dojo. He suggested Ma-Ya Karate Academy, an abbreviation of his name…
Photos by Jamie Ellson, spring 2007. Used in Traditional Karate July 2007
