08/08/2026
If you’re reading this post, I’m almost certain you either follow or have seen Facebook videos of my good friend Matthew Clark Sensei smashing his fists into his makiwara, lifting anything and everything heavy displaying an incredible amount of strength, or class clips in New Zealand where his students are constantly under fire with heavy contact, and through his guidance, handling it seamlessly. Though a tough exterior, Matt is a really good guy with a keen sense of humor. Someone once asked him if he ever smiles to which he replied, “what’s a smile?”
A few years ago Matt flew up to Okinawa where he trained at Honbu for a few weeks. One night, it was just Higaonna Sensei, Uehara Sensei, Matt and myself in the dojo. I knew we were going to be in for a long, banger of a session in that August summer heat. And true to Higaonna Sensei’s reputation for hard training, we left everything we had on the dojo floor. As the class was coming to a close, I figured Higaonna Sensei would finish the training by having Matt and I engage in iri kumi (full-contact sparring) which had been part of the dojo curriculum the whole week and because Matt and I hadn’t sparred each other yet. From my experience, Higaonna Sensei loves to watch people engage in hard sparring and if he feels you’re not giving your all or taking it easy on your opponent, he’ll loudly let you know. As we stood in front of him, Higaonna Sensei seemed to ponder on what he wanted us to do next. Surprisingly (or maybe not) he had us engage in kakie (Okinawan push-hand exercise) instead of irikumi. At first kakie techniques were “pre-arranged” and then Higaonna Sensei said, “now free” meaning Matt and I were left to our own devices. With Higaonna Sensei watching and me mitigating the adrenaline kicking in, I was on pure instinct as Matt is a very dangerous opponent. Locks, throws, sweeps, trapping, grabbing and finger strikes to vulnerable targets (often within a fraction of an inch to your eyes) were all fair game. Like Higaonna Sensei and through years of construction and kigu undo, Matt has hands like bananas; if he grabs you, it’s pretty much over. After a good long session, Higaonna Sensei said, “hai yame” to which Matt and I respectfully bowed. Class was over but the experience forever remained.
I found it interesting that Higaonna Sensei chose to have us engage in kakie rather than sparring. I shared this story with my friend Mario McKenna Sensei (please look him up - amazing researcher and author - unfortunately not on FB) who shared with me that, “Higaonna Sensei already saw what you could do starting at a ‘safe distance’
with iri kumi. He wanted to see how you would handle yourselves when someone was in your face.” Indeed.
IMHO, Matt represents so much of what seems to be missing in karate today: contact, conditioning, forging, realism, etc. He truly exemplifies Higaonna Sensei’s teachings.
