08/25/2026
10 years ago today, we lost O’Sensei Shugoro Nakazato (Hanshi-Judan) at the age of 97. Sensei was a true Uchinaguchi / Okinawa-Jin, and he devoted his life before, and after, WW2 to the study and espousing of Shuri-te, Shorin-ryu, or as he called it “Churadi” (beautiful hand). He was funny, but stern, loved to get dressed to the nines, and always seemed to be in a good, cheerful, mood when I was around him. So many people from around the world wanted to train with him, and in many cases did. He had “deshi” (Karate disciples) on every continent except Antarctica, and was a true force of nature. I first got to meet Sensei in Atlanta at the ‘96 Olympic Games where he led a massive delegation from Okinawa to perform Okinawa karate for the IOC at the games, and he also taught a massive seminar to over 500 karate practitioners from around the world. At this seminar, he unveiled GORIN KATA (5 Rings) in honor of the Olympic Games. At the seminar, he was quick and snappy, loved knuckle pushups, and moved like a much younger man. 30 years since first meeting him have gone by, and I still remember one of my happiest moments with him in 2011. Sensei didn’t give out lots of compliments, and, in all the years I knew him and trained with him, I never got one (and I don’t think I did anything to deserve one either). But in May 2011, I got two awesome memories on the same day. First, I got to bear witness to my Sensei’s promotion to Hachidan (8th Dan), which was THE highlight of the trip. And on our very last Kobudo night training, the very LAST Kata we trained was Shugoro No Tonfa…my favorite weapon kata. My big moose self was exhausted from the week and evening, but I remember saying to myself, “Moose get your a** in gear and do this kata to make Sensei proud.” We finished. I was beet red and sweating profusely to say the least. I looked up and Sensei beckoned me over to the corner of the Hombu dojo where he kept his buki (weapons). He didn’t really have an expression so I was wondering if he was happy or mad — did I do the kata justice or did I mess it up? When I walked over to him, he grinned and said in his accent, “berry GOOD” and gave me the 👌 sign and patted me on the back. That night was a prize in itself. It’s a memory I cherish to this day. The MAN himself had given me an ok, and it sure made me feel good inside.
Sensei we miss you! Thank you for being an innovator and sharing your culture and love with ALL people from around the world. There are many folks that have tried to imitate and do what you did, but you are the MAN, and though often imitated, you’ll never be duplicated. Nifee debiruu 🫎🥋👊🙇♂️❤️🙏‼️
にふぇーでーびる,
Musu-San
Axsom Martial Arts
CD Williamson Karate
