After breakfast I practiced Taikiken and Taijiquan at the same spot. Most of the mornings Hatsuo Royama was there to do his Taikiken training. He taught me a three line stepping system and his famous low kick (mawashi gedan geri).
Every Sunday morning, Kenichi Sawai Sensei came to Meiji Jingu, to teach his fellow Taikiken trainees as he called us. He was clear in his teaching, and touched the essence of every movement. by explaining how to apply them in real combat.
He was in his seventies, full of life-force and often demonstrated Hakei, an explosive power (fa li). At the end of the Sunday mornings we had to do free sparring (kumite) (san shou), Sawai Sensei’s favorite part, rules? No rules! He often joined us in action. After a long Sunday morning training, it was theory time in Renoir coffee shop, where Kenichi Sawai spoke inspired about Taikiken and his training with Wang Xiangzhai. He talked with arms and legs and often we flew around the coffee shop, when he showed the fundamentals in action. Martial art not only added years to his life, but more important, life to his years. This was very meaningful to me, because mastering ki (qi), the main target of Taikiken was a transcendental goal. So, When he told us “if you practice your Ritsuzen for thirty years you will feel ‘it’, he himself was an living illustration of what that ‘it’ could be. The year after, I went to Malaysia to learn from master Chan Eng Hin. He taught me iron shirt qigong, and how to train with special equipment, methods I integrated into Taikiken.
In 1977 I became one of the first company trainers and personal coaches in Holland using martial art and its philosophical background in management training with companies like KLM, Samson, Casino Holland and others. My first coaching client was Jan Lammers who I prepared for his career in formula one car racing. Meeting celebrities and captains of industry, and their positive reactions on my work made me realize, that martial art as a form of professional team building and coaching had a prosperous future.
In 1978 I used my knowledge of qigong to do research on the influence of EMF (electromagnetic fields) on human health and the environment. I used high tech equipment like a thermograph and a spectrum analyzer to prove the ancient Chinese ideas about energy and polarities. From my findings and my knowledge of martial art I developed a contemporary form of feng shui which I still use for clients.
When I returned to Japan some years later and I found that my old tracks at the training spot were still there. Waking the same path day in day out had done its job. This time I enjoyed the warm hospitality of Yashuhide Takagi’s family. Yashuhide was captain of the Housei university Karate team, and showed a keen interest in my Taikiken, later he became one of Sawai Sensei’s senior students. I visited Japan several times and I was living there when Sawai Sensei died in 1988. I attended the funeral ceremony to pay respect to my teacher, who greatly influenced my martial arts and my way of living.
Every Sunday morning, Kenichi Sawai Sensei came to Meiji Jingu, to teach his fellow Taikiken trainees as he called us. He was clear in his teaching, and touched the essence of every movement. by explaining how to apply them in real combat.
He was in his seventies, full of life-
In 1978 I used my knowledge of qigong to do research on the influence of EMF (electromagnetic fields) on human health and the environment. I used high tech equipment like a thermograph and a spectrum analyzer to prove the ancient Chinese ideas about energy and polarities. From my findings and my knowledge of martial art I developed a contemporary form of feng shui which I still use for clients.
When I returned to Japan some years later and I found that my old tracks at the training spot were still there. Waking the same path day in day out had done its job. This time I enjoyed the warm hospitality of Yashuhide Takagi’s family. Yashuhide was captain of the Housei university Karate team, and showed a keen interest in my Taikiken, later he became one of Sawai Sensei’s senior students. I visited Japan several times and I was living there when Sawai Sensei died in 1988. I attended the funeral ceremony to pay respect to my teacher, who greatly influenced my martial arts and my way of living.
