Andy Watson
7th October 2002, 12:05
A good friend of mine, a Shizuno-san, 33 years old was dispatched to New York/New Jersey Port Authority earlier this year. Keen to try out something new he joined a Kyokushinkai Karate club a few months ago having never done martial arts before.
He is not a big guy by any means but he was by far, a nice guy. I met him while I was working in Japan and he was keen to get to know the first non-Japanese to work at his company. He would always speak to me when he saw me and always tried his best to convey himself in English or speak slowly so that I understood his Japanese.
I found out last week he was found dead in his apartment. I repeat he was 33 years old.
He had been training at the dojo and had somehow received a blow which broke a lower rib. Unwittingly he went home to recover not knowing that the rib had punctured an internal organ. A rubbish bin filled with bloodied vomit was found by his bed, he had died from internal bleeding.
I am not sure how he might have sustained this but my gut feeling is that some gung-ho kyokushinkai student thought they might show the Japanese guy just how the art had progressed since leaving Japan. I know little of what happended but I do know that free-sparring full-contact sparring occurs in Kyokushinkai. I also know that it takes a good kick or a punch to break a young persons ribs so much so that it damages the organs.
I doubt his opponent meant to kill him but I do feel very angry at what happened. In the belief that martial arts are supposed to promote a person's life by either improving health or increasing chances of survival, in this case Kyokushinkai has failed.
To the person who dealt out this injury I say, remember that there has to be a line drawn between training to fight for your life and actually fighting for your life. Killing newcomers is not a good thing.
He is not a big guy by any means but he was by far, a nice guy. I met him while I was working in Japan and he was keen to get to know the first non-Japanese to work at his company. He would always speak to me when he saw me and always tried his best to convey himself in English or speak slowly so that I understood his Japanese.
I found out last week he was found dead in his apartment. I repeat he was 33 years old.
He had been training at the dojo and had somehow received a blow which broke a lower rib. Unwittingly he went home to recover not knowing that the rib had punctured an internal organ. A rubbish bin filled with bloodied vomit was found by his bed, he had died from internal bleeding.
I am not sure how he might have sustained this but my gut feeling is that some gung-ho kyokushinkai student thought they might show the Japanese guy just how the art had progressed since leaving Japan. I know little of what happended but I do know that free-sparring full-contact sparring occurs in Kyokushinkai. I also know that it takes a good kick or a punch to break a young persons ribs so much so that it damages the organs.
I doubt his opponent meant to kill him but I do feel very angry at what happened. In the belief that martial arts are supposed to promote a person's life by either improving health or increasing chances of survival, in this case Kyokushinkai has failed.
To the person who dealt out this injury I say, remember that there has to be a line drawn between training to fight for your life and actually fighting for your life. Killing newcomers is not a good thing.