Trained Japanese in his Dojo and was married to A Japanese woman. Most people do not know the early seagal History. Itīs clear Pellius does and is a Martial Artist. You come from Hawaii? I remember you wrote this i think. Small circle Jui Jitsu and Kempo Karate are from there i believe. Small circle was Wally Jay if i have the name correct?
Because of the huge Japanese population, Japanese Martial Arts, and Martial Arts in general, has always been huge in Hawaii. Right now there are more MMA schools/training facilities per mile than in any other State in the union. Seems like everybody trains on some level.
I first started formal training when I was 8 years old at Aikido of Honolulu (The Waialea Dojo) that was just about a mile away from where I lived. My parents sent me there not because they had any idea of the historic significance of the Dojo by rather a way to channel my aggression. They were horrified when they found a training book I bought for $5 through the mail by Count Dante claiming to teach you the secrets of "Dim Mak". "KILL A MAN WITH ONE STRIKE!" was the headline. Why a boy of 8 would want to learn how to kill another man with one strike was a cause of great concern to them.
The Aikido of Honolulu was the first Dojo dedicated solely to Aikido training outside of the United States. Morihei Ueshiba presided over the grand opening in 1961 and it was his first and only trip outside of the Japan for the purpose of Aikido.
When you walked in it was a beautiful and pristine. Japanese always have a way of turning anything into a work of art. You don't realize how big the facility was from the front because in the back they had a court yard and facilities where the instructor's lived. They were old vets all from Japan and from the WW2 era and came to Hawaii specifically to teach at that Dojo. And they did not mess around. A lot of smacks on the back of the legs with a bamboo stick when one strayed from the path of virtue. A lot of the training drills were torture like hanging from a wooden beam that was also used for pullups and standing in a horse stance for what seemed like forever. To this day I just despise any type of isometric type training. I never developed that trait to "leave my body and become one with... or master the concept of "Ki' which was always the over riding theme. I would just always feel pain and wishing it would end.
Of course I didn't care about any of that stuff at eight. All that mattered to me and kept my enthusiasm was that my older brother told me Aikido was bad ass and it was taught no where else in the U.S. and when you became a master you could whip eight guys at once. Three in the front, one on each side, and three in the back.
That's all I needed to know and gave me hope and encouraged me when I would walk to the Dojo wearing my gi in the hot sun and people teasing and making fun of me. "Here comes Mr. Karate Boy", "Don't hurt me Karate Boy", "Where's your Black Belt, Karate Boy".
I just sucked it up and thought of the day when I would grow up and be big enough and skilled enough to whipped their asses.
Aikido of Honolulu
Morihei Ueshiba at the Waialae Dojo, 1961
