Transcending Limits

第5話 Minoh High School's Shorinji Kempo Club

Due to my poor academic performance, I ended up enrolling in the public Minoh High School, which had a lower entrance exam score than the fallback option of the private Momoyama Gakuin. Luckily, Minoh High School had a Shorinji Kempo club. I knew absolutely nothing about this martial art, but the name "Shorinji" reminded me of Bruce Lee's kung fu, which I liked.

In reality, Shorinji Kempo was a Japanese martial art founded by a Japanese pioneer named Sou Doushin in Tadotsu Town, Kagawa Prefecture, after the war. I was captivated by the demonstrations performed by senior members at the freshman welcome party and immediately decided to join.

I thought that Shorinji Kempo , being a physical education club, would have the toughest and most unreasonable senpai (senior members) of all. I was prepared to endure their harsh training in order to strengthen myself. However, later I realized that the seniors were actually kind, and there was no undue severity. It was just that the club captain didn't take a liking to me for some reason.

The training regimen began with thorough full-body stretching for thirty minutes. Then we moved on to training, starting with "kentsuki" - push-ups with fists on wooden boards. This was extremely painful at first.

Next, fifty sit-ups and back extensions. Then, two hundred squats. If you faltered even a little, the captain would shout, "What's wrong with you?" Afterward, we practiced forms (kata) and ended with sparring in pairs. My sparring partner was Mr. Miyata.

I quickly got the impression that I was getting stronger after starting the training, and I said goodbye to my junior high school days, feeling an immediate improvement. Additionally, at school, when I mentioned that I was training in the Shourinji Kempo club, those who used to tease me about my slender build fell silent. However, I was still haunted by the fear that even if I could win in a fight, the guy with a one-meter waist had become a yakuza.

During that time, I was also obsessed with a best-of album by Boz Scaggs that I borrowed from my childhood friend's older brother. I borrowed all of Boz's previous albums from the rental record shop, dubbed them onto tapes, and listened to them constantly until I graduated from high school.

Second year of high school shines the brightest in my life. The class was filled with good relationships and was enjoyable. Also, when it comes to the memorable songs from that time, it would be "All Right" by Christopher Cross. The intro was good, his refreshing voice was good, and the guitar solo was good too. Even now, I listen to it on YouTube. Furthermore, I watched Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" on MTV and thought I'd like a wife like her in the future.

Now, returning to the practice of Sholinji Kempo, we trained six times a week. Occasionally, we ran about 7 or 8 kilometers from the high school to Minoh Falls. At that time, we wore the school's green jerseys while running. I remember the soccer team telling us, "You guys, stop wearing those lame school-designated jerseys and running."

So, we decided to run in our martial arts uniforms. As a second-year high school student who had just achieved the first dan, I felt a thrill in tightening the black belt and running. It was like, "Look at me, I'm strong, and I look cool."

On the way back from Minoh Falls, there's a staircase that leads to an observation deck. Just before that, Yamamura, who was called "President" because of his dignified presence, said, "Hey, want to go?" and pulled out a Seven Stars cigarette from his uniform.

I exclaimed, "Wow," and dashed up the stairs, taking a break at the observation deck. Then, Yamamura said, "I wonder if we're doing good things for our bodies or bad things," and we both smiled.

Also, what I remember from Yamamura is the training camp we had in Tadotsu Town during our second year of high school. At night, when the two of us were walking through town, four locals who appeared to be high school students were sitting in a squat, smoking. And the leader among them said this:

"Hey, you guys, don't walk around with such big attitudes."

In response, the President settled it with a simple "Yeah." I thought there might be a conflict.

My partner in sparring, Miyata, was allowed to participate in the Osaka Prefecture tournament in a select group for a demonstration match just before retiring. Although it wasn't a Shigoki, I deliberately violated the last rule, aiming to break the nose of the one-year senior captain who treated me harshly. I didn't make the selection. However, looking back on it now, I think it was foolish.

Around this time, my younger brother told me that Miho Koizumi's "All Night Japan" radio show had started. I had been avoiding her because I thought she was too cool and distant, but after starting to listen to the radio, I became a fan after encountering her warm personality.

I had been avoiding her because I thought she was too cool and distant, but I started listening to her radio show and became a fan, touched by her warm personality.

From a classmate named Kotani, I received a tape of "Final Cut," an album by Pink Floyd, one of the leading progressive rock bands from the UK. Perhaps Pink Floyd's music resonated with my life up to that point, but I became captivated by "Final Cut."

When I was studying for exams, the guitar solo kept playing in my head and was really distracting. By the way, the name Pink Floyd comes from the bluesmen Pinkney "Pink" Anderson and Floyd Council.

Shortly before retiring from Shorinji Kempo in my second year of high school, I started playing the electric guitar. And I became obsessed with it. I started practicing "Hotel California" by the Eagles. I thought about taking guitar lessons, but considering whether Jimi Hendrix took lessons, I figured he probably didn't, so I decided to go my own way.

During my second year of high school, the Rangoon Bombing targeted at President Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea, orchestrated by North Korean agents, occurred. Then, in my third year, the Yamaguchi-gumi split from the Ichiwa-kai, starting the Yama-Ichi Conflict. Furthermore, a series of corporate extortion incidents targeting food companies in the Hanshin area (Osaka and Hyogo Prefectures) began, known as the Glico-Morinaga Incident.