Photo by Dexter Bercero

Ohshima visits karate practice at CSULB

The students line up against the perimeter of the gymnasium at exactly noon.

The white and brown belts occupy two sides and the black belts take the other. They all kneel and wait for him to begin.

The man is the center of attention. He kneels in front of the class and leads the students in a series of meditation and breathing exercises.

After that, he instructs them to spread along the gym floor for stretching exercises.

The gym is barely big enough to hold this full house.

These students are here Monday, Wednesday and Friday to practice Shotokan Karate, the oldest martial arts form at Cal State Long Beach.

Last Friday, the students were visited by Tsutomu Ohshima, a leading figure in karate today.

Martial arts connoisseurs know Ohshima as the man who introduced karate from Japan to the United States.

In 1956, he opened the first karate dojo in Los Angeles.

"It was time for the culture to come to the western world," he said.

The karate practice is divided into three categories. The first is kihon which consists of basic blocks, punches, kicks and stances. Pre-arranged forms called kata are practiced next. These forms simulate combative situations.

The last is sparring or kumite. A strong yell or a ki-ai spontaneously follows each move.

"All body and mind come to one," Ohshima told the students. "It's a strong practice, not ten times this and that."

At the end of practice, Ohshima praised the students and told them he was impressed with their workout.

He autographed books, took pictures and wrote names on students' belts in Japanese.