Autobiography - 5 | Beginnings in Karate

Q: You mentioned your friend who practiced Taekwondo. How did you get into Karate?

A: Well, it's a bit of a long story, but I'll try to keep it concise. I had a friend, Kitschi, who was a Taekwondo practitioner. He was a really admirable guy. He used to cut grass at the NS Pam, which was a football field in Seremban. I always admired his physique. Another friend, John, also had a fantastic build. These guys were quite famous and respected in Malaysia, especially in Seremban.

Kitschi eventually stopped bodybuilding and focused on Taekwondo. When I met him, he was a brown belt. He showed me some kicks and punches, and I was immediately fascinated. I wanted to learn Taekwondo at that point. However, he told me that their classes were too advanced and they weren't taking beginners. I'm not sure if that was entirely true, but I did see new people joining.

I was disappointed, but I still admired his techniques. He had a makiwara in his house, and he would practice punching it. Back then, Taekwondo practitioners also used makiwara. I remember reading Karate books because there weren't many on Taekwondo. I especially enjoyed "Vital Karate" by Mas Oyama Sensei. I was very inspired and wanted to learn Karate, but there were no Karate schools around at the time.

I also remember when General Choi Hong Hi, the founder of Taekwondo, came to Malaysia. He later became a political refugee in Montreal, Canada. I had the opportunity to meet him and several other Korean instructors. They wore very tight gis that were cuffed at the bottom. They were from the Tiger Battalion military, or so I was told. They had strong knuckles and were excellent at kicking and punching. It wasn't like the Taekwondo you see today; it was completely different. Although I met these people, I never joined Taekwondo, but I learned a few punches and kicks from Kitschi.

One day, I saw a poster advertising a new Karate school opening in my city. I was the first person to enroll. The poster featured someone doing a mawashi geri, specifically Mas Oyama catching a white man and kicking him in the head. When I went to my first class, I was surprised to see a small, thin man teaching. I was a bit disappointed because I was expecting someone like Mas Oyama.

The father of Karate in Malaysia was Mr. Chuu Chuut. He brought many Karate styles to Malaysia, including Shito-ryu. But if the instructors didn't suit him, he would dismiss them because he wanted to be the chief instructor and examiner. Those instructors would then often go to Singapore, where Shito-ryu became very popular. Later, he brought in Shotokan Karate instructors. When that didn't suit him either, he brought in Kyokushin Karate instructors.

In Kyokushin Karate at the time, there was a Japanese Sensei named Hideyuki Okayama. Sensei Okayama was also a Goju-ryu practitioner. He used to teach Goju-ryu kata and perform sai kata. His Goju-ryu kata and sai kata became incorporated into the Kyokushin curriculum. One of the Kyokushin Sensei, Masayuki Takasaka, was skilled with the nunchaku and always featured it in his demonstrations. We also practiced nunchaku as part of the Karate curriculum back then.

So this was all Kyokushin Karate. The founder of Malaysian Karate, Mr. Chuut, also had some experience in Chinese martial arts. He used to teach the double dragon stick and perform demonstrations of fighting a long bow. It was a mix of different styles. He later dismissed all these instructors and formed his own style called Budokan Karate, named after the Budokan Hall in Tokyo, where the first World Karate Championship was held. He came back from Japan and declared that they would now have their own Malaysian style called Budokan Karate. That's a part of my Karate history. It's a much longer story, which I can share in the next episode.

Q: Do you remember your first Karate training session?

A: Oh yes, very vividly.

Q: Could you describe it?

A: I started Karate around 14 or 15 years old. I was working as an office boy at the time. As I mentioned, I used to visit my Taekwondo friends, saw the poster, and became interested. When I enrolled, I was fascinated by the number of people there. I remember one pretty lady who was collecting money for the fees.

I remember it was three classes with each training lasting at least one and a half to two hours. I joined all three classes, which were held about five times a week, every day with different classes. I attended all these trainings. During that first training, I was struck by the amount of money the lady had, and I saw the instructor flirting with her. I thought, "Wow, she's interested," and he was showing off his punches and kicks. I immediately thought, "I want to be a Karate instructor!" That became my ambition.

After my first lesson, I came home and my mother asked me how my training was. I told her I enjoyed it so much and that I was going to become a Karate instructor. My brother, who was two years older than me, overheard. My mother told him, "Your brother is training Karate and he's going to be a Karate instructor one of these days." He responded, "Oh my God, this 'fatty' (as he sometimes called me), what has he started? He starts everything and stops everything, and now he wants to be a Karate teacher." But inside, I was determined to become a Karate instructor. It would be my profession.

I wanted to make a lot of money. I told my mother that when I started teaching Karate, she wouldn't have to work anymore. She used to cook for British people and, after they left, continued to cook for some wealthy families. I told her that the moment I started teaching Karate, she wouldn't have to work again. And I did it! When I became an instructor, the first thing I did was ensure she never went back to work. My father and mother never worked again after I became a Karate instructor. Until they passed away, I made sure they never had to.

That was my goal. To this day, I'm still practicing Karate. Many of my Malaysian friends and colleagues here used to tell me, "You won't survive in Karate in Germany. You'll come back to us one day and ask for a job in our discos or restaurants." I said, "Maybe you guys will need that because your Karate wasn't so good. I won't do it. I will make sure I will do Karate." And I'm still doing it today, 45 years in Germany. I was also doing it in Malaysia, and I'm still continuing to teach and practice Karate, and we are happy about it.

Thank you.

Thank you for this clip, and see you soon in the next one.

Okay, in the next clip, I can tell you more about the Karate styles and other things. See you. Bye.