Schools happy to host foreign students

Akihito Yagi says a visit to his island of Okinawa is a great way for someone to kickstart the development of karate skills.

And Yagi is clearly in a position to provide wise counsel on the martial art, with the 40 year old the youngest person to earn an eight-degree black belt, making him the youngest person to reach that lofty karate ranking.

“The best place to learn is Okinawa,” Yagi said during a recent Toronto visit that saw him attend a Tokyo Tourism event. “Okinawa is the birthplace of karate. Karate is like a culture in Okinawa, just like hockey in Canada.”

Okinawa has many karate schools, or dojos as they are called, with foreigners able to attend.

The English-speaking Yagi said foreigners who do study karate in Japan may find they don’t share a common language with their instructors but communication is possible through the likes of hand gestures. A website lists Okinawan dojos.

Yagi — whose father and grandfather also taught karate — said karate isn’t intended to be violent, noting meditation is very much part of it and practitioners should learn how to avoid getting into fights. Yagi has also appeared in karate-themed movies.

Yagi was visiting dojos in Ontario and Winnipeg during his time in this country and had kind words for karate classes here, noting Shin Kawai, who oversees Tokyo Tourism’s Canadian office, teaches karate in Toronto, as does Athena Ho of the Japan National Tourism Organization’s Canadian office.

Yagi is quick to add that Okinawa offers visitors much more than a chance to develop karate skills, citing nice year-round weather, food, nature, beaches and a relaxed lifestyle.

Meanwhile, Rocky Lo of Air Canada, which cohosted the event, said Yagi’s presence at the Toronto event added some star power to an entertaining evening.

“He’s the icon of Okinawa,” Lo declared.