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With the coming of winter, Ryusei karateka in both Japan and North America went a little nuts. We started going outside to test our spirit and bodies with “snow training.” The madness started in November when Ryusei yudansha in Ontario, Canada, took to backyard training with the first snowfall. We were one-upped by Jean Lauzon…

What I recall about my early training with Ken Sakamoto is how serious, almost obsessive, he was about practice. The year was 1979 and the 29-year-old was a direct disciple of Tsuyoshi Chitose, the 10th-dan master and founder of Chito-Ryu karate. When I would wake to train at the 6 a.m. class, in the little…