Myths, Masters and Mayhem

Stories of the Martial Arts

2 - The Pathfinders - Sensei Doug Holloway

Christchurch Shibu's 40th anniversary of the dojo's founder, Sensei Doug Holloway, quietly described what he had to do to learn karate.

I would like to repeat to the best of my recollection what he said, my apologies to Sensei Doug if I get some of it incorrect.

Sensei Doug grew up in Invercargill during the 1950s and although he is cagey about his age I suspect that around 1960 he was in his late teens. He became fascinated by eastern martial arts, as young men of that age are prone to do (well I certainly was at that age). Initially he tried to find out about Judo, which was then the most well-known eastern martial art. As you might expect judoka were pretty thin on the ground in Southland, but he found similar interested individuals and they would train together, often teaching themselves out of books.

The impression I got was that at that time Sensei Doug and the others were not too fussy about what they could learn and as a result they picked up a smattering of other martial arts including karate. Sensei tells about how he would hang around the docks at Bluff (that must have been a learning experience in itself) to meet Japanese sailors who may have known some martial arts.

It was about this time he obtained a copy of a book on karate by Masutatsu Oyama. He was so impressed with what he read that he decided he would go and train in the Kyokushin Honbu. I am not sure how he convinced his parents that this was a good idea, but obviously his advocacy skills were already well developed and it is no wonder that in later life he became a lawyer.

Anyhow sometime during 1963 or 1964 he arrives alone in Tokyo with what can only be assumed a limited knowledge of karate and asks to train in the toughest dojo in the world. I am not sure that we can comprehend what he embarked on but I can only assume that Fate favours the innocent.

Sensei Doug was a bit vague on the next bit. I suspect it was a bit of a blur, but during this time he trained for six hours or more a day, for six days a week, for (I think) three months. The standard Kyokushin class at that time was two hours long and comprised basics (lots of line work), some kata and then the sparring. Sparring was done only one way and that is hard. I suspect that Sensei was bounced, dropped and splattered, but he persevered. He mentions receiving support from a fellow gaijin karate student, the famous English karateka Shihan Steve Arneil who in turn introduced him to a very young Kaicho Nakamura. Kaicho assisted Sensei with developing his kata.

Upon his return to New Zealand Sensei moved to Christchurch to begin his law degree at the best university in New Zealand (I am not at all biased). Looking for a place to practise and teach karate he went to the Can-Am-Ju Judo club where he met a 20-year-old Judo Shodan named Renzie Hanham. Shuseki Renzie was to become one of his first students.

I honestly think that even as a young man I would not have had the guts to do what Sensei Doug did. The students of the New Zealand's Seido and Kyokushin karate styles have much to thank him for.