In 1959, I was a freshman boarder at Lahainaluna High School, I loved watching samurai movies.
This was long before I wrote the script for the movie, Enter the Ninja that started the global Ninja phenomenon.

The first Japanese movie I watched, Denko Karate Uchi, inspired me in many ways.
The hero used the flying side kick to end all confrontations. I was hooked on karate.

My Guinness Book of World Record, the Flying Sidekick, was inspired by that movie in 1978, I was invited to be a contestant on the Guinness Game television show, taped in Los Angeles, Calif. Prior to be being booked on this show, I was asked if there was anything I could do on the show that would be impressive, that other martial arts black belts could not do? I said I could probably jump seven feet high, and break a couple of one inch boards. They asked, “When was the last time you did that successfully?” I said, “That was 1963, while still in the army, but I only kicked a three inch piece of tape, hanging from the end of a boom microphone. microphone, held by the sound technician. They asked if I believed I could still jump that high and break a couple of boards? I confidently said…”Sure, I can!!!” I was successful in breaking 2 boards at heights of 5 ½’, 6’, 6.5’and 7’ in setting a record.

My appreciation and love for all things Japanese began when I entered kindergarten at Makawao Elementary School at age 6 years old. I liked everything about my young Japanese classmates. They were humble, polite, friendly, compassionate, respectful, smart, disciplined, calm, and peaceful, all the character and personality traits I did not possess.

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During my junior summer, I decided to remain at the high school and work as a summer job. The boarding department ran several farming projects, a dairy, poultry, swine, vegetable garden, landscaping maintenance, a kitchen, and maintain the school landscape.

One Sunday, in mid-July, I literally bumped into our high school’s sports photographer, Loli Nakamoto, as he existed his photography shop. I always passed Loli’s photo studio on the way to a restaurant or theatre. He offered me to join him at his Aikido class that evening. He explained a little about Aikido, I was interested when he said that learning martial arts will enhance my balance, focus, awareness, coordination, balance, footwork, and make me a better person. I pretended I didn’t hear the last part of what he said.

I was interested in the martial arts, and I was on my way to watch a samurai movie.

I joined him that evening for my first Aikido class. The teacher was Sensei Koichi Tohei, the highest ranked student of Professor Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido. I was hooked on on the person of Sensei Tohei. I wanted to be like him, not in his physical skills and abilities, but in his manner, attitude, discipline, confidence, calm, and peaceful nature. He exuded integrity, wisdom, honor, trust and respect. This ideal has become my idea of what a martial arts master should be like. I learned most martial arts teachers, don't come near that level of humanity.

My movie hero for many years was Shintaro Katsu, a Japanese actor, who starred as The Blind Swordsman, in the Zatoichi films. I was hooked, amazed at his ability to move so gracefully, and effortlessly while wearing geta (3 inch high wooden slippers) while fighting, using a cane-sword, and blind. The terrain could be sandy or rocky beaches, rice paddies, mountain slopes with cascading waterfalls, crowded geisha houses, rain, snow, he was flawless. I incorporated many of his sword fighting techniques when choreographing the ninja movies I worked on.