The final episode of “52 Masters”…
We shot this on Oct 9th, 2022. Sensei had be undergoing kidney dialysis for quite some time but he felt pretty good that day. I got a chance to train with him and his students and afterwards he was generously agreed to chat with me. We had a great talk about karate and life and we laughed a lot.
On April 24, 2023, Sensei left the earth for the heavenly dojo. He was truly one of the greatest karate masters that this world has ever seen and one of the kindest souls I have ever met. He was a great friend and mentor to so many thousands of people, including myself. In fact, when I was a small boy, my parents took me to a place called Japanese Village and Deer Park, and Sensei and his students performed karate there regularly. This was the first time I had ever witnessed karate in person and I was blown away and soon afterwards I began studying Shorin Karate under Sensei Rabago in Torrance, CA (where I lived)….And while I never got to train with him very much and technically Shihan Demura was not my Sensei, I still consider him one of my Sensei…..So it’s very fitting that the end of this series comes full circle and ends with the man who started it all for me.
He is greatly missed. I do hope that you will enjoy this episode about him and not only smile a little (and maybe cry a little) but get a small glimpse into who he was and what he stood for.
Thank you. 🙏❤️👊
William Christopher Ford