On the Magic of Teaching
Kaiden Shihan Sandaikichu Judan Gil Adams recently wrote to me:
I’ve been thinking about my life in the Martial Arts. In the process, I gave reflection to the people who shared in the actions of learning. That took me to the wonderful experience with Doc.
My recollection was how humbly and strongly Doc would inject a wonderful and heavy dose of “Simple” into his teaching. This was done without the secret decoder ring. His second gift to all was you could do something because “He knew you could.” His third gift was his nurturing encouragement to practice and become good at doing it. He believed in you! That changed myself in my own teaching and gave me great understanding about the circle of sharing the blessings of Martial Arts. I’m so glad I got to get some of Doc’s magic.
To Serve
This Samurai Issue (loosely translated from the Japanese as "to serve" or “one who serves”) is going out on Father’s Day as a tribute to our Founder, and our Style’s Father. It is also going out as a reminder (mostly to myself) that whenever I think I’m getting “fatherhood” right, I’m serving. I’m fixing something, building something, worrying about something, anticipating some potential situation, teaching something.
Doc was the most admirable and least self-indulgent person I have ever known. He was the father of our Ryu, but he was also its most selfless servant. I’ve had a chance to re-watch many of the old videos of him teaching. As a young man, I watched the flying, the falls, and the desperate tap-outs, marveling at his ability and his strength, wanting to be just like him. Needing, more than anything in the world, his approval. Years later, I see something different in the videos; I see a total indifference to the flying, the falls, and the desperate tap-outs, and I see him looking only at his students, looking for heads nodding, looking for understanding in their eyes, looking for wakarimasu.
He worried constantly that if he just worked a little harder, if he just kept trying, that he could simplify it more, that he could allow us to skip the mistakes he made, that he could explain it better, or show it more intuitively. If only… He always thought he could do just a little bit better, even when he was in a wheelchair at the end of his life. He worried we would leave missing some essential move, or understanding some important concept, or that there were some guiding words he forgot to give us. He spent a life teaching, then healing, and then teaching again. Which is to say, he spent a life serving. He was true Samurai.
And if anyone should ever tell my story...
Let them say that for a brief, beautiful moment, I walked with giants.
June 21, 2020
Scot, let me be the first to say, thank you for your service and all that you have done. This was a wonderful tribute to a great man; our Sensei, our Soke. KAMPAI!!
June 21, 2020
Scot.
On behalf of the whole Cohe Family, thank you again for another beautiful tribute to my Dad’s life in Martial Arts. I have visited the Web Site every day since he passed and taken a minute with my morning coffee to think about him (as he was) as well as to remember his impact on all of our lives. I have been personally moved by every one of your Shinbun issues and enjoyed sharing them with him at our Sunday lunches. Your efforts gave him great pleasure in his final years. I understand your sense of loss and thank you for preserving these wonderful memories. Well done!
We would also like to again thank all of you in the extended Tsugiashi-Do family who were able to attend the funeral and burial and many others for their thoughtful calls and messages. More importantly, I thank you all for how you maintained contact and honored him while he was still with us.
We wish everyone a Happy Fathers Day and all the best… Shaw Cohe
June 21, 2020
Doc was the grandfather of martial arts to me. He taught me to step around the circle in a straight line to the corners. I will always treasure his friendship. And thanks Scot for all you have done to preserve his legacy.
June 22, 2020
Gazing out while standing on the shoulders of giants offers a compelling and unique vantage point when coupled with humility and a desire to help others achieve those same lofty heights. Thank you Doc and Mickey for standing so tall, and thank you Scot for your selfless and caring devotion to Tsugiashi Do……Kevin
June 23, 2020
Scott you put together a great tribute to, Doc and Mickey. Lots of meaning for me, watching Doc, Mickey and the boys bring together many different martial art styles and see the expression on their faces and see their eyes light up as Doc and Mickey performed their magic teaching the Tsugi Ashi Style at seminars in 29 Palms, Ca. Once they attended they could not wait for the next seminar. During these seminars Doc and Mickey continued my growth with, one-on-one next level training on Sundays concentrating on essential moves, understanding concepts and making corrections to the little things that make techniques work. I am very glad that had the experience of meeting and learning from these two great teachers.
July 20, 2020
Touched by all. Missed all these years. A most important time that is always with one. To each and every, stay well…..and remember.
Richard Berlin (the calligraphy, Japanese, in the lower group photo looks familiar)
July 22, 2020
Perhaps no one will read – that is fine. One has been away much too long. There is a difference in the calligraphy in the tsugiashi-do writing in the lower picture versus at the top of the page. The lower photo is done by an amateur – perhaps the writing I brought back from Tokyo after a brief lesson with a master; I later brought back a copy done by the master herself for Sensei (perhaps the uppermost photo), along with hankos for the ranking belts. We had worked out in Closter, at the Yoshitsune dojo. There was a subsequent year in Sensei’s backyard, rain or shine (rain) conducting the post work-out tea sessions in the Cohe home basement. Marshall found the space in Edgewater and we moved again. There was to be a dojo trip to Japan; Doc and I planned it and I was assigned to ‘learn’ Japanese to pretend to interpret (for a true interpreter). Late in the Reagan years interest rates changed and most of the dojo could no longer afford the trip overseas. At the end of the decade I married the Japanese language instructor, took the trip to Tokyo and Kyoto, found my family under water financially and left for points west, getting as far as Illinois. Never wanted to leave – the winds of change took us and the flow found us among the corn and soybeans and travel plans that included Asia. All the best to each. Not memories……living.
December 31, 2020
Thank you sensei Cohe, who single handedly changed my life at 17 forever. could not have had a more caring, loving, committed, teacher, who lived the art like a zen master,…and delivered that passion to everyone he taught. my maui dojo is going for 30 yrs so far, thanks to my sensei and all of my sensei and students who I came up with, as he and they taught me how to teach our ancient art with a gentle hand and make it applicable to the street. because of sensei cohe and sensei’, I went on to teach law enforcement, secret service and federal agents, military special forces members, women empowerment and protection seminars, and dojo students. our Intoku dojo in Maui, has grown to include kids classes, push hands, full ground fighting Brazilian, ufc fight training and our dojo’s sensei act as corner men in the ring. So much has happened because of doc and our dojo family and so many lives have been touched and changed because of his influence. My dojo is now being run by my 5 blackbelts, while I am in LA, and they keep the integrity of the dojo, the style, and tsugiashi. the last time I was back for a visit, I was greeted by 50 parents who sit outside the dojo in lawn chairs waiting for their kids – its become a family dojo as well and even my sensei’ wifes, kids, and grandkids are in the dojo have the art passed down to them, from their sensei, from, me, from sensei cohe, depasquale, etc., etc. All of this history, memories, training, are because of sensei cohe and I thank you from the deepest part of my bushido heart. When I left ny for maui, sensei told me to give back the art as he gave it to me, and I took that seriously. we had dues just to pay the rent, but thats it. I never charged for teaching the art and gave it freely as did our dojo family in the east. I never turned anyone away if they had no money for dues, but still wanted to learn. that was the gift I gave back to my sensei. Thank you doc for my lifelong gift, which is used in every part of life, other than defense. Much love to all my jujitsu brothers and sisters. miss you, and will make sure to throw some of my students in your honor when back in the dojo. Hussssss!!!
December 31, 2020
hey if anyone has a better/higher resolution shot of the first picture of us standing together in 29 palms. would love to have that one. if you have it, please email it to me at [email protected]
would be greatly appreciated.
thanks, Sempai Russo ////
December 31, 2020
can anyone send me a better shot of the first pic at 29 palms? thank you!