The Danzan Ryu thread (http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10924) got me looking for the picture of Henry Okazaki giving FDR a massage that had dissapeared and I found this info about old Henry getting into a fight. The style may not be known for hard sparring/live training these days, but it sounds like it may have gone the all- too-familiar bs way through the years.
From http://www.highsierrajujitsu.com/history/
The years in Hilo were busy ones. Jujitsu workouts with Tanaka-sensei were daily. When he wasn’t at Shinyu-Kai, he was working. He tried a number of different jobs but Jui-Jitsu was his life. As he learned Yoshin-ryu from Tanaka-sensei he began to study other forms as well. He studied Hawaiian Lua, Okinawan karate, Philippine knife play and, from Master Wo Chong, Kung Fu. However, his main proficiency was in Yoshin-ryu, the style taught by Tanaka-sensei.
The recovery of his health and his expertise in Yoshin-ryu made Okazaki a bit cocky. In the early twenties, he began going around the island, fighting exhibition bouts where and when he could find takers. His greatest moments came in May of 1922. In April of that year, a friend of Okazaki’s, a martial artist named “Speed” Takahashi challenged a boxer, named Carl “Kayo” Morris to a bout. It was to be a confrontation between a boxer and a Jujitsu expert. Takahashi was fast and extremely proficient, but he wore glasses and couldn’t see well without them. Morris took advantage of his handicap and knocked Takahashi out in the first round.
Okazaki immediately challenged Morris to a bout. For the next month and a half, he trained. He watched other boxers to try to find weaknesses. A friend who worked at the Chevrolet dealership suggested that he should try to stay very low, out of the reach of Morris’ punches. He used this advice. On May 19, 1922 the two men met. The fight was scheduled for six, three-minute rounds. It lasted only two. In the first round, Okazaki stalked his man, staying down in a low crouch. Theory is always less hazardous than practice. Okazaki misjudged both Morris’ reach and power and had his nose broken halfway through the first round.
In the next round, Okazaki watched for an opening. Morris, who had been jabbing, keeping Okazaki away, left his arm out a bit too long. Okazaki moved, driving under the boxer’s arm and throwing the man. The throw and the fall injured Morris’ arm and he was unable to continue. Okazaki’s fame was immediate and the newspapers carried the story all the way back to Japan.
The Hilo Daily Tribune, while not lavish with its praise, was nonetheless enthusiastic. The story made the front page of the Saturday morning edition with the headlines, “Morris Has No Chance Against Jujitsu Expert”:
"Five minutes after the start of the mixed bout and during which time Okazaki threw Morris and himself over the ropes into the audience upon two occasions. (sic) Okazaki threw his opponent to the mat and with an arm lock which wrenched the muscles of Morris' right arm and forced him to (figuratively speaking) throw up the sponge.
At first sight, it looked as if Morris' arm was broken, but after an examination by Dr. S. R. Brown, who was present in the audience, it was found that the muscles were merely badly wrenched. "
After the bout, Okazaki is supposed to have visited Morris in the hospital and massaged the boxer’s arm, and the two are even said to have become friends. Whatever the epitaph to the bout, the win must have certainly bolstered Okazaki’s already healthy ego.
Old style training:
