1969 & 1971

1971. In front of Saito Sensei's home in Iwama. Bill Witt (glasses), Saito Sensei, Shigemi Inagaki, Hirosawa and Komatsuzaki in back; Okusan and Hitohiro in front. At this time, Saito Sensei was a relative unknown and had only a few regular students.

Bill Witt provided the original photographs to me from his collection of early photos taken during the time he began coming out to Iwama from Tokyo as a very new shodan. Shigemi Inagaki and Komatsuzaki were the first deshi he met in Iwama.

Regarding the ragged, worn hakama: "Everybody was poor then and didn't have money for new hakama just because one wore out." A lot of suwari-waza and hard training is evident in those hakama.

Photo: Bill Witt

1969. Saito Sensei works on morote-dori with two uke, including Komatsuzaki and the spectacularily worn hakama.

1969. Jo-dori with Komatsuzaki.

1969. Bill Witt with the kids class.

1969. Saito Sensei strikes high to Bill Witt's wrist. On the shomen is the board with O-Sensei's ink brushing--before it was smeared by accident by a nameless uchi-deshi.

1969. Saito Sensei with Bill Witt, showing the classic Iwama hip set.

1969. Saito Sensei strikes to Bill Witt's knee.

1969. Saito Sensei works with a short stick against Bill Witts' ken. Back then, the dojo wainscoating was still blonde;now it has become dark and polished by countless daily "soji o shimasu".

1969. Saito Sensei with stick vanquishes Bill Witt with ken.

1969. Saito Sensei tosses Bill Witt a respectable distance.