As you walk through the gymnasium hallways at SF State on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, the sounds are many and varied. Pass by rooms 124 and 125 and you hear the sounds of "keyops," the slapping sounds of bodies hitting mats, and commands being given in Japanese.
Welcome to the dojo.
Behind these doors, students learn the ancient Japanese martial arts of karate, aikido, and judo.
Karate (empty-hand) is taught by Sensei Gosei Yamaguchi. The art includes strikes, kicks, and blocks. Yamaguchi is a ninth-degree black belt in "goju-kai," a style of karate developed in Okinawa and mainland Japan by his father. Yamaguchi's father started the style in 1932, and the whole family has helped to spread his style worldwide.
Aikido (the way of harmony) and judo (the way of the soft throw) are both taught by Sensei Mastoshi Morita. Morita, 48, has studied aikido for 26 years and holds a 7th-degree black belt.
He has studied judo for 12 years and holds a 2nd-degree black belt in that art.
Although very proficient in both arts, Morita said he feels he is not a "professional" instructor in judo and seems to favor his aikido expertise.
Aikido uses joint locks and precise fluid movements to subdue attackers. Judo incorporates throws, choke-holds, arm-bars, and ground fighting and is an olympic sport. Morita learned his aikido at Yoshinkai Aikido in mainland Japan and runs his own dojo in South San Francisco.
Yamaguchi and Morita teach a number of classes each semester at SF State ranging from elementary to advanced levels.