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1993. 5th Anniversary of the Kodenkan Martial Arts School. Primary Education Group. |
1993. 5th Anniversary of the Kodenkan Martial Arts School. Primary Education Group.
Vedruna Informa Magazine: Kodenkan Budo No. 1 (School Year 1993–94).
By Alberto Usón.
Interview conducted with Ricardo Sanz Orús on the 5th anniversary of the founding of the Kodenkan Budo Martial Arts School. A Jujutsu instructor at the school, his passion for the discipline has brought vitality to the classes. He not only trains the students at the school but also educates them. This is the profile of a Jujutsu master.
– Could you tell us how you started practicing martial arts?
Out of obligation (laughs). Many of my relatives and friends were doing Judo or Karate, and I was involved in the parish Boy Scouts. Some of the other Cub Scouts were also doing Karate, and with that preteen pressure—when I was about 11 or 12 years old—I ended up enrolling at the neighborhood gym.
– Which gym was that?
The Sankukai gym on Doctor Horno Street.
– How do you remember your time at the Sankukai gym?
Magnificent. It marked a turning point in my life and introduced me to a variety of martial arts. Back then, I only knew about Judo and Karate, but that gym was like a martial arts laboratory: one day a Japanese Karate master would visit, another day a French nunchaku expert; we practiced Zen meditation, and even trained in the snow in the Pinares de Venecia forest... It was a very special time in my life.
– Who was your teacher?
Well, I had several instructors at the time because martial arts became an obsession for me. I started Karate with Santiago Velilla at that gym, and I also met two other key teachers: Edward Cooper and Miguel Cendegui.
– Karate instructors?
Yes, Velilla and Cendegui introduced me to a Karate style known as Shito-ryu / Sankukai. With Velilla I also started Taijutsu and full-contact Karate, and with Cooper I practiced several other martial arts.
– Which martial arts? Tell us more about your teacher.
Edward Cooper was a military officer stationed at the U.S. Air Base in Zaragoza. He had previously been in Japan and Hawaii. He trained at the Sankukai gym and invited me to train Jujutsu with him. He taught at the American base, and when I was 13 or 14, going to the “Little America” of Zaragoza felt like training in another country. So, before or after school, I would train every day at Sankukai with Velilla, at Virgen del Pilar High School with Cendegui, and at the U.S. base with Cooper.
– How do you remember those training sessions?
Tough, eclectic, and not very grounded in science. Now, as a kinesiologist and exercise specialist, I realize those were different times—little information and little preparation. I remember, for example, that to earn the yellow or orange belt, we’d be dropped off on the other side of Zaragoza and had to run back to the gym; breaking a roof tile to get the blue belt, having to win a competition to pass, training outdoors in the freezing winter (kan geiko) and the hot summer (shochu geiko), or doing multi-day training camps in survival shelters made of branches... Of course, “punishments” included push-ups, sit-ups, and conditioning drills in every session. I also remember competing with bigger, stronger American teenagers. Those were different times—but they made me stronger.
– You were away from the school for many years, coming and going. Were you able to keep training during that time?
I think joining the army was a continuation of my personal search, and martial arts helped me through those years. I’d like to publicly thank the school’s management, teachers, and students—including you—for covering for me during my many professional absences. Over the years, my perspective changed, and I was able to train in other martial arts and modern self-defense and combat systems: boxing and full-contact Karate with Eduardo Pérez, Ninjutsu and Nindo with Ion Corcuera, close combat and police self-defense with various military and law enforcement instructors. Being around people trained in both armed and unarmed combat enriched my personal self-defense system.
– Why is your school called Kodenkan?
It’s the name of Master Cooper’s school at the American base—Kodenkan Budo – Nihon Kobudo Hozonkai. When he was transferred to Germany, we decided to continue with it. In 1987, we founded it as an organization dedicated to teaching and training in the martial arts we had learned. This year, with this event, we are celebrating its 5th anniversary.
– Tell us a bit about it.
At the time, I wasn’t very interested in history—I just wanted to train. The school originated in Hawaii, U.S., and was founded by Japanese master Seishiro Okazaki. It taught Judo-Jujutsu from the Yoshinryu school, combined with American and Hawaiian wrestling, boxing, Lua (Hawaiian martial art), and a traditional Japanese massage method called Seifukujutsu. Master Cooper learned this martial art during his time in Hawaii, along with Goju-ryu Karate and Aikido in Japan. He was also an expert in boxing and wrestling. Although he no longer teaches regularly, I’m still in contact with him—and we still train.
– What ranks or degrees do you hold in martial arts, and in which organizations are they recognized?
Whew—several ranks across different organizations. I don’t have a single defined path because I love martial arts in general and have practiced as many as I could. I focus on martial arts as a tool for self-defense, so I’ve explored many to find the most functionally useful ones. I specialize in Jujutsu or Taijutsu—call it what you like. These names cover many schools and styles, though I also love Karatedo Goju-ryu and Kobudo.
My ranks include:
- 3rd Dan black belt in Judo-Jujutsu, and black belts in Aikido and Iaido (Japanese sword), recognized by the American organization Kodenkan.
- 1st Dan in Karatedo Goju-ryu, recognized by the Japanese organization Seibukan.
- 1st Dan in Karatedo Sankukai, recognized by the Japanese Sankukai Karate organization.
- 1st Dan in Taijutsu and 1st Dan in Nihon Jujutsu, recognized by the International Federation of Taijutsu and associated disciplines, and the Japanese Seibukan organization.
- I also hold multiple certifications in military hand-to-hand combat and police self-defense.
– What is your teaching style like?
You’d have to ask my students! But I can tell you that each group has different characteristics and objectives. Teaching at a school is different from teaching adults in a gym—or from what I taught in the military. Even within those environments, each student has their own needs and abilities. The worst thing is homogenizing martial arts instruction. In schools, it should be an educational activity based on martial arts. The technical content may be the same, but the message and intention should differ.
For adults, I focus on technique and practical self-defense—not sport. A martial art can serve different purposes, but they shouldn’t be mixed. If it’s educational, it can’t be competitive; if it’s for sport, it’s not meant for self-defense. People forget that “martial art” means “art of war.”
– But in a school setting, it can’t be an art of war.
Exactly. That’s why different approaches are necessary. At school, I teach Taijutsu or Jujutsu with an educational, values-based approach. At the gym, my teaching is functional—focused on personal defense—not on character building or sports medals, but on self-protection. By the way, I now teach Taijutsu at the same gym where I started when I was 11 or 12.
– What’s your future in martial arts: teaching or learning?
Definitely continuing to learn. This is a lifelong path: to teach, you must keep learning. I’ve seen many instructors who don’t have the knowledge to teach. They just repeat what their instructors taught them—that’s a mistake. Holding a black belt doesn’t mean you’re ready to teach. Even a federation-issued instructor course isn’t enough if you’re not constantly updating and learning.
I’ve recently graduated in Kinesiology, and I plan to start a degree in Physical Education. I want my students to receive quality instruction. I’ll also continue training with my teachers in Spain, France, and Japan to improve my technique.
– But how long do you have to keep learning?
Each martial art has its own ranking system. The Taijutsu or Jujutsu I teach has five technical Dan levels—though many mistakenly think of them as five “black belts.” You must train for a minimum time—usually equal to the Dan level you're pursuing—before testing. For example, as a 1st Dan in Nihon Taijutsu and Nihon Jujutsu, I must wait until 1995 to test for 2nd Dan. I'm currently 3rd Dan in Judo-Jujutsu, so I have to wait another year. The 5th Dan is the final technical level—beyond that, there are no new techniques, only refinement, teaching, and personal commitment to the organization.
– So your teachers are not from Zaragoza?
Correct. I have several instructors, and when they hold seminars I’m interested in, I try to attend—usually in Barcelona or Madrid, also in France and Germany. I plan to bring them to our school here in Zaragoza starting next year. Last summer, I had the chance to train in Japan at several dojos and meet different masters of Karatedo, Jujutsu, and Aikido. It was an unforgettable experience—and I hope to return not just to train, but to deepen my understanding of Japanese culture, which is quite different from our own.
– Why is that?
Several reasons. I’ve met Spanish instructors who think they’re more Japanese than the Japanese themselves—even though they’ve never been to Japan! I think they idealize it or try to teach as if we were in Japan. It’s a complex topic, but I learned a lot from that first trip. It’s hard to explain to Western martial arts instructors that they’re not what they think they are. Each of us must follow our own path.
– I hope the next time we talk you can tell me more about the “Land of the Rising Sun,” which I know you love. Thank you, Ricardo, for helping us get to know you better. Congratulations on this 5th anniversary—and may there be many more to come.
Thank you, Alberto. I hope you’ll continue documenting our journey.
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