Battling a variety of opponents, Matsushita was able to advance to the finals. In the competition, there are no specific weight classes or age groups, instead, competitors of all ages and sizes do battle.
“You could end up facing someone who’s 6-5 or 5-0 — you never know who you’re going to face,” Matsushita said. “Because of that, you have to learn that you can’t take any opponent for granted. You have to respect all your opponents.”
Nisei week started in 1934 and is an annual seven-day celebration of Japanese arts and culture.
Matsushita has enjoyed a life enhanced by karate. He started his association with the sport in 1977 at age 11 at Maryknoll Karate Club Dojo in Little Tokyo, under the direction of Tsutomu Ohshima.
Ohshima, 77, helped popularize karate in the United States beginning in the 1950s. In 1955, Ohshima came to the United States and was the first person to teach karate to the public. By 1959, the Southern California Karate Assn. was formed and it has grown over the years to become a nationwide organization — Shotokan Karate of America.
Ohshima has a direct link to one of karate’s foremost figures. Master Gichin Funakoshi from Okinawa was the first expert to introduce karate to mainland Japan in 1916. Ohshima was one of Master Funakoshi’s last direct pupils, studying under him while attending Waseda University in Tokyo.
“It has been a true honor to practice under Mr. Ohshima,” Matsushita said. “I originally started because I used to sometimes fight with my sisters as a typical child, and being a Bruce Lee fan, my parents thought it would be a good idea to get some discipline from my mom’s friend’s husband, Mr. Ohshima.
“And [I knew little] about him and his karate. So, in June of 1977, my mom drove me to Melrose and Vermont in L.A. to see Mr. Ohshima. Mr. Ohshima directed my mom and I to Maryknoll Karate in Little Tokyo, where there were a significant amount of 11- and 12-year-olds practicing karate.”
From his days as a prep student at Marshall High in Los Feliz, to his education at Long Beach State and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, through his career in the visual effects industry and his 14-year marriage to wife Deborah, karate has played a role in Matsushita’s life.
And it doesn’t look like he’s about to stop any time soon.
