Gordon Warner Sensei
Sad news from Japan, today March 4 2010. Gordon Warner sensei, kendo pioneer and scholar passed away at his home in Okinawa. Warner sensei was 97
A treasured photo of Warner sensei and myself.
The following is from my post on iaido-l listserver in July 1998.
…the most famous one legged swordsman of all Dr. Gordon Warner. At 6′ 3 (or more) he is still an imposing man even at 85 years old. When I last spoke with Warner Sensei I called him at his home in Okinawa (where he teaches kendo/iaido) and I asked him about the rumors circulating thru cyber space that he had died. He said “What a bunch of nonsense, that’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard”, and then quickly added, “so what can I do for you”. He is a real treasure.
Warner sensei practiced with Mochida sensei 10 dan, at the Mitsubishi Dojo before AND after WWII. In fact he lost his leg fighting at the Battle of Bougainville. If you look in his book “This is Kendo” you can see his artificial foot in some of the pictures of him doing keiko.
At a kendo taikai at Michigan State University a couple years ago I got to hear him give the opening kendo taikai address. He is very powerful and very driven. If you were to ask him about practicing with one leg I am sure he would say something like ‘ no real secret, just go to the dojo and train hard. And when it seems impossible train harder ‘. He told me that if I wanted to do what he had (in kendo) all I had to do was go to the dojo everyday, and survive whatever happens.
Here is a 39Mb mpg audio (28 minutes) file of an interview with him for a radio show Warner_My_Kendo_Life.mp3
Good luck and remember to train hard. Robert “big time Gordon Warner fan” Stroud
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2 Comments for this entry
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Dear Robert-san
Thank you so much for a lovely comment. We miss my father so much and it is so warming to know that there are people who treasured my father as much too.We will be burying his ashes at the Arlington National Cemetery on May 25th at 1 pm. He will be given full honors as a Navy Cross recipient. If you are in the area, it would be lovely to see you and any other kendoists who would like to say goodbye to my father.
Sincerely,
Tomoe Cooper (proud daughter of Gordon Warner)
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Stroud sensei,
Tomoe Cooper has posted a video of Dr. Gordon Warner sensei’s funeral service at Arlington.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gj71Juc6qXY
Tomoe Cooper
April 24th, 2010 on 12:29 am