Roshi (老師), Old Zen Teacher, is a respectful and honorific title reserved to Mr. Bee (Ken Zen Ichii) alone.
Arthur Beverford (Ken Zen Ichii) Roshi
January 4, 1925 February 23, 1999 |
At the end of the second world war, Arthur Beverford, a young American was accepted as a Zen Buddhist Disciple at the Kanoumichi Zen Buddhist temple in (Tokai Area) central Japan. It is within the grounds of this temple where he met Shunichi Niwa Sensei, Hanji Hirano Sensei and Mitsuo Mizutani Sensei, his first wado karate teachers who will later on introduce him to Otsuka Sensei himself.
Like Otsuka Sensei, Arthur Beverford has a natural talent when it comes to martial arts. He competed in the coveted All Japan Karate Championships, a sport dominated by Japanese and very rare for a gaijin (foreigner) to be accepted as an entry. Arthur Beverford eventually became a Zen Buddhist priest and was nicknamed Ken Zen Ichii. He is also a disciple of the great yogin, Rishi Singh Gherwal and he himself is a master of traditional Ashtanga Yoga with stress on postures, attentive breathing and brow chakra centering meditation. Arthur Beverford continued his teachings to Ira Watanabe, son of his successor Gerry Watanabe, until the 1990's. He passed away on the 23rd of February 1999 in Angeles City and his ashes were finally laid to rest in Lingayen, Pangasinan, Philippines. Master Otsuka refers to him as his brilliant student. |