Bibliographical Information of the German National Library:
The German National Library categorizes this Publication in the German National Bibliography; Detailed Bibliographical Data can be found in the internet under www.dnb.de
1. english printing
© 2016 Jürgen Fischer
„Herstellung und Verlag:
BoD – Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt“
ISBN 978-3-7412-2131-6
This book is written in a first person form, because most of what is in this book came about through interviews that I had with Shihan Marsh.
There are a few sentences that were completed by me and they were read and approved by Shihan Marsh.
Jürgen Fischer, April 2014
karate wa rei ni hajimari rei ni owaru koto o wasuru na
Karate begins with Respect and ends with Respect
Sensei Funakoshi Gichin
On my 50th birthday Bill and Gisela Marsh wrote this message in my guestbook. When you read these words you will have an idea of what Sensei Marsh thinks of, and how he practices karate.
When I went to see Karate training and saw him for the first time I was overwhelmed. That was 1975 in the gymnastic room at the city indoor swimming pool in the South Ally in Trier, Germany. There was a Black man in a Black Gi training with a handful of students. The way he moved reminded me of a panther. The whole evening of training was so impressive and given with so much discipline that I registered directly after the end of class.
Over the years I have come to know Sensei Bill Marsh, not only as one of the best Karate trainers, but also as a totally modest and quiet person and friend. Over many decades he never got tired of repeatingly giving his students instructions about which way Karate could lead them.
For him, and I hope that for most all of his students, Karate Do has become a way of life which Sensei Bill Marsh has chosen to go. If the Samurai Caste would still be in existence today, I am sure that he would be a part of it.
I have, with the utmost respect, tried to document the history of this very unique person.
Sensei Jürgen Fischer
News Agent Shorinji Budo Union germany
Sensei Axel Roth and Shihan Bill Marsh
On a Wednesday evening in February 1978 was the first time that I was a guest at Karate training. I was very impressed by the cooperation between the students and the trainer. Disciplined and demanding. What I saw was not Karate as I thought it would be, considering what I had seen in the “Eastern-Films” that were very popular in the movies at this time. I made my decision right away and registered for the next beginner course in this Karate school. I know today that to have Sensei William (Bill) Marsh as trainer was a very essential and decisive moment for me. The way he teaches and train Karate is still a motivation for me.
Sensei Marsh lives and practices Karate-Do with a convincing and overwhelming enthusiasm. I am sure that he has always had the talent and ambition to succeed in sports.
It is also very important to him to keep the character of Karate-Do and to pass on the values and principles to his students. Today, Sensei Marsh is widely accepted and is as an experienced Martial Artist very valuable. So it is only logical that this book had to be written. The reader does not only get an autobiographical insight but also a look into the history and development of the “Shorinji Ryu” Karate Style that is taught by Sensei Marsh today.
Sensei Axel Roth
Vice-President of the Shorinji Budo Union Germany
At the end of the sixties when I was twelve years old, no one talked about Karate as an Art and if at all it was spoken of as a sport. I had heard little or nothing from this Asian way of fighting. It awakened my interest to a point that it became a part of me. I defiantly wanted to learn this way of fighting. At that time karate was something very exotic and in comparison with today where you find it on almost every corner, you had to search for a long time in order to find a school or an instructor.
At that time everything that had to do with body exercises was considered as sport and I was possessed from the idea of learning this sport or fighting art. The friends that I had at that time knew nothing about karate so I was left alone with my idea that became more and more a part of me.
Today almost everyone knows about Karatedo, but very few know that Karatedo is not a sport but rather an Art. This is defined in the small word “Do”, and the use or omission of these two letters describe the difference between a sport and an Art.
Do, in Japanese does not only mean a way or method, but describes in this constellation much more so that a person in “Do” can find a way of life and an understanding to live his life in peace and harmony.
You can put your heart and soul into this Do and generate it into an Art and into your life to make it something very personal.
In this way the form that we practice, in our case Karatedo, will develop itself into an Art.
In the beginning of 1973, I heard of a man who was a former American soldier and was living in Trier.
It was said that he had a lot of experience in Karatedo and has control over his body and mind as no one else. I finally had a direction for the ideals that I had in my head and was very curious about this extraordinary person and I really had to meet him.
I found out that he held classes in a gymnastic room at the City Swimming pool in Trier and there was nothing that would keep me from going to watch this class. As I stood in front of him and he looked at me with his dark eyes I was overwhelmed by his aura. With a friendly smile, he asked me if I wanted to take part in the training.
And even though my heart was beating very fast, and with tears in my eyes from joy, I took part in the class. I had the honor to meet a man who not only understood how to train a sport but how to give his own personal touch to his Karate Techniques. A man who´s calmness and composure was transferred over to you. His strong movements reminded me of a wildcat. The sleek and unstrained, natural power in all of his fighting movements brings to mind even today a picture of a waiting, prowling and from all, a powerful panther.
I learned to think highly of this person, what I still do until this day.
Although I meanwhile follow another karate way, I consider that I could only have taken it because of him. He was the one who laid the foundation for me being where I am today.
I was inspired by him to find the right way and not to give up. Today I am still grateful to him.
“Domo arigato gozaimasu Sensei Marsh!” You are a wonderful person!
Sensei Joachim Laupp
9. Dan Hanshi
President of the Okinawa Shorin-Ryu Shido-kan Karatedo Deutschland
Sensei Joachim Laupp
The highest goal in the art of Karate
is not to win or to lose.
The true Karateka strives for the perfection
of his character
Sensei Bill Marsh
Bill Marsh in grade school
I was born in Jena, Louisiana USA on Thursday March 30, 1944. Jena is a provincial town in the US-American federal state of Louisiana, and has approximately 2500 residents. My father, William James Marsh Senior was a school principal and my mother, Willie Mae Marsh was a teacher. I have four older sisters: Dorothy, Shelly, Gustava and Samantha. When I was four years old, unfortunately, my father was killed in a tragic hunting accident. Therefore it became very difficult for my mother to care for five children and to work a fulltime job as a teacher at the same time. She had to accept the fact of working at occasional jobs in order to take care of the whole family.