Idle banter is usually to be discounted straight away but what's that saying that inside every myth their is a small kernel of truth? anyway... Does anyone know any stories about the Hatsumi sucession? I have heard various tales that a handful of candidates are currently being trained "behind closed doors" in Japan by Hatsumi Sensei with one of them likely to suceed to the titles. I have also been told that 5 Europeans are being trained to a very high level to ensure the future purity of training in the West after Hatsumi's inevitable passing. They were even reffered to as, get this, "The 5 kings of Europe"....dah, dah, daaaah!!! This all sounds very mysterious and "cool" but I wonder if any of it is true? LOL.
I have heard that he is likely not going to pass all nine schools down to one person, but rather break them up between his top students. My guess is three schools each for his top three students. Again, who knows if it is true.
Rumors are just that. Rumors. No basis in fact and no bearing on how we train. So, let us just train. If Hatsumi does not pass the hat, are we going to stop training? I'm not.
