Page 7 - James Pankiewicz News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

>> anthony: and, uh, no military bases? no american presence? >> james: well, up until '72 there was an american base. >> anthony: there was. >> james: but then in '72, in the reversion, the base was taken away. >> anthony: now, nothing? >> james: only the japanese self-defense forces now. >> anthony: what do people do here? agriculture? >> james: growing sugar cane. >> anthony: i saw. >> james: tourism. fishing. >> anthony: fishing. have there been attempts to develop here? and, uh, have the locals been able to resist that impulse? >> james: he's saying on kumejima they have rich lives. they ...

And their students come for what is recognized internationally as the cure for all martial arts related ailments. alcohol. >> james: would you like a drink? >> anthony: i think i would like a beer and maybe a shot of something. >> james: well, i do have a little shot of something. >> anthony: that's a big snake. >> james: so the habushu sake is, like, the spirit of okinawa. >> anthony: is this sake or whiskey? >> james: this is sake. this is okinawan sake called awamori. so, like a mainland japanese sake, but then they distill it like whiskey. so it becomes stronger, but also now it will age. ...

Are simple. known as okinawan sumo, it looks easy. it's not. your hands are wrapped in your opponent's belt. object is to get him onto his back, both shoulders before he does it to you. >> anthony: nice. you land on your back for even a second, you lose. >> james: there, he got it there. >> anthony: awesome. >> james: would you like to try? try it. >> anthony: yeah, sure. ♪ ♪ >> man: yes. ♪ ♪

Looked west to china rather than to the more isolated mainland. while japan, as it existed then, was isolationist racially and ethnically, culturally, and in every other way. the ryukyu kingdom was not. they were more open. more multi cultural. more used to and predisposed to dealing with the outside world and its influences. today, just a short ferry ride from the main island, a sense, a feeling of that long gone empire remains. kumejima is a small island that has been largely untouched by the changes in the world. people farm and fish as they always did. >> anthony: and the war never came he...

Pure protein for people who need it. pork belly. some pickled pig's ears. and baked yam. >> anthony: i watch a lot of, uh, mixed martial arts. i watch a lot of jiu-jitsu. my daughter trains mostly jiu-jitsu, but some stand up. some of the most exciting fighters that i've seen lately who really show the most heart are women. is there a -- is there a future for women in karate? >> man in brown hat: yaya! >> james: so he has a female student here tonight. this is yaya. anthony is asking what's the