Page 8 - James Pankiewicz News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

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. ...

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 here? this is bunshiro nagame and yohina tomahiro. kumejima residents and friends of james. >> james: no, they didn't. they suffered very little damage in the w...

Egg salad from lawson. need a beverage. in naha, you would be advised to avoid international avenue. unless you're homesick for fellow americans. head down the side streets, shuttered store fronts give way to packed izakayas. a few beers, somebody breaks out a shamisen, and the good times begin. people go out here and after pounding your fists and feet into hardened meat hooks and shitting out bone chips. you can drop by dojo bar. james' refuge where some of the island's most esteemed masters

You train, uh, karate very seriously. i mean, should you people be drinking? this is why i'm asking. where is the point of diminishing returns? >> james: there are not many teachers who don't drink. awamori is intrinsic to the okinawan culture. >> anthony: right. >> james: most enjoy awamori as part of their lifestyle in the same way that karate is part of their lifestyle. they're saying please eat. less talking, more eating. >> anthony: well done. sashimi of, well, let's just say it's animal you like. >> james: this is horsemeat. >> anthony: horse, ah. >> man: horse. >> anthony: thank you. go...

>> james: we're gonna do sashimi. >> anthony: okinawans eat just about any kind of fish sashimi style. for us, snapper and parrotfish. >> james: and lobster. >> anthony: because one must. served raw and still twitching in the shell. >> james: and we're gonna get some sea grapes as well. >> anthony: oh good, good, that's, uh, super traditional. sea grapes, the classic regional side dish dressed in rice vinegar. what you buy downstairs from vendors. for a small fee, restaurants will cook it for you upstairs. >> james: wow. >> group: oh my god. happy? >> anthony: wow. so, okinawa's most famous ex...