JKA Vic Interviews - Noela Green

Interviews

Noela Green – May 2004

Noela & Mrs Takahashi in April 2003

Most people who have been around JKA of Australia for any length of time would know Noela Green. As wife of Jeff the late Chairman of the association, Noela couldn't help but get involved with the affairs of the group. Of course as his partner she would have seen the Jeff that others didn't see, the private man, the husband and the father.

The purpose of this interview is to get the thoughts of the person closest to Jeff Green and help to paint a part of the picture of the life of the man who steered the Japan Karate Association of Australia through the first 30 years of it's existence.

Of course Noela has a life away from JKA, she still lives and works in Bundaberg Queensland, the town where she and Jeff lived and brought up their family. We thank her for agreeing to answer some of our questions.

Noela, thanks for allowing us to ask some questions for the JKA Victoria website.
You're welcome.

Firstly, can you tell us when and where you met Jeffery Ernest Green?
1971 in Mt Isa he was working underground as a miner and worked part time at one of the night clubs in security.

Was it instant attraction?
No, we were friends. A year later we met again in Bundaberg, actually I asked him out, my friend wanted me to attend the Policeman’s Ball and I didn’t have anyone to go with. We were married on the 12th May the next year, the rest is history.

Was he active in Karate when you met?
He had just started training Kempokan, I think it was the only martial art at the time in Bundaberg.

Was he involved in any other sports?
Jeff played soccer in his junior days and he was a good player so I’ve been told, he was also involved in gun and pistol shooting and he loved fishing.

Did he come from a sporty family?
Yes, all of his brothers played soccer. His Parents were a big influence on the family and very supportive.

Did any of his family do Karate with him?
Three of Jeff’s brother’s trained for a short time in the early days of JKAA

When did you first see Karate and what did you think of it?
1973. I would often go to watch the training and remember thinking how hard it looked. I think that year we attended a FAKO (now AKF) competition in Brisbane, Takahashi Sensei was one of the judges, I was impressed at the discipline and comradeship that was shown.

Who was Jeff's first Instructor?
Peter Richardson who was teaching Kempokan at the time, not long after that they joined Shotokan under Adi Hoffmann who had Dojo’s in Rockhampton and Gladstone. Later on he met Takahashi Sensei through Mike Connolly who had arranged to bring Sensei to Australia in 1972.

Do you know if any of his early training partners are still involved?
Socially, Jeff formed an old boys club and to date it’s been successful, consisting of light training and fellowship afterwards; Peter Richardson, Paul White, Clem Soppa, Bob Terkelsen, Ken Schmidt are names that come to mind. He was inspired from his many visits to Japan and the way the OB (Old Boy network) operates there, it was his baby…I hope it continues to prosper.

What can you tell us about Jeff's early days in JKAA?
It was tough. I think every club in Queensland found the going hard, but everyone thought nothing of driving the long miles so they could train with (Takahashi) Sensei. On the local scene the club didn’t have much money. We did a lot of fund raising, the training sessions were held in some pretty awful venues - one year the trophies were hand made! In September 1975, Bundaberg hosted the 1st Qld Championships, I will never forget that night for lots of reasons, our first child was six weeks old, we had a house full of people, limited help, and my husband coming home covered in blood from a broken blood vessel in the nose courtesy of Robby Van Arkell from Brisbane. If I'm correct, Omer Cukovic and Dragan Spoljaric (both of JKA Melbourne) stayed with us that weekend. From memory, Lang Parks Rick Lien won black belt Kata and Kerry Regan from Mackay won the Kumite.

We know that Jeff had a very close relationship with Takahashi Sensei, but when did you first meet Sensei?
1973. Training had finished and he was staying with Peter Richardson. For some reason Peter forgot to leave a key out on this particular night for him so Jeff brought him back to our unit and from that day he always stayed at our home.

What was your first impression of Sensei?
I took an instant liking to him, even though he couldn’t speak much English and was the first Japanese person I had ever met, there was just something about him. He’s a wonderful, compassionate human being and I’ll always be grateful for the many years of friendship and guidance he has shown to my family.

By all accounts Sensei was a hard taskmaster, did Jeff every talk about this?
Yes, Sensei had not long finished the JKA Instructors course. You can imagine, he was young, full of energy, sharp and Japanese training was tough. As their basic techniques improved, Sensei would fight the students himself, a bit of blood was drawn at times.

You must have countless memories, does anything in particular from those early days stand out?
I could write a book; the car trips to Gladstone, Biloela and Rockhampton for training, the late night sessions, endless cooking, empty beer bottles… Sensei, Mrs Takahashi and their daughter Koari lived with us for one month in 1974, that was a real experience, Terouk’s (Mrs Takahashi) English at that time was nil.

What was Jeff's normal teaching and training routine?
Basics, basics and more basics and of course Kata and Kumite were important to.

Did Jeff always teach?
Mostly, but he enjoyed the times he was able to train with Takahashi Sensei and the others.

Was he successful?
Yes, but he didn’t get the chance to fulfil his potential as he was thrown into the tasks to judge and organise competitions. (How true. Like a lot of the founding fathers of JKAA, Jeff took on any number of tasks which meant he simply was not free to compete. JKAV)

He had some very good students over the years many of them became great mates. Can you name some of these for us?
Greg Symons, Gavin Grosse, John Day, Vince Waters, Pam Symons, Maree McLucas, Ann-Maree Russell, Jamie Ford, Luke McKean, Dion and Chris Brown, Ben Ford, Paul Morrison…

Who were the students he gave the most attention to?
Kids. He had an amazing way with them, especially the ones that struggled…

Did he have a favourite among them?
Yes, Greg Symons. (Greg won enough National titles to be considered one of the best Karateka JKAA has ever produced)

You have 3 grown up children, did they ever train in JKA Karate with their father?
Yes. Daughters Sally 1st dan and Tracey 2nd kyu and son Michael 5th kyu.

Jeff was a busy man, but what did he do in his spare time? Did he have other major interests outside of Karate?
He coached youth teams in Soccer. Spent a lot of time travelling as a League strapper, and schoolboy's soccer. He was heavily involved in Sports medicine. The year he won Bundaberg's 'Service to Sport' award he was cooking a spit roast for a charity event, and he had to make a mad dash from the venue to the shower and on to the awards night to collect his trophy then off again to serve the food! If something needed to be done or someone wanted help, he was there. He never liked to let anyone down.

Did he ever train with another Karate group or style?
I can’t recall any, only as I said before in the early days he trained Kempokan.

Who do you think were the people that influenced Jeff the most in Karate?
Nakayama Sensei and Tabata Sensei were pretty special to him.

Is there any one person that stands out as the biggest influence on him?
Without a doubt Takahashi Sensei.

We knew Jeff as the Chairman of JKAA, did he hold office in any other organisations?
Vice President of Bundaberg Gun Club, School P&C President and Soccer Secretary.

Noela, your husband worked tirelessly for JKAA. Who were the people that influenced Jeff the most in management side of Karate?
If you want something done ask a busy person, he just put in and shut up. Pat Day was an enormous support, particularly in the time she was JKAA national registrar.

If the subject of Karate came up in general conversation with non-Karate people, was Jeff inclined to explain what he did?
If asked, he was never one to talk much about his achievements. He was a recipient of the Australia Day citizen award for Sport and few people were ever aware.

Do you know if Jeff ever needed to use Karate to protect himself?
No. People liken him to Glen Lazarus the rugby league player, if he came at you for the ball you would say, "here take it".

This might be a hard one for you, but what did the Dojo Kun and Karate etiquette mean to Jeff?
That was how he lived his life.

Jeff was a very strong person in many ways, do you think his Karate training helped him to be strong inside or was it in his make-up?
True strength comes from gentleness. He was always strong.

Jeff visited and trained in Japan probably around a dozen times, from your point of view, what do you think he learned from those visits?
The importance of good relations with JKA, the regard in which Takahashi Sensei is held, obligation, humility, punctuality, first impressions and naturally a lot from training.

You went on some overseas JKA trips yourself. What were your impressions of those trips?
I was blown away. The respect shown, the kindness and warm hospitably is unforgettable. Japan is a beautiful country and its people are just fantastic.

Like some other JKA men, to the group Jeff was 'steel wrapped in cotton wool' meaning that he was soft on the outside but unmoveable underneath, do you agree?
Yes, in things he strongly believed in.

What do you think was the most important thing to Jeff about Karate training?
Dedication and humility. He had no time for big heads.

Tell us about Bundy Dojo. This was a labour of love for every one of the JKA Bundaberg students, but how did it all come about and who built it?
The students. It was always a dream of the members to own their own Dojo so many years of pub raffles, spit roasts and general fun raising, plus a grant from the Government brought it to fruition. It opened in March 1987.

There must be some funny stories about the project?
Funny no, memorable yes. Pat Day’s endless supply of coffee and sandwiches to feed the hungry crew, the long hours, and the many nights the members worked until all hours. A few nights before the opening I remember John Day and Jeff were still working at midnight, they wanted it to be finished on time. Nakayama Sensei was arriving to officially open it that weekend, that was a big honour.

Jeff sacrificed a lot of family time for Karate, as a partner that's often difficult to come to terms with. Did you ever fall-out over his Karate commitments?
No, I don’t think so. Most of the time he had my support, it was a way of life for him, he often said the day Takahashi Sensei stops teaching then he’d walk away and I strongly believe that’s what he would have done.

What about all the phone calls and e-mails? JKA Victoria put in its fair share, but how did you handle people constantly calling your home with issues?
It goes with the job.

You opened your house and played Karate "mother" to many visitors and people associated with JKAA. Who are some of those people?
Kaz Fujita, Hirioki Asai, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Akinori Tsuge (they both train under Mizuno Sensei from Mie Prefecture), Tom Higuchi from Osaka, Momoko Tobita, (her brother Toby is married to Yoko Nakamura former JKA world Kata champion). Kanae Umeda, Kanako Mori, some of them attended High School (in Australia) for one year, Etsuko Noguchi (YFU) many Aoyama Gakuin University students, Chiba City Soccer players had short home stay with us and of course their parents and friends have visited as well. The list goes on…

There must be many stories you can tell about your home-stay visitors, is there anything that stands out?
1987. Takahashi Sensei asked if we would host two boys age 16 and 17 for a year to attend High School. Mitsuo and Akinori arrived with limited English and it was pretty tough for them, they settled in fairly quick and when we had spare time we would take all the family camping. The things that stand out are; Mitsuo singing The Beatles "Hey Jude", the expressions on their faces when they tried to help set up the make shift (bush) shower and had no idea what they were doing, setting the crab pots and eating mud crab for the first time, Jeff and John teaching them to fish and how to bait a hook, Jeff's sense of humour with them, my cooking. I don’t think they could believe that they could eat Japanese food while living with the Green's, Asai with his dry sense of humour and being wonderful with our kids and a huge help to me around the home, the boys training with Bundy Dojo was special. At that time, for one year we had eight people living at home and I also had my job as well, so I guess you could say we were kept pretty busy. The farewells were the hardest, many a tear was shed.

What about a funny one?
Tom Higuchi running up the sand dunes on one of the camping weekends, the excitement on his face because he had caught a fish (he had never been fishing before) calling to me "Mum look, I caught fish" and with that falling flat on his face in the sand - rod and all! We didn’t have the heart to tell Jeff, he hand-made all of his fishing rods and one thing that did annoy him was getting sand through them.

Do you stay in touch with any of the home-stayers?
Absolutely. Akinori and his wife Akemi and their children visited four year ago, Mitsuo has been back to Australia once. I had home stay with Asai a few years ago in Japan, Fujita keeps in touch, Momoko Tobita came to attend Jeff's service, Tom Higuchi and his wife Umi came for a visit in October last year, they couldn’t make it out for Jeff’s funeral but came to Bundaberg for five days, it was wonderful to see them again.

Over the years, who have become your long-time friends in JKA?
Pat Day, Greg Symons, Vince Waters, Gavin Grosse, Stevie Andrews, Bobby Hedger, Sammy Noble and New Zealand's Mark Willis (little brother).

Anyone who came to Bundaberg last August to help farewell Jeff couldn't help be amazed at the turnout. He had hundreds, if not thousands of mates and acquaintances were you surprised at the numbers?
No, not at all, it just showed the high esteem in which he was held.

What do you think were Jeff's personal wishes for the future of JKAA?
Co-operation from everyone and for the relationships between JKA countries to grow and prosper

Can you summarise Jeff Green the private man?
A completely smitten Grandfather, a great cook, a guy who enjoyed comedy, a wonderful husband and father who treasured the times when his family could all be together.

You made no secret of the fact that you wanted Jeff to give up the job of Chairman, why?
In most organisations and JKAA is no exception, there were a few issues going on within the association at that time. I could see the huge strain it was putting on him, the politics, and the egotistical nature of some had taken its toll on us both. He would say "it doesn’t matter", but I knew deep down he felt the hurt, we certainly could have both done without the sleepless nights and believe me there were many.

Did he have any non-sporting hobbies?
Bonsai was a passion, and generally inventing things. If someone wanted something made it was never a problem, he was pretty handy in that field

What kind of Music did he listen to?
Anything from Jazz, Salsa, Blues, Rock and Roll.

Did he read at all?
Yes, when he had time (laughs). The Art of War and Musashi Miyamoto were two of his favourites.

He was a natural comedian, what made you laugh about him?
One particular story I think was funny was one of the night he was selling raffle tickets. He left his tracksuit jacket on the back of a chair, it was given to him by the Aussie team in Japan and was pretty special to him. It went missing, so he took a stroll through the night club and there was this guy standing at the bar, surrounded by females wearing it, without a blink of an eye he walked up behind him and in his calming voice said "mm nice jacket" and commenced to peel it off this guy. The look on this bloke's face was one of shock and horror! I guess it was a little daunting for him to see this giant of a man standing over him. Jeff just gave one of his grins and walked away… you had to be there to see it … priceless.

The Green family has been involved in Cane Farming for a long time. How did it start?
Jeff’s Great Uncle owned the farm and sold it to Jeff’s Dad who started work on it at the tender age of 15. Jeff became a partner in 1973, so there’s a long history there.

Can you give us an idea what it's like depending on the land for a living?
At times very hard, but somehow we always managed.

The returns from cane farming of recent years haven't been that good. Was it always a struggle or was there ever a time when the going was better?
The first few years of farming were quite profitable, but the last few years have been a struggle. Jeff always kept a positive outlook on life and it didn’t matter then, we always knew when he was around that things would be ok.

Running JKAA, operating a farm for a living and raising a family sounds like a lot of work, how did you both do it?
With great difficulty (laughs) it sure had its moments.

Takahashi Sensei visits Bundaberg twice a year, do you still catch up with him?
Yes that will never change.

The general members of JKAA see mostly the Karate side of Takahashi Sensei. What was it like having him as a guest in your home?
Great. He's an excellent cook and if he’s not playing golf he loves to relax and watch movies - Mr Bean is a favourite, he's family so it's easy.

Jeff and Takahashi Sensei had a special relationship, can you give us an idea how close they were?
Like brothers. They had a great understanding of each other, there were times they didn’t need to talk, sometimes they would finish each other sentence’s. Their friendship was unique.

You made good friends with Mrs Takahashi as well. What can you tell us about her?
She’s an exceptional lady, witty, hard working and smart. Her support of Takahashi Sensei, the JKA, the love and friendship she has shown to our family over the years is incredible, she’s a wonderful friend. She visited Bundaberg last year in April and spent three days in our home that was very special.

Is there anything about the affairs of the JKAA that still interests you?
Yes of course, after 30 years you don’t just stop caring. I love kids so I'll be watching their progress. JKAA has always been strong, if everyone co-operates and remembers what they're here for, then I’m sure it will continue to be the great organisation it is today.

You have 3 grown-up children. Have they turned out the way you imagined?
It's every parent's wish that their kids become good citizens and do the right thing by people. It’s something we both taught them from an early age, and so far they have equipped themselves very well. They are strong, fiercely loyal and a huge support to me ….they're my inspiration.

Tell us about your grandchildren?
I have a Grand daughter Shae who is 3yrs and a Grandson Blair who is 19 months.

Do any of them take after Grandad?
Blair is so much like Jeff, he walks like him and has the same happy placid nature, it's quite uncanny.

What kind of things are you interested in Noela?
Football (soccer), family history, fishing, camping, gardening, photography, documentaries, travel, I hope to visit South America, Scotland and Ireland one day, its something we both planned to do together.

Were you ever tempted to take up Karate yourself?
I trained a couple of times in the early days, but I've always had back problems so it wasn’t for me.

Did you learn anything from constantly being around Karate people?
To drink (laughs)

JKAA has appointed several people to do the duties Jeff did for decades on his own. What do you think is the most important part of the job he did so well?
Jeff was a great organiser and communicator with terrific people skills, he always had time to listen and was a great support to everyone. Nothing to him was a problem if it could be fixed, even when he felt he was being put down he never lost his conviction in people. He always said he hoped one day that they would learn and follow in the path that he found so easy to walk.

Noela, the overwhelming feeling in JKAA after last August has been one of shock and loss, we can only imagine what you went through. Have you been able to get back into a stable routine?
There's an old saying, the journey of a thousand miles must began with a single step, my job keeps me busy and my work colleagues are great. Most time I try to focus on the positive, it’s the most dreadful thing and only those who have been through it would know. My kids and family, particularly Jeff’s brother Keith, have been absolutely wonderful.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer our questions.
It’s been a pleasure.

Finally Noela, how would you like the people inside and outside of JKAA to remember your husband and our great friend Jeff Green?
A humble man who gave everything and expected nothing in return.

Noela will be the special guest of the Japan Karate Association of Australia at the National Karate Championships to be held at Carrara on Queensland's Gold Coast in July 2004.

Click here to read a Tribute to Jeff Green

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Reproduced with the kind permission of Mrs Noela Green.
Copyright © Japan Karate Association of Australia (Victoria) Limited 2004