GARDENA — “The Last Dojo” will be screened on Saturday, Sept. 28, at 2 p.m. at the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute’s Nisei Veterans Memorial Hall, 1964 W. 162nd St., Gardena.
This documentary is a love letter from director William Christopher Ford (“Karate Kid Part III,” “Masters Hall of Fame”) to Shihan Fumio Demura and his legendary dojo. Experience the emotions of one of karate’s great masters as he shares the deeper meaning of martial arts and reminisces about his beloved dojo for the last time.
Born on Sept. 15, 1938 in Yokohama, Demura was educated at Nippon University, majoring in economics, and holds the rank of 7th dan, Shito-Ryu Karate-Do Genbu-Kai. He started teaching karate in the U.S. in 1965 and introduced Shito-Ryu Karate-Do and Okinawa Kobudo to the U.S. He also created and introduced Kobudo Kumite to the world.
In addition to being Pat Morita’s stunt double in “The Karate Kid,” Demura is known to moviegoers for his stunt work on “Mortal Kombat” and “The Next Karate Kid” and acted in “Rising Sun” and “Walker, Texas Ranger.” He appears in such documentaries as “The Real Miyagi” and the forthcoming “Pat Morita: Long Story Short.”
Free but donations appreciated. For more information or to RSVP, call (310) 324-6611, email info@jci-gardena.org or visit http://jci-gardena.org.