| TODE SAKUGAWA (1733-1815) |
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Recognized as one of the most important figures in the history
of Karate, Satunushi "Tode" Sakugawa was among the first to
blend elements of the original Okinawan art of te with Chinese
boxing (tode) to initiate the development of what we know as
Karate today. |
images copyright©2006 Robert Teller |
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MACHU HIGA (1790-1870)
Like many of the
leading martial artists of' his time, Machu Higa served as a bodyguard for
the Ryukyuan royal family for which he was awarded the title Peichin,
signifying membership in the Okinawan Shizoku (equivalent to the Japanese
Samurai class).
Higa was an expert in bojutsu, saijutsu, tonfajutsu, and
a pioneer in the early development of Karate. According to some historians,
among his students was Ufuchiku Kanakushiku (Sanda Kinjo).
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SOKON "BUSHI" MATSUMURA (1798-1890) |
| The father of
Okinawan Karate, Sokon "Bushi" (Warrior) Matsumura was the first
to systemize Shuri-te from which the various Shorin-ryu styles
have come down to us today. Born into a prominent family in Shuri, Matsumura was a good scholar and athlete. He learned the fundamentals of te as a young boy (customary for upper class youths of the time) and later, according to many historians, began his formal martial arts training under Tode Sakugawa. From Sakugawa he is said to have learned use of the bo and the kata Kusanku. While serving as a bodyguard and martial arts instructor to the last three Ryukyuan kings, Matsumura made a number of official visits to China and Japan where he studied Chinese boxing and Japanese swordsmanship. Following retirement from service to the royal family, Matsumura taught Karate in Shuri. Among his many noteworthy students were Itosu Yatsutsune, Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro, Gichin Funakoshi, Chotoku Kyan, and Nabe Matsumura. Sokon Matsumura is credited with having originated or having developed important variations of many of the Shorin-ryu katas practiced today: Chinto, Wansu, Passai, Seisan, and others. |
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KOSAKU MATSUMORA (1828-1898)
Like Sokon
Matsumura of Shuri-te, the Karate that developed in the vicinity of Shuri,
Kosaku Matsumora was a leading practitioner, developer, and teacher of
Tomari-te, the Karate that developed around Tomari village. Although
Tomari-te has not survived as a distinct system, many of its katas and
techniques are incorporated within the Shorin-ryu styles of today.
It is believed that Matsumora learned the principles of
Chinese boxing from a Chinese hermit who'd been shipwrecked on Okinawa and
lived in a cave near Tomari. Some historians believe he may also have
learned techniques from a student of Tode Sakugawa.
Among Matsumora's students, who went on to influence new
generations through students of their own, were Choki Motobu and Chotoku
Kyan.
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Perhaps the
greatest teacher in the history of Karate, Yasutsune "Anko"
Itosu simplified many of the ancient katas, created several new
ones of his own, and pioneered teaching methods that would
revolutionize the art by making its study easier and less
dangerous for future generations. For this, he is recognized as
the father of modern Karate. |
images copyright©2006 Robert Teller |
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SANDA KINJO - UFUCHIKU (1841-1926)
Born in Shuri,
Sanda Kinjo was a pioneering Karate and Kobudo expert who served as personal
bodyguard to the last of Okinawa's reigning king's, Sho Tai, until the
king's fall from power in 1879.
Following his service with the royal family, Kinjo was
appointed Ufuchiku (police commissioner) of Shuri and taught his techniques
to the police force while slowly developing and perfecting his own system
known as Ufuchiku Kobujutsu.
Upon his death, Ufuchiku passed stewardship of his system
to his senior student, Shosei Kina.
KANRYO HIGASHIONNA (1851-1915)
Like Yasutsune
Itosu with whom he was good friends, Kanryo Higashionna is regarded as one
of the most influential Karate instructors in Okinawan history. As a leading
developer and master of Naha-te, Higashionna laid the foundation for
Goju-ryu which was subsequently formalized by his senior student, Chojun
Miyagi.
Kanryo Higashionna (also spelled Higaonna) was born in
Naha to a very poor family. He learned the basics of te as a youth and began
studying tode at the age of 16 under a local teacher named Arakaki. At the
age of 22, he went to Fuchou, China where he remained for somewhere between
10-16 years mastering Chinese boxing. Upon his return to Okinawa, he began
teaching his art while continuing to develop it into what became known as
Naha-te.
Higashionna is credited with introducing and popularizing
the kata Sanchin on Okinawa, as well as the Sanchin method of breathing.
Among Higashionna's most important students were Chojun
Miyagi, founder of Goju-ryu, and Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-ryu.
NABE MATSUMURA (1850?-1943?)
Little is known of
Nabe Matsumura except that he was a prominent Karate master of his time and
that, as the grandson of the great Sokon Matsumura, he became successor to
the family system when Sokon died thereby serving as a link between the old
masters and those of the present day.
Though born of an upper class shizoku family, Nabe
Matsumura was reduced by poverty as an adult to pulling a rickshaw for a
living. He was also employed to guard the city of Gaja and its neighboring
farmlands against thieves and poachers.
Nabe Matsumura taught very few students the most
important of whom was his nephew, Hohan Soken, who began training under him
at the age of 13. Matsumura drilled Soken in the basics of Karate and Kobudo
for ten years before finally revealing to the young man, at the age of 23,
the secrets of the Hakutsuru (White Crane) kata-a soft form that
incorporates deceptive body-shifting and fosters inner Dower not related to
muscular strength.
YABU KENTSU (1865-1945)
A
prominent Shorin-ryu master, Kentsu Yabu was known for his fighting ability.
It is said that he never lost a fight, beating even the great Choki Motobu
in a famous challenge match.
Yabu began his Karate training under Sokon "Bushi"
Matsumura and later continued under Matsumura's top student, Yasutsune Itosu.
His classmates under these two teachers included such future masters as
Chomo Hanashiro, Gichin Funakoshi, and Chotoku Kyan. Yabu was one of the
first ever to teach Karate in the Okinawa school system (under Itosu's
supervision) and, in 1927, traveled to Hawaii where he taught Karate for
almost a year before returning to Okinawa.
During the Sino-Japanese war (1894-95), Yabu fought on
the Chinese mainland as a sergeant in the Japanese army. From this
experience came his ferocious fighting style as well as the nickname "The
Sergeant" which remained with him for the rest of his life.
Though Yabu was never defeated, he never hurt an opponent
except in war. Among his students was Shigeru Nakamura, founder of Okinawa
Kempo.
CHOYU MOTOBU (1867-1930)
Choyu Motobu, the
first-born son of a ranking lord and a descendent of the Ryukyuan King Sho
Shitsu (reigned 1648-1669), was trained in go-ten-te (palace hand), the
secret martial art of the royal family which had been handed down within the
Motobu family from father to first-born son for eleven generations. it was a
soft art incorporating many throws and grappling techniques and lacking
formal stances, blocks, and katas.
Born in Shuri, Choyu Motobu served as a martial arts
instructor to the last of the Okinawan kings, Sho Tai, who reigned from 1848
until 1879 when the Japanese deposed the Ryukyuan imperial family. Choyu's
own first-born son had died early, his second-born had no interest in
preserving the art, so, with the end of the Okinawan royal lineage, Choyu
broke with tradition and taught his system to a family outsider, Seikichi
Uehara, who named it Motobu-ryu.
CHOMO HANASHIRO (1867-1944)
Another Shorin-ryu
master, Chomo Hanashiro was a classmate of Kentsu Yabu, Gichin Funakoshi,
and Chotoku Kyan under Bushi Matsumura and Yasutsune Itosu.
Like Yabu, Hanashiro was one of first to teach Karate in
the Okinawa public school system under Itosu's supervision. It was during
this time that he taught Shigeru Nakamura at the Prefectural Number One
School.
As a Karate practitioner, Hanashiro was known for his
strength and flawless technique. As a teacher, he was known for his emphasis
on fundamentals. His favorite kata was Jion.
GICHIN FUNAKOSHI (1868-1957)
Called the father of
Japanese Karate, Gichin Funakoshi founded Shotokan, one of the most popular
styles of Karate in the world today.
Born in Shuri, Funakoshi began his Karate training under
Yasutsune Asato and later Yasutsune Itosu, both students of the great Sokon
"Bushi" Matsumura. Funakoshi himself also occasionally trained with
Matsumura.
Unlike most Karate masters of the time, Funakoshi was
well-educated and brought a refined, philosophic approach to Karate that
attracted the attention of intellectuals and educators on the Japanese
mainland. In 1922, he gave a demonstration at the Butokuden (Martial Virtues
Hall) in Kyoto after which he remained in Japan to spread his art. At the
age of 53 he embarked upon what he came to consider his destiny.
In his teaching, Funakoshi emphasized basic technique,
kata training, and perfection of the individual through "do" or "the way".
He is credited with the famous saying: "Karate ni sente - There is no
first attack in Karate."
CHOTOKU KYAN (1869-1945)
A legendary
master even during his own lifetime, Chotoku Kyan was an important teacher
who fathered a long line of Shorin-ryu styles.
Kyan was born in Shuri and learned the basics of
Karate from his father. Around the age of twenty, he sought additional
instruction from a number of prominent masters including Sokon "Bushi"
Matsumura and Yara Chatan of Shuri- and Kokan Oyadomari and Kosaku Matsumora
of Tomari-te. Nicknamed "Chan Mi-gwa" (small-eyed one) because of his
permanent squint, Kyan was small and thin but became an expert in techniques
such as side-stepping and bodychanging that would be most advantageous for a
small man.
Kyan taught Karate at his home, at the Okinawa
Prefectural Agricultural School, and at the Kadena Police station. Among his
students were Shoshin Nagamine, founder of Matsubayashi Shorin-ryu; Zenryo
Shimabukuro, who carried on Kyan's art; and Tatsuo Shimabuku, founder of
Isshin-ryu.
Kyan's favorite katas were Passai, Chinto, and
Kusanku. He was known for his evasive tactics and, though often challenged,
was never defeated in a fight.
CHOU MOTOBU (1870-1944)
Choki Motobu is
perhaps the most controversial of all the great Karate masters. He first
gained notoriety as a bully and a braggart, and, though in later life he
adopted a more humble attitude, he was never able to outlive his earlier
reputation.
Like his brother Choyu, Choki Motobu was born in Shuri,
but, being his father's third son, was never taught the family's martial
arts system. Instead, he picked up the basics of te by peeking through dojo
fences and trained himself on the makiwara. He lifted rocks to develop
strength and earned the nickname "Saru" (monkey) for his exceptional leaping
ability. He also practiced fighting by brawling in the streets every night
with anyone who'd accommodate him. Though he briefly trained with Itosu and
Kosaku Matsumora, his over-aggressiveness caused both associations to be
short-lived.
Late in life, Choki underwent a profound change in
attitude. Seeking the true meaning of Karate-do, he dedicated himself to a
serious study of kata under Yabu Kentsu, one of the few men who'd ever
beaten him in fighting.
Choki's favorite kata was Naihanchi which he claimed was
the only kata required for a mastery of Karate. He remains best known for
his kumite however, and, up until his death, other masters sent their
students to him specifically to learn his free-fighting techniques.
Choki Motobu's famous students include Shoshin Nagamine,
founder of Matsu bayashi-r y u; Shigeru Nakamura, founder of Okinawan Kempo;
and Tatsuo Shimabuku, founder of Isshin-ryu.
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Choshin Chibana was born on June 5, 1885, at Tottori-cho in Shuri
City, Okinawa. He began his karate training with Yasutsune "Ankoh"
Itosu in 1900 with whom he studied until Itosu's death on January
26, 1915. |
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CHOJUN MIYAGI (1888-1952)
A Karate pioneer
and innovator, Chojun Miyagi built upon the Naha-te of his teacher, Kanryo
Higashionna, to develop his own style: Goju-ryu.
Born the son of a wealthy shop owner in Naha,
Miyagi began his training at age It under Ryuko Aragaki through whom he
later met Higashionna. He began training with Higashionna, at age 14 and
stayed with him for 15 years until the master's death in 1916. Shortly
before Higashionna, died, Miyagi followed in his footsteps by going to China
to study Kempo for a year.
After Higashionna's death, Miyagi began to take on
students and develop Higashionna's karate into his own style blending in new
elements he'd learned in China. He taught at the Prefectural Police School
dojo, at the Naha Courthouse, the Prefectural Physical Culture Association,
the Prefectural Teachers' Training College, and at numerous colleges and
universities on the Japanese mainland. In addition, he taught in Hawaii and
in Shanghai.
During a demonstration at the Butokuden on the
Japanese mainland in 1937, Miyagi named his style Go-ju, meaning hard-soft.
Miyagi created the katas Gekisai ichi and ni and
the kata Tensho. Among his top students were Jinan Shinzato, Meitoku Yagi,
Eilchi Miyazato, Seikichi Toguchi, and Seiko Higa. Though he lost
everything, including three children, in an air raid on Naha in WWII, he
continued teaching Karate until his death.
KENWA MABUNI (1890-1952)
Among the first Okinawan masters to teach on mainland Japan, Kenwa Mabuni
founded Shito-ryu, one of the four main styles of Karate studied in Japan
today.
Born into the shizoku (samurai) class, Mabuni
began training at the age of 13 under Shuri-te master Yasutsune Itosu Naha-te
master Kanryo Higashionna.
Mabuni combined elements of the two styles to form
Hanko-ryu (half-hard style) which he later renamed in tribute to his
teachers, using the Chinese character shi ("ito" in Itosu) and to ("higa" in
Higashionna), to form Shito-ryu.
Mabuni taught throughout Okinawan and, in 1929,
moved permanently to Japan where he taught regularly at Japanese
universities and police departments.
SHIGERU NAKAMURA (1892-1969)
Founder of
Okinawa Kempo, Shigeru Nakamura was a living legend and one of Okinawa's all
time great Karate masters.
Born in the northern town of Nago, Nakamura
learned the basics of te from his father who, unfortunately, died when
Shigeru was only ten. He then trained under his uncle and his uncle's good
friend, Choki Motobu. From Motobu, Nakamura learned free fighting and the
kata Naihanchi.
Nakamura studied under Kentsu Yabu and Chomo
Hanashiro, two of Itosu's students, at the Prefectural Number One School,
and, upon entering the Prefectural Teachers' Training College, was able to
study with Itosu himself.
Eventually, Nakamura opened his own dojo, simply calling his
style Okinawa-te as he disliked the idea of Karate being divided into
separate styles. Later, in an attempt to unite all Okinawan Karate and raise
its status to that of Japanese kendo and judo, he formed the Okinawa Kempo
Association and served as its president. Though the association disbanded
upon Nakamura's death, his students retained the name Okinawa Kempo for
their style.
TATSUO SHIMABUKU (1908-1975)
Another important innovator,
Tatsuo Shimabuku developed Isshin-ryu to correct what he felt were
deficiencies in the Karate styles he had studied.
Born in Shuri, Shimabuku began his study of the martial
arts under Choki Motobu. Shortly thereafter, Shimabuku also began training
with Chotoku Kyan and, within a few short years, had become highly
proficient in Shorin-ryu. Still eager to learn, he then sought out Goju
founder and teacher Chojun Miyagi with whom he trained for another several
years.
As his reputation grew, Shimabuku began teaching students
of his own. With the bombing of Okinawa in WWII, Shimabuku lost everything
he owned and Red to mainland Japan where he worked as a farmer and continued
to train privately. It was during this time that he first thought about his
own Karate style.
After the war, Shimabuku returned to Okinawa and resumed
teaching Karate to a small group of students. As he taught, he combined what
he felt were the best elements of Goju-ryu (as learned from Miyagi) and
Shorin-ryu (as learned from Kyan) to found Isshin-ryu in 1953.
Isshin-ryu, meaning "one-heart" system, is one of the
most popular styles practiced in the United States today.
ZENRYO SHIMABUKURO (1909-1969)
A bulwark against the
tides of change, Zenryo Shimabukuro strived to preserve the classic Karate
of Chotoku Kyan and, in so doing, became one of the most respected masters
of modern times.
Born in Shuri, Shimabukuro began training under Chotoku
Kyan at the age of 24 and remained with him until Kyan's death in 1945.
After WWII, Shimabukuro opened a dojo in order to preserve Kyan's teaching.
One of his early students, a member of the US Army, arranged for Shimabukuro
to teach Karate to US Paratroopers, many of whom took Shimabukuro's Karate
back to the United States.
In 1960, Shimabukuro became president of the Okinawan
branch of the All-Japan Karate-do Federation, though, due to internal
politics, the Okinawan branch withdrew and formed the Okinawan Karate-do
United Association of which Shimabukuro remained president. In 1967, the
All-Okinawan Karate-do Federation was formed with the aim of preserving
karate as a cultural tradition, and Shimabukuro served as vice president of
this organization.
Shimabukuro named his dojo the Seibukan which means Holy
Art School.
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Shugoro Nakazato was born
in Nahn-city Okinawa on August 14, 1919. While attending normal
school in Osaka Japan in 1935, he began his study of Karate at
the age of 16 under the instruction of Ishu Selichl. Nakazato
studied under Sensei Ishu for 6 years. During the war, he was in
the Japanese Calvary. |
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