Hakuda Ryu Kempo Jutsu Essex |

Chinese Origins of Kempo in Okinawa

To the South of Japan on the chain of islands that form the Ryukyu chain, of which Okinawa is the largest, an indigenous fighting system known as Ti became influenced by the Chinese Martial arts imported from Fukien province in China by Naha’s Kundida thirty six families. It was this synthesis that lead to the formulation of an Okinawan art called Toudi or Tang Te meaning China hand, which was later to become Karate (Empty hand).

What is called Hakuda in Japanese martial arts is often known as Hakutsuru in Okinawan martial arts. The term Hakutsuru describes the Chinese martial art of White Crane which influenced Okinawan Kempo that was to be later divided into the classification of Shorei (Naha Te) and Shorin (Tomari and Shuri Te) Ryu styles.

Shorei and Shorin Ryu Styles
The art of Hakutsuru, White Crane, was known to both Matsumura Sokon, the founder of what became known as Shuri Te style that was to become Shorin Ryu, and Kanryo Higaonna, the founder of Naha Te. that was to become Shorei Ryu
Okinawan styles may be divided into Shorei and Shorin Ryu Kempo's.

Shorei Ryu Kempo is meant to be closer to the Chinese internal styles such as Tai Chi, Hsing I and Pau Kua that have influenced Naha Te.

In Shorin Ryu Kempo the term Shorin is short for Shorinji a term that means Shaolin. Shorin Ryu Kempo suggests the influence of Shaolin external styles on Shuri Te.

Shorei Ryu Kempo has evolved into Karate styles such as Goju and Uechi Ryu in Okinawa which have developed the charactestics of Shoalin external training methods in their Kihon or basic training, Hojo Undu or Conditioning exercises, Kata or Forms and the Bunkai, the application of those forms to Kumite, actual combat. The characteristics of such styles may be described as Go or hard.

Shorin Ryu Kempo styles have evolved into Kushin Ryu, Okinawan Kempo and Shito Ryu, which may be described as half hard. There is less emphasis on hard body conditioning, the strikes are lighter, faster and more whip like in the motion of the hands and the Bunkai lends itself freely to Ju Jutsu type techniques.

However Shorei-Kan styles such as Goju Ryu can also be easily combined with Ju Jutsu techniques as is seen in Kushin Ryu. Kushin Ryu combines the Goju Ryu Kata taught to Kensai Kinjo by Choshin Chibana (a student of Itosu) who had also studied under Chojun Miyagi (Kanryo Higaonna's student). Kensai Kinjo combined these Goju Ryu Kata's with the Konshin Ryu Ju Jutsu that he had learnt from Sannosuke Ueshima whilst both were in Osaka, Japan, thus ceating Kushin Ryu (Bishop 1999).

Shorin Ryu and Shorei Ryu are combined in the Karate style known as Shito Ryu which was founded by Kenwa Mabuni. The style is named after shortnames of Mabuni's teachers Kanryo Higaonna, (the Sh is simply an abbreviation taken from an alternative spelling of Higaonna's name), whilst Ito is short for Itosu, a student of Matsumura. Shito Ryu was one of the first Okinawan Karate styles to be taught on the mainland in Osaka, Japan.

Okinawan Tode Research Club

According to Bishop (1996) and others in 1924 the Okinawan Tode Research Club was established 1924 by Choyu Motobu who took the role of President and Founder, Chojun Miyagi, Kenwa Mabuni, Chotoku Kiyan, Choki Motobu (Choyu's brother). at these meetings which were aparently short lived Seikichi Uehara who was Choyu Motobu's student was a tea boy. The purposes of the club meetings was to consider the development of Tode, Kobu-Jutsu and Te. I deal below with the various members of the Okinawan Tode Research Club and how their Karate styles have evolved.

Motobu

President of Okinawan Tode Research Club: Choyu Motobu and his teacher
Choyu Motobu was the eldest son of the Motobu Family and as such was taught the family martial arts system, it would appear that one of his teachers was most certainly Sokon Matsumura.

Sokon Matsumura (Choyu Motobu's Teacher)
Sokon Matsumura had trained in Japan and had acted as a security guard on ships in the South China Seas. He was also body guard to the last of the Ryukan Kings and a teacher of Choyu Motobu.

Sokon Matsumura (1797-1889) having studied under Toudi Sakugawa Chikiden Peichin for four years became the principle disciple of Sakugawa.

Sokon Matsumura was appointed body guard to the last three Ryuku Kings Sho Ko (d.1834), Sho Iku (d.1847) and Sho Tai 1841-1901. Matsumura had the opportunity to study Chinese Temple boxing in China during the 1830’s and under the Chinese warriors Iwah and Ason who were stationed in Okinawa during the 1860’s and is credited with bringing Hakutsuru, the White crane system of Chinese boxing to Okinawa (See McCarthy 1995 and Bishop 1989 & 1999).

Sokon Matsumura had also studied in the Satsuma district of Japan under Ijiun Yashichirio the headmaster of Jigen Ryu Kenjutsu, the combative methods of the Satsuma Samurai of Japan and received his Menkyo certificate (McCarthy 1995:51).

Sokon Matsumura is credited with synthesising the principles of Japanese Jigen Ryu, Chinese Kung Fu, and native Okinawan Ti this is the basis for the system known as Matsumura Orthodox Shorin Ryu. Among Sokon Matsumuras pupils were Itosu, Yasutsune and Kyan Choku.

Seikichi Uehara (Choyu Motobu's student):
Seikichi Uehara's only teacher was Choyu Motobu and when Choyu died in 1926, and the Tode Research Club disbanded it fell on Seikichi Uehara to continue the Motobu Udun Family Te system, that he had learnt from Choyu Motobu (Bishop 1996: 133). However this would not be until Uehara had returned to Okinawa in 1947 from the Philipines where he had gone to live in 1926 and whilst there served in the Japanese army in World War 2.

Choyu Motobu who had inherited the Motobu family Te system and was founder and president of the Okinawan Tode research Club had a younger brother called Choki Motobu (1871-1944).

Choki Motobu (Founder of Okinawan Kempo-Tode Jutsu or Daidokan)
Choki Motobu appears to have shared the same Tomari Te teachers as Chotoku Kiyan (1870-1945). Choki Motobu moved to the Japanese mainland in 1921 to teach in Osaka and Tokyo. He went to Hawaii in 1933 where and when Kempo was popular, he later returned to teach in Japan and continued his study of martial arts in Okinawa, where he remained between the beginning of world war two until his death in 1944. Choki Motobu’s style is called Okinawan Kempo-Tode Jutsu.

Chotoku Kiyan (Founder of Shorinji Ryu)

Chotoku Kiyan (1830-1915) nicknamed Mi Gwan Chan, small eyed Kiyan was the son of Chofu Kiyan and who served as steward to the last Okinawan King Sho Tai (1841-1901) who was exiled to Tokyo, thus Chotoku Kiyan received much of his education on the Japanese mainland before returning to Okinawa. Chotoku Kiyan studied Shuri Te under Sokon Matsumura (1797-1889), and Itosu Yasutsune (1830-1915) and Tomari Te under Matsumura Kosaku (1820-1898), and Oyodamari Peichin who had learnt martial arts from a Chinese man, possibly called Anan who lived in Okinawa’s Tomari village. Chotoku Kiyan is credited with synthesizing Shuri Te with Tomari Te and is the founder of what has become known as the Shorinji Ryu. Two of Chotoku Kiyan’s top students were Zenryo Shimabukuro (1904-1969) and Shojin Nagamine (b. 1907).

Chojun Miyagi & Shorei Ryu

Chojun Miyagi of Shorei Ryu founder Goju Ryuand Yamaguchi Gogen who popularised Goju, as Goju Kai in Japan.

Chojun Miyagi: Founder Goju Ryu
Chojun Miyagi had in 1924 been a member of the Okinawan Tode Research Club set up by Choyu Motobu,
Chojun Miyagi(1888-1953) the founder of Goju Ryu and was originally a student of Kanryo Higashiona (1851-1915).
Kanryo Higashionna, is said to have studied Monkfist boxing under Wai Xinian and learnt Minghe Quan (Whooping Crane) from Xie Zhongxian (1852-1930), who is better known in Okinawan Karate circles as Ryuru Ko(1852-1930).

Ryuro Ko (Teacher of Kanryo Higashiona)
Ryuro Ko was a student of Yongchun White Crane master Pan Yuba. Ryo Ryuko’s student Kanryo Higashionna is also believed to hve learnt some Lo Han Quan (Monkfist Boxing) from Wai Xinian who had also taught Aragaki Tsui Peichin (1840-1918).

The style Minghe Quan according to recent research was founded by Lin Shixian, in the later part of the Chinese Qing Dynasty, and the art was passed down to Pan Yuba, who taught Kanryo Higashionna’s teacher Xie Zhongxian. Lin Shixian who began the Minge Quan tradition was originally a resident of Yongchun village and is known to have taught in the port of Fuzhou in the province of Fuijan.

Chojun Miyagi is said to have travelled to China in search of Kanryo Higashionna’s teacher, although unable to find him, he studied other Chinese martial arts. These included Hsing I, Tai Chi Chaun and Pau Kua, all of which may be regarded as soft internal Chinese methods, which contributed to the Ju (soft) in Goju Ryu (Hard soft school).

Goju Kai & Master Yamaguchi Gogen,
A Japanese student of Master Miyagi Chojun was Yamaguchi Gogen who promulgated the style of Goju Ryu in Japan under the name of Goju Kai, this was to distinguish it from Miyagi Chojun's original school and Yamaguchi Sensei had made some modifications to what Master Miyagi had taught him.

Yamaguchi Sensei had originally trained in Jigen Ryu Ken Jutsu and it is this Kenjutsu that was learnt by Sokon Matsumura one of the most influential figures in the history of Ryukan Martial Arts.

Shorin and Shorei Ryu United

Kenwa Mabuni founder Shito Ryu

Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1953) had studied Shuri Te under Itosu (1830-1915) who was at the time over seventy years old. Mabuni also studied White Crane Chaun Fa under a tea merchant from the Fukien province of China called Wu Xiangui, known by the Okinawan name of Gokenki (1886-1940), and Naha Te from Kanryo Higashionna, the teacher of Goju Ryu’s founder Chojun Miyagi.

In 1929 Kenwa Mabuni moved to Osaka in mainland Japan where he taught his system of Karate known as Shito Ryu which combines the characters from the names of his two teachers Kanryo Higashionna and Ankoh Itosu. Thus combining the Shuri te with the Naha te fighting systems.

The Japanese Tradition of Motobu Ha Shito Ryu combines the teachings of Kenwa Mabuni’s Shito Ryu Kempo with those of Choki Motobu’s Okinawan Kempo Tode Jutsu. Choki Motobu arrived in Osaka in 1921 and Kenwa Mabuni in 1929 both of who taught Kosei Kuniba, who was later to become the Japanese headmaster Motobu Ha Shito Ryu systems second generation headmaster and established the Seishan Kan Dojo in Osaka. The son of Yukimori son, Siyogo Kuniba became the third generation of the style which became known as Motobu Ha Shito Ryu Seishin Kan., Siyogo Kuniba also received training from Shojo Nagamine (b.1907).