Monthly Archives: October 2023
Why I was taught Motobu Udundī
From a lecture by Uehara Seikichi in From Uehara Seikichi, “Talking about the secret martial art of the Ryukyu royal family,” April 4, 1992 Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule today to listen to my talk. … Continue reading
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Tagged Choyu Karate, Motobu, Motobu Ryu, Motobu Ududi, Oyata, Ryukyute, Uehara Seikichi
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Records about the Kakede before 1945
Translated by Lucas Barboza Kakede 掛け手 (or Kakidī in Okinawan dialect) is an ancient form of Jiyū Kumite or free combat, commonly interpreted as “hooked hands” or “locked hands”. Sometimes this is also referred to as Kake-kumite. This form of combat is … Continue reading
Karate Masters Who Issued Shihan Licenses for Karate and Kobudō Before World War II
As noted in the article “Difference between Sensei and Shihan,” Motobu Udundī has a system of shihan licenses. In addition, Motobu Chōki’s karate organization, Nihon Karate-dō Motobu-kai, also has a system of shihan licenses. In Okinawa, Chinen Masami Iemoto issued a shihan license to Higa Seitoku, as described … Continue reading
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Tagged Karate, Mabuni Kenwa, Miyagi Chojun, Motobu Ryu, Oyata, Ryukyute, Yabiku Moden
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Asato Ankō’s Tactical Methods
There’s a saying, “There’s no first move in karate.” It was popularized by Funakoshi Gichin, so some people may mistake it for Funakoshi Sensei’s phrase, but it is actually a phrase that existed previously. The meaning of this phrase is … Continue reading
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Kumite of Kyan Chōtoku
Last month (April 2020), Andreas Quast Sensei in Germany told me that some photos of Kyan Chōtoku’s kumite have been uploaded to Facebook. Source: Karate e Kobudo Tradizionali di Okinawa — Okinawa Dento Karate-do I had seen pictures of Kyan Sensei’s students’ kumite before, but … Continue reading
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Blood relationship between Yoshimura Udun, Urasoe Udun, and Motobu Udun
Last fall, I visited the Yoshimura Udun grave in Naha. Udun means palace, but it also means royal family. As I have mentioned several times before, both Yoshimura Chōmei’s eldest son Chōshin and second son Chōgi learned karate, and Chōgi … Continue reading
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Tagged Japan, Karate, Motobu Choki, Motobu Ryu, Oyata, Ryukyute
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Nakama Chōzō’s Gojūshiho
In a previous article I wrote about Nakama Chōzō. He is a senior disciple of Chibana Chōshin. Also, when Motobu Chōki briefly returned to Okinawa to attend the “Roundtable of Karate Masters” (1936), Nakama Sensei learned kumite from him. After … Continue reading
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Uke and Hazushi
Motobu Chōki uses the expression “uke hazusu (受け外す, literally, receive and remove)” in his books, where today we say “ukeru (receive).” In the commentary on “tsuki-uke (punch-receive),” he also refers to it as “uchi hazusu (hit and remove). Neither is common in modern karate … Continue reading
Weapon Arts of Asato Ankō
Motobu Udundi is a martial art of the udun class. Udun means palace, but it also means royalty. Motobu Udundi uses a wide range of weapons, including sword, spear, naginata (halberd), sai, nūchiku (nunchaku), tonfa, etc. So what was the martial art of the tunchi, a class below the udun? Tunchi is a class … Continue reading
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Shuri-te and Satsuma-koshirae
Written by Motobu Naoki Translated by Andreas Quast Satsuma Koshirae (sword mountings） is a sword outfit unique to the Satsuma domain. To make it easier to understand, you can call it a “Satsuma-style sword.” As shown in the photo below, the … Continue reading