Tag Archives: Motobu Ryu
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
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
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
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
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
RyuKyu-Te
Ryukyu Te: The word “Ryukyu” comes from the name of the islands of Okinawa which are called Ryukyu Islands. The word “Te” comes from the usage of “Te” in Karate meaning hand. Ryukyu-Te is a family style martial art that … Continue reading