Kusanku

Shuri-te is a pre-World War II term for a type of martial art indigenous to the area around Shuri, the old capital city of the Ryūkyū Kingdom.

The successor styles to Shuri-te include Shōtōkan-ryū, Wadō-ryū, Shitō-ryū, Motobu-ryu, Shōrin-ryū, Shudokan and Shōrinji-ryū.

Kusanku, also known by Kwang Shang Fu, was a Chinese martial artist who lived during the 1700s. He is credited as having an influence on virtually all karate-derived martial arts.

Kusanku learned the art of Ch'uan Fa in China from a Shaolin monk. Around 1756, Kusanku was sent to Okinawa as an ambassador of the Qing Dynasty. He resided in the village of Kanemura, near Naha City. During his stay in Okinawa, Kusanku instructed Satunuku Sakugawa.

Sakugawa trained under Kusanku for six years. After Kusanku's death (around 1762), Sakugawa developed and named the Kusanku kata in honor of his teacher.

Sakukawa

Tode Sakukawa (Sakukawa Kanga, Sakugawa Satunuku 1733 - 1815) was an Okinawan martial artist who played a major role in the development of Te, the precursor to modern Karate. In 1750, Sakugawa began his training as a student of an Okinawan monk, Peichin Takahara. After six years of training, Takahara suggested that Sakukawa train under Kusanku, a Chinese master in Ch'uan Fa. Sakukawa spent six years training with Kusanku, and began to spread what he learned to Okinawa in 1762. Sakukawa's most famous student, Sokon Matsumura, went on to create the Shorin-ryu style of karate.

Matsumura

Matsumura was recruited into the service of the Royal Okinawan Sho family in 1816 and received the title Shikudon, a gentry rank. He began his career by serving the 17th King of the Ryukyu Sho dynasty, King Sho Ko. In 1818 he married Yonamine Chiru, who was a martial arts expert as well. Matsumura eventually became the chief martial arts instructor and bodyguard for the Okinawan King Sho Ko. He subsequently served in this capacity for the last two Okinawan Kings, Sho Iku and Sho Tai. Matsumura not only became the chief martial arts instructor but an official of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Matsumura traveled on behalf of the Royal Ryukyu government to Fuchou and Satsuma ( twice each). He studied Chuan Fa in China as well as other martial arts and brought what he learned back to Okinawa.

Matsumura is credited with passing on the kata or formal exercises of Shorin-ryu Kempo-karate known as Naihanchi I & II, Passai Dai (To Break a Fortress), Seisan (13 Pauses), Chinto, Gojushiho (fifty-four steps of the Black Tiger), Kusanku (the embodiment of Kusanku's teaching as passed on to Tode Sakugawa) and Hakutsuru. The Hakutsuru kata contains the elements of the Fujian White Crane system taught within the Shaolin system of Chinese Kempo. Another set of kata, known as Chanan in Matsumura's time, is said to have been devised by Matsumura himself and was the basis for Pinan I and II. Matsumura's Ryu has endured to the present day and the above mentioned kata are the core of Shorin-ryu Karate today.

Matsumura was given the title "Bushi" meaning "warrior" by the Okinawan King in recognition of his abilities and accomplishments in the martial arts. Described by Gichin Funakoshi as a sensei with a terrifying presence, Matsumura was never defeated in a duel, though he fought many. Tall, thin, and possessing a pair of unsettling eyes, Matsumura was described by his student Anko Itosu as blindingly fast and deceptively strong. His martial arts endeavors have been the progenitor of many contemporary karate styles: Shorin-ryu, Shotokan, and Shito-ryu, for example. Ultimately, all modern styles of karate that evolved from the Shuri-te lineage can be traced back to the teachings of Bushi Matsumura.

Itosu

Ankō Itosu (Itosu Ankō, Itosu Yasutsune in Japanese) is considered by many the father of modern karate, although this title is also often given to Gichin Funakoshi because the latter spread karate throughout Japan.

Itosu was born in 1831 and died in 1915. Itosu was small in stature, shy, and introverted as a child. He was raised in a strict home of the keimochi (a family of position), and was educated in the Chinese classics and calligraphy.

Itosu began his tode (karate) study under Nagahama Chikudon Peichin. His study of the art led him to Sokon Matsumura. Part of Itosu's training was makiwara practice. He once tied a leather sandal to a stone wall in an effort to build a better makiwara. After several strikes, the stone fell from the wall. After relocating the sandal several times, Itosu had destroyed the wall.

Itosu served as a secretary to the last king of the Ryukyu Islands until Japan abolished the Okinawa-based native monarchy in 1879. In 1901, he was instrumental in getting karate introduced into Okinawa's schools. In 1905, Itosu was a part-time teacher of To-te at Okinawa's First Junior Prefectural High School. It was here that he developed the systematic method of teaching karate techniques that are still in practice today.

He created and introduced the Pinan forms (Heian in Japanese) as learning steps for students, because he felt the other forms (kata in Japanese, hyung in Korean) were too difficult for schoolchildren to learn. The five Pinan forms were created by drawing from two older forms: kusanku and chiang nan[citation needed]. Itosu is also credited with taking the large Naihanchi form (tekki in Japan) and breaking it into the three well-known modern forms Naihanchi Shodan, Naihanchi Nidan, and Naihanchi Sandan. In 1908, Itosu wrote the influential "Ten Precepts (Tode Jukun) of Karate," reaching beyond Okinawa to Japan. Itosu's style of karate came to be known as Itosu-ryu in recognition of his skill, mastery, and role as teacher to many.

While Itosu did not invent karate himself, he codified the kata (forms) learned from his master, Matsumura, and taught many karate masters. Itosu's students included Choyu Motobu (1857–1927), Choki Motobu (1870–1944), Kentsu Yabu (1866–1937), Chomo Hanashiro (1869–1945), Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957), Moden Yabiku (1880–1941), Kanken Toyama (1888–1966), Chotoku Kyan (1870–1945), Shinpan Shiroma (Gusukuma) (1890–1954), Anbun Tokuda (1886–1945), Kenwa Mabuni (1887–1952), and Choshin Chibana (1885–1969).

Chibana

Chosin Chibana was born in Shuri on June 5, 1886, into a modest family. As a boy, he worked in the fields to help with his families livlihood. He attended Okinawa Prefectual Grammer School. In 1898, Chibana successfully met the requirements necessary to enter Okinawa Prefectural Daiich Middle School, but left school in mid-course in 1900 to become a student of the widely known authority of Karate, Ankoh Itotsu. Chibana devoted his total life to the study of Karate under Itotsu Sensei for 13 years.

During this time, Chibana was a classmate to men like himself, who were to leave their mark on Karate across the world. Students studying under Itotsu Sensei with Chibana were Kenwa Mabuni, Choki Oshiro, and Masashige Shiromo, to just name a few.

In 1920, Chibana Sensei opened two dojos, one in Shuri and one in Naha. Shortly before this time, Karate had been introduced to mainland Japan by several of Chibana's classmates, Kenwa Mabuni and Gichin Funakoshi. During this surge of interest in Karate, many Karatemen sought ways of making what they knew more appealing, but Chibana Sensei maintained that it would take him a lifetime to understand thoroughly what he had been taught by Itotsu Sensei. He devoted his life to this principle. He could often be heard sayging, "Karate is teaching Kata (form) we have taken from forefathers without changing it at all." When the many changes were taking place in Karate with the naming of different systems by Ryu names, Chibana Sensei named his system Shorin-Ryu to denote tht he was teaching exactly as he had been taught by Itotsu Sensei. While training his students, he also coached students at three universities in mainland Japan; Takushoku University, Tyo University and Nihon University, through explanation of military exercise before the Pacific War.

After the war and Okinawa had recovered from the destitution, Chibana Sensei started to teach again to those students who had no been killed in the war. Many of his top students served and died for the Japanese Imperial Army. Having devoted his total life to teaching Karate and never having another vocation, in 1956 at the age of 71, he organized the Okinawa Karate Federation and took offfice as its first president. This was a big step for Chibana Sensei because the Okinawa Karate Federation was made up of main Ryus that had developed in Okinawa. This was the beginning of the end of the quarreling between school and system as to whose system was the best. In 1957, because of his efforts to unite Karate on Okinawa and his total dedication to Karate, he was given the degree of "Hanshi no Sogo" (Doctorial Master) by theDai Nippon Butokukai. This was the highest rank ever given to any Karate insructor and no one has received this rank since. In 1960, he was awarded a special athletic prize by the Okinawa Times.

In 1961, he seceded from the presidency of the Okinawa Karate Federation to devote more time to his disciples. At this time, he organized the Okinawa Shorin-Ryu Karate Association made up of his disciples. From this time, although 76 years old, he devoted all his energies to his followers. In February 1969, at the age of 84, Chibana Sensei passed away.

Nakazato

Hanshi Shugoro Nakazato was born in Naha-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.

After the war was over, Nakazato-Sensei returned to his home in Okinawa to find his family a casualty of war. In June of 1946, he began his study of Karate under Hanshi Choshin Chibana, who was the Menkyo inheritor of Anko Itotsu.

In 1948 Chibana-Sensei's Shuri dojo closed but Nakazato-Sensei continued his study with Master Chibana. For one year Chibana gave Nakazato-Sensei personal tutoring at Chibana-Sensei's home.

In 1951 Nakazato-Sensei was instrumental in helping Chibana open his new DAI ICHI DOJO in Naha City at Matsuo. Chibana continued his personal tutoring of Nakazato at the Dai Ichi Dojo until January 10, 1954 when Nakazato received his Shihan Menkyojo at which time he became Master Chibana's Shihan Dai (assistant). After work as the Shihan Dai in the Dai Ichi Dojo under Chibana for one and half years, Nakazato was commissioned by Chibana to found the Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan Nakazato-Sensei's dojo in Naha City at Aza.

Nakazato-Sensei  was appointed as one of the directors of the Okinawan Karate Federation when it was formed in 1956 with the four major (Shiryuha) systems of Karate in Okinawa Goju-Ryu; Uechi-Ryu, Shorin-Ryu, Matsubayashi-Ryu. All during this time Nakazato devote d all of his time and energy to teaching and perfecting Shorin-Ryu Karate-do. In 1960 the Okinawan Karate Federation promoted him to Eight-Degree Black Belt and Kyoshi. Seven years later Nakazato continued his climb to the top of the Shorin-Ryu hierarch y when Master Chibana and the Okinawa Shorin-Ryu Karatedo Kyokai promoted him to Hanshi and 9th Degree Black Belt.

Nakazato-Sensei  began his study of weapons almost from the beginning of his training in 1935. He was trained in the sai, bo, nunchaku, tonfa, and nicho kama, but he specialized in Bojutsu for 4 years. Throughout his career he has given of his knowledge very willingly. He has demonstrated his technique of Karate all over the world, in Europe, India, Africa, mainland Japan, and he has made at least 8 trips to America. He has appeared on television many times and is often a guest on the "Tokyo TV Afternoon Show." When Master Chibana passed away, Shugoro Nakazato inherited the Leadership of Okinawan Shorinryu Karate-do, thus becoming a (10) TENTH DEGREE BLACK BELT.

Shorin Ryu Lineage