HIDDEN MASTERS 5.31.2013
Through the history of Okinawan Karate, there are several men who had a large influence on our Karate, but were passed over by the history of Karate. We all know of Karate Masters like Bushi Matsumoto, Anko Itosu, Kanryo Higashionna, and Kanken Toyama, but we don’t know a lot about these hidden masters.
The reason can be attributed to not starting their own style, maybe not having a large number of students, or, while they were the senior students of the head masters and taught the majority of classes, they fell in the shadow of their teachers. Regardless of the reason, they do have great stories that should be told. So to start from the beginning…..
BODHIDARMA (circa 507 A.D.)
Bodhidarma was an Indian monk who is credited with taking Zen and Martial Arts to the Shaolin Temple. Born into a military family of the warrior caste of India. Bodhidarma realizes at an early age he would rather seek enlightenment by being a Buddhist monk. His story is that he travels through Tibet, brings Buddhism to China and settles in the Shaolin Temple were he teaches Zen And a Martial art to the local monks. When he was teaching the monks meditation he found them to be in such poor shape that he taught them eighteen exercises to harden their bodies. These exercises became the predecessors of Chinese kenpo, the father of Okinawa Karate. Most of the Masters of Karate claim Bodhidarma as the Father of martial arts. There is a number of story’s about him, such as he sat in a cave for nine years meditating, the cave is still there and that you can see two holes that were drilled into the wall by his eyes. Also, when he found himself not being able to stay awake during meditation, he cut off his eye lids, and where he threw them on the ground, a plant started to grow, and this is where tea came from. I’m sure this is urban legend, but it makes for a great story.
SEISHO ARAGAKI (1840-1918)
Aragaki was a master of Monk Fist and White Crane kung fu. He was Higashionna’s first teacher. Aragaki was also a weapons expert. Master Aragaki worked as a court interpreter for the Okinawa government, and was a Representative of the government to be a special diplomat to China in the 1870s. Master Aragaki passed on the Katas neiseishi, seisan and sochin that we still train with today. He didn’t leave a school or style behind because most of his student went on to train with other masters so they could complete their training. An interesting note: one of the very first demonstrations held on March 24,1867, Master Aragaki was asked to show his art-not the more famous karate masters like Matsumura, Itosu, or Azato. Because of his influence on Master Toyama we can proudly claim him as an important ancestor.
KENTSU YABU-(1866-1937)
One of the most famous and influential karate master that no one knows. Master Yabu was one of Master Itosu’s top students; he was the one who was teaching the daily classes and was one of Master Toyama’s teachers. He should be credited for introducing and organizing the method of teaching groups by using commands, the repeating of basic techniques and going through the individual moves of kata by counting (pretty much the way we hold class today). Yabu started his training with the great Bushi Matsumura, but it was likely Master Itosu who was doing the actual teaching and pushing him in the perfection of his kata and self defense skills. Master Yabu joined the army and fought in the Chinese war, and was one of the the first Okinawans to be promoted to lieutenant in the Japanese army. There are stories that he killed 60 men in hand to hand combat, of course this could be exaggerated. He is also the first Karate man to come to the United States ( Los Angeles, Hawaii) and demonstrate Okinawa Karate in 1918.
HANASHIRO CHOMO-1869-1945
One of the most respected karate men of his time, he was also another one of Itosu’s top students who helped instruct many of the 20th century’s greatest karateka. In 1905 he wrote the first published book on Okinawa Karate (called Empty Handed Fighting) which was responsible for changing the Chinese kanji from Chinese hands to empty hands. Master Hanashiro Is best know for being a meticulous teacher and practitioner of kata. He often described Karate as an”introspective vehicle through which a journey without distance brought forth a deeper meaning to life itself.” Master Hanashiro always focused upon physical conditioning, understanding the application of kata, and modesty. Maybe a reason Hanashiro is less known today is that he never sought the limelight by moving to Japan to spread karate like some of his contemporaries.
GUSUKUMA (SHIROMA) SHIMPAN-1890-1954
Not very many karate people today know him or his name. Shimpan started with Master Itosu when he was 13 years old, which made him Jr. to Yabu and Hanashiro. In his time he was one of the best technicians and fighters that came out of Itosu’s dojo. Shimpan was one of only three men who trained with both the top Karate men of their time, Master Itosu and Master Higashionna, the other two were Mabuni(head of Shito-ryu) and Master Toyama. Shimpa was known for his precise sparring techniques and drilling his students in their kata. His classes were doing hundreds of repetitions of strikes and kicks. Pushing students to always try hard, if they didn’t appear to be working hard they would be dismissed from the dojo. Gusukuma’s teaching method was considered very traditional. There is not much information that remains of his students or his dojo. He is shown in an 1936 book doing kata and self defense (which I have). On the day he died, at age 64, he taught class and trained for two hours, ate a light dinner, and went to bed early. His wife found him dead in bed later that night.
This is just a few of the hidden masters that I wanted you to know about and be aware of. It does seem they all shared the same kind of qualities as each other: love of karate and just to train and not worry about making money or being famous. These masters lived in the golden age of Karate, training with the best karate men around, teaching and passing true karate on to the modern day teachers. These men were the top students of the greatest masters, and although they lived in the shadow of the masters, they never worried about it and just kept training and doing the best they could. These were the men that were the inspiration to Toyama, who passed their knowledge and teachings to Takazawa, who passed them on to us. We should feel lucky and grateful that what we are doing is so rich in history and to be able to pass it down to the next generation. To not only walk in their footsteps but stand on their shoulders and seek what they were seeking. These men are what keep me training and trying to be the best I can be. I hope they do that for you.
See you in the dojo