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- RYUKYU
KOBUDO - WAY OF THE CLASSICAL WARRIOR
Welcome to the Kobudo
(Way of the Classical Warrior) web page, the term
Kobudo
has been associated to the weapon arts due to
its historical background. Most Okinawan
Sensei will recall that weapon arts were the first
art of defense that were taught on
Okinawa. The smooth flowing motions of Kobudo should
displayed in this to show the
Chinese influence, but over the years Kobudo has
lost a good portion of its flowing abilities.
The present weapon arts display a more link to its
present day relative, karate. Karate-do
in its purest form was also fluid. In the topics of
Kobudo we will cover the major arts of
Okinawan weapons. And the major tools such as Bo
(staff), Sai (pronged weapon),
Nicho-gama (two sickles), Tonfa (rice mill handles),
nunchaku (two 14" or 12") octagon
sticks interconnected originally with horse
hair, now with nylon twine)
The martial arts with weaponry (Kobu
jutsu) started appearing in actual battles during
the Sanzan
(3 kingdoms) period of the 11th and 12th
centuries in Okinawa. At that time, the three
largest kingdoms
- Nanzan (Ozato Aji), Hokuzan (Nakijin Aji) and
Chuzan King (King Tamagusuku) - were competing for
supremacy, and various weapons, fighting methods,
castle construction techniques and other skills were
developed. It is also believed that Okinawa's unique
martial arts with weaponry were developed during the
century or so when the traffic with China was
stopped.
In the 15th century unification led to
the establishment of the Shuri Dynasty. The
Okinawan martial arts
with weaponry spread to various regions while
developing mainly around the warrior class in
Shuri, the capital.
There was also influence from Chinese martial arts.
There were two great turning points in the history
of the Okinawan martial arts. The first was the
'Order of
the Sword Hunt' implemented by King Shoshin
(1477-1526), by which the carrying of weapons was
prohibited
for not only the general public but the warrior
class people as well. The second was the 'Policy of
Banning
Weapons' enforced after the Satsuma Invasion in
1609. The Ryukyuan naturally began to think of ways
to
defend themselves and their property using ordinary
tools or farm equipment. They discovered that they
could fight against swords or spears on the same
footing using such tools. So they kept on studying
and
making inventions. The result was a secret form of
hidden martial arts, Okinawa's martial arts with
weaponry.
However, a policy of secrecy was adopted and few
secrets were made available to society in
general. Upon
entering the 20th Century, a social movement was
begun by masters like Moden Yabiku (1878-1941),
Shinko
Matayoshi (1888-1947) and Shinken Taira (1897-
1970), to undertake systematic research on the
Okinawan
martial arts with weaponry to ensure their
continuity. The organization of schools and
associations was
accelerated. Since then up to the present, many
world tournaments of martial arts with weaponry have
been
held in Okinawa, as frequently as those for
karate.
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Lives
of Famous Traditional Okinawan Karate & Kobudo Masters
Many anecdotes have been
told about the pioneers who laid the foundations of
traditional Okinawan karate. To convey the spirit and
essence of Okinawan karate, two of these anecdotes are
introduced here.
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Sokon Matsumura
(1809 - unknown)
Sokon Matsumura was an
outstanding individual who was already a personal attendant
to the Ryukyu king before he was thirty and was entrusted
with diplomatic missions to China and Satsuma in Kyushu. He
was a man of great dignity and refinement who reached the
pinnacle of understanding and achievement in the literary
and martial arts. In China, where kung-fu flourished, he
earned the highest respect of the warriors of Fuchou.
Matsumura practiced the seven virtues of the warrior - "The
warrior forbids violence, protects his soldiers and the
people, maintains honor, keeps the people safe, preserves
public harmony, and increases wealth."
The illustration at right depicts Matsumura's confrontation
with Ume, a female martial artist. Taking the battle
lightly, he loses his first encounter but wins the second
with carefully considered tactics. Sokon later marries Ume.
He devotes himself to government duties and karate,
achieving much in his lifetime.
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Kanryo Higaonna
(1853 - 1914)
Kanryo Higaonna was born
in 1853, the year that the U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry
landed in Okinawa. He was small in stature but very nimble
and athletic. He took up the practice of karate, called
simply "ti" (hand) in his time. When he was a little past
the age of twenty, he went to Fujian Province in China to
study the martial arts as was the fashion in his day. Kanryo
traveled to Fuchou three times and was forty when he finally
returned home to Okinawa. Many stories are told about his
strict self-discipline and training and his many heroic
deeds during his time in China. When he returned he brought
weapons with him and these were the forerunners of today's
karate training instruments.
The illustration at right shows Kanryo's training days in
Fujian Province, China. He seizes an intoxicated and violent
fellow student who was one of the most talented and largest
in size. A later battle with this student shows that the
student was highly impressed when Kanryo demonstrated his
kata. He was later treated like a teacher with respect and
admiration.
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