|
Shito ryu (糸東流) is a form of
karate that was developed by Kenwa Mabuni in 1931. Any history of
Shitoryu Karate, however, must begin and end with its founder, Kenwa
Mabuni. Born in Shuri on Okinawa in 1893, Mabuni Sensei was a descendant
of the famous Onigusukini Samurai family. Perhaps because of his weak
constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of
Shuri-Te at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary
AnkohYasutsune Itosu (1813-1915). He trained diligently for several years,
learning many kata from this great Master. It was Itosu who first
developed the Pinan kata, which were most probably derived from the 'Kusanku'
form.
One of his close friends, Sensei Chogun Miyagi (founder of Goju-ryu)
introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Sensei Kanryo
Higashionna, and began to learn Naha-Te under him as well. While both
Itosu and Higashionna taught a 'hard-soft' style of Okinawan 'Te', their
methods and emphases were quite distinct: the Itosu syllabus included
straight and powerful techniques as exemplified in the Naifanchi and
Bassai kata; the Higashionna syllabus on the other hand, stressed circular
motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the popular Seipai and
Kururunfa forms. These were the two main influences on the development of
Mabuni Sensei and what he would later call Shito-ryu. In fact, he derived
the name for his new style from the first Kanji character in their names,
Itosu and Higashionna.
Although he remained true to the teachings of these two great masters,
Mabuni sought instruction from a number of masters, including Seisho
Aragaki, Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jino and Wu Xianhui (a Chinese master
known as Go-Kenki). In fact, Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopaedic
knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. By the 1920s, he was
regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and
was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries. There is even
some evidence that his expertise was sought out in China, as well as
Okinawa and mainland Japan. As a police officer, he taught local law
enforcement officers and at the behest of his teacher Itosu, began
instruction in the various grammar schools in Shuri and Naha.
In an effort to popularize Karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made
several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as
'Te' (Chinese Fist) or Karate had been passed down through many
generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught
to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. In fact, many
masters of his generation held similar views on the future of Karate:
Sensei Gichin Funakoshi (founder of Shotokan), another contemporary, had
moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote their art on the mainland as well.
By 1929, Mabuni had moved to Osaka on the mainland, to become a
full-time Karate instructor. With the support of Sensei Ryusho Sakagami
(1915-1993), he opened a number of dojo in the Osaka area, including
Kansai University and the Japan Karatedo Kai dojo. To this day, the
largest contingent of Shito-ryu practitioners in Japan is centred in the
Osaka area.
In an effort to gain acceptance in the Japanese Butokukai, the
governing body for all officially recognized martial arts, he and his
contemporaries decided to call their art 'Karate' or 'Empty Hand', rather
than 'Chinese Hand'. He published a number of books on the subject and
continued to systematize the instruction method. In his latter years, he
developed a number of formal kata, such as Aoyagi, for example, which was
designed specifically for women's self defence. Perhaps more than any
other Master in the last century, Mabuni was steeped in the traditions and
history of Karate-do, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could
spread throughout the world.
|
