I recently took the book Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts Koryu Uchinadi Part 2 compiled and translated by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy from the library.
It has a few parts to it but the first part is "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: The Mabuni Kenwa Story. Mabuni Kenwa Sensei is the founder of S-h-i-t-oRyu Karate Do (will the forum let me spell it out?). He was one of the main influences in the establishment of Karate Do in modern practice.
It is a short but interesting read and surprisingly so for Uechika as I will get to in a moment.
I love to read the history of marital arts and its practitioners. This short article was no exception.
Mabuni Kenwa Sensei was a true practitioner in my mind. Regardless of how well known he was for his extraordinary breadth of knowledge, he never stopped being a student. He never stopped learning.
It was this aspect that brings Uechi Ryu into the story. I will provides some quotes from the book:
Page 6: "Although there is extensive speculation concerning Master Aragaki, the amount of factual information is actually quite small. Funakoshi Gichin (1827 - 1906) wrote that Aragaki had studied quanfa under Wai Xin Xian, while Fujiwara Ryozo stated that in 1870 Aragaki Seisho had traveled to Beijing together with Zhoa Xin (the last Chinese Sapposhi to visit the Ryukyu Kingdom). Meanwhile, Nakaya Takao states that Aragaki also accompanied Uechi Kanbum (1877 - 1948) and Matsuda Tokusaburo (the founder of Chitoryu karate-do) upon their 1897 trip to china."
Page 11: "However, not very well-to-do financially, Mabuni was never able to pursue his lifelong ambition: to travel and study the fighting traditions in mainland China, as his teacher (Higashionna Kanryo) and his friends had done. Nonetheless, in recognizing the importance of such a need, he did cultivate close friendships with the Chinese quanfa experts Wu Xiangui (Go Kenki), Tang Daiji (To Daiki), and Uechi Kanbun."
Page 12: "Little is written about Mabuni's relationship with Wu Xiangui and Tang Daiji. Kinjo Hiroshi (a man described by Richard Kim as "a walking encyclopedia of karate-do history, philosophy, and application") believes that the principle reasons why Mabuni sought out their instruction, and that of Uechi Kanbum, may very well have been to gain a deeper understanding of qinna (literally, to seize and hold) …
- Twisting bones and locking joints
- Separating tendons from the bone (fengin or zhuaging)
- Seizing, manipulation, and/or striking of nerve plexus (dianxue)
- Attacking the arteries (duanmie) and/or other anatomically vulnerable locations
- Respiratory (bi chi), blood, and air strangulations
- Organ-piercing blows (designed to shock organs not protected by the rib cage)
- How to rupture veins and arteries (blood-gate attacks)
- Grappling, takedowns, throws, groundwork, counters, and escapes
- And combinations thereof"
Page 19: "On one occasion during the early Showa, Konishi accompanied Mabuni south to Wakayama Prefecture where he met with Uechi Kanbum, after whom the Uechi system of karate-do was later named. Uechi Kanbun had moved there, from Okinawa, together with his family in 1924. Mabuni was intensely curious about what had kept his fellow islander in Fuzhou for so many years. Speaking about their trip, Konishi wrote in 1933 that Uechi Sensei could not speak Japanese very well, and lived like a recluse. The kata Shimpa (mind wave) represents the defensive principles Mabuni learned from his meeting with Master Uechi. A simple and rare exercise, Shimpa features the basic grabbing and striking principles of both Fujian tiger boxing and Fujian dog boxing."
Page 36: Under "S-h-i-t-oryu Karate-do Kata" Uechiha (Fuijian Tiger Gongfu) Shimpa.
This is not to imply that Mabuni Sensei was a student of Uechi Sensei's. It is interesting for any of us to read something about the man who brought the system out of China.
I found it very interesting that clearly Uechi Sensei was recognized as being a master of a Chinese system. This is a factor that has been blurred over the very few years since it left China.
I also appreciated the breath of applications (qinna). I always thought so.
It did raise a few questions:
Does anyone know anything about Fujian Dog boxing? Bob Campbell Sensei are you out there?
Do any of our S-h-i-t-oryu readers know anything about Shimpa Kata?
Rick