Okinawa Perfecture, Japan
Okinawa Island (沖縄島, Okinawa-jima, Okinawan: 沖縄/うちなー, Uchinaa Kunigami: ふちなー, Fuchináa), officially Okinawa Main Island (沖縄本島, Okinawa-hontō), is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu (Nansei) Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five main islands of Japan. The island is approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi) long, an average 11 kilometres (7 mi) wide, and has an area of 1,206.98 square kilometers (466.02 sq mi). It is roughly 640 kilometres (350 nmi; 400 mi) south of the main island of Kyushu and the rest of Japan. It is 500 km (270 nmi; 310 mi) northeast of Taiwan. The total population of Okinawa Island is 1,384,762. The greater Naha area has roughly 800,000 residents, while the city itself has about 320,000 people. Naha is the seat of Okinawa Prefecture on the southwestern part of Okinawa Island.
What is Karate?
Karate (空手) , also karate-do (空手道, Karate-dō), is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called te (手), “hand”; tī in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While modern karate is primarily a striking art that uses punches and kicks, traditional karate training also employs throwing and joint locking techniques. A karate practitioner is called a karate-ka (空手家).
The four major karate styles developed in Japan, especially in Okinawa are Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Shorin-ryu (小林流&少林流), and Matsubayashi-ryu; many other styles of Karate are derived from these four.
The formal application within the four major karate styles are as follows:
- Goju-ryu (剛柔流) is one of the main traditional style of Okinawan Karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Kanryo Higaonna (1853-1915) was known as the highest authority of Naha Te. He and his successor Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953) made several basics. Go means hard, refers to closed hand techniques or straight linear attacks, Ju means soft, refers to open hand techniques and circular movements. Goju-ryu incorporates both circular and linear movements into its basic method, combining hard striking attacks such as kicks and close hand punches with softer open hand circular techniques for attacking, blocking, and controlling the opponent, including locks, grappling, takedowns, and throws. Breathing method is also very important.
- Uechi-ryu (上地流) is a traditional style of Okinawan karate. Uechi-ryu means “Style of Uechi”. Originally called Pangai-noon, which translates to English as “half-hard, half-soft”, the style was renamed Uechi-ryu after the founder of the style, Kanbun Uechi (1877-1948). Uechi-ryu’s connection with Chinese Shorin-ken means the former shares a similar foundation with Naha-Te despite their separate development. Therefore Uechi-ryu is also heavily influenced by the kung fu from Fujian province. Uechi-ryu training styles are focused only on Sanchin training and body conditioning.
- Shorin (小林) -ryu is one of the major modern Okinawa styles of Karate and one of the oldest style. It was named by Choshin Chibana (1885-1969) in 1933, but the system itself is much older. Chosin Chibana was a top student of the great master of Shuri-te, Anko Itosu (1831-1915). The characters Shorin (小林), meaning “small” and “forest” respectively and pronounced “shorin” in Japanese, are also used in the Chinese and Japanese words for Shaolin Kung Fu. Shorin-ryu adjusts elements of the traditional fighting styles of Shuri-Te. Shorin-ryu karate is the swift, fast techniques based on the strategy of evasion and in the same time attacking to sensitive spots of the body with hits.
- Matsubayashi-ryu (松林流), is a style of Okinawan karate founded by Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997). Nagamine named his style in honor of the two most important masters that his teachings were influenced by Sokon Matsumura of Shuri-te and Kosaku Matsumora of Tomari-te. He chose to name the school using the first kanji characters from both master’s names Matsu (松) and the style is pronounced in Japanese “Matsubayashi” (松林). Matsubayashi-ryu is one of the main styles of Karate on Okinawa.
- Shorin-ryu Shidokan (小林流志道館, Shōrin-ryū Shidōkan), the style of Karate taught here, is the main branch of Shorin-ryū style of Okinawan karate, started by Katsuya Miyahira, Hanshi 10th Dan.
It should not be confused with the newer Japanese Shidōkan (世界空手道連盟士道館 World Karate Association Shidōkan), which was founded by Yoshiji Soeno in 1981, another style of knockdown karate. Okinawan Shidokan (志道館) precedes Japanese Shidokan (士道館) by 33 years.
Shidōkan Karate(志道館)
October 1948, Katsuya Miyahira opened his first karate dojo in Kanehisa, Nishihara, Okinawa, after receiving his Shihan (4th rank) Certificate from Chōshin Chibana. Sensei Miyahira received his 10th Dan in 1978. Miyahira chose to name his dojo Shidō-kan (志道館, “House of the Way of the Warrior”). “Shidō” was taken from the Analects by Confucius, chapter seven, verse six in book four of the twenty volume collection; which reads:
Determine in your heart to forever follow the way.
Stay close to the sun of virtue and do not stray.
Trust in the power of benevolence for support.
Take pleasure from these abilities.
Creation of Shorin-ryū Shidō-ka
In Chosin Chibana’s Shorin-ryu Karate 小林流 (also read as Kobayashi) five of his senior students were promoted to 9th Dan.[3] Upon Chibana’s death in 1969, Chibana’s most senior student, Katsuya Miyahira, received the hanko (official seals of the organization) and was voted president of the Okinawa Shorin-ryū Karate-dō Association / Kyokai (OSKK). Chibana’s most senior students split the style of Shorin-ryū karate into various schools, Miyahira heading the main branch which is now called Shidō-kan (志道館) style, based upon the name of Miyahira’s dojo. Shuguro Nakazato formed Shorinkan, Yuchoku Higa formed Kyudokan, Chozo Nakama, and Kensei Kinjo formed Kushin-ryu.[3]
Shidokan characteristic
Shidokan, like most Chibana-ha or Kobayashi schools, is generally characterized by relatively high stances (typical of self defense karate), quick and light movements, and explosive power.
Shidokan dojo guideline
Miyahira Shidokan dojo’s guidelines:
Try to perfect one’s own personality
Cultivate the spirit of making constant efforts
Admonish one’s own youthful ardor
Value good manners.
Thoughts on Kat
Kata is never concrete in performance or interpretation. It changes either knowingly, unknowingly or through the passage of time. Sometimes the changes are small—like changing the emphasis of punching to kicking or to quick movements or to slow, steady movements. An instructor may favor one technique over another and tell his students to emphasize it more than it was originally taught. The kata is still the same but a change has now taken place either consciously or unconsciously. These minor changes have not really changed the style. These changes cannot be prevented either, for in most cases the change occurs over a long period of time.
Patience
Posted on the Wall in the Shidokan Dojo:
To Have Patience Where it is Possible
Is Not Real Patience
Yet to Have Patience Where It Is Impossible
Is Real Patience!
Shidokan maxims posted in dojo
Proper Spirit:
- You should thoroughly understand and pay strict attention to your teacher’s corrections and apply them correctly.
- You can attain perfection by exercising patience and through constant training.
- In learning the basic techniques, learn to apply them, adopt them and finally transform them to your own taste but always according to the correct theory of basic techniques.
- You should listen to and accept the corrections of the more senior or advanced students.
- Try to assimilate everything good in your peers and use it to correct that which is inconsistent in you.
- When teaching you should always be kind but firm and strict with your juniors.
Conduct:
- To acquire experience and understanding, take seriously all advice given to you.
- Never judge or take a person lightly.
- Accept with an open mind the opinions and remarks of others, if they prove to be earnest, just and correct.
- Be honest, fair and true whenever you ponder over or reason out a problem or theory.
- When you are not training, quietly sit by the edge of the dojo and watch the activities of your fellow students and how they are corrected.
Shidōkan in Okinawa today
Today, Shidō-kan is one of the largest styles of karate in Okinawa, with over 25 dojo in the prefecture. Within Okinawa, Shidō-kan is well known for its success in the Okinawan Bare Knuckle karate tournaments, largely due to Koichi Nakasone. Okinawa, an extensive number of Shidokan Dojos throughout Okinawa, Seiyu Nakamura, Hanshi 10th Dan, and a student of Sensei Miyahira’s, has a dojo in Yaese-cho Okinawa, Japan where he currently resides.
Maeshiro Morinobu, Hanshi 10th Dan, President of OSKK and Naha city karate federation chairman, teaches in the Shidokan Hombu dojo and in his own dojo in Naha.