Monday, November 15, 2010

How "Motobu" Is Your "Motobu ha?"

What I will be discussing concerns the art of Motobu ha Shito Ryu. It is a style of karate stemming from Master Choki Motobu and extends to his student Master Kosei Kuniba (Kokuba), Kuniba’s son Master Shogo Kuniba, and to the different factions carried on by Successors and Shihan of Master Shogo Kuniba.

The name “Motobu ha Shito Ryu” comes from the fact that Shogo Kuniba studied the Motobu Ryu Karate his father learned from Choki Motobu and the Shito Ryu he learned from several Shito Ryu exponents, including the founder, Master Kenwa Mabuni.

From my expererience in other classical traditions, the terms “Motobu ha Shito Ryu” are actually a little odd... it implies the Motobu faction of Shito Ryu, implying further that Motobu was a student of Shito Ryu, which he wasn’t. Shogo Kuniba was attempting to give tribute to the influences of Motobu and Mabuni Shito Ryu on his branch of the karate tree. I am certainly not one to critique a Japanese martial arts Master with his use of the Japanese language, so I’ll just leave it as... it just sounds a little odd in this combination of terms. Regardless, I, and thousands of others all over the world, enjoy practicing this unique version of traditional karate.

Motobu ha Shito Ryu, and its organizational umbrella under Kuniba, Seishinkai, has had a wild history of development since the death of Master Kuniba. Organizational rights, familial rights, and stylistic rights have plagued the style. Today, no less than 5 different organizations represent Motobu ha Shito Ryu, all with legitimate “paperwork” to teach the style. While many choose to focus on political issues, myself and my peers choose to positively promote the style and its unique place in karate history to the students of the style who will one day carry the torch.

The idea for this little excerpt came from a topic I have discussed at clinics, seminars and camps for years now. That is, there’s a point in some martial artists’ career where a sort of identity problem materializes. I personally have wrestled with the question, with regards to Motobu ha Shito Ryu, what did I “really” know about the style? Is it really just a matter of doing a kata a certain way or holding my middle block at a certain angle. Certainly, there’s more to the art I study than this! After pondering and pondering, I boiled it down to several concepts that I needed answered in order for me to be an authority on the subject. One question in particular, that I had sort of saved for last due to its overwhelming elusiveness was “where is my “Motobu?” It is the first name in the style nomenclature, yet, nobody seemed to know anything about how the name truly identifies our style.

The reason for this realization is that when it came down to it, most of the emphasis of the Karate Do facet of Motobu ha Shito Ryu was the execution of kata, and this execution revolved around Shito Ryu methodology. Kata is one of the primary training practices of all training in Karate Do...Karate’s “soul,” if you will. While there are some stylistic differences between the different styles’ execution of kata, most kata, regardless of style, are more similar than they are different. In fact, some instructors within the same style execute their kata differently. Additionally, different students who studied with the same instructor but at different developmental stages in the Instructor’s career tend to do things slightly differently and even argue about who is more correct...when in fact they are all correct.

So I decided to forego trying to figure out whose version is right, who has the rights to what name, whose picture to put on the wall, and whose history lesson to believe and find out for myself... What does the “Motobu” mean? You see, everyone lays claim to Master Motobu being in their lineage, but who really knows... who has researched extensively... the history and training practices of Master Motobu.

The answer was, apparently, nobody.

Until one day my good friend Tom called me to say that he had made contact with Chosei Motobu’s organization and he is interested in meeting us. Chosei Motobu (formally “Soke”) is the son of Choki Motobu, our style’s namesake. If we were to find out real answers, this was a great place to start.

Fast-forward. We have since brought Master Chosei Motobu to our dojo on two 8 day trips constituting about 50 hours of training in the root art of Motobu Ryu. I even have taken the study of Motobu Ryu a step further and began studying the Kobudo of the Motobu family. I have lots of pictures, lots of “paper”, and lots of memories. But most of all, I found my “Motobu.”

My love is truly for Karate Do, styistically the Motobu ha Shito Ryu, and specifically my kai. There is no better group of practitioners who are willing to put the politics of everything aside and only worry themselves about good training, character development, and the welfare of the member students. I took up the study of a nearly forgotten discipline, Motobu Ryu, to enhance my understanding of the discipline I love, Motobu ha Shito Ryu.

So, for the benefit of Motobu ha Shito Ryu practitioners everywhere, regardless of whose flag you fly in the dojo or whose patch you wear on your chest, here are some suggestions for adding a little more "Motobu" to your repetoire.

First, when it comes to trying to understand the Karate of Choki Motobu Sensei, there is no higher authority than his son, Chosei Motobu, Sensei. He is 2nd Soke (Headmaster) of Motobu Kempo and 14th Soke of Motobu Udundi, a rarely seen Okinawan Budo. Material provided here can be found in Choki Motobu’s “Watashi no Karate” as well as articles preserved in the Motobu Ryu archives, available on the Motobukai web-site. Other information was provided to me (and others present during the visits) personally during interviews and training with Chosei Motobu, Soke here in Virginia.

The Differences

Motobu Kempo (Motobu Sensei’s prefers the term “Kempo” to “Karate”) utilizes, at its core, only two kata; Naihanchi Shodan and Naihanchi Nidan. Paraphrasing Choki Motobu Sensei, all one needs in order to understand the principles of Karate are in these two kata. This is of course, the greatest contradiction to the almost encyclopedic collection of kata boasted by Shito Ryu practitioners. Kenwa Mabuni, Sensei preserved many old fighting styles as a responsibility to the art, thus, the numerous kata contained in the Shito Ryu syllabus. While remembering all of the kata is a daunting task, it is a noble one. In no other faction of traditional karate are so many Karate based fighting principles, theories, and techniques preserved than in Shito Ryu.

Motobu Kempo utilizes “irimi” more so than Shito Ryu. Irimi means that, instead of side-stepping or angling in techniques, Motobu Kempo moves straight in whenever possible. Angling, as traditional training professes, is a compromise between moving away from an attack with a blocking sequence, only to have to move back in and moving straight in on an attack which presents a timing issue. This is not to say that I personally am against moving at angles, I am a huge proponent of it, but, it is not consistent with Motobu Ryu methodology. Choki Motobu, according to his son, taught that it is better to practice hard and get good at moving straight in, than practicing to be “safe” and moving at angles.

Motobu Kempo is not as circular as Shito Ryu. Shito Ryu contains the Naha te element of Okinawan karate which uses effective circular techniques in the execution of defense. Blocking, striking, kicking, and tuite (grappling) are very “straight,” attacking the closest target available with the closest weapon available in the straightest path possible.

Motobu Kempo utilizes a posture called “Miutudi,” meaning husband and wife hand. This would translate into orthodox kata techniques as the “Morote Uke.” Many styles call this block a “reinforcing block” but in Motobu Kempo, it is used entirely differently. The principle is that wherever one hand goes, the other is linked to it.

The position of the “middle block,” or chudan uke, is different in Motobu Kempo. The forearm is vertical rather than the approximate 45 degrees that most karate styles employ.

The range, or “ma ai” of Motobu Kempo is different. This is demonstrated in the kamae (posture) and hand position of techniques. Motobu Kempo techniques are done much closer to the opponent.

Shito Ryu contains several dachi (stances), whereas Motobu Kempo contains only a couple.

The way in which the Naihanchi kata are performed are significantly different.

Similarities

Similarities lie in the fact that the basic waza of both arts have their roots in traditional Okinawan Karate and therefore share certain characteristics in form. However, the nuances of each art, particularly in the execution of kata, are quite different.

They both have the Naihanchi kata in their curriculum.

They both place an emphasis on practical applications of kata and self defense, particularly in the softer side of the arts such as grappling, joint locking, and throwing techniques.

Thoughts

Master Choki Motobu was the teacher of the Seishinkan founder Kosei Kuniba and the progenitor of the systems that bear his name. Yet, nothing other than informational “tidbits” such as Choki Motobu’s birthdate and nickname (Saaru, which is also incorrectly explained as “monkey...” saru is Japanese. It means something different in the Okinawan dialect...) are taught within the curriculum of Motobu ha Shito Ryu.

People ask me and my peers, “Did you study under anyone from the Kuniba family?” The answer is no, I did not have the privilege. There are many practitioners in the world that I would recommend as absolute authorities on the subject of Master Kuniba and his teaching methodolgies. Master Kuniba is succeeded by his family and his Shihan, all of whom share(d) the burden of promoting Motobu ha Shito Ryu. But, I have studied under the Motobu family...

In my years of exposure to this art, most who consider themselves authorities on the subject end their level of expertise with an understanding of Master Kuniba’s and his successors’ deepest philosophies, and from these teachings, students of Motobu ha Shito Ryu have a lifetime of practice ahead of them. I appreciate their efforts, but have been personally plagued with the idea that so little was known about the technique of the art’s namesake. My hope is that this will, at the very least, promote some interest in getting to know more about this great karate Master.

For a mere blog topic, this entry contains just enough information to aggravate... on purpose. If there is continued interest in the topic, I’ll keep the ball rolling.