Those of us who play Isshinryu, oft times think on the three stars of Shimabuku Sensei, and as we were often taught, one of them stands for Motobu Choki.
To try and understand his importance in Shimabuku Tatsuo's training and in the Okinawan environment which fostered Isshinryu is a most complex puzzle.
The Brief History of Motobu Choki
Most
texts give us his life dates from 1871 to 1944. But as ever discussing issues of
Okinawa Te this is questionable. Nagamine Shoshin in his `Tales of the Great
Okinawan Masters' lists it as February or 1871, where Iwai Tsukuo in `Koden
Ryukyu Karatejutsu' lists it as April 5, 1870. Certainly a small matter In the
larger scheme of things as his time is long past. This is indicative of the
problem with all of the Motobu histories.
A brief overview of Motobu Choki's life is also confusing. He was born the 3rd son of Motobu Choshin of Akahira in Shuri. The Motobu family was "ranked at the top of the Keimochi families (tr. Note: Keimochi were those with blood relations to the King <of Okinawa>)"<1>
The eldest son, Motobu Choyu, was trained in the family tradition of Mobobu Udundi. Many authorities state the younger sons received no training in the family art, and that Motobu Choki practiced karate on his own, and developed a reputation of becoming a winning street brawler (with only a handful of defeats against wiser opponents).
The common stories were because of his brawling nature, most instructors would have nothing to do with teaching him. John Sells in Unante states it was only in 1914 that Tomari stylist Matsumora Kosaku would train him for two years (and at that only in kata not bunkai (applications)).
Then as many of the histories report, he was only trained in two kata, Naihanchi and Passai.
It should not be surprising then that Iwai Tsukuo gives us another version.
"Upon reaching his teens, Choki began practicing under Itosu <2> along with his brother Choyu, but Choki always lost in Hindi (called Kumite in modern times) to his brother.
Always thinking how he could beat his brother, Choki threw himself into his training. Realizing the limitations of self-training, Choki went on to study under Sakuma from Gibo, Matsumura Sokon and Matsumora Kosaku of Tomari. After his 20th Birthday (1890?), Choki finally gained the confidence that he could beat his brother, and even Itosu was forced to re-examaine Choki's abilities."
Note how that would seem at odds to the stories that his family wouldn't train him and neither would other instructors.
In 1922 Motobu Sensei moved to Osaka, Japan, and although he was not expert in Japanese, with the help of a translator, found young people who wanted to train in Karate with him.
In 1924 he had a fight with a foreign boxer, who he dispatched readily with one punch to the temple. The publicity surrounding this event made the name for Okinawan Karate in Japan and himself.
In 1926 he published the first of two books on karate. His "Okinawan Kempo: Tode-Jutsu Kumite (Karate techniques for Sparring). John Sells writes on Page 84 of Unante:
"A little book that was very different than Funakoshi's (Rentan Goshin Tode-jutsu) in the way it detailed many techniques to be used as actual responses to specific attacks."
In 1929 he moved to Tokyo and taught from that vicinity.
In 1932 he attempted to visit Hawaii to demonstrate karate, but the stories surrounding him and his street fighting caused the Hawaiian authorities to send him back to Japan and denied him entry.
Nagamine Shoshin in `Tales of the Okinawa's Great Masters' write on page 102:
"As Sensei desired, he finally returned to Okinawa in the autumn of 1936. There he visited many of his colleagues to describe the situation of karate-do on the mainland. He also spent considerable time and effort researching ancient kata and kobudo before returning to Tokyo. He returned to Okinawa in the spring of 1939, where he remained until his death in August of 1944."
Surrounding Motobu Issues
No doubt, many in Okinawan Karate were troubled by Motobu's reputation of being a street brawler. At the same time that reputation and his convincing victory over the boxer in Japan cemented his reputation as a expert in Kumite. It was said by Iwai Tsukuo
"..His karate became know as `kenka karate' (karate for brawling) and earned him the disdain of the karateka of his time, but it is said no one of his generation could compare to his actual technique."
It is often quoted he only knew two kata (Naihanchi and Passai), but Iwai Tsukuo relates:
| "It is often said that while it is true that Choki was strong and a brilliant fighter, his karate was his own made-up style, and he only knew the Naifuanchi kata. However, this is because Choki was trying to keep people from stealing his "Ti" and thus did not take on many students, and of those, he only taught kata to the most trusted. Even when he did take on a student, he would keep them on makiwara training, Naifuanchi no Kata, and Yakusoku Kumite for several years. It is not that he did not know kata. Choki himself had said that kata are the kihon of karate, had studied under several of the karate masters of his time, in an age when karate practice was centered upon kata. In fact, reading his two books that he published shows his deep knowledge of the kata of Shurite, Tomarite, and Nahate." |  |
The fact that he returned to Okinawa in 1936 to research ancient kata and kobudo would seem to also make the case that he had greater knowledge than most attribute to him.
His detractors have portrayed him as illiterate, or perhaps semi-literate, which may be the true in Japanese, but whatever resources he used, the two books he created attest that may not be an accurate characterization.
Motobu Choki and Shimabuku Tatsuo
His life is known in general, but the details are often questionable. The same result is found trying to understand when Shimabuku Tatsuo trained with him from the various Isshinryu resources available.
Uezu Angi Sensei in the `Encyclopedia of Isshinryu Karate' wrote: "At the age of 15, Shimabuku traveled by foot some 15 miles to Naha and sought out the dojo of Motobu Choki (1871-1944), his first known instructor." As that would be about 1923, one year after Motobu Choki moved to Japan, there appears to be an inconsistency here.
Most other texts do not relate a date for this training.
Henk Goslinga of the Netherlands at his website http://www.xs4all.nl/~frits007/history/shimabuku.htm (a Biography of Shimabuku Tatsuo I very much like) does state "Tatsuo trained in 1938 for about a year with Choki Motobu, who lived in Naha, just like Miyagi." This would not be too far off of his return to Okinawa in 1939 as reported by Namagine Shoshin.
I would think this would be the most likely period Shimabuku Tatsuo would have trained with Motobu Choki.
What might that training have consisted of? While its just speculation on my part, I would suggest as per Iwai Tsukuo, it would have consisted of training on Naihanchi Kata. There appears to be a strong resemblance in Motobu keeping a student on Naihanchi for years (by the way Itosu (one of Motobu's teachers) did the same thing to Funakoshi Ginchin when he was his student).
Regarding that Joe Swift posted on January 15th, 2000:
"I personally know Motobu Choki's Naifuanchi kata, as well as knowing his son personally. Motobu's Naifuanchi kata differs VERY LITTLE from the mainstream version practiced in most modern Okinawan Shorin styles"
"Personally I believe that Motobu taught Naifuanchi to Tatsuo. Why you might ask? Well they both start to the left! I have only seen 4 styles that start to the left on Naifuanchi:
| 1. Shimabuku Tatsuo's Isshinryu 2. Motobu Choki's Uchinadi 3. Tokashiki Iken's Tomari-di 4. Kishimoto Soko's Koryu Naifuanchi |
 |
However, Tatsuo's signature characteristics of the hand techniques more closely resemble Kyan's version."
One might ponder whether Shimabuku Sensei chose to keep Motobu's version to visually show the link to Mobobu.
At the same time I wonder how much he may have trained with Motobu Sensei.
Nagamine Shoshin, who trained with Mobobu Choki for 6 months in 1936, describes in great detail Motobu's use of the Keiko fist on the makiwara. It was this fist (the one knuckle fist) which he used to dispatch the boxer in 1924, and it was his training trademark.
If Shimabuku Tatsuo had any in depth training with Motobu, you would think this may have been reflected in his Isshinryu. The one knuckle fist is not a `secret' on Okinawa. Many systems teach it, often as an advanced option for their practitioners. Goju Ryu under Miyagi Sensei is an example of this.
The Keiko fist is a very powerful striking technique. I refer you to Nagamine Shoshin's `Tale of Okinawa's Great Masters'. On page 101 he writes:
"Through no shortage of practical experience Master Motobu had developed considerable confidence in the application of his technique - Compared to the fighting traditions which had been handed down in and around the districts of Shuri and Tomari, Motobu carried the position of his hands relatively high when blocking and striking. Indicative of southern Chinese boxing, he also chambered his fists quite high around the level of the nipple beside the lungs for better defense and attitude. As I had previously mentioned, one of the master's favorite techniques was his keikoken-zuki (forefinger-knuckle punch), developed through intensive makiwara training."
On the other hand, I would consider the case that Shimabuku's utilization of Kyan's jodan-tsuki (standing vetical punch) may have lead him to believe he could get almost the same result, with less chance of error forming the fist technique.
As I've studied from Sherman Harrill (Harrill Sherman) Sensei, by using the snapping vertical punch on the correct angle of insertion to strike with the standing ridge of knuckles, there is a very strong case you can get the same power in the strike as with the keikoken-zuki.
If that is the case, perhaps Shimabuku Sensei considered the training and chose to follow his own path.
Except for Isshinryu's Naihanchi moving to the left, there is little other direct evidence from his training with Motobou present in contemporary Isshinryu.
Further Thoughts on Motobu Choki
Nagamine Shoshin formed a hypothesis of Motobu's techniques from his training. He presented them to Motobu, who approved of them. From "Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters" page 102.
1. The ideal technique, whether it be hand or foot,
is one which can provide an effective simultaneous defense and offense.
2. One should strive to use both hands simultaneously in a defensive and
offensive manner.
3. The hands and feet must be used in conjunction with each other to maximize
optimal defensive and offensive performance.
4. Seek to understand the value of angular movement. Never face an opponent
directly, and learn body change through mastering foot movement.
5. If you catch the opponent's kick retaliate in kind. If he catches your kick,
then quickly kick him with another foot. You must always think about taking the
initiative.
Conclusion
I'm not sure whether I've proved anything other than explain how complex it is to understand Motobu's life story.
Motobu Choki has a definite place in the development of Shimabuku Tatsuo and his Isshinryu. Unfortunately with little documented history, this place is mostly speculation.
Perhaps drawing on some of the words of Motobu Choki from "Motobu Choki Sensei; Goroku" (collection of sayings by Motobu Choki) compiled by Nakata Hashihiko translated by Joe Swift in May of 2000, will help fill this void.
27. When I fought a foreign boxer in Kyoto, he was taller than me so I jumped up and punched him in the face. This is an effective technique against people who are taller than you.
19. When punching to the face, one must thrust as if punching through to the back of the head.
16. One cannot use continuous attacks against true karate. That is because the blocks of true karate make it impossible for the opponent to launch a second attack.
21. When fighting a boxer, it is better to go with his flow, and take up a rhythm with both of your hands.
8. Kicks are not all that effective in a real confrontation.
13. Twisting to the left or the right from Naifaunchin stance will give you the stance used in a real confrontation. Twisting one's way of thinking about Niafuanchin left or right, the various meanings in each movement of the kata will also become clear.
34. There are no stances such as neko-ashi (cat),
zenkatsu (front) or Kokutsu (back) in my karate. Neko-ashi is a form of `floating
foot' which is considered very bad in bujutsu. If one receives a body strike,
one will be thrown off balance. Zenkutsu and kokutsu are unnatural, and prevent
free leg movement.
The stance in my karate, whether in kata or kumite, is like Niafuanchin, with
the knees slightly bent, and the footwork free. When defending or attacking, I
tighten the knees and drop the hips, but I do not put my weight on either front
or back foot, rather keeping it evenly distributed.
Finally I would like to add Motobu's most important directive!
24. It is necessary to drink alcohol and pursue other fun human activities. The art (i.e. karate) of someone who is too serious has no `flavour'.
Footnotes
<1> Koden Ryukyu Karatejutsu (Old Style Ryukyu Karatejutsu) by Iwai Tsukuo, Tokyo, Airudo 1994 (translated by Joe Swift 1999)
<2> Itosu Anko (1831-1915) was one of the pre-eminent Okinawan Instructors the end of the 19th Century. A disciple of Bushi Matsumura, he taught many famous instructors among whom are Kyan Chotoku, Funakoshi Gichin and Chibana Choshin.
Thanks
First this would not have been possible without Joe Swift's assistance. The translations and encouragement he provided made my look at Motobu Choki possible instead of impossible. Joe is one of the great resources for all contemporary English speaking karateka, today. We owe his translations of Iwai Tsukuo, Nakata Hashihiko and correspondence with Motobou Choki's son for the source material used herein.
Second, the works of John Sells, Nagamine Shoshin and Henk Goslinga have helped me frame much of this story.
The more I look at Mobobu Sensei, the more I feel we would all gain more from greater knowledge of his teachings and life.