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WWW.MEIBUKANMAGAZINE.ORG No 9 SEPTEMBER 2007House of the Pure Martial Arts

MEIBUKAN MAGAZINETHE INTERNATIONAL WEB BASED MARTIAL ARTSMAGAZINE AS A PDF DOCUMENT No 9 SEPTEMBER 2007

House Of The Pure Martial ArtsMEIBUKAN MAGAZINE

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Interview with Mikhail Ryabko

SeibukanFear!

Matayoshi Kobudo


MEIBUKAN MAGAZINENo 9 SEPTEMBER 2007House of the Pure Martial Arts

Meibukan Magazine is published several times a yearin an electronical format with an attractive mix ofsubjects and styles. Each issue of at least twelvepages is published as pdf-file for easy printing. Publishededitions remain archived on-line.

Readers of the webzine are enthousiasts and practi-tioners of the spirit of the martial arts world wide.

Editor in chiefLex Opdam

Meibukan Magazine is pleased to submit views, con-cerns and experiences on any subject matter IF re-lated to the mission statement expressed by theMeibukan Magazine. Therefore articles, photographsand illustrations are welcome, although MeibukanMagazine is selective and can not guarantee that sub-missions will be placed. Submission can be mailedto our P.O. Box by floppy, CD or DVD, or can besent to our e-mail address.

MISSION STATEMENTMeibukan Magazine is an initiative of founders LexOpdam and Mark Hemels. Aim of this web basedmagazine is to spread the knowledge and spirit ofthe martial arts. In a non profitable manner MeibukanMagazine draws attention to the historical, spiritualand technical background of the oriental martial arts.Starting point are the teachings of Okinawan karate-do. As House of the Pure Martial Arts, however,Meibukan Magazine offers a home to the various au-thentic martial arts traditions.

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ColumnCreating chances for experience

FeatureMatayoshi KobudoFred Lohse carefully exames the history and content of Matayoshi kobudo.

InterviewInterview with Mikhail RyabkoKevin Secours sits down with Systema master Mikhail Ryabko duringthe Summit of the Masters.

FeatureFEARThe duality between the old and the new, the primal and the cognitive brains,often creates much confusion when addressing the role of fear in combattraining. Kevin Secours on fight, flight or freezing responses.

FeatureSeibukan: The Shorin-ryu karate of Zenryo ShimabukuroJohn Sells delves into the sometimes confusing but always riveting past ofone of Okinawa's leading Shorin-Ryu karate styles; 'Seibukan: The Shorin-Ryu karate of Zenryo Shimabukuro.

FeatureThe Physiological Cost of HarmKevin Secours discusses Lt. Col. Grossmans five stages of Harming andhow we can prepare ourselves for the undeniable physical and phychologicalresponses of our body to the act of harming another human being.

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ContributorsFred LohseLex Opdam

Kevin SecoursJohn Sells

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Editorial BoardMatthew Jones

Iwan Meij

Art directorIwan Meij

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Matayoshi KobudoA Brief History and Overview

While there are a number of books and numerous articles aboutthe various unarmed systems of Okinawan martial arts, there islittle quality written material in English about the various armed

arts of the island. There are a small number of sources looking atthe performance of various kata, and some on application of these

kata, but there are a dearth of sources that clearly examine thecontent and history of any of the island's major weapons systems.

This article is an attempt to begin to fill some of that gap in theliterature by more carefully examining the history and content of

the Matayoshi kobudo.

- Frederick W. Lohse III -

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The armed arts of Okinawa have alwaysbeen an integral part of the martial heritageof the island. Indeed, an earlier term forthe Okinawan martial arts, Tode, makesno distinction between armed and un-armed technique. Along with the unarmedarts, the islands bushi have always passeddown a variety of armed techniques.Many remain extant today, ranging fromthe bojutsu of Tode Sakugawa to thebo and sai of Chatan Yara, the bo and ekufrom Tsuken jima, and to a number ofChinese based weapons techniques prac-ticed on the island. Traditionally, theseweapon skills were passed down alongwith unarmed technique, preserved andtaught (and adapted) by various individualteachers. Also, much like the islandskarate kata, many exist in a number ofvariations, passed down by different tea-chers but connected to the same root. Inthe mid-20th century this more organicmethod of instruction began to change. AsOkinawas karate began to be codified inryu, or formal lineages, the same thinghappened to the weapon arts.

While there are a number of lineages stillextant on the island, many, like theHonshin-ryu, Yamane-ryu and Ufuchikukobudo, remain very small, even afterhaving been codified. Still other weaponskills remain small parts of individual karatesystems, preserved but having littlecommunal impact. These techniques andsystems remain a valuable part of Oki-nawas martial heritage, no matter how

limited their provenance. However, start-ing in the middle of the last century twomain lineages of weapon arts developedon the island, and, along with attractingtheir own body of students, started to drawstudents from karate lineages that had noarmed component. Shinken Taira, origi-nally a student of Ginchin Funakoshi,began collecting various kobudo kata andtechniques in the early 20th century. Hewent on to found the Society for the Pre-servation and Promotion of Ryukyu Ko-budo (Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinkokai),now well known world-wide. Earlier, inthe late 1800s, another lineage that todaypractices primarily armed technique beganto develop, the Matayoshi family kobudo.This is the other main armed system on theisland.

Creating chances forexperience

Several weeks ago I organised a workoutreunion for my former and present karatestudents and the focus of this special workoutwas on close combat mass attacks.During the workout I slowly worked towardsa fighting scenario where we ultimately hadhardly any space to manoeuvre, often standingshoulder to shoulder as in a huge packedcrowd of hundreds and where everybody wasfighting everybody. At its climax people werepushed back in the fighting crowd when theyescaped the centre of fighting and medicineballs were constantly being thrown in to addanother dimension. A scenario with an extre-mely chaotic and uncontrollable nature. Someof my former students were not familiar withthis type of mass attack training where allattacks can be initiated at any time, totallyunexpected and unseen. A direct and for somea new confronting way to see in which direc-tion fear leads them, being it fight, flight,freezing or flow, as described in an excellentarticle from Kevin Secours in this edition.In experiencing close combat mass attacks itbecame very clear to some of my studentsthat they used their body differently thanexpected and often differently than they weretrained to do. Some students told me that,among other things, they used more basicmotor skills than any complex motor skillsand in order to survive used more of theirnatural and instinctive way of reacting thanthey normally were used to. The mostimportant thing and my primary goal, wasthat they learned something about themselves.Why things were different, what fear did tothem in this setting and at the point of self-defence, what changed their way of reactingcompared to others scenarios. To be short,what reflection they received from thisexperience.From the point of self-defence, I think thatevery martial artist should train or at leastexperience all kinds of possible self-defencescenarios if the opportunity exists. Expe-rience is our best teacher and it gives us adirect feedback. Personally I think that everymartial art school should do more to let thestudent experience out the box practise, whichbroadens our view of things and even givesnew insights into our self and our martial artsystems. I hope the mass attack scenarioexample sparks some of our readers toexperiment.

Lex OpdamEditor in chief

While it has spread world-wide, and hashad a profound affect on the Okinawanmartial arts, most available informationabout the system is hearsay, or a smallsmattering of book chapters, short articles,and biographies on websites.

Little exists in English, or in Japanese,about the Matayoshi kobudo system.While it has spread world-wide, and hashad a profound affect on the Okinawanmartial arts, most available informationabout the system is hearsay, or a smallsmattering of book chapters, short articles,and biographies on websites. Some of thisinformation is contradictory, and some is

WWW.MEIBUKANMAGAZINE.ORG No 9 SEPTEMBER 2007House of the Pure Martial Arts 3

incorrect. While this article is not meantto be definitive, it is an attempt to morecompletely convey some of the historyand content of the Matayoshi kobudo. Inwriting it, I draw from my more than 20years of experience in the system, underShinko Matayoshi in Okinawa, underRyugo Sakai- a student of Sensei Mata-yoshi from the early 1960s- in Japan, underYoshiaki Gakiya, and under Kimo Wall, astudent of Sensei Matayoshi since 1962.It is informed by numerous casual conver-sations with all of these people, as well asmore directed questions about the contentand history of the system, including aplanned interview with Sensei Matayoshifor another project in 1995. Finally, it drawson the small amount of written information

about the system in Japanese. It is my hopeit will add clarity to the existing informationabout system, and help to bring a treasure ofOkinawas martial heritage more fully intothe light.

BackgroundThe Matayoshi family traces its lineageback to a famous figure in Okinawanhistory, Shinjo Gima, or Mashi Shinjo GimaOyakata (1557-1644). (ab cd)Gima was a descendant of Anshi Oshiro(Ufugushiku), the head of the family line.While not known as a martial artist, Gimahad a profound effect on the developmentof the island. He was a noble in the Ryu-kyunan feudal government, an official ofRyukyu Agriculture (Smits, 1999), and wasthe patron of Sokan Noguni, who broughtthe sweet potato back from Fujian, Chinain 1604 (see Kerr, 2000). Gima took theproduct his vassal brought back and pro-moted its development as a crop. Withina few years, it became one of the most im-portant crops on the island. From Okinawa,it was later transplanted to Japan. Gimaalso imported and propagated sugar cane,as a cash crop. These two imported plantsdramatically changed the course ofOkinawan history, the potato providing asecure sustenance crop suited to theclimate and high in nutritional value, andthe sugar cane providing a valuable cashcrop, jump starting the islands economy.

Gima and Nogunis reputations haveremained important on the island. A

monument was built to them in a park inNaha in 1937, to honor their work forOkinawa, and Gimas tomb, which wasmoved from Cho Sumiyoshi in 1959 tomake room for the expansion of a USbase, was rebuilt in 1993, using state funds.The current Matayoshi family is a collateralline of the Gima family, splitting off some16 gene-rations ago. Many of the malemembers of the family retain the shin (c)character from Shinjo to honor theirfamous ancestor; this is the shin in Shinkoand Shinpo. (Interview with ShinpoMatayoshi, 1995.)

At some point in their history, the Mata-yoshi family became associated with themartial arts. It is unclear just what thisassociation was- they were not famouson the island as teachers, or closely asso-ciated with the Ryukyu government ormilitary- but by the time Shinko Matayoshiwas young there was a long tradition of

Kokusai Karate Kobudo Renmei main dojo Founding Members, December 17, 1962. Taira Shinken,seated 2nd from left. Higa Seiko, seated, center. Matayoshi Shinpo, standing 4th from left.

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martial arts within the family, a traditionstretching back an unknown number ofgenerations. Sensei Shinko Matayoshisfirst teachers were his father, ShinchinMatayoshi, and his paternal grandfather,Shintoku Matayoshi. They initiated him intothe family Kenpo and weapon techniques.According to the family, Tsuken Akachuno Eku di is a good representation of thesefamily techniques, and was the techniqueShinchin Matayoshi was most proficientin.

The current Matayoshi kobudo has its startwith Shinko Matayoshi. He was born inthe Kakinohana area of Naha, on May18, 1888, and grew up in Shinbaru village.He was the third son of Shinchin Mata-yoshi, and the only child to take a deepinterest in the martial arts. As a boy, hebegan studying under his father andgrandfather, learning (among other things)Tsuken Akachu no eku di, and from his


(shuriken), as thrown weapons wereessential to how the group hunted andfought. This was a very austere time inShinkos life- the living was hard, and it issaid he also learned a great deal aboutactual combat at this time.

After 2-3 years with the group (it isunclear how long he stayed in Man-churia), he moved south. Stopping first inShanghai, he practiced a form of ShaolinKenpo for a time, though it is unclearexactly what this was. It is possible hepracticed at the famous Jing-wu asso-ciation as some authors have said, but asthe Jing-wu was founded in 1909 or 1910,that seems unlikely. From there he headedto his initial destination, Fuchow city, inFujian province. At the time, there was alarge Okinawan community in the tradingport, and it is unclear why he took such aroundabout way to get there when travelwas common between Okinawa and Fujian,but eventually he arrived at the addressGokenki had given him for the familyhome. There he met Koki Go, Kenki Gosfather, and soon began to receive instruc-tion in Fujian Shaolin Fist from him. An-other in the long list of connections in Shin-ko Matayoshis training was soon made,and seeing the promise in the young manKoki Go introduced him to a friend, a wellknown martial artist called Kingai.4 RoshiKingai was an older man, a lifelong studentand teacher of the martial arts, and is saidto be a senior to the same Zei He Zhou(Shushiwa), who taught Kanbun Uechi.(ZOKR, 1999.)

1999). Along with his martial studies, atthis time he also began learning acupunc-ture, moxibustion, and Chinese herbalmedicine from Kingai.

In this period, Shinko traveled to Taiwanto see their martial arts, and returned toOkinawa for a few visits between 1910and 1918. In 1915 he was invited by Gin-chin Funakoshi to demonstrate kobudo onthe mainland, possibly the first demon-stration of Okinawan kobudo in mainlandJapan. Then, sometime around 1920, hetook up residence again in Okinawa for anumber of years. At that time, he acted

father the bo kata Kubo no Kon, Yonegawano Kon, and Yara no Kon. (ZOKR, 1999.)Later, his father introduced him to a friendand training partner of his from Gishikawavillage, Chokubo Agena, who was alsoknown as Tigaguwa Gushikawa and Higano tanmei. From Agena he learned sai andkama techniques, and deepened his know-ledge of the eku and bo. He continued hisweapon studies with another family ac-quaintance, Okina Ire, (old man Ire, alsoknown as Moshigua Jitoudi), from Nozatovillage in Chatan.1 Under Irei, he studiedthe tonfa and nunchiyaku.

Throughout his childhood and teenageyears, Shinko Matayoshi focused ex-clusively on the martial arts. He continuedto seek out different teachers, and throughthis pursuit became friends with a Chinesetea merchant, Wu Hein Kui, called Gokenkiin Japanese. Go was proficient in a Chi-nese form of White Crane Kenpo, andshared what he knew with the youngMatayoshi.2 Shinko had heard stories ofthe great martial arts of China from hisfamily, and from Gokenki, and with thelatters encouragement he decided to goabroad to study. In the Spring of 1905, atthe age of 17, he left Okinawa for Hok-kaido, planning on entering China throughManchuria.3 He traveled through Hokkai-do and Sakhalin Island on his way and inManchuria, at that time a rather lawlessplace, he joined a group of mounted no-mads for a while. Some stories suggestthese nomads were also bandits, andwhile living with them Shinko learned howto ride, and use the lasso, bola (suruchin),and various other throwing weapons

Shinko Matayoshi.

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This was a very austere time in Shinko'slife- the living was hard, and it is said healso learned a great deal about actualcombat at this time.

In 1915 he was invited by FunakoshiGinchin to demonstrate kobudo on themainland, possibly the first demonstrationof Okinawan kobudo in mainland Japan.

Roshi Kingai called his style Kingai Noon,or Kingai-ryu (efg). He said thename implied Kin (e)- reacting supplyto change, and Gai (f) - hard or solidlike metal; therefore it embodied the hard-soft ideal. (ZOKR, 1999.) The first is anidio-syncratic reading of the character,which is usually translated as metal or gold,and the system has also been referred toas a Golden Bird style. Kingais instructionwas very severe, but Shinko felt lucky tobe learning from such a great master, andapplied himself to the practice (ZOKR,

as a Chinese doctor to the Okinawancommunity, and founded a martial artsstudy group (kenkyukai) that broughttogether a number of the famous martialartists of the day. It is probably at this timethat he trained with Sanra Chinen (1842-1925)5, Ryoko Shishi (1852-1925), and ChojoOshiro (1887-1935), all of whom he lear-ned bo techniques from. In 1921, alongwith Chojun Miyagi, he participated in ademonstration of Ryukyu martial arts forthe then crown-prince Hirohito in the grandhall of Shuri Castle. In 1929 Shinkoparticipated in a memorial demonstration forEmperor Meiji, at the Meiji shrine inTokyo as a representative for Okinawaprefecture; he did kama and tonfa tech-niques and Ginchin Funakoshi did karate,and he was presented with a medal bythe government for this demonstration.6Shinko was married during this time inOkinawa, and his son, Shinpo Matayoshi,was born in 1921.

In the late 1920s or early 1930s he retur-ned to Fuchow to see his teacher RoshiKingai again, and to further his studies inthe armed elements of the system- tinbe,nunti, sansetsukon, and suruchin. Beforehis return to Okinawa he was given twoscrolls about the style from Kingai, whichthe family still has; the upper and lowerscrolls of Taigen Roshi Kyomo (Guang-ming Da Yuanshuai), Kingai-ryus patronsaint.7 He returned to Okinawa for goodin 1935.


nization, a group dedicated to the practiceand preservation of the Okinawan weaponarts. In 1969 he opened his dojo, the Kodo-kan, which he named in honor of his father,taking the ko (h), meaning light or bright-ness, from his fathers name as the firstcharacter.

In 1970 he renamed his organization theRyukyu Kobudo Federation, and in 1972it became the All Okinawa Kobudo Fe-deration (Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei),and received official recognition in Okina-wa and from the Dai Nippon Butokukai.Shinpo became the president of the Ren-mei, and the Kodokan dojo the main dojo.

After his return to Okinawa, he lived inNaha, and opened an import/exportbusiness. He continued to act as a Chi-nese doctor, and started another martialarts research group. He also taught the artshe had learned, working them into thesystem that would become Matayoshikobudo, and running dojo in Naha, Chatan,and Kadena. He was very highly respectedin the Okinawan martial arts community,and was given a variety of nicknames, in-cluding Shinbaru Mateshi (Matayoshifrom Shinbaru), and Kama nu ti Mateshi(Matayoshi of the Kama)8. He passedaway in May of 1948, at the age of 59,and his passing was seen as a great lossto the Okinawan martial arts community.

After his death, the leadership of thesystem he had founded passed to his son,Shinpo Matayoshi. Shinpo was born onDecember 27, 1921, in Yomitan. He begantraining under his father when he was 4years old. His father also furthered hismartial education in much the same wayhis had been nurtured, introducing Shinpoto a number of his friends and fellowteachers. In this way, Shinpo began stu-dying under Chotoku in Kyan 1928, at age8, as well as briefly under his fathersfriend Chojun Miyagi, and then with SeikoHiga, with whom he became close friends.In 1935, he also began training with hisfathers old friend Gokenki.

Shinpo maintained this training until theend of WWII, when he moved to Kawa-saki city, in Kanegawa prefecture, alongwith a number of other Okinawans. Oki-nawa was a very difficult place to be after

It was well entrenched with the localpopulation, and had been gaining popu-larity with foreigners, in particular theAmerican servicemen stationed on theisland, for years. However, it did not seemthat the armed arts of the island were get-ting the same level of recognition. He feltthis was a loss to Okinawas martial heri-tage, and began working to counteract thistrend. By the mid-60s he had gatheredtogether a number of kobudo practitioners,and was teaching in the Higa dojo as wellas a number of other places. In the mid-60s he founded the Ryukyu Kobudo Orga-

In this way, Shinpo began studying underKyan Chotoku in 1928, at age 8, as wellas briefly under his father's friend MiyagiChojun, and then with Higa Seiko, withwhom he became close friends.

the war, and he made the move in orderto make a living at the time. While inKawasaki, he taught kobudo in the Oki-nawan community, and practiced with anumber of other Okinawan martial artistswho were also living there. He finallyreturned to Okinawa in 1960.

When he returned to Okinawa, he firsttook up residence in the dojo of SeikoHiga. His first students on the island weremembers of Higas dojo. In 1962, Higafounded the Kokusai Karate KobudoRenmei (International Karate KobudoFederation) , and Shinpo became a member,along with another noted kobudo instructor,Shinken Taira, who was vice president ofthe organization. Shinpo lived in the Higadojo for a number of years, teaching inthe dojo, outside in the yard, and at variousplaces around the island. He also spent agood deal of time traveling about theisland, talking to and training with variouskobudo practitioners, in particular otherformer students of his father. Martial ar-

tists who knew him at that time, like SenseiKimo Wall, recollect that it was very im-portant to him to reconnect to people heor his father had trained with before the war.

Over time, Shinpo saw that the islandskarate was getting more and more popular.

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Kimo Wall and Shinpo Matayoshi with Manji sai,Massachusetts, 1995.

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Shinpo also believed in the importance ofmaintaining connections across Japan. Hewas instrumental in developing Okinawasconnection to the Dai Nippon Butokukai,acting as the Okinawa representative, andhis dojo and organization were recognizedby that body. In 1987, he was formallyrecognized for his ability and his efforts inpromoting and preserving the Okinawanmartial arts, receiving his 10th dan onOctober 10th of that year, from His Impe-rial Majesty Jigo Higashi Fushimi, Pre-sident of the Dai Nippon Butokukai. Hewas also recognized as an importantcultural treasure by the Butokukai. Addi-tionally, he was an active member of theadministrative council of the Japan Kobu-do Foundation.

Through his efforts both in Okinawa andabroad, Shinpo was instrumental inbringing the weapon arts of Okinawa intomore public prominence, and in promo-ting them around the world. Shinpo be-

A number of other dojo, mostly of hisstudents and training partners, immediatelyjoined. In the years leading up to the foun-ding of the organization Shinpo and thesenior members of the Renmei, studentsand training partners of his, had spent agood deal of time refining and formalizingthe system, and it is this formalized systemthat became the kobudo of the Zen Oki-nawa Kobudo Renmei.

Starting on his return to Okinawa in 1960,ShinpoMatayoshi was a very importantfigure in the Okinawan martial artscommunity. Of course, he was primarilyknown as a martial arts instructor. How-ever, he was also a well known publicfigure in the martial arts community. Heparticipated in virtually every importantpublic event in and about Okinawa, mostnotably demonstrating at both the galaevent in Kagoshima to celebrate Okina-was return to Japan, and the athletic andsports festival on the Ryukyu island ofAmami Oshima to commemorate the sameevent. His dojo and Renmei maintained asteady schedule of demonstrations, tele-vision appearances, and other publicpresentations throughout his life. Hebelieved the Okinawan martial arts werean integral part of Okinawan culture, andshould maintain their connection to thelarger community, and their visibility in it.To that end he also stayed active in anumber of Okinawan organizations, inclu-ding remaining active president of theRenmei he founded until his death, Kan-cho of his dojo, a member of the OkinawaKarate-do Federation, and acting as anadvisor to the Naha City Karate KobudoAssociation.

practitioners. A number of traditional dan-cers trained in the dojo, and Shinpo sup-ported their artistic efforts, for exampleworking with Eiko Miyazato to developthe rope kama dance that has becomefamous over the years.

One hallmark of the traditional teachingstyle he saw essential to the art was crea-tivity. He was a creative and open practi-tioner, working with his seniors to conti-nue to develop and grow his art right upuntil he passed away. He also encouragedthis in his students, working with them todevelop kata and application. This re-quired a personal knowledge of the ma-terial, an ability to be creative with it, anda close personal relationship with SenseiMatayoshi. This is a traditional form of

Matayoshi Shinpo was primarily knownas a martial arts instructor. However, hewas also a well known public figure inthe martial arts community.

lieved both in the deep connection betweenthe Okinawan martial arts and Okinawanculture, and that the pursuit of these artswould lead to a better human being. TheRenmei he founded was dedicated to pro-moting and preserving the Okinawan wea-pon arts, and to that end did demonstrationsaround Japan and the world, as well asteaching students from many countries.

He maintained a close connection to thetraining methods of the past, and to thatend resisted the push towards display andcompetition that started becoming popularin Okinawan karate in the 60s and 70s.He also was considered a hard taskmas-ter, pushing the students in his dojo hard,and training with a deep intensity. How-ever, he was open to the changing world,inviting in new training methods like thesets of kihon he and his students developed,and open both to bringing his art around theworld, and to inviting international studentsinto his dojo. He also deeply believed in themartial arts connection to Okinawanculture, and to that end fostered relation-ships with Ryukyu dance and music

Shinpo Matayoshi, Houshu Taira, Seiko Kina,Seiko Higa, Kanki Izumigawa , Seiko Fukichi.

Photo commemorating Izumigawa's departure.

Shinpo Matayoshi with awards from theButokukai.Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei patch.

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training, and one that centered around thetype of relationships through trainingSensei Matayoshi wanted to build, morelike an apprenticeship than the strictlyhierarchical student-teacher relationshipmore common in, say, a western classroom.

Shinpo Matayoshi, Soke of the RyukyuKingdom Period Weapon Arts (Matayo-shi Kobudo), Soke of Kingai-ryu TodeJutsu, and Soke of Nanban Shorin Haku-tsuru Kenpo Tode, passed away on Sep-tember 7th, 1997. His death was a blowto the Okinawan martial arts community.He will be remembered as an importantfigure in the development of the Okinawanmartial arts after the war, and in main-taining Okinawas connection to its martialheritage. He left behind a number of seniorstudents who carry on the tradition, andthe formal leadership of the system (soke)was passed to his son, Yasushi Matayoshi.In 1997, the title of 3rd Kancho of the Ko-dokan, the teaching and technical head ofthe dojo, was passed to Yoshiaki Gakiya,a long time student. The leadership of theZen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei passed toShoshin Miyahira, a member of the Ren-mei for many years, around the same time.

Technical DevelopmentIn many ways the Matayoshi kobudo tra-dition is a classic example of the syncreticdevelopment common to most Okinawanmartial arts. The technical elements of thesystem have their base in the Ryukyu King-dom period martial arts that Shinko Mata-yoshi studied. These have their base in thefamily traditions, including ekujutsu fromTsuken jima and Okinawan bo forms like

unarmed and weapon techniques frommaster Kingai, including the nunti, tinbe,sansetsukon, and suruchin. Shinko Mata-yoshi took these disparate elements andforged them into a more coherent whole, abody of knowledge that he passed on to afew students, and to his son.

However, the development of the systemdid not stop there. Much like his father,and indeed like most every founder ofOkinawas current systems, Shinpo alsohad a number of teachers. From his fatherhe took the various Ryukyu kingdomperiod techniques, as well as Kingais mate-rial. From there he studied karate and bo-jutsu with Chotoku Kyan, Goju with Miyagibut primarily with Seiko Higa, and WhiteCrane with Gokenki, as well as participa-ting in a variety of exchanges with different

practitioners around Okinawa, includingother students of his father. When he cameback to Okinawa in 1960, he began to shapethese various influences into the more co-herent system that was current in his dojoin the last years of his life.

While the development of the system be-comes easy to understand by simply statingthat Shinpo Matayoshi got it from his fatherand taught it to his students, that eliminatesmuch of the true depth and cultural value

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He maintained a close connection to thetraining methods of the past, and to thatend resisted the push towards display andcompetition that started becomingpopular in Okinawan karate in the 60sand 70s.

One hallmark of the traditional teachingstyle he saw essential to the art wascreativity. He was a creative and openpractitioner, working with his seniors tocontinue to develop and grow his art rightup until he passed away.

Yonegawa. Together with this are the sai,kama, bo, and eku techniques from Agena,the tonfa and nunchiyaku from Ire, andbo techniques from Yamane, Shishi, andOshiro. However, added to the more nativeOkinawan elements are the techniquesShinko learned in Manchuria, whateverhe studied in Shanghai, the White Craneof Gokenki, and most importantly the

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in it. In years leading up to the founding ofthe Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei, Shinpoand his students and training partners spenta good deal of time refining and formalizingthe system. A few of the original members

dents relate that the tinbe, sansetsukon,and possibly guwa forms were developedearly in this period, from the body of tech-niques passed down to Shinpo. Indeed,many students from the early days havedifferences in how their kata appear. Sen-sei Matayoshi encouraged creativity in hisstudents (particularly at demonstrations,so video references often show a great dealof variety in performances9), working withthem to develop the kata and applications,and students may have taken differentthings from their training, particularly ifthey trained with him at different times.Ryugo Sakai, for example, taught a slightlydifferent sai and kama kata. When I askedhim about this, he told me the techniquesare what Sensei Matayoshi taught me, butthere were so many I wanted to keep theones I thought were the most important inthe kata I did. Also, some of these kataare not so old, they were being worked onwhile I was a student, so I think its okay toadapt them to maintain techniques in thisway. Thats what Sensei did. (Conver-sation with Ryugo Sakai, 1992.) SenseiMatayoshi also worked with his students tohelp them learn- for example he wouldsometimes allow students with a strongkarate background to use their karate stan-ces in the kodubo, though these stancesare different to those of the Matayoshitradition.

This more creative approach to workingwith the material is in many ways a hall-mark of the system. The process was alsoa continuous one: a shorter sansetsukonform was developed by one of SenseiMatayoshis students teaching in France,and Matayoshi liked it enough to have itdemonstrated at a number of major eventsin Okinawa, and in the late 90s one of hissenior students was working with him ondeveloping a kata from the techniquespassed down for the kudamonbo. Conti-nuous growth was a part of the training,

and understanding the material well en-ough to work with it, not just on it, is a coreelement of the practice and teaching ofthe system.

Unlike many kobudo systems, paired workis central to the practice of the Matayoshikobudo. If you cant apply it, you cantdo it would be one way to state thetraining ideal. An essential part of thisemphasis on application was the waymuch of the paired work was developed.Instead of simply teaching a uniformpaired set, many of the kumi waza wouldbe developed by two or more studentsworking together under the guidance ofMatayoshi. They would create, he wouldmake sure the content stayed true to thesystem. This engendered a deep under-standing of the material, and also requireda very close relationship between studentand teacher. While formal pared sets forthe bo kata eventually became morestandard, the paired sets for most of theweapons in the system remained fairlyindividual between students, and betweendifferent teachers in the Renmei.10

This variety existed during Shinpo Mata-yoshis lifetime, as evidenced by diffe-rences in syllabi and content in differentdojo in the Renmei. In looking at the syllabiof other senior students, people like Katsu-yoshi Kanei, one can see kata created orchanged by these teachers with what theyhad been taught, kata like the jo form Kaneideveloped, the slightly different kihon setsdifferent teachers use, or the differentintroductory kata a number of studentshave created. While in some organizationsthis type of variation might be seen asmoving away from the core, provided thatthe base technical elements and kata werepreserved and done properly, within theZen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei, it seemsto have been treated more as a strength.

This creativity and variety is, I believe,evidence of a system true to Okinawasmartial heritage. Change has been a con-stant in systems on the island, and the

had trained under his father, or under otherstudents of his father (for example SeikichiOdo was a student of Mitsuo Kakazu, astudent of Shinkos), as well as under otherkobudo teachers. Others had been trainingwith him for more than a decade. WhileShinpo was the leader, main teacher, andtechnical director, at this time there was agood deal of collaborative work on the con-tent of the system. Together, under his direc-tion, they formalized the kata system, madedecisions about what was going to beincluded and excluded, and put togethersets of kihon for the basic weapons, amongother things.

Some of the decisions made at this timeare rather surprising. For example, mem-bers of the dojo in the start of the 1960s,people like Kimo Wall and Ryugo Sakai,remember 10 or 11 bo kata being taught,but by the mid-70s the dojo had refined thisto the 5 that were taught in the late 90s.At the same time, certain students werebringing different forms in for examinationand practice. Jyosei Yogi relates that heand a number of other seniors went atMatayoshis direction to a member of hisUechi dojo to learn the kata Ufutun bo, whichthey later modified to fit the characteristicsof the Matayoshi methodology.

A number of kata were formalized in theseyears, or even created out of techniquesthat had been passed down. Some stu-

Sensei Matayoshi encouraged creativityin his students (particularly atdemonstrations, so video references oftenshow a great deal of variety inperformances ), working with them todevelop the kata and applications, andstudents may have taken different thingsfrom their training, particularly if theytrained with him at different times.

In years leading up to the founding ofthe Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei,Shinpo and his students and trainingpartners spent a good deal of time refiningand formalizing the system.

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strong technical base of this system allowsfor innovation without altering the core.This technical core also allows for interpre-tation and creativity with the materialwithout needing to leave the system, provi-ded the practitioner truly understands thecore material and its principals. Essentially,

Gakiya. Shinpo Matayoshi, unlike manyother Okinawan teachers, was not overlyenthralled with creating clear and conciselists of material, or of who knew what.According to his seniors, he was con-stantly working with his material, growinghis technique, and would add to it fromthe store of what his father taught him.At the end of his life, a number of hisseniors state, there were still many thingsthat he had not taught anyone. Indeed,some of the weapons listed in the RyukyuKingdom Period Weapon Arts seem to becurrently unknown on Okinawa.

However, by the late 1970s, the bulk ofthe material in the Kodokan dojo wasfairly well formalized, and remainedessentially the same until his death in 1997.This is the material presented here.

BoThe bo is the base weapon of the system.Technically, it forms the foundation formost of the other material, and it has thegreatest amount of material associatedwith it. It also forms the closest connectionbetween the Matayoshi lineage kobudoand the other kobudo schools on the island.All the kata taught are taught in different

unclear exactly who. The sets of hojoundo are practiced both solo and paired,giving a basic understanding of some ofthe movements in the kata.

Shushi no kon: This kata is said to havebeen made by old man Shushi (Shushuno tanmei), a Chinese Kenpo and bojutsuexpert who immigrated from Shanghai toNaha in the early 1800s, and lived nearShugen temple, in Anzato, Naha. The katais named after him, and it is the first kataof the system.

Choun no kon: The characters for Chounimply interrupting or ending the morningmist. This kata was created about 250years ago by a warrior from Tomari knownas Oyakata Choun, and it is named afterhim. He passed this kata on, and it becamepopular both in Tomari and with militarypersonnel, as it was thought to give tech-nical advantages when faced with oppo-nents on three sides.

Sakugawa no kon: This kata was deve-loped by Aburaya Yamashiro (Chinen Kana).

Unlike many kobudo systems, pairedwork is central to the practice of theMatayoshi kobudo. If you can't apply it,you can't do it would be one way to statethe training ideal.

it is a living martial art, one that is beingadapted and changed in small ways bythe senior practitioners. It is attached tothe technical base and dedication to pre-servation passed down from the Mata-yoshi family, but is also alive, able to giveits practitioners material with which togrow and develop, to express their under-standing of it, not just copy the previousgenerations.

ContentAs noted above, the content of the Mata-yoshi kobudo system has always been aslightly shifting thing. Here, I will presentthe content of the system as of the mid1990s, near the end of Shinpo Matayo-shis life; a snapshot, as it were, of it atthat time. This snapshot is of the systemas taught at the Kodokan dojo, as at thistime there were already differences be-tween different dojo in the Renmei. Depen-ding on how you look at it, it may repre-sent the peak of the development of thesystem; after Sensei Matayoshis deaththe cohesion between different studentsdeclined, and there is no longer a singlegroup that can be said to solely representthe tradition, to the exclusion of other dojo,the way Sensei Matayoshi himself could.

As an aside, it is interesting to note thatthere are also some discrepancies betweenwhat the family published at ShinpoMatayoshis death, and what was taughtdu-ring his life. Looking at the list on page9, taken from page 25 of the pamphletpublished for Shinpo Matayoshis memo-rial celebration, a number of these wea-pons said to be preserved from the RyukyuKingdom period were never seen by anyof the seniors I know, including the tech-nical successor to the system Yoshiaki

As an aside, it is interesting to note thatthere are also some discrepanciesbetween what the family published atMatayoshi Shinpo's death, and what wastaught during his life.

versions in other systems, much as diffe-rent versions of the karate kata Seisanare common to Goju, Uechi, and Shorinschools. While at times much is made ofthe differences between the variousOkinawan methods of bojutsu, the con-nection they have in content points to, ifnot a common ancestor, a great deal ofcross-pollination over the years.

The material taught in the Matayoshisystem includes:

Kihon/Hojo Undo: There are 3 sets of 5techniques taught as basics with the bo.These were drawn from the base classicalkata, and were formalized some time inthe early 1970s. They were developedby Shinpo Matayoshi, working with anumber of his senior students, though it is

Ryukyu Kingdom PeriodBuki Jutsu

Kata

Bojutsu (3 shaku, 6 shaku, 8shaku, 12 shaku)

Shushi no kon Sakugawa no kon

Choun no kon Tsuken no kon Shishi no kon

Eku jutsu Tsuken Akachu no eku di

Kama Jutsu I cho gama (nagagama no ti)

Ni cho kamaSuki kama jutsu (chichi)

Tonfa justuSai Jutsu

Ni cho sai San cho sai

Suruchin jutsuUni suruchin jutsu

NunchiyakuSansetsukon (dai, chu, sho)

YonsetsukonKudamon bo

TinbeiTekko Jutsu

Tecchu Jutsu

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Shishi no kon: This kata is said to be over300 years old, and to have been createdby Oyakata Shishi, a daimyoko (noble) andmartial arts instructor to the Ryukyu king.It was passed down only within the familyand to the royals, and Shinko Matayoshilearned it from a descendent of the Shishifamily, Ryoko Shishi.12

Kumi waza and Oyo: paired sets for Shus-hi, Choun, and Sakugawa were done inthe dojo regularly, and sets for the otherkata occasionally. There were also bo vs.bo sets using techniques from various katathat different students developed withMatayoshi, varying in length from completeruns through the kata to ippon-styletechniques. Except for the kihon, thepaired sets were considered less formalthan the kata. Along with the longer pairedsets, short sets of paired techniques weredeveloped at different times, and muchattention was given to the individual tech-niques in the kata.

There were, at different times, other bokata taught also by Shinpo Matayoshi, orpracticed by his students. These included:Kubo no kon (named after the Kubo areaof Gushikawa village), Yone-gawa no kon(named after the Yonegawa area of Shuri),and Yara no kon (possibly a variant ofChatan Yara no kon), all taught by ShinchinMatayoshi, the Tokumine no kon ShinpoMatayoshi learned from Chotoku Kyan,and Ufugushiku (Oshiro) no Sakugawa,a variation of Sakugawa no kon that camefrom Chojo Oshiro. At some point ShinpoMatayoshi decided to stop teaching thesekata, though some teachers retain one ormore of them. Some seniors of the dojoalso practiced Ufutun bo, a village kata afew seniors of the dojo learned from alocal teacher. At the time of Shinpo Mata-yoshis death, only the 5 main kata wereconsidered formally part of the system.

The Matayoshi system also includedtechniques for an 8 or 9 foot bo, whichwas occasionally demonstrated usingSakugawa no kon, though this kata doesnot represent all the variant techniques forthe longer weapon. Some dojo in the Ren-mei also maintained a jo form that wasdeveloped by Kanei Katsuyoshi, with inputfrom Shinpo Matayoshi.

SaiThe sai techniques taught in the Matayoshisystem stem from those taught to ShinkoMatayoshi by Chokubo Agena. A set of10 kihon was developed for the sai, and

was taught solo and paired. There arethree kata taught- ni cho sai, san cho sai,and Shinbaru no sai. Shinbaru no sai isalso sometimes called Mateshi no sai orMatayoshi no sai. The first two, ni- andsan- cho sai, were created as training formsby Shinpo Matayoshi sometime after thewar, and the third by Shinko Matayoshi.San cho sai and Shinbaru no sai are bothpracticed using a full set of three sai. Allof the forms include one or more throwingtechniques, and while they are aimed atthe foot, Matayoshi also taught that thesai could be thrown into the body. This isjust very difficult to practice in the dojo.

The Matayoshi system also works with amanji sai, though this is something only afew seniors have learned, and is not com-monly taught. In this tradition, the weaponis built like a normal sai with a handle onone end, but with one tine turned down,covering the handle of the weapon. Thereis no separate kata for the manji, though itis sometimes practiced in Shinbaru no sai,and there are a few separate techniquesfor the weapon. Except for the kihon,paired work was less formal and moreindividual for the sai.

TonfaThe tonfa techniques in the Matayoshisystem come from Irei Okina. The imple-ment is also called a tunkuwa or tuifa, andit is said the pronunciation of the charac-ters for the weapon comes from theFuchow dialect. A set of 10 kihon wasdeveloped for the weapon, taught solo andpaired, though in practice other basicswere sometimes added. There is one base

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This kata is said to have been made by"old man Shushi" (Shushu no tanmei), aChinese kempo and bojutsu expert whoimmigrated from Shanghai to Naha in theearly 1800s, and lived near Shugentemple, in Anzato, Naha.

He is said to have researched village botechniques. His technique was greatlyrespected by the ruler at the time, and hewas given the nickname Sakugawa,after his teacher of that name. ShinkoMatayoshi learned this kata from SanraChinen (Chinen Yamane).11

Tsuken no kon/Tsuken bo: This kata waspassed on by Oyakata Seisoku Tsuken andwas compiled by fishermen from Shorenvillage on Tsuken island. It is said tocontain reverse techniques, and tech-niques for fighting against a spear. Mata-yoshi Shinko learned it from ChokuboAgena.

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kata for the tonfa, Tonfa dai ichi. There isalso a second kata, tonfa dai ni, that isvery similar and was developed as a de-monstration form. Various senior studentsalso worked with personal variations onthe tonfa forms and other short kata, butthe Kodokan taught only dai ichi, and daini for demonstration purposes.

NunchiyakuThe nunchiyaku techniques were alsopassed down by Okina Irei. The pronun-ciation for the characters (which readsosetsukon, or two piece stick) is also sup-posedly of Fujianese origin. A set of kihonwas developed for the weapon, but wasrarely practiced. The kata, Matayoshi noNunchiyaku, is sometimes called Nunchi-yaku San Dan. Supposedly it went througha number of slight variations in the 1960s.

Three section nunchiyaku, like a verysmall sansetsukon, were also occasionallyworked with in the dojo, but while they

called Tsuken Akachu no Eku di, the Ekutechniques of the red man from Tsuken.Akachu Tsuken was a fisherman fromTsuken named Azato who was nick-named Akachu due to his sunburned face.He learned bo techniques from an exiledwarrior- Tsuken Oyakata Seisoku- andfrom them developed these eku tech-niques, including the signature techniqueof tossing sand into the eyes of the oppo-nent with the blade of the eku. Shinpo Ma-tayoshi considered this his favorite form,and it was usually what he demonstrated.

NuntiThe nunti-bo is a roughly 5 shaku bo with anunti-sai affixed to the tip. It was taught

as a set- the nunti-bo and two nunti sai,which are kept in the belt. The techniquesfor the nunti came from Roshi Kingai,though they are also said to be influencedby Ryukyu nunti techniques from Tsukenisland. The nunti sai are not used as handweapons -though they could be used muchlike manji-sai- they are throwing weapons.The throwing technique is included in thekata, and much like the sai though it isalways aimed for the feet it could bethrown into any part of the body. Therewas one kata taught in the dojo, Nunti no ti,in the 90s. However, in demonstrationsvariations on this kata were also done, andstudents from the early 60s rememberpracticing the weapon with bo kata, in

had a few separatetechniques, they had noseparate kata.

EkuThe eku techniquestaught in the Matayo-shi kobudo come fromtwo sources, the Mata-yoshi family- whosetradition maintains thatthe eku was ShinchinMatayoshis favoriteweapon- and AgenaChokubo. The kata is

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Eku.

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Nunti and Nunti-sai.

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particular Tsuken no kon, properly adaptedwith nunti-specific techniques.

GuwaThe guwa, a garden hoe, is unique to theMatayoshi kobudo on Okinawa. Thetechniques are influenced by Chinese arts,as the hoe is used as a weapon in China aswell. The kata, Guwa no di or kuwe nu ti,was developed from the techniques passedon in the family, according to some of theseniors by Shinpo Matayoshi, though thereis no documentation on this either way.

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TinbeTinbe is the name of a pair of weapons-the tinbe, a shield made of cane and usu-ally covered with a thick tar-like sub-stance and a layer of animal hide and thenpainted, and the seiryuto, a short heavysword or machete. The metal tinbe mostoften seen now were developed in the70s, and allow for paired work withoutquickly destroying the tinbe. ShinpoMatayoshi would also practice the weaponwith a butterfly sword, much as the set isused in a number of southern Chinesesystems. The Matayoshi tinbe comes fromRoshi Kingai, and is properly called theSouthern Chinese Shaolin (ChugokuNanban Shorin Ken) Tinbe. It is also saidto be influenced by Ryukyu tinbe tech-niques. The kata for the set, Tinbe no ti orMatayoshi no Tinbe, is said to have beendeveloped by Shinpo Matayoshi out oftechniques passed from his father.

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SansetsukonThe three section staff, also called theChinese Shaolin Sansetsukon (ChugokuShorinji Sansetsukon), taught in the

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KamaThe kama techniques taught in the Mata-yoshi system come from the kama techni-ques taught to Shinko Matayoshi by Cho-kubo Agena. Shinko Matayoshi was nick-named Kama nu ti Mateshi, and was verywell known for his skill with the kama.The kata is called simply Kama nu ti. Anumber of variations exist among the seniorstudents, but the form as taught in the 90swas standardized in the dojo.

A variation on the kama, a kama with astring attached, was practiced for a periodin the 60s and 70s, primarily as a demon-stration or dance form. It is sometimesknown a Shimotsuki no kama, but was notconsidered a formal subject in the dojo.

Kudamon boThis weapon is essentially a large flailderived from a rice or wheat threshing tool.In the 90s Kenichi Yamashiro was wor-king on a kata for this weapon with ShinpoMatayoshi, based on techniques passedon in the Matayoshi tradition. The katawas demonstrated a few times, but wasnever formally added to the system.

SuruchinThe suruchin in the Matayoshi systemconsists of a length of rope with a rock ateither end, though students from the 60salso remember Matayoshi teaching asuruchin with only one rock. The length

Matayoshi system is based on techniquesfrom Roshi Kingai. There was one kata,possibly developed by Shinpo Matayoshifrom the techniques taught to him by hisfather, taught in the 1990s, a long katacalled simply Sansetsukon or Sanset-sukon no ti that was not done at demon-strations. It was not taught to many stu-dents, and was hard to practice in the dojodue to the space needed. A second shorterkata, called Hakuho, was developed byone of Sensei Matayoshis students livingin France, and gained some popularity inthe dojo in the 80s and 90s. It is this katathat was usually demonstrated and is onthe video the dojo published.

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can vary, but is usually 6-9 feet long. Thetechniques for using it came from RoshiKingai, but were supposedly also influen-ced by native Ryukyu techniques. Whilethere were a variety of specific techniquestaught for the weapon, and differentseniors strung these together in variousways for demonstration and practice pur-poses, there was no formal kata for theweapon.

Other WeaponsThere were a number of other weaponsin the dojo that had specific techniques,but no actual kata. These included thetekko, ticchu, gifa (kanzashi), nagagama,and a variety of Chinese weapons thatSensei Matayoshi would occasionally de-monstrate or show, but never taught. Noneof these were considered formally part of

the system.

Paired WorkAs stated above, most of the paired work,outside the kihon, was created by variousstudents with Sensei Matayoshis gui-dance. At times, these sets would beshared with other students, but none reallybecame formal subjects at the dojo. Therewas a great deal of emphasis on paired

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work, and instruction in kata usually in-cluded instruction in various applicationsof the sections of kata, but again this wasnot formalized. Paired work was usuallydone with the bo against any of the otherweapons. However, some students alsoworked on paired sets between variousweapons, like tinbe and sansetsukon, oreku and guwa.

Empty HandThe Matayoshi tradition includes at leasttwo different empty hand systems- theempty hand portion of the Kingai-ryu, andthe empty hand portion of GokenkisHakutsuru Kenpo. While Shinpo Mata-yoshi practiced both, he taught neitherpublicly. A number of senior members ofthe dojo, as well as various karate friendslike Seiko Higa, learned variations onKakuho, also called Hakaku or Hakut-

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There was a great deal of emphasis onpaired work, and instruction in katausually included instruction in variousapplications of the sections of kata, butagain this was not formalized.


suru, from the Gokenki lineage. A few alsolearned variations internal to this form, andother individual kata from both systems.However, while a few students studiedthis material, it was considered private,and was not taught as part of the systemin the Kodokan dojo.

While Matayoshi could probably haveattracted a body of karate students byteaching Gokenkis Hakutsuru Kenpo orthe Kingai-ryu as a separate art, or by ma-king them a part of his kobudo system, heelected not to. He never made either ofthese arts a formal part of his system, andnever taught either publicly. It is unclearwhy this is the case, however the emphasison both native Okinawan arts and on pre-serving the armed element of Okinawasmartial heritage may be the best clues tothe reasons for this decision.

As a whole, the amount of material, evenjust the formal material, in the Matayoshitradition is formidable. There are 4 sets

of kihon covering 45 separate techniquesfor 4 weapons, 16 kata covering 11 wea-pons, techniques and modified kata for atleast 8 other weapons, a few accessorykata, and of course paired work for allthe weapons and kata. This does not in-clude any empty hand material, katadeveloped by senior students in the dojo,or anything not formally taught by SenseiMatayoshi. This amount of material alone,particularly given the attention to detail inperformance of technique and the needto be fluent enough with each weapon toact creatively with it, is enough for a lifetimeof study. The fact that Sensei Matayoshiknew even more than he passed on is yetanother tribute to the depth of knowledgehe possessed.

Matayoshi Kobudo TodayAt the passing of Shinpo Matayoshi in1997, an era in Okinawan martial artsended. Matayoshi was a very public figurein the Okinawan martial arts community,maintaining a high level of visibility, wor-king to link together practitioners acrossJapan and the world, and practically throughforce of personality maintaining the linksbetween the various members of the orga-nization he founded, limiting by his seniorstatus the inevitable disagreements overdifferences in technique and performancethat developed over the years. In manyways, through encouragement of creativityin his students, an ability to teach withindifferent peoples methods of movement,

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Yoshiaki Gakiya with Suruchin, Okinawa 2006.

and the continuous development of his ownpractice, he fostered the variations inpractice that different generations of hisstudents show. However, he found a wayto make these differences less importantthan the personal and technical elementsthe practitioners shared.

When he passed away, the formal leader-ship of his dojo passed to his son, YasushiMatayoshi. Yasushi is not able to train dueto a handicap, but it is very common inJapan for the leadership of family-basedorganizations to stay within the familyregardless of technical proficiency. Hewas assisted as advisor by Sensei Mata-yoshis wife, and per Sensei Matayoshisinstruction the technical leadership posi-tion, 3rd Kancho of the Kodokan, passedto Yoshiaki Gakiya, who had been doingthe bulk of the teaching in the dojo for anumber of years. The leadership of theZen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei was givento Shoshin Miyahara; it is a separate bodyfrom the Kodokan dojo, which is a member.

This situation continued until 2001, whenYoshiaki Gakiya left the Kodokan to formhis own organization, the Okinawa KobudoDoushi Rensei Kai. At that time, the po-sition of technical director of the Kodo-kan was given to Seisho Itokazu, anotherlong time student. The Renmei remainedunder the same leadership, and a numberof Shinpo Matayoshis former studentsand their organizations, people like TakashiKinjo, Koki Miyagi, Katsuyoshi KaneisJinbukai, Kenyu Chinen, Shushi Maeshiro,and Kenichi Yamashiro remained mem-bers of the Renmei, though not of theKodokan. (Many had not been membersfor years.) Adding complexity to this pic-ture, there are also a number of seniorteachers, students from as far back as1960, people like Kimo Wall, who are notformally part of any larger organization,but who maintain the Matayoshi traditionas they were taught it by Shinpo Matayoshi.Although due to the vast amount of mate-rial the system contains there are only afew teachers who maintain and teach theentire syllabus as it was at Sensei Matayo-shis death, these different factions allrepresent facets of the Matayoshi tradi-tion. Coupled with this are various ancillarylines, like that of Seikichi Odo, whocombined the Matayoshi kobudo with thatof other teachers. Taken together theCo

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system is what it was at Sensei Matayo-shis passing and the head of the systemis either his son or Sensei Gakiya, dependingon how one looks at it. However, workingwith the simple answer also eliminates muchof the complexity in the situation, andtherefore some of the living nature of thepractice. It takes a vibrant and living prac-tice and fossilizes it at the death of ShinpoMatayoshi.

Certainly there are many teachers outthere who make claims of mastery of thesystem that do not warrant such recog-nition. However, the main lines of thetradition are fairly clear, maintained bystudents with long relationships with ShinpoMatayoshi and teaching an unadulteratedversion of the art they studied. Throughthese students the impact of the Matayoshitradition on the Okinawan martial arts, andon their practitioners, remains strong, anda living treasure of Okinawan martialculture is being maintained and passed onto the next generation of martial artists.This, I believe, is the true heir to theMatayoshi tradition- the many studentsacross the globe practicing the art that thefamily developed, continuing its traditioninto the future.

Notes1 This man is often confused with MatsutareIre, a famous martial artist known for his kamatechniques, and living at roughly the sametime. According to what the family has written,this is a different person.2 Gokenki had moved to Okinawa in 1912, hadmarried a local woman by the name of MakatoYoshikawa, and had taken the Japanese nameof Sakaki Yoshikawa. He was well known inOkinawan karate circles, having a stronginfluence on many of Okinawas most famousmartial artists, including Chojun Miyagi, SeikoHiga, and Juhatsu Kyoda.3 The Russo-Japanese war had ended, andJapans influence over Manchuria made thata likely way to enter China for many Japanese

at the time.4 Many sources state that Roshi Kingai livedin Shanghai. The documents the Matayoshifamily published at the death of ShinpoMatayoshi state that he taught in Fuchow.(See ZOKR, 1999: pp. 19-26.)5 Sanra Chinen was also called Chinen Ya-mane, and was nicknamed Sakugawa. (Kodo-kan, 1994.)6 Some sources give this date as 1915, but thedate given in documents published by theMatayoshi family is Showa 3, 1929. 1915would be Taisho 3, and that may be the reasonfor the confusion. The family still has themedal given to Shinko Matayoshi.7 This generalissimo Guanming may have alsobeen a historic figure in China.8 The term (ij) nu ti, also written no tior no di, translates directly as of the hands,so one way to write the nickname could beKama hands Matayoshi. However, in theOkinawan martial vernacular, the term nu tidoes not actually refer to the hands at all, butto technique. It is also used in the names ofkata, like kuwe no di, or hoe technique.9 This public variation was done for two rea-sons. As Sensei Matayoshi said to me at ademonstration for TV in 1990: just have fun.Having fun at public events was a goodreason to play with the techniques. The otherwas secrecy. Some of the material he consi-dered private, and so he would play with it inpublic, and especially when being filmed. Asan example, much of the material for thevideos he did in the US in the mid 1990s hemade up on the spot, just for the films. Hewas sometimes able to tell if people hadlearned from video this way, noting to some-one who did a crane form for him once thatthey must have learned it from a film of a certaindemo he did, as that was the only time he hadever done the form that way.10 It is important to recognize the differencebetween the Kodokan and the Renmei. WhileShinpo Matayoshi was president of both, he

Matayoshi family tomb.

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Certainly there are many teachers outthere who make claims of mastery of thesystem that do not warrant suchrecognition. However, the main lines ofthe tradition are fairly clear, maintainedby students with long relationships withShinpo Matayoshi and teaching anunadulterated version of the art theystudied.

various factions and ancillary lines, andthe large body of students they represent,demonstrate the deep impact on the Oki-nawan martial arts community the Mata-yoshi family, and the system they taught,has had.

Moving into the 21st century, that impactcontinues. The fragmentation of the sys-tem after Sensei Matayoshis passing doesleave the system with no clear and solesuccessor. Yoshiaki Gakiya perhaps hasthe best claim as a teacher, as he was ap-pointed technical successor at the deathof Shinpo Matayoshi. However, this iscomplicated by the Soke title and with itformal responsibility for maintaining thesystem remaining in the family, and thefamily currently supporting Itokazu Seishoas technical director of the Kodokan dojo.It is further complicated by the number ofother students with a great deal ofexperience in the system (some senior inrank to or having started before bothGakiya Itokazu and) teaching on their own,or as part of the Renmei. In many ways,this resembles the break up of Goju-ryuafter the death of Chojun Miyagi: a numberof senior students, all with excellent teach-ing credentials and fantastic technique,each going their own way once theirleader passed on. In many ways it also,through the sheer number of very seniorpractitioners alone, demonstrates the depthof the Matayoshi tradition, both on Okinawaand around the world.

In my opinion, the living nature of theMatayoshi tradition is continued in thismanner. This fragmentation is in manyways inevitable. There were already dif-ferences in how certain things were donebetween different dojo in the Renmei beforeShinpo Matayoshis death. These havecontinued to develop as time passes andindividual seniors continue to develop boththeir own training and the way they aremaintaining and passing on the system.(Even the Kodokan has changed itstraining, adding kihon since Sensei Mata-yoshis passing.) Fragmentation of this sortis also inevitable because the system is aliving one, the technical core of which isdeep enough to allow for its practitionersto work within it and experience it directly,as opposed to simply mimicking the lastgeneration. The simple answer to thequestion of succession could be that the

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Fred Lohse, is a 5th degreeblack belt in Goju-ryu karate andMatayoshi kobudo, and has beentraining both for over 20 years.He lived in Japan from 1990-

1992, and has master's degreesin Japanese Studies and

International Education fromHarvard University. He trains andteaches karate and kobudo with

Kodokan Boston, in Boston,Massachusetts. You can find out

more about the dojo at:www.kodokanboston.org.

do Kobudo Kihon Chosa Houkokusho. (Ka-rate do Kobudo Basic Investigative Report.)Okinawa: Bunshin Insatsu Shushiki Kaisha.Okinawa Kobudo Doushi Renseikai (OKDR).(2004). Kata no Shurui to Rekishi. (Classi-fication and History of Kata.) Okinawa:privately published by OKDR.OKDR. (20042). Okinawa Kobudo DoushiRenseikai Enkaku. (History of the OkinawaKobudo Doushi Renseikai.) Okinawa: pri-vately published by OKDR.Zen Okinawa Kobudo Renmei (ZOKR),Kingai-ryu Matayoshi Kobudo Soke HonbuKodokan. (1999). Kingai-ryu Tode to Mata-yoshi Shinko. pp. 19-25 in Matayoshi ShinpoSensei Tsuitou. (Memorial for Sensei Mata-yoshi Shinpo) Okinawa: Zen Okinawa Kobu-do Renmei.Smits, Gregory. (1999). Visions of Ryukyu:Identity and Ideology in Early-ModernThought and Politics. Honolulu: Universityof Hawaii Press.Taira, Shinken. (1964). Ryukyu KobudoTaikan. (Encyclopedia of Ryukyu Kobudo.)Ginowan: Youjushorin.Watatani Kiyoshi and Yamada Tadashi. (1978).Bugei Ryuha Daijiten. (Encyclopedia ofMartial Arts Styles.) Tokyo: Tokyo KoppiShupanshu.

Special ThanksYamashiro Kenichi, Nagai Hiroko, ItokazuSeisho, Koshin Kamura, Ishiki Hidetaka, andespecially Jyosei Yogi, the late Ryugo Sakaiand Shinpo Matayoshi, Yoshiaki Gakiya, andKimo Wall for their instruction, and for sharingtheir knowledge of the Matayoshi Kobudoand their recollections with me. Also, a specialthanks to Mario McKenna for help withsource material.

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was the sole teacher in the Kodokan, whilethe Renmei was an affiliation of a number ofkobudo students, all practicing the same sys-tem but often with different flavors indifferent dojo. In reality there was no Mata-yoshi Kobudo until Shinpo passed away,just the Kodokan and the Renmei, both teach-ing the kobudo of the Zen Okinawa KobudoRenmei.11 Most histories credit tode Sakugawa withthis kata, but the Matayoshi tradition dates itfrom his student. (OKDR, 2004.)12 The history given for Shushi, Choun, andShishi no kon is from written materials fromthe Matayoshi family and Yoshiaki Gakiya,and from conversations with Shinpo Matayoshi.There are also alternate histories on Okinawafor a number of these kata. Masahiro Naka-moto (1983, pp. 95/172)) credits Sensei Soeishi(Shishi) with creating Choun and Shushi fromhis studies of Soeishi no kon. Shinken Taira(1964, pp. 38) credits Choun to Soeishi, andthe Bugei Ryuha Daijiten (1978, p. 911) alsostates that Shushi was founded by Soeishi. Itshould be noted that all this information stemsfrom the Taira lineage- Nakamoto is a studentof Tairas, and the BRDJ information wassupplied by Motokazu Inoue, a student ofTairas and Murakami, a student of Inouesand Seitoku Higas (Yamani-ryu).

ReferencesBishop, Mark. (1989). Okinawan Karate:Teachers, Styles, and Secret Techniques.London: A&C Black.Bishop, Mark. (1996). Zen Kobudo. Rutland,VT: Tuttle.Hokama, Tetsuhiro. (1984). Okinawa Karate-do no Ayumi. (A history of Okinawan karatedo.) Okinawa: Seihonshu Minami Purinto.Hokama, Tetsuhiro and Kinjo Masakazu.(1989). Okinawa no Kobudogu Tanrendogu.(Okinawan kobudo gear and physical traininggear.) Okinawa: Ryukyu Shinpo Sha.Hokama, Tetsuhiro (Translated by Joe Swift).(2007). Timeline of Karate History. Okinawa:Ozato Print Co.Hokama, Tetsuhiro (Translated by Joe Swift).(2005). 100 Masters of Okinawan Karate.Okinawa: Ozato Print Co.Kodokan Dojo. (1994). Ryukyu Ocho JidaiKobudo Tode; Kata no Shurui to Rekishi.(Ryukyu Kingdom Period Kobudo and Tode;History and Classification of kata.) Pamphletaccompanying video tape published by theKodokan dojo.Kerr, George. (2000). Okinawa, History of anIsland People. Rutland, VT: Tuttle.Miyagi, Tokumasa. (1987). Karate no Reikishi.(History of Karate.) Okinawa: SeihonshuNansei Insatsu.Nakamoto, Masahiro. (1983). Okinawa DentoKobudo: Sono Rekishi to Tamashi. (Tradi-tional Okinawan Kobudo; its History andSpirit.) Okinawa: Okiinsha.Okinawa Ken Kyoiku Iinkai. (1998). Karate

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The Russian martial art of Systema first appeared outside its countrys borders back in 1993. Whatfollowed was nothing less than a martial invasion. Spearheaded by Vladimir Vasiliev, the charismaticand masterfully skilled former operative from the Russian Special Forces, this unique art spread itsroots wide and deep throughout the international community. With its heavy penchant for unorthodoxtactics, like all things different and new, Systema was quickly on the receiving end of its share of skepticismand debate. Compounding this was the styles long history of classified use by Soviet Era military. Still,its efficiency could not be stifled and quickly, leading martial artists and novices alike were turning outin droves to discover the power of this incredible art for themselves.

- By Kevin Secours -

Interview with Mikhail Ryabko

Like many great masters, Mikhailsoutward appearance belies his incredibleabilities or the extraordinary experiencesthat have forged them. Born in 1961 inBelorussia, the Mikhail of today is farremoved from the chiseled athlete whowas inducted into the Russian SpecialForces at only 15 years of age. His robustbuild and happy smile remind me more ofa favorite uncle than they do an elitesoldier, yet this is a man who until recentlywas an active Colonel of the Special For-ces. A man who had survived every man-ner of crisis from hostage situation tocovert military operations, and who hasworked as a personal advisor to the Minis-ter of Justice. On the training mat, eventoday, Mikhail enjoys a reaction speed andgrace of motion that you would expect froma much smaller man. Beyond his obviousexperience however, it is most often hishumility, humor and generosity that leavethe most lasting mark on his students.

Why did you start training in the martialarts?My father was a great master of unspeak-able ability. He taught me from a very earlyage. Then when I entered the military,what he had taught me became a matterof life and death.

What drove you to enter the military?I was asked if I wanted to be a hero andto meet women. Of course I did. (laugh-ing). Once I joined however, there wereno women and everyone seemed to bebeating me up. Seriously, it was my dutyas a citizen to support my country. I joinedfor the same reason every soldier joins.There was nothing special about me.

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Did you have a sense of where yourtraining would take you when you firststarted?Not at all. My only goal was to stay alive.I trained to survive. If I became good inmy training, it is only because I wanted tostay alive.

Can you describe what your earlytraining was like?It was brutal. Very brutal. We had a veryspecific goal and people were dependingon us to succeed, so we did what we thoughtwas necessary to become ready.

Can you give us some details of whatthis training was like?People often ask me about this. They wantto know specifically what I did as if byknowing this they will have a perfect road-map that will bring them to the exact placewhere I am today. But training does notwork this way. Every path is as differentas the individual is. People must trainaccording to their own situations, accor-ding to their own needs and circum-stances. Just because I did something inmy own training does not mean that it wasnecessarily right. We all do what we areordered to do or what we think is best atany given time, but we all make mistakes.What I know for sure, is that there weremany people who trained much harder

than I did. I also knew many people whowere great heroes in war. I am not a hero.Im just lucky. Everything that I have I oweto God.

How has your training changed since then?Obviously, my goal is different now. Onone hand, I am still deeply involved withteaching professionals. Every day, securityagents, law enforcement officers andmilitary personnel walk through my door.They seek me out because of my repu-tation and because Ive worked in thesame situations as them. They know thatwhat Im saying is not just a matter ofopinion. If I tell them something its becauseits worked for me and the teams that Ivebeen involved with. On the other hand,we also teach many civilians. Systema isa very inviting method of learning for bothadults and children. It teaches more thanjust how to fightit teaches people howto make themselves stronger and how to

What I know for sure, is that there weremany people who trained much harderthan I did. I also knew many people whowere great heroes in war. I am not a hero.Im just lucky. Everything that I have Iowe to God.

Mikhail Ryabko seen in his young military service.

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protect themselves, physically, spirituallyand psychologically.

What about your own personal training.What does your personal daily routineconsist of now?I am very much a student of movement.I always study how people move. Our ownbodies are always changing, so every dayour bodys work changes with it. I teachat my school in Moscow and also inter-nationally. To be perfectly honest, I amvery lazy by nature (smiling). I wouldrather eat than train, but good people cometo me and ask sincere questions. Becauseof my experience, I have answers forthem and an obligation to help guide them.Systema is too important for it not to beshared.

There are many misconceptions aboutSystema. For example some peoplewrongly believe that it is against other artsor methods that are not Russian.Some people look for controversy. Itshuman nature to sensationalize things.Systema has its roots in Russian Or-thodox Christianity. The influences of thisreligion on our art are well known, andreligion helped carry the art and keep italive, but we dont require our students toconvert to one faith or another. Our stu-dents and instructors come from allbackgrounds and beliefs, male and female,young and old. Just look at the teachersthat weve promoted and how diverse theyare. Systema is a universal gift.

Perhaps one of the biggest areas ofconfusion regarding Systema is the roleof psychic energy. Can you describe tothe reader what this refers to?In training, we use this term to refer toanything that involves the psyche of your

partner. This simply means anything thatis not purely physical. I realize that thisterm has a different meaning here, but wedont mean to imply anything magical ormysterious by this. For example, in boxing,if one fighter fakes the other boxer andcauses them to lean back without actuallythrowing a punch, they have just con-trolled them without physical contact. Thiscan make them more vulnerable for strikesto other areas. They are playing with theiropponents psyche. Or, for example, if youare driving on the highway and you areable to steer your car without hitting othercars, this is a form of psychic work. Youdont need to hit each car as you pass it toknow that its there. You can feel it andmaintain your personal space intuitively.People use psychic energy every day with-out realizing it. In Systema, sometimes wesimply address the role these fears andour responses to them can play in fighting.

What are the applications of this work forreal combat?There are many. If you are trying to avoida fight, how you position your body andmove your hands will play a veryimportant role. The words you use andhow you talk, even the way that youbreathe and use your eyes can make thedifference between avoiding a fight orvolunteering for one. These are all thingsthat we study. Most of us will not beattacked every day of our lives but we dohave to walk through busy crowds andstreets. By studying how to work without

contact, you learn how to control your bodybetter and to move through situationswithout aggression. This is better for yourhealth and calms your spirit. If you keepbumping into everyone, eventually you willabsorb a lot of aggression and find fightseverywhere you look. Of course this isonly one part of training.

Mikhail Ryabko.C

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To be perfectly honest, I am very lazy bynature. I would rather eat than train, butgood people come to me and ask sincerequestions.

Many people have seen video clips on theinternet of touchless work and theybelieve that there is something super-natural occurring or else something fake.What do you say to these people?The purpose of training is to make studentsstronger, not weaker. To become readyfor combat, you do need to experience con-tact and resistance. Ask anyone who hastrained with me (laughing)there iscontact, but its not healthy to do this alltime otherwise you will tire and injure thebody. Everyone respects boxers for therealism of their training because theyunderstand the fighting that they see. Whenboxers fight, they actually hit each other,but this is only the smallest part of theirtraining. Most of the time that a boxerspends training is not spent in the ring. Aboxer will run and skip rope, or practicefootwork or shadow boxing. When theyfight, sometimes it is very soft. Even boxers

Mikhail punching.

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understand that you cant go hard all thetime. Sambo fighters will do the same. Theywill roll with each other and practice givingeach other openings to practice locks andholds. They do not try to break each othersbones with full force all the time. This wouldmake training impossible. If you were tryingto learn how to fall, you might put a chair oranother obstacle in front of you and jumpover it until this became comfortable. Itwould not be necessary to have theseobjects thrown at you with full force or topractice jumping out of cars. What we aredoing is the same, except we are not concer-ned with sport. We are dealing with every-day things and aggression on the street.Sometimes, we give our partners a certainthreat or obstacle, like a slow strike whichthey can safely move around. We give themthe time to study the attack and their re-action to it. This helps them build confidenceand study movement. It is only one very

at the Summit and being introduced tomany of us for the first time. How does itfeel to now see your son following in yourfootsteps?My son is training because it is requiredin his work (Daniil Ryabko is a lieutenantin the law enforcement sector of themilitia). Like me and my father before me,he will grow to understand the true depthand importance of this art and so too willhis understanding grow.

As the art does continue to grow, do youworry about its quality deteriorating or arethere any plans to standardize the curri-culum or establish testing and teachingstandards?(Smiling and laughing) People are so con-cerned with this idea of ranks and levels.These things dont matter in Systema. Allthat matters is that you learn about your-self, become a better person each day andshare what you learn with those aroundyou. In this way, the System protects itself.The right people understand this, areattracted to the style and will stay withthe practice. Those who are malicious orlooking only to harm others will not findpeople who will want to train with themthey wont be able to improve. This is thenatural way of things.

How would you describe Systema to some-one who has never seen this art?As youve said, we try to address allaspects of lifenot just fighting or combat.Were not trying to be an art. We dontcare if our movement is fancy or beautiful.We also arent following someone elsesspecific instructions. There are no patterns

Systema is based on the idea of what yourefer to as natural movement. Many peoplemight assume this means that any actionthey make is natural, but thats not whatyou mean by that term. Can you explain thisin more detail?When we refer to natural movement, werereferring to the unique ways that everyindividual moves when they are relaxed andfree of tension. Everybody has a differentway of moving. When you train in Syste-ma, you begin to discover your own perso-nal reflexes. Realization is the first step.Then, you can begin the work of learninghow to make those reactions better bylearning how to relax.

What are the key components of learninghow to relax in a fight or a crisis?It all comes back to the basic principles.Breathing is the foundation of everything.We all knew how to breathe perfectly aschildren but when we entered the world,we encountered shock and stress. Thesecan steal our ability to breathe. Systema teach-es students how to breathe despite beingstressed or frightened. Everything elsefollows from that. Correct body form andposture are also very important. When youslouch or stand in a stance, you can putyour body out of balance, add stress to themuscles, and through this, unbalance thepsyche. A correct posture means that every-thing is doing what it is supposed to dothe skeleton is giving structure, musclesare relaxed and only exerting force whenthey must and the joints are loose and elastic.

Too often breathing is looked upon as onlybeing mechanical in that people learn tobreathe in the upper chest or in the lowerstomach, but breathing is more than this.Breathing is physiological. When youbreathe, you fill your blood with oxygenand this gives you more strength and endu-rance. In Systema, we learn how to breathe

Most of the time that a boxer spendstraining is not spent in the ring. When theyfight, sometimes it is very soft. Evenboxers understand that you cant go hardall the time.

small part of our training. The best wayto understand this fully is to simply trainwith us and feel this firsthand.

Youve often said that the secret to thisart is precisely that it is a systemthatits addresses all levels of the individual:the mental, the physical and the spiritual.Since it is so complete in your opinion, howdo you feel about people who borrow onlya handful of concepts or ideas from itrather than dedicating themselves to thecomplete art?(Mikhail holds up an apple he has beenholding and rubs it on his shirt.) Its likethis apple. I am openly offering this appleto the world. I am telling people

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