| Kenwa
Mabuni was born on the island of Okinawa in 1889. Mabuni was a descendent
of the Okinawan warrior class whose ancestors served the Okinawan
lords for hundreds of years. At the age of 13, he began his martial
arts instruction under Yasutsune Itosu in the village of Shuri.
He also began to study Naha-te under Kanryo Higaonna, who was introduced
to him by a childhood friend, Miyagi Chogun. These men were the
highest authorities of karate at that time, and were the founders
of two schools of Okinawan Karate, Shorin-Ryu and Shorei-Ryu. Both
these instructors passed away when Mabuni was in his late 20's.
Mabuni
Sensei was the ichiban-deshi of Itosu Sensei, suceeding him as the
second master of Itosu-Kai. He continued his studies after the death
of these great masters, becoming adept at traditional Okinawan weaponry
while also incorporating elements of Chinese Kung Fu into his style.
Mabui's insatiable thirst for knowledge prompted him to develop
an extensive body of karate information. The defining characteristics
of Sensei Mabyni's karate was its large number of kata, the versatility
of its fighting techniques and the inclusion of Okinawan weapons
in its instruction. Mabuni Sensei had an insatiable appetite for
kata, studying with masters such as Arakaki Kamadeunchu (1840-1918),
from whom he learned the Unshu, Nisheishi, Sochin, Arakaki-sai and
Arakaki-bo katas.
In
1929, after compulsory military service and a career as a police
officer, Mabuni Sensei left Okinawa for Osaka, Japan to teach Itosu-kai.
He blended the teachings of Shuri-te and Naha-te to create Shito-Ryu.
He formed this name by taking the first ideogram from the names
of his two teaches, Sensei Itosu and Higaonna. In this way, he chose
to honor and respect his great teachers.
Because
of his contribution to Japanese culture and society, Kenwa Mabuni
was bestowed by the emperor the family crest (mon) of the circle
with four bars. This was a great honor as ono other family could
claim the use of this symbol. When the Kanji for Shito-Ryu is placed
within the mon, the symbol for the historical lineage of Shito-Ryu
karate is formed. This symbol represents the pure, unaltered tradition
of the Nipon Seito Shito Ryu Kai.
Mabuni
died in 1952, leaving no direct successor to his lineage.
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