SENSEI
Those who made the road
before
Chotoku K(i)yan
Isshinryu lineage:
Chotoku Kiyan
> Tatsuo Shimabukuro
Chotoku Kyan was born in December 1870 (Meiji 3) at Shun Gihomura as
the third son of Chofu Kyan the eleventh generation of King ShoSei
under the fourth period of King ShoSei at Ryukyu. His father was the
important retainer of the Lord Shotai who lived in Tokyo as the
final King of the Ryukyus. His father was well trained in the art of
Okinawa te and was an authority of both the Chinese and Japanese
classics. Choto Kyan was taken to Tokyo by his father at the age of
13. There he studied the Chinese Classics at the Nisho School until
he was 16 years old. He was small and weak compared to his father.
Chofu Kyan worried about his son’s physical condition so he trained
his son in the art of Sumo Wrestling.
After Chofu Kyan’s tour of service in
Japan ended, he and his son Chotoku went back to Okinawa and lived
in a small house at Hoko between Shun and Mawashi. When Chotoku
became 20 years old, his father asked the great Shuri-te masters
Sobi Matsumura and Ankoh Itosu of Shuri Yamakura-mura to teach his
son Shuri-te. Chofu also sought the guidance of the great Tomari-te
master Koken Oyadomari to help round off Chotoku’s training and
physical conditioning.
Chotoku, with his tenacity and
dedication trained extremely hard and by the age of 30 earned the
nickname Kiyabu Miisho. Miisho was the title given to those who
excel in the art of Te. Chotoku was not only a quick learner, he
demonstrated an intellectual capability to further develop the art
he was taught. Chotoku believed that skill in Te was a matter of 30%
physical training and 70% skill, strategy and intelligence. To
supplement his hard training in the empty hand method, Chotoku took
a special interest in the use of the makiwara. He used it to harden
his fists and strengthen his legs and kicks. He used two types of
makiwara, a flexible one for punching and a round, stable one for
kicking. Chotoku is said to have developed over 50 ways of punching
and kicking the makawara.
Chotoku Kyan was also called from
"Chan Mi-gwa" (small eyed) Kyan. It was a fact that Chotoku suffered
from a astigmatism and his eyes were some what smaller then his
rather small face. Chotoku taught eight kata; Kusanku of Chatanyara,
Ananku which he brought back from Formosa (Taiwan), Seisan and
Gojushiho of Matsumura, Chinto of Matsumora, Passai of Oyadomari
(includes Passai-Sho & Passai-Dai), Wansu of Maeda. Chotoku had
trained in the Naifanchi of Matsumura but chose not to teach them as
part of his way.
After the abolition of clans and
establishment of perfectures in Japan most people of the ex-military
class lost their jobs. This also brought serious problems of how to
make a living to Chotoku Kyan. Since he had property from the family
Sho in Dokutani-mura, he moved there to do become involved in
agriculture and work as a wagon master. There he continued to
practice karate under Kitaya Yara (Chantanyara). During that period
he mastered the Kusanku Kata. Later, he built his house near the
Hisha Bridge of Dokutani-mura and proceeded to teach karate
(formally called Te) to the people of the village at Kadena Police
Office and the Agricultural School. This is when Zenryo Shimabukuro,
Tatsuo Shimabukuro, Eizo Shimabukuro, Shoshin Nagamine and Tsuyoshi
Chitosei trained.
Having taught Karate for many years,
Chotoku Kyan, while living in Ishikawa-shi of Chuto-gun, passed away
on September 20, 1945, at the age of 76 because of a food shortage.
Chotoku Kyan remains a great influence on the many systems of
Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do taught internationally today.
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