Monat: Juni 2024

I will gradually start reviewing books about Okinawa Karate & Kobudō. However, I will begin with books that were published after January 1, 2023 – there may be exceptions.

The books will be examined neutrally and critically. This means: translations, source material, text editing, presence of an index, and image quality.

However, the main focus of our/my work will be on the Japanese article series, as well as the German interview series (which will soon begin with the Shimabukuro Zenpo interview).

I believe it is no secret that we are working on a Tō‘on-ryū article. Recently, a question arose about when the article will be published.

The recently released article about Yabu Kentsū is the path to the house, the upcoming articles will be the different house connections and the foundation, and the 6th article will then be the Tō‘on-ryū article (the HIGHLIGHT – aka the House).

Various things need to be initiated before we can write in more detail about Kyoda Jūhatsu sensei.

Today, I had a brief discussion with my wife about future projects. As already mentioned, the first series of articles will contain 9 articles, and after that, our first article (Gekkan Hiden 2024/1) will continue. Roughly estimated, we could end up with 18 (!) articles.

But what comes after that??? Lack of ideas?

Of course not – I have many more thoughts that just need to be put into text form. Our articles will accompany you for many years to come.

Today, we were delighted to receive two author copies of the current issue of Gekkan Hiden (Monthly Secret). The article is „perfect“; it appeared exactly as we had envisioned. Our goal was to present Hanashiro Chōmo’s words in their unaltered form. Therefore, we decided not to change any of the characters Hanashiro used or to use a modern variant.

This proved to be quite challenging, but with the help of the publisher and several emails (from Germany to Japan / from Japan to Germany), we managed it – and the quality is breathtaking. Unfortunately, a few errors slipped into the German version.

Article #1 and Article #2

The response to the article has also been fantastic; we were honored for the quality of the article by the highest circles – Motobu Naoki sensei kindly wrote a few nice lines about it.

As previously mentioned, the third and fourth articles have already been submitted to the publisher, and I will announce the details in due course. Additionally, my wife is currently working on transcribing our interview with Uema Yasuhiro sensei (January 18, 2024). Both father (Uema Yasuhiro sensei) and son (Uema Takeshi sensei) were very gracious interview partners and warmly welcomed us with open arms. The interview will hopefully be published later this year and will serve as a source for at least „three“ articles.

I have now also created a Patreon account. For the time being, there will be no monthly membership fee. I will gradually upload articles, some of which will be free, while others will cost money. The money will, of course, be directly reinvested into further research projects.

https://www.patreon.com/karatekenkyushitsu

In the last few days, two new pieces of information about new books have come to light. Firstly, after three years of intensive work, T. Feldmann has completed his book on Yabu Kentsū and announced that it will be published this summer. Secondly, Katherine Loukopoulos has also announced that she has finished her book. To my knowledge, her book is an autobiography. Loukopoulos sensei played a crucial role in introducing Matsubayashi-ryū to Germany.

I am very excited about both books and will definitely buy them, as both topics greatly interest me. I am very curious to see if Feldmann’s research will answer my personal questions.

• When exactly was Yabu sensei born?
• From when to when did he train under Matsumura Sōkon?
• Which kata did Yabu sensei learn/teach?
• What was the actual reason for his long stay in the USA?
• What did Yabu sensei do during his time in the USA?
• Did all four sons learn karate from their father?
• What is in Yabu Kentsū’s military record?
• What remains of his karate overview? Which styles teach kata that trace back to Yabu sensei, and what makes these kata so special?
• The author also had contact with two grandsons of Yabu Kentsū sensei – Yabu Kenjiō (second son of Yabu’s second son, Ken) and Norman Yabe (second son of Yabu’s fourth son, Kenneth „Kenshirō“). What could the two grandsons or their children tell Feldmann about their grandfather?

Feldmann has already proven himself with his Itosu Ankō book. This time, too, he will not disappoint any readers, and my questions will surely be answered 100% in the book.

I wrote to Loukopoulos sensei personally some time ago, and I would like to renew my statement here: „If she were a man, her role in Okinawa Karate/Ryūkyū Kobudō would be much more recognized.“ But the world is as it is. However, for me, she is one of the greatest foreign karateka to have lived in Okinawa. She trained, sweated, fought, won medals, and took extensive notes.

Karate research remains exciting!!!

Mittlerweile ist mein erster übersetzter Artikel in Deutschland erschienen. Ich bin sehr glücklich darüber, doch leider war der Fehlerteufel nicht untätig. Es haben sich zwei Fehler eingeschlichen, auf die ich gerne hinweisen möchte.

Es heißt zwar „Fehler sind menschlich“, ich hatte aber vor, keine zu begehen, und es macht mich unglücklich, diese begangen zu haben. Aber man sagt ja auch, dass man aus Fehlern lernt, was ich natürlich beherzigen will, und ich verspreche, in Zukunft diese nicht zu begehen.

Bitte verzeiht mir diese Fehler …

Ich schrieb an einer Stelle von Matsumura Sōkon. Die Übersetzung müsste richtig heißen:

„Sie besaßen einen starken Körperbau und waren von äußerst guter Kondition sowie außergewöhnlicher Körperkraft. Sie studierten bei dem ehrwürdigen Matsumura, dem großen Meister des Karate-dō und dem einzigen Meister in unserer Präfektur [Okinawa], und meisterten das letzte Geheimnis des Karate.“

Sowie die Fußnote 30, wo es richtig heißen müsste:

„Tatsächlich kam er am 25. März 1927 auf Hawai‘i an.“