Kategorie: Allgemein

I believe now is the best time to talk about one of my future projects.

Last year, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to interview Higa Kiyohiko Sensei, a Mago-deshi of Hanashiro Chōmo. He shared a great deal of valuable information with us and also allowed me to learn some of Hanashiro Sensei’s kata.

This interview and training have so far served as the foundation for the Jion article and will also be referenced in many future articles.

Of course, it should be clear that the karate of Yabu Kentsū and Hanashiro Chōmo is very similar in many aspects.

The full interview with Higa Kiyohiro will be published in one of the upcoming issues of Toshiya. Additionally, there are plans to discuss it in a future issue of Gekkan Hiden.

Actually, our own research is far from perfect too, and like I said before, I’m always happy to receive feedback and corrections. We try our best and work every day to improve. While we’ve already received positive feedback, we also get corrections and advice for the future, which we gladly accept—always thanking the person for their input.

But if someone messes up—especially in a big way—you can be sure I will publish a correction article as quickly as possible. On one hand, I want to prevent false translations from reaching a large audience, and on the other, I’m not willing to accept any misinformation directed at befriended Dōjō who are trained in the lineages.

If you want to write about Australian carrier pigeons, feel free to do so and write whatever you like… but please stop spreading misinformation about famous karate masters.

THANK YOU!!!

I have been in Japan since January 6, preparing some future projects. Naturally, I am also diligently training in Karate and Okinawa Kobudō.

We spent the first week in Okinawa. This time was originally supposed to be more productive than it turned out. Unfortunately, my wife and I contracted a variant of COVID-19 and had to spend several days in quarantine, unable to leave our hotel room during that time.

Luckily, we recovered just before our flight to Fukuoka and the subsequent train ride to Beppu. There, we had 13 days of Tō’on-ryū training planned. Ikeda Sensei opened his treasure chest and provided us with some previously unknown articles and pictures, which we will use in the upcoming Tō’on-ryū article. During our time in Beppu, we also completed the first draft of the article and submitted it to Ikeda Sensei for review. He gave us some suggestions and improvement ideas.

After 14 days in Beppu, we took the Airport Express Bus to Ōita Airport, then flew to Tōkyō Haneda. From there, we took the train to Ryūgasaki, where we had 5 days of Matayoshi Kobudō training with Hayasaka Sensei. I gained many new insights and had interesting conversations with Hayasaka Sensei during the training-free periods, which led to further insights.

After 6 days in Ryūgasaki, we returned to Tōkyō by train. We had originally planned to attend the „48th Nihon Kobudō Enbu Taikai“ as visitors. However, at very short notice, the BAB publishing house asked if we would be interested in writing an article for Gekkan Hiden magazine — a request we gladly accepted.

On Monday, I visited the Kōdōkan, where I had the opportunity to meet the current curator. On this occasion, I presented the Kōdōkan with my two books on the history of Jiu-Jitsu/Jūdō in Germany.

On Tuesday, we conducted an interview with Koyama Masashi Sensei. This interview will also appear in one of the upcoming issues of Gekkan Hiden and will serve as a source for many future articles. Koyama Sensei is not only a former Kata world champion (Taipei, 1982) but also an excellent researcher who has already published numerous works.

In 1977, he had the opportunity to interview Iraha Chōkō Sensei twice and also learned the Sansērū kata from him. After consulting with Ikeda Sensei, I was able to compare the Beppu Sansērū with the Iraha Sansērū and identified some differences.

Wednesday was a family day at Tokyo DisneySea.

Thursday and Friday were fully dedicated to research. We visited the National Archives and the Yūshūkan Museum at the Yasukuni Shrine, where we gained important insights for a future topic.

Today, Saturday, is dedicated to rest, and tomorrow we will head to the airport in Tōkyō.

Yesterday, it was announced that an article about Tō‘on-ryū will soon appear in the April issue of Gekkan Hiden. The article was introduced as the first part, implying that there will be a second one.

Tō‘on-ryū 4th Generation Sōke – Ikeda Shigehide

The History and Techniques of Tō‘on-ryū – Part One: Kyoda Jūhatsu and Higaonna-ha Kenpō

We were informed about the article very early on and also know the name of the author. However, since the author is not mentioned in the announcement, I will also keep the name to myself for now.

Our own Tō‘on-ryū article is independent of this series and will be published later this year. It will likely delve much deeper into certain aspects of Tō‘on-ryū history.

Of course, I will buy both issues and highly recommend that everyone do the same.

The following article sheds light on the rediscovery of a long-lost photograph and series of articles documenting the 1936 Okinawa Karate Roundtable discussion. It details the historical significance of the event, the challenges of recovering pre-war materials, and the collaborative efforts that brought these treasures back into the public eye, highlighting their impact on modern karate research.

BTW, Merry Christmas 😉

The year is slowly coming to an end. I would therefore like to wish all my fellow karateka a reflective Advent season, a Merry Christmas, and later a Happy New Year for 2025.

We have concluded the year with a total of four articles in Gekkan Hiden magazine (the latest one also in English & Portuguese), and the fifth article is already scheduled for publication on January 14, 2025. I hope that 2025 will be just as exciting and interesting as 2024.

I look forward to sharing more about our plans for 2025 at the end of January.

The monument, erected under the leadership of Nakazato Jōen in 1999, honors the legendary Karate master Kyan Chōtoku. Situated near the Hija River, it marks the area where Nakazato trained under Kyan from 1937 to 1943, before leaving for the Pacific War. Having visited this site in January 2024, I feel it is now the right time to share my translation of the monument’s inscription, which celebrates Kyan’s profound legacy in Okinawan Karate.

I received new books from Japan today… exciting times ahead. In 2025, there will be a detailed report on this. But first, I need to finally finish writing my Tō’on-ryū article.

Currently, there are two translations of Hanashiro’s words into English. Comparing both texts reveals significant differences—not only in the style of translation. Hanashiro addressed his obituary to the heroic spirit of Yabu Kentsû.

However, there are substantial discrepancies in the actual text. In my translation, I blacked out the sentences missing in the other translation to give an idea of how much was actually omitted.

During my recent stay in Okinawa, I observed the Ryū’ei-ryū training led by Sakumoto sensei, which reminded me of stories about Yabu Kentsū’s karate. Yabu emphasized a balance of gentleness (lamb), agility (cat), and strength (tiger) in his teachings.