DOJO STORIES SENSEI Gerardo Balves

Sensei Gerardo Balves

THE OKINAWA KARATE KENKYU KURABU (First Okinawan Karate Technical Research Groups) That's how it started: In 1918, the Karate Kenkyūkai (Karate Research Society, KRS) was created, for which the house of Mabuni Kenwa in Shuri was established as a meeting place. This group is composed solely of Shurite practitioners, counting among its main members: Mabuni Kenwa, Hanashiro Chōmo, Chibana Chōshin, Tokuda Anbun, Ōshiro Chōjo, Gusukuma Shinpan, Tokumura Seitō and Ishigawa Hōkō among others. On the other hand, and a few years later the Karate Kenkyū Kurabu (Karate Research Club, KRC) was founded, this association began to function between the end of 1923 or the beginning of 1924 in Asahigaoka, Naha, and it is in the Wakasa area where the first outdoor practices take place. The members were exclusively from Naha-te, having among its main exponents: Miyagi Chōjun, Kyoda Jūhatsu, Shinzato Jin'an, Madanbashi Keiyō, Shiroma Kōki and some more. Okinawan Karate Kenkyū Kurabu According to the testimony given by Miyagi Chōjun's disciple, Nakaima Genkai (1908-1984), after the death of Miyagi sensei's teacher, Higashionna Kanryō (18531915), he said: "The current study of Karate is stagnant, and it is because there is no light among so much darkness; we are going blind." So in order to get the ball rolling again, Miyagi along with Nakaima visited several seniors in karate

circles for instructions. It is said that Miyagi was very aware of the need to create a participatory research institute and that it be under the perspective and experience of several teachers from different lineages. Of these meetings, it was formalized in March 1925 under the same name of the association that was founded a couple of years earlier, but now with all the outstanding exponents of Okinawa karate, the Okinawa Karate Kenkyū Kurabu (Okinawa Karate Research Club, OKRC). And it also maintains the south of Naha, in the Wakasa area, as a place for meetings and outdoor practices. Obviously that the fundamental purpose is placed in the deep investigation of karate. Miyagi Chōjun (1888-1953) was the leading figure in this association. He and Mabuni Kenwa (1889-1952) were appointed as the responsible instructors, and Motobu Chōyū (1857-1928) acted as its president. The OKRC thus becomes the first official Karate research institute in Okinawa. In 1925, Miyagi Chōjun took out a loan from financiers with his friend Go Kenki (from Hakutsuru Kenpō boxing) as guarantor. The following year (1926) the dōjō at the rear of Mr. Kishimoto's house in Wakasa was completed. The area of the dōjō was about 50 square meters and it also had a garden of about 165 square meters, which was used as an open-air dojo. It was equipped with various practice tools, such as floor makiwaras and hanging makiwaras (sagi-makiwara), stones for strength work (chin-chīshi), stone locks (ishisashi), etc. The first and the fifteenth day of the ancient lunar calendar were fixed for the meetings. At the end of them all the instructors gathered in front of a hanging scroll that represented a "martial deity" (bujin) painted by the master artist Yamada Shinzan. Afterwards, and while drinking awamori, everyone participated in a colloquial karate discussion. Several Okinawan Karate masters participated in this revolutionary organization. The totality of the component is not clear since there are some variations depending on the literature consulted, but the following can be observed (alphabetical order): A certain Tomoyori (police detective) Go Kenki (1887-1940) Gusukuma Shinpan (1890-1954)

Hanashiro Chomo (1869-1945) Kyan Chotoku (1870-1945) Kyoda Juhatsu (1887-1968) Mabuni Kenwa (1889-1952) Miyagi Chojun Motobu Choki (1870-1944) Motobu Chōyū Ōshiro Chōyo (1888-1939) Tabaru Taizo Teruya Kamesuke Yabu Kentsū (1866-1937) In addition, Uehara Seikichi served many times as a donzel (in charge of the tea ceremony), and Nakaima Genkai was accepted to participate as a student. There are also some differences in the officially recognized name, depending on the historian. The following names were found in the various literatures: Okinawan Karate Kurabu Okinawan Karatejutsu Kenkyū Kurabu Okinawan Karate Kenkyū Kurabu Okinawa Karate Kenkyū Kurabu (different script than above) Okinawa Wakasa Kurabu Okinawa no Tī Kenkyū Kurabu Kurabu-gwā (common name) Perhaps there simply was no formal official name. From the beginning, the finances started with a deficit and the club gradually reached the limit of its financial capacity to survive. With the death of Motobu Chōyū as president of the club at the beginning of the Shōwa era, it ended up closing. The exact date of its closure is given between 1927 and 1929. With the inauguration of Okinawa-ken Taiiku Kyōkai (Okinawa Prefectural Physical Education Association) in 1930, the idea of continuing with the OKRC, becoming a branch of the new association, was revived. Assets for this new venture we can mainly count on Yabu Kentsū, Miyagi Chōjun, Ōshiro Chōjo and others. Three years later, in 1933, the Dai Nippon Butokukai became the organization authorized to control martial arts in Japan. And in 1936, the Okinawa-ken Karate-dō Shinkō Kyōkai (The Association for the Promotion of Karate-dō of Okinawa Prefecture) was formed, giving rise to the first great meeting of masters of which there is official evidence, since there were to consolidate to present karate to the new organization of the martial arts of Japan.

Sources; Hawaiian News, 1932; May 7, 1934. Higaonna 2001. Mabouni 2006. Miyagi 1936. Miyagi Takao 1976. Nakaima 1978. Okinawa Times, January 31, 1926. Okinawa Karate Kobudo Jiten 2008. Uchi 1977. Uehara 1992. Yagi 2000.

Gerard Balves 7th Dan Kobayashi-ryu Kyudokan Coordinator of the International Group of Dojos Kyudo Mugen Kyudokan https://www.facebook.com/gerardo.balves