INTERNATIONAL SHURIWAY KARATE & KOBUDO SOCIETY

KOBUDO EARLY HISTORY

The ancient martial arts of the Ryukyu Islands consist of Te, the way of the empty hand and Ryukyu Kobujutsu or just Kobudo, the way of weapons.

The Ryukyu Kobujutsu appeared in history approximately 700 years ago. It is said that it was the use of weapons in the periods of heroes holding grand. Most Kata of Weapons remaining now are footprints of old masters approximately 200-400 years ago. With the prosperity of Kobujutsu many grand masters appeared in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. As time went on however, the lack of instructors and people to carry on the tradition caused the decay of Ryukyu Kobujutsu, at one time it faced the prospect of dying out all together.

In the Taisho era some masters who were deeply worried about the situation made great efforts to restore and promote Ryukyu Kobujutsu. One practitioner who stands out in history is the late Master Shinken Taira. He was a disciple of Yabiku Moden Sensei and compiled and authenticated 42 Weapons kata, which consist of eight kinds of weapon.

This knowledge of the kata was taught to and passed onto the late master Motokatsu Inoue who was the highest direct disciple of Master Shinken Taira.

Courtesy of RKAGB

Taira Shinken

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