Mission Statement
The United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance is an organization formed to bring
sincere Martial Artists together in brotherhood.
A group of Martial Artists who believe in the traditional concept of
One Heart, One Mind and One Spirit who uplift each other with pride in friendship.
An Alliance of Karateka who unite together to represent and promote
all that is good in traditional karate.
Allan Amor
United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance Head Instructor
Ryukyu Kempo History
Karate has a long and storied history. It originated as an indigenous art developed on the Ryukyu Islands known as Te. It further developed with influences from China.
The following masters all helped shape the Ryukyu Kempo that we practice today.
Takahara Peichin (1683-1760)
Takahara was a warrior and a scholar. The surname “Peichin” is actually a class title in the ancient Ryukyu caste system that means “scholar official”. The Peichin class enforced the laws and performed military defense. It is this class that is credited with creating “te”, the forerunner of karate that we practice today.
Takahara is said to be the first to define the principles of Do, or “the way”. These principles are: ijo, katsu, and fo. Ijo is the way of compassion and love. Katsu is the understanding of techniques and kata. Fo is the perseverance and seriousness in study, not only for practice but use on the battlefield. These concepts are reflected in our Guiding Principles and Dojo Kun precepts.
Takahara was an instructor to one of karate’s important figures: Tode Sakugawa.
Kusanku (circa 1733 – 1815)
Kusanku was a Chinese ambassador that lived for a time on Okinawa. Stories vary on how he arrived on the island. Some stories say he was sent as an envoy and others say that he was the survivor of a shipwreck. Regardless of how he arrived, he was a Chinese martial artist with training in the Chinese art of ch’uan fa, also known as “kempo” or fist way.
In 1761, he demonstrated his punching, kicking, blocking and grappling skills to an excited public on Okinawa. He returned several times over the years to teach his martial arts methods. His efforts helped influence the art that we know today as karate.
Like Takahara, Kusanku was an instructor to Tode Sakugawa.
Karate Do “Empty Hand Way” “Kara” can mean empty, as in “without weapons”, but also “endless” or “vast” so that the hand has unlimited ways to offer protection.
“Do” signifies a guide which provides a path to a full and meaningful life.
Tode Sakugawa (1733 – 1815)
Tode Sakugawa was known in his youth as Kanga Sakugawa. He was an Okinawan martial artist and greatly contributed to the evolution of karate, or “Tode”, as it was known at the time. He studied under at least two separate masters: Takahara Peichin and Kusanku.
Oral tradition describes Sakugawa as a mischievous youth. One story relates that he was walking near a river one day when he saw an older Chinese gentleman gazing in the water. As a prank, he went to push the gentleman into the river and instead was grabbed by that man in an iron grip. This man turned out to be the Chinese martial artist Kusanku. Kusanku chastised the youth but then offered to instruct him further in the martial arts. Sakugawa consulted with his instructor at the time, Takahara, who encouraged him to learn from the Chinese master.
Sakugawa’s dedication and expertise lead to his nickname: “Tode” Sakugawa. “Tode” is the term used to describe the art of karate prior to the 20th Century. The Japanese characters (kanji) used to spell “tode” indicate its Chinese influences and can also be pronounced as “karate”.
Tode Sakugawa was an instructor of Sokon Matsumura.
The Dojo Kun used by our Alliance originated with Sakugawa
and several of our kobudo forms also bear his name. After his instructor Kusanku passed away, Sakugawa created the “Kusanku” kata in his honor.
This is the Kusanku kata that we practice in the Alliance today!
Sokon Matsumura (circa 1797 - 1889)
Matsumura was born in Shuri, Okinawa and became a student of Tode Sakugawa when Sakugawa was around 78 years old. Sakugawa agreed to teach Matsumura at the behest of his Matsumura’s father.
Matsumura was known as Bushi Matsumura later in life. While “Bushi” translates to warrior, there is more to it than that. Bushi are figures of great respect. They are people that other people can count on for assistance. They are well-cultured, educated, and people of good character.
Bushi Matsumura became the instructor and bodyguard of three different Ryukyu kings. He also was the instructor of Choyu Motobu, Anko Itosu, and Kentsu Yabu.
Tode / Karate
“Chinese Hand”
Karate was originally written using these characters. The first character acknowledged the
Chinese influence on the development of karate. This was altered in 1936 to
(karate) after a meeting of masters in Okinawa.
Anko Itosu (1830 – 1915)
Itosu studied under Bushi Matsumura at an early age. He was educated in Japanese and Chinese classics, making him a valuable member of the Royal Ryukyu government. He served the Ryukyuan king in the capacity of a scribe until 1885.
Itosu was noted for his great physical strength and ability to withstand blows. His strength and ability lasted even into his later years. At the age of 75 he fought and won an arranged match with a judoka policeman, roughly 30 years his junior. In spite of this match, he stressed that karate was not for sport and should only be used to protect lives.
Itosu is credited with being the first person to teach karate publicly. Prior to its incorporation into the school system, karate was only taught in secret. He was instrumental in bringing karate to schools in the early 1900s. Part of his efforts included the creation of the Pinan kata to ease student learning. These kata were derived from two older and longer kata: Kusanku and Channan.
Anko Itosu was the senior student under Bushi Matsumura. He was effectively the instructor to fellow Matsumura students Chomo Hanashiro and Kentsu Yabu. He also instructed Choyu Motobu and Shigeru Nakamura.
Shinkichi Kuniyoshi (1848 - 1926)
Kuniyoshi was known as “Bushi Kunishi” and was an expert horseman. He was renowned for his great physical strength. He lived in Naha Kumoji and later moved to Nago at the age of 60 where he became an instructor to Shigeru Nakamura.
Kuniyoshi’s legacy lives on through the Niseishi and Tomari Seisan kata, and the
Kuniyoshi no Sai kobudo kata that we practice in the Alliance.
Uhugushiku no Tan Mei (circa 1850-1951)
Uhugushiku was a descendant of Kenyu Uhugushiku. Kenyu was a Bushi from ancient times that displayed clever strategy when he captured a castle at the request of a Ryukyuan king. He received the nickname “Uni Uhugushiku” for this display of cleverness.
After World War II, Uhugushiku no Tan Mei lived in Teruma village. A tall man, he was one of the few people at the time that still wore a Bushi’s top knot. This sign of rank was something that was abolished by Japan in the early 1870s, not long before the Ryukyu Kingdom was dissolved. He was nicknamed “Kampu Tan Mei” which means Top Knot Old Man. Note that the “Tan Mei” portion of his name is a deeply respectful way to say “old man” in the Okinawan dialect.
It was on the beaches near Teruma that Seiyu Oyata first encountered Uhugushiku fishing. Through persistence and perseverance, Oyata became endeared to Uhugushiku who taught him his family art. Uhugushiku taught Oyata through life lessons and pushed him to see deeper into the arts. Uhugushiku introduced his best friend, Wakinaguri, to Oyata.
Uhugushiku granted Oyata his family’s Menkyo Kaiden document and family stone signature seal. The document made Oyata the successor to Uhugushiku’s family art.
Wakinaguri no Tan Mei (circa 1850-1953)
Like his life-long friend Uhugushiku, Wakinaguri was a Bushi and old man at the close of World War II. He was a sixth generation descendant of Chinese that had immigrated to Okinawa. He lived in Kadena and was a Kakurei Bushi or “Hidden Warrior”. Even when others taught their art publicly, Kakurei Bushi did not show or teach their arts outside of their family.
Wakinaguri was a large and heavy set person, known for his skills in kyusho jitsu or “striking point arts”. He would not accept just anyone as a student and tested Seiyu Oyata’s perseverance and character (much like Uhugushiku did). He instructed Oyata on techniques that specialized in nerve and blood vessel strikes.
Both he and Uhugushiku stressed the concepts of “dirty hand” and “clean hand”. Physical training hones the ability of the “dirty hand”, that is, techniques used for hurting people. Performing community service for the betterment of society cultivates the “clean hand”. When we assist our fellow man we are developing our “clean hand”.
Kenstu Yabu (1860 – 1937)
Kentsu Yabu was a karate master widely renowned for his fighting ability. He served Japan in the first Sino-Japanese war in 1894-1895. During his time in the military, he achieved the rank of lieutenant. This was a considerable achievement and attests to Yabu’s abilities, especially given the disdain the Japanese felt towards Okinawans at this time. After the war, his students referred to him as gunso, or “Sergeant”.
His fighting ability was unparalleled. He fought an arranged match with the well-known Choki Motobu and was one of the few men to best him. He fought many matches without a loss and without injuring his opponents.
Like Anko Itosu, he felt that karate was not a sport or something that should be done to win awards. He also helped Itosu teach karate in the public school system in Okinawa.
Yabu was a stickler for the basics. He introduced into karate some of the militaristic discipline he learned from his experiences as an army officer. We attribute the lining up in rows and by rank, responding by the numbers, bowing in and out of class, and the opening and closing class formalities all to Yabu. Yabu served as one of the instructors to Shigeru Nakamura.
Bun Bu Ryo Do
“The two paths of physical and mental study” Many Okinawan Bushi (warriors) were skilled in
empty-hand and weapons methods, along with arts, literature, poetry, and music.
Chomo Hanashiro (1869 –1945)
Chomo Hanashiro started his training at an early age and was a student of Sokon Matsumura, taking much of his direction from Matsumura’s senior student Anko Itosu. Along with Kentsu Yabu and Itosu, he helped bring karate to the public school system in the early 1900s.
Hanashiro is credited with introducing the Japanese characters (kanji) that we use today to represent karate. Prior to this, karate included kanji that reflected the Chinese influence on the art. Hanashiro along with several other Masters met in 1936 and adopted the term karate “empty hand” over the previous term tode “Chinese hand”.
Like Kentsu Yabu, he was concerned about the modernization of karate and saw it being changed into a sport on the Japanese mainland. He stressed that karate was for the protection of life and warned that kata should not be altered from their original forms. Hanashiro was one of the instructors to Shigeru Nakamura.
Choyu Motobu (1857 – 1928)
Choyu Motobu was born into a noble family. He was the first born son of an Aji, or Lord, and descended from a Ryukyu King. As the first born son, he was privileged to receive an education and to learn the family art of Motobu Udun Te from his father. Also known as go-ten-te (“palace hand”), this was a secret art form reserved for the royal family and the inheritor of the Motobu family. Motobu succeeded Bushi Matsumura as guardian and instructor to the Ryukyu king.
Due in part to the dissolution of the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879 and its effect on his family, Choyu broke with tradition and taught someone outside of his family his family’s art. That student was Seikichi Uehara who was a training partner of Seiyu Oyata. Motobu’s intent was to transmit the art through Uehara to his son who had moved to the
Japanese mainland.
Tales tell that his younger brother Choki once pit the skills he picked up from street fighting against his older brother. Choyu was able to control Choki with little effort, having superior technique. He was one of the few people able to best Choki in a match.
Ryukyu Kempo
“Fist way of the Ryukyu people”
The style of karate that was introduced to the United States by Seiyu Oyata.
Choki Motobu (1870 – 1944)
Like his brother, Choki Motobu was born into a noble family. Choki was the third son and due to the traditions at the time did not receive the same education or opportunities that his brother had. He was not formally taught the family art. Instead, he learned by observing others in secret and by training himself on the makiwara.
Motobu was somewhat of a controversial figure. In his youth, he instigated fights to put his skills to the test on the street and to learn. He gave his frank opinions of other practitioners and teachers. Many instructors refused to teach him due to his impetuous spirit.
In spite of this, Motobu was instrumental in introducing karate to the world for a couple of reasons. In the early 1920s Motobu was living in Osaka. It was here that a foreign born boxer was challenging and dispatching the local judoka and jiujitsu experts. Motobu agreed to fight the boxer and knocked him out after a few rounds with a blow to the head. A description of the bout was reported in King magazine in 1925. Beyond this, Motobu also authored one of the first books ever written about karate. Entitled “Watashi no Karatejutsu”, this book gives insights on Motobu’s
view of karate.
Motobu’s favorite kata were the Naihanchi. He felt that makiwara training and the Naihanchi were all that one needed to know for self-defense. He also favored jiyu kumite, or free-style sparring.
He was an instructor to Shigeru Nakamura.
Shigeru Nakamura (1891 – 1969)
Founder of Okinawa Kempo, Shigeru Nakamura was a living legend and one of Okinawa's all-time great Karate masters. Shigeru Nakamura was born into a well-established merchant family. The family had comfortable finances and he had the opportunity to commit significant effort to the martial arts.
He was the student of several great Okinawan masters. These masters included Choki Motobu, Anko Itosu, Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro, and Bushi Kunishi.
Nakamura opened his dojo in Nago and initially called his style Okinawa-te. His art included not only empty hand forms, but also emphasized kobudo and jiyu-kumite. He criticized the non-contact fighting that was prevalent in
other arts feeling it was impractical and ineffective. It was Nakamura that developed the bogu fighting and gear that we use today.
He disliked karate being treated as a sport and felt that the true essence would be lost. After World War II and the Battle of Okinawa destroyed his school, he rebuilt and renamed his style Okinawan Kempo. He used this broader term in an effort to unify the disparate styles that were being taught at the time. Many saw Nakamura as the guardian of karate. He was an instructor to Seiyu Oyata.
Seiyu Oyata (1928 - 2012)
Seiyu Oyata studied with many great Masters before immigrating to the United States. Oyata was a student of Shigeru Nakamura from whom he learned the twelve empty hand kata which are taught in Ryukyu Kempo today.
Oyata studied with two other great Masters named Uhugushiku no Tan Mei and Wakinaguri no Tan Mei. These two Bushi passed on the traditions of Ryukyu no Te (Ryukyu Hands) and Ryukyu Kobudo (Ryukyu weapons) to Mr. Oyata.
While Oyata was not the first person to use the name Ryukyu Kempo to describe his teachings, he was the first person to introduce and popularize the term into the world of modern martial arts.
Mr. Oyata went on to further refine his particular methods of Ryukyu Kempo and named his way Oyata Shin Shu Ho which translates as the “Oyata Truthful Hands Method”. Very few people have been certified as representatives of Oyata Shin Shu Ho.
Kaicho Allan Amor (1957 - )
The founder of the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance and one of few people who can truly claim to have been a long term, close personal student of Seiyu Oyata.
Amor Kaicho (Kaicho is a title which translates as “Head of Organization”) believes in teaching Ryukyu Kempo as it was taught to him by Mr. Oyata.
With an approach of “One heart at a time” Amor Kaicho constantly works to build the United Ryukyu Kempo Alliance into an organization of people who work to support each other and grow together through the common study of Ryukyu Kempo Karate.
Nanakorobi Yaoki
“Fall Down Seven Times, Get Up Eight.”
The essence of Dojo Kun Three:
“Cultivate Perseverance or a Will for Striving.”
Keep Striving!