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THE HISTORY OF JAPAN KARATE-DO RYOBU-KAI |
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Written by Howard S. High |
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Sunday, 01 October 2006 |
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The Enduring Legacy of
Yasuhiro Konishi
By Howard S. High
While major corporations around the
world are in a frenzy to merge, karate
organizations have a tendency to split
and create factions. However, there is
one organization that is still a single
entity without factionalization. This
organization is the Japan Karate-Do
Ryobu-Kai, founded by Yasuhiro Konishi.
Though Ryobu-Kai is one of the first six
original systems officially recognized
in Japan, it has been relatively unknown
until recent years. The organization
grew slowly, ensuring the strict control
of the tradition , but is today
experiencing a major growth spurt.
Under the leadership of the Soke,
Yasuhiro (Takehiro) Konishi, the
overseas chief instructor, Kiyoshi
Yamazaki, is charged with the
development of Ryobu-Kai worldwide.
Thanks to the Internet, this task has
become easier. There are now videos
about Ryobu-Kai to help new members, and
the general public, learn about the
organization. These videos contain the
katas and techniques that are taught in
Ryobu-Kai. There is also a two-volume
set that covers the history of Ryobu-Kai
and its relation to Japanese karate.
Having a video produced about Ryobu-Kai
was not easy at first. Being a
relatively unknown organization, the
producer of a major martial arts video
company was reluctant to work with us.
However, during the process of
researching the history of karate for
other major karate styles videos, the
producer discovered that Yasuhiro
Konishi, the founder of Ryobu-Kai, was
an important figure in the development
of karate in Japan. Everywhere he
looked, Konishi Sensei's name popped up.
The producer spoke with many prominent
karate teachers who confirmed the
important role that Konishi Sensei
played in karate's development. After
this, the producer approached us asking
permission to create a video about Ryobu-Kai.
The video was eventually made followed
by another, which detailed the critical
role Konishi Sensei played in the
development of Shotokan.
THE STYLE - SHINDO JINEN RYU
Many people think the style practiced in
Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai is Shotokan.
Others think its Shito Ryu. In a way,
they are both correct. Konishi Sensei
studied under the founders of both
systems; therefore, the curriculum of
Shindo Jinen Ryu includes kata from both
systems. However, there are subtle
differences from the versions practiced
in the other styles. Many of these
differences include applications other
than those that are normally taught in
Shotokan or Shito Ryu. For example,
Ryobu-Kai's Gojushiho Sho has a soft
wrist-block just before the triple "spearhand"
techniques. Such technique is not found
in Shotokan. However, as Ryobu-Kai
becomes more popular, many Shotokan
practitioners are adopting many of the
Ryobu-Kai techniques.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER: YASUHIRO
KONISHI
 Yasuhiro
Konishi was born in 1893 in Takamatsu,
Kagawa, Japan. Konishi Sensei began his
martial arts training at age 6 in Muso
Ryu Jujitsu. When he entered the
equivalent of a western high school, he
began training in Takenouchi Ryu
jujitsu. This particular jujitsu style
is known for its strong kicks and
punches, very similar to karate. At age
13, Konishi Sensei began studying kendo
as well. In 1915, he commenced studies
at Keio University in Tokyo. While the
average tenure at a university is four
years, Konishi Sensei remained at Keio
University for eight years because of
his love for kendo and jujitsu. He was
Keio University's kendo team captain and
continued coaching the university's
kendo club after his graduation.
Konishi Sensei's first exposure to "Te"
(which later developed into karate) was
through a fellow classmate at Keio
University, Tsuneshige Arakaki of
Okinawa. Konishi Sensei found the
techniques of "Te" (as referred to by
Arakaki) very similar to those of
Takeuchi Ryu jujitsu. Though Arakaki was
in no way a master of "Te", Konishi
Sensei found the system to be very
intriguing.
After graduating from the University, he
became a salary man ; however, he was
not completely satisfied with his
occupation. With encouragement from his
wife, he quit his job and opened his own
martial arts center in 1923 and called
it the Ryobu-Kan ("The House of Martial
Arts Excellence") . Here he taught
mainly kendo and jujitsu.
In September 1924, Hironishi Ohtsuka,
the founder of the Wado-Ryu style of
karate, and Gichin Funakoshi, the
founder of Shotokan karate, came to the
kendo training hall at Keio University.
They approached Konishi Sensei with a
letter of introduction from Professor
Kasuya of Keio University. Mr. Funakoshi
asked if it would be possible to use the
training hall to practice Ryukyu Kempo
To-te jutsu. During this era, it was
unheard of for one martial arts school
to allow a martial arts teacher from
another system to teach in their dojo.
Such a request would be considered a
"challenge" to the dojo. Konishi Sensei,
however, was a visionary in the sense
that he saw value in cross-training . He
remembered the kata demonstrated during
his university days by Arakaki and he
agreed to Funakoshi Sensei's request.
 With
Konishi Sensei's help, Funakoshi
established a To-te practice club at
Keio University (the first university
karate club in Japan). Konishi Sensei,
Funakoshi Sensei, and Ohtsuka Sensei
were the principal instructors. Konishi
Sensei continued to instruct a
curriculum consisting of kendo, jujitsu,
and western boxing at the Ryobu-Kan.
Karate-jutsu was born when Funakoshi
Sensei added karate to this mix. As yet,
no names were applied to the emerging
styles.
Groups that practiced a pure form of
jujitsu did not think highly of karate,
and challenged Funakoshi Sensei.
However, under Japanese budo, one does
not initially challenge the Master of a
particular school or style. A challenge
is first issued to the senior student.
If the challenger defeats the senior
student, then he can challenge the
Master. If the challenger defeats the
Master, he can take the dojo sign as a
trophy - a very embarrassing situation
for the defeated dojo and one never
experienced by Ryobu-Kan. All
challengers of karate were defeated by
Konishi Sensei and Ohtsuka Sensei as
Funakoshi's senior students.
After a challenge had been met,
Funakoshi Sensei would explain karate-jutsu,
and highlight the mental and spiritual
benefits of the style. Many listeners
understood and agreed to the point that
they switched styles to study karate.
During this time, there was an ongoing
philosophical debate among martial
artists as to the definition of budo.
Some believed budo required the death of
the opponent . Others believed budo
meant supporting or educating the
opponent in the proper ways. Funakoshi
Sensei always taught budo as technique
and education. Konishi Sensei especially
believed "Bu bun ryo do", translated as
"For karate to be perfect, it cannot be
just technique, but also education." As
technique disciplines the body,
education should discipline the mind.
Thus Konishi Sensei believed that Budo
involves educating the opponent.
Over time, three major changes occurred
in Funakoshi's original karate
teachings. First, because karate was
introduced to the Japanese physical
education program at the elementary
school level, Funakoshi Sensei assigned
Japanese names to replace the Okinawan
names of the various katas, making
karate easier to learn.
The second change was the addition of
ippon kumite to karate training. At
first, karate training was primarily the
practice of kata. Konishi Sensei
contended that training in kata alone
was not sufficient to develop the whole
person. Other forms of "Do", such as
kendo and Judo, had training methods
that included application of techniques
with partners. Konishi Sensei and
Ohtsuka Sensei added Ippon Kumite to the
training regimen.
The third major change occurred in the
kanji of "karate". The original kanji
used to write "karate" meant "Chinese
hand", indicating the source of the
techniques. In 1929, teachers and
students in the Keio University's Karate
Research Group discussed the translation
of the kanji for karate, and agreed to
change the kanji of "karate" to mean
"Empty Hand". They contend that this new
kanji was a better representation of
what karate had developed into. This
change was adopted over the protests of
many Okinawans, but remains the accepted
translation to this day.
Karate gradually became more popular and
many masters from Okinawa began to visit
Japan. Because of Konishi Sensei's
open-mindedness, many well-known budokas
visited Ryobu-Kan during this era,
exchanging techniques. Among them were:
Kenwa Mabuni (founder of Shito-Ryu
Karate), Chojun Miyagi (founder of
Goju-Ryu Karate), and Choki Motobu.
These three masters influenced Konishi
Sensei in various ways and made
definitive contributions to Konishi
Sensei's emerging style.
Konishi Sensei considered Choki Motobu
to be a martial arts genius and made
every effort to train with him. Motobu
Sensei's specialty was the Naifanchin
kata. As a teacher, he knew many katas,
but would only teach them when his
student had mastered Naifanchin. Through
training in this kata he became famous
for scooping his opponent's leg.
Although physically a big man, Mr.
Motobu was very light on his feet, which
may be the reason why he was so
successful in challenging other martial
artists to kumite. His teaching to
Konishi Sensei emphasized footwork and
the use of Ki. Motobu Sensei didn't
speak Japanese very well and relied on
friends to translate for him when he
taught. He was not wealthy and had
difficulty supporting himself during his
visits to Japan. Konishi Sensei
organized the Choki Motobu Support
Society and arranged for seminars and
training sessions at which Motobu Sensei
was able to collect fees. Konishi Sensei
accompanied Motobu Sensei to many
training sessions in order to assist him
in explaining the concepts and
techniques of karate.
Chojun Miyagi by all accounts did not
talk very much. He was famous for his
big hands and his teisho uchi (palm
strike), and was noted for grabbing and
pulling very strongly. Though Konishi
Sensei did not train with Miyagi Sensei
as much as with other karate masters,
Miyagi Sensei did impact Konishi
Sensei's knowledge of karate by
presenting Konishi Sensei with an
original manuscript, An Outline of
Karate-Do, dated March 23, 1934. This
document has only recently been
translated into English and is now
available world-wide.
Konishi Sensei also trained extensively
with Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of
Shito-Ryu. Mabuni Sensei resided at
Konishi Sensei's house for about ten
months from 1927-28. They became very
close friends. Mabuni Sensei was
celebrated for the wide number of kata
that he knew and performed with great
elegance and calm. Konishi Sensei
developed the kata Seiryu in
collaboration with Mabuni Sensei.
THE FORMAL ACCEPTANCE OF KARATE
IN JAPAN
The Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai, the Japanese
governing body for budo, was politically
very strong. They set the standards for
ranking individual martial artists and
signed all certificates of membership.
Konishi Sensei was already a member
through kendo and jujitsu. He felt that
karate would be effective in the
education of the Japanese people so he
applied to the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai for
recognition of karate. Through 1934,
however, the government continued to
award titles in jujitsu and judo, but
not in karate.
Finally, in 1935, the Dai Nippon Butoku-Kai
recognized karate as a member and
awarded Kyoshi ("Master Instructor")
rankings to Yasuhiro Konishi, Chojun
Miyagi, and Ueshima Sannosuke (the
founder of Kushin Ryu). The Dai Nippon
Butoku-Kai also insisted that all budo
have style names. Konishi Sensei
encouraged the prominent karate
instructors of that time to name their
individual styles. Because of his
diligent efforts to advance karate in
Japan, as well as his high level of
skill in karate, Konishi Sensei was
assigned in 1938 as the chairman of the
screening committee of the Dai Nippon
Butoku-Kai that reviewed all licensing
applications in karate jutsu.
THE NAMING OF SHINDO JINEN RYU
Konishi Sensei believed that if you walk
a morally correct path in this life,
then you are naturally following the
divine way. If you train in karate in a
natural way and master your body, you
will expand your knowledge and
experience, and establish a solid
foundation for naturally living a
morally correct life. And so his style,
on the recommendation of Morihei Ueshiba
(the founder of Aikido), came to be
Shindo Jinen-Ryu Karate-Jutsu ("godly,
natural style, complete empty-handed
way").
Miyagi Sensei named his style Goju-Ryu,
as it blended hard and soft techniques.
Mabuni Sensei studied under both
Yasutsune Itosu and Kanryo Higashionna (Okinawan
masters of To-te), and named his style
Shito-Ryu, combining the first kanji
from each of their names. For Hironishi
Ohtsuka, the study of budo places one in
harmony ("wa") with the universe; his
style became known as Wado-Ryu. Ueshima
Sensei based Kushin-Ryu ("Sky-Heart") on
the idea of the universe and person as
center and in harmony. And students
convinced Funakoshi Sensei to name his
style Shotokan: Shoto, meaning "Pine
Waves", was Funakoshi's pen name.
THE INFLUENCE OF MORIHEI UESHIBA
Konishi Sensei and his wife also studied
under Morihei Ueshiba, who was still
teaching Daito Ryu Aikijujitsu at that
time. Konishi Sensei considered Ueshiba
Sensei the best martial artist he had
ever known. Konishi Sensei carried this
opinion throughout his lifetime. Having
already trained in karate for a number
of years, Konishi Sensei demonstrated
the kata Heian Nidan (which he learned
from Funakoshi Sensei) to Ueshiba
Sensei. However, Ueshiba Sensei remarked
that Konishi Sensei should drop such
nonsense for such techniques are
ineffective. This comment came as a
blow, since Konishi Sensei believed in
karate yet held Ueshiba Sensei's
opinions in the highest regard. Konishi
Sensei felt that karate still had much
value and that he had the responsibility
to develop it. Thus, he requested that
he be allowed to continue training in
karate, intending to develop the
techniques so that it would be
acceptable to the great teacher.
After many months of research and
training, Konishi Sensei developed a
kata called Tai Sabaki (Body Movement).
He based this kata on karate, but
incorporated principles found in the
teachings of Ueshiba Sensei. Though the
new kata did not contain any complex
movements, it consisted of a chain of
actions, with no pause after each
action. After the demonstration of this
kata by Konishi Sensei, Ueshiba Sensei
remarked that, "The demonstration you
did just now was satisfactory to me, and
that kata is worth mastering." Later,
Konishi Sensei developed two other kata
based on the principles of Tai Sabaki.
The three katas became known as Tai
Sabaki Shodan, Tai Sabaki Nidan, and Tai
Sabaki Sandan. |
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SEIRYU
In about 1935,
Konishi Sensei developed another kata -
Seiryu. During this period, Konishi
Sensei, Ueshiba Sensei, Mabuni Sensei,
and Ohtsuka Sensei were training
together almost daily. At this time, the
Japanese government was largely
controlled by top officers of the
Imperial Army. Konishi Sensei was asked
by the commanding general of the
Japanese Army to develop women's
self-defense techniques. His first step
in fulfilling the Army's request was to
ask Mabuni Sensei to help him develop
standardized training methods, to help
the students remember the techniques.
Together, they
developed a karate kata that
incorporated the essence of both their
styles. As they worked to finalize the
kata, they shared it with Ueshiba
Sensei, who approved some sections, but
advised certain changes. Ueshiba Sensei
strongly felt that the kata should be
modified based on the gender of the
practitioner, because of the need to
protect very different sensitive areas.
Also a woman's training was normally
executed from a natural (higher) stance.
Another factor which greatly influenced
the kata was the female position in
Japanese society. At the time, a woman's
life was defined by cultural customs,
though both sexes wore kimono and used
geta. All these factors were considered
in the process of developing the kata.
As a result of
the collaboration between three great
masters, the Seiryu kata, contained the
essence of both aikido and jujitsu,
going with the force instead of directly
opposing an opponent's attack. Ryu means
willow in English, and just like a
willow will bend with the wind, so
should the martial artist practicing
this kata. The term also implies great
strength, for the willow does not break
under the force of the wind. The kanji
for this kata may also be pronounced
aoyagi.
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WWII and After
When World War
II started, many karateka left to fight
for their country, and further
development of karate as art was
stymied. In 1945, with the return of the
country's male population, karate and
budo were developed and introduced into
the public education system. Karate had
thus become a way of life in Japan.
While Funakoshi Sensei concentrated his
teaching efforts in Japanese schools,
Konishi Sensei was more often found in a
business, teaching employees. While both
arenas may seem unusual to the Western
mind accustomed to football and rising
medical/worker's compensation insurance,
their efforts were highly respected and
very practically arranged, since it
prevented open competition between them.
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JAPAN KARATE-DO RYOBU-KAI TODAY
After the
death of Konishi Sensei in 1983,
authority for the organization was
passed to his son, Yasuhiro (Takehiro)
Konishi, 10th Dan.. Takehiro Konishi
changed his name to Yasuhiro Konishi
after his father's death. He was born on
May 25, 1931, in Tokyo, Japan. He
graduated from Keio University in March
1955. He oversees the operations of all
the Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai schools in
Japan, and continues to guide the
policies and philosophy of Shindo Jinen
Ryu.
Today, the international growth of the
Japan Karate-Do yobu-Kai is entrusted to
the current International Chief
Instructor, Kiyoshi
Yamazaki, 8th Dan, based in Anaheim,
California. He is also a member of the
World Karate Federation's Technical
Committee, Chairman of the Pan-American
Karate Federation's Technical Committee,
and the Chairman of the USA National
Karate-do Federation's Technical
Committee.
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