Saturday, September 16, 2023

The biography of Grand Master Tatsuo Shimabuku

 


Eduardo L Gonzalez

 

Below presented the biography of gm tatsuo shimabuku translated from information supplied by Sensei Andy Sloane as part of spreading the history of style reliably.


Shinkichi Shimabuku (UK) was born on September 19, 1908 at the villa gushikawa of the city of gushikawa (today in the city of uruma) Okinawa.


His parents were ura and ship shimabuku. He was the greatest of 10 children of a family of farmers.


Starting at the early age of 13 years (1921) he becomes an apprentice of guesser (Sanjinso) being his maternal uncle shinko ganeko his master.


The last one was a main school in the city of ishinkawa (today part of the city of uruma) and lived in the neighborhood of the villa de agena. In Addition to this training his uncle also taught him a kind of rudimentary martial art that he sometime learned in China. This is how the young shimabuku was informally introduced to martial arts.


Shimabuku's formal training began at approximately the age of 16 (1924) when for a short time I train with choyu motobu (1857-1928) distinguished heir of the motobu family and the art of the motobu family (motobu udundi) At The Karate Kenkyuukai (Research Club) in wakasa, naha city.


In January 1927 at the age of 18, shimabuku was case with uto oki and that union were born 5 Children:

Haruko (1927-1960), Matsuko (1934), Yukiko (1937), Kiichirō (1939) and Shinso (1942-2004)

In the same year of his marriage, the maternal uncle of shimabuku, introduced him to the famous master chotoku kyan (1870-1945), known as chan migwa in The Okinawan dialect. Kyan Karate, known today as shorin Ryu, had the main influence of tomari-te and a bit of shuri-te.


Shimabuku training in the house of kyan at villa makibaru in the village of yomitan, right on the other side of the river daughter of the village of kadena, until 1939 When shimabuku is relocalizo for work in davao city in the Philippines. Shimabuku back to Okinawa in mid-1941 and finals


From 1942 I train briefly at the nishi dojo in the city of naha of the renowned choki motobu (1871-1944) which in turn was the younger brother of choyu motobu.


With the purpose of being able to support his big family, he is re-located in Osaka (Japan) as a security guard until 1944.


With the money that won in Japan, on his return to Okinawa, Shimabuku invested, in horses, cars and properties in the villa kyan. City of gushikawa.

For this time, Japan had determined that a full-scale attack on the main islands was inevitable, with a high probability of an invasion


In advance to Okinawa so the Japanese Royal Navy creates the boetai (workforce of civilians). Shimabuku was part of this force and were forced To build and strengthen kadena air base as part of the Okinawa defense. When EU decides to bomb Okinawa for the first time in October 10


1944, air bases were destroyed and shimabuku stayed practically without a penny. Like many other okinawans,  shimabuku and his family


They were evacuated shortly after, towards takahuru, Miyazaki Prefecture in kyushu.


Consequently, shimabuku and his family were the lucky ones not to go through the atrocities of the battle of Okinawa that hard 82 days during the Spring and summer following. The Shimabuku family was eventually repatriated to a war-torn Okinawa at the end of 1946.

After returning to his homeland, tatsuo began to earn a living running bo's kata. In Weddings and festivals, serving as a lucky fortune lucky
And working as a tax collector in the villa of kyan. He also started teaching karate publicly for the first time. Chotoku Kyan who was his Most influential master, never actually gave him a name in the style he taught, for such reason all the students of kyan called him for the Interpretation of his karate in different ways. Initially Shimabuku name what the taught chan miguwa-Te (hand of small eyes of kyan).

At the age of 38 (1947) the little time he began to teach, shimabuku was put the male name of "Tatsuo" (Dragon man) with whom he met Around the world and development his own personal Kata, which I call sun nu his (later shortened to sunsu). Additionally for this time, shimabuku He had the opportunity to train briefly with chōjin miyagi (1888-1953), when miyagi visited his daughter in the neighborhood of the villa de taba, and was Then when shimabuku adds elements-Ryu elements to his repertoire.

Shimabuku had his own ideas on karate and not all the time he agree with his teachers. For 1948 he began to unite the two styles

 

He practiced and renames his art like san nu su-te for his personal kata. The innovative style of shimabuku takes a higher position to facilitate A better balance and ease of mobilization. Getting out of the routine of other styles, also adopt the vertical puno and blocks with the muscles of Forearm. He also felt that a puno without rotation at the end, not only was stronger, but also faster and to block with all the forearm It was more advantageous in a real app. He also modified the kata of kyan and miyagi to fit in their vision and in a more direct way of defense personal.

Early in 1950 the style of shimabuku included the kata of hands-Empty: Seisan, seiuchin, naihanchi, wansu, chinto, kusanku, san nu su and sanchin.


Kata of weapons would include tokumine nu kun, kyan nu sai, a short kata of sai that shimabuku development with the basic techniques of sai inlets to the Happy birthday. Shimabuku also held the bubishi (Chinese martial arts text)

 

The Kempo Haku (8 philosophical poems related to combat) and with A high consideration is happening to your students like gokui (Essential principles). Ditching the typical basic kata for novices, shimabuku opt For a group of 30 exercises of the upper and lower part of the body known as kihon (basic blows, fists, blocks, kicks, stretching and Exercises as a way to teach the principles of your style to beginners. A encoded series of Personal Defense (Kumite), hit as practice A Solid Post (Makiwara) and forearm conditioning training (Kotekitai) were part of the curriculum. Time after shimabuku creates a Second Kata of sai-Kusanku Sai-that eventually replaces the practice of kyan no sai.

In January 15, 1956, after a lot of consideration, shimabuku announces to its students that their karate from there will be known as isshinryu (One-heart style). His style, a representation of all the martial arts traditions of Okinawa-will soon be extremely popular in the American sailors stationed in Okinawa. By the end of 1957 shimabuku acquires a contract with the Marine Corps (Marine Corps) to teach them Karate to the sailors as an activity outside working hours with the purpose of establishing friendship and understanding between the two nations, which He makes his dojo of the villa of kyan to agena to be closer to the bases of the marine bodies for that time.

From 1959 to 1960 shimabuku continued and improved his training in weapons with the illustrious Master Shinken Taira (1897-1970) and after leaving his mark


Special Shimabuku adds the chata yara nu sai, urashi nu kun, shishi nu kun and hamahiga nu tuifa to his resume.

Shimabuku visited the United States on two occasions (1964 and 1966) and was amazed by how his creation had taken roots in the EU thanks to his Marine students. He retired from active teaching in 1971 and allowed his older son, kiichirō to become the second soke (main exponent)


The style of isshinryu. Tatsuo Shimabuku-the dragon of isshinryu-died of a vascular brain accident on may 30, 1975 at the age of 66 years later


From having gone through a short period of disease.

 




 

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