Looking at the kobudo of Shinken Taira - Part 5

Now let us think about the contribution of Shinken Taira had on the Isshinryu of Shimabuku Tatsuo.

When you consider the depth of the Okinawan Kobudo Taira had gathered (certainly not all of Okinawan Kobudo tradition) and consider that most Okinawan karate at that time did not include kobudo training. His efforts to preserve as much as he could find were extensive to say the least.

Taira developed a following in Okinawa and also in Japan, as he was from Okinawa and had lived also in Japan. I maintain those schools of his students were his true legacies.  Now there were karate instructors in Okinawa who did have other kobudo traditions, for example Funakoshi Ginchin used to demonstrate bo at times, those traditions however seemed to have remained private to those schools.

Taira did much more that develop several schools of kobudo students. As he gathered more kobudo traditions, it seems he wanted to share his love of kobudo and would share some forms with other karate instructors on Okinawa.

They were not exactly students for they did not study with him full time. But he worked to share some kobudo forms with them and also developed a way to allow those instructors to develop their own students to become more proficient in handling those weapons by having them take kata their students already knew and use those forms to learn basic handling of the weapons preparing them for the actual kobudo studies. Of course he did not do the same with his own students.

It is now time to turn to Shimabuku Tatsuo. He developed his Isshinryu by his studies with other Okinawan instructors (mainly Kyan, Miyagi). During his training with Kyan he did have some brush with Sai and Bo.
 

Tatsuo seems to have developed a Kyan No Sai form. He also developed his own version of the form Tokomeni No Kon.

Tatsuo's several Marine students even developed 2 person Bo-Bo forms and apparently he developed a 2 person Bo-Sai form too.

Then about 60 or so his own studies with Taira began. The forms he studied were Urashie No Bo, Shi Shi No Kon No Dai, Chantan Yara Ni Sai, and Hama Higa No Tonfa. So basically Bo, Sai and Tonfa.

 

Along the way, perhaps following Taira' suggestions, he took the form Kusanku and incorporated his form Kyan No Sai, developing his form Kusanku Sai. To later drop teaching Kyan No Sai,
 
There is no way to prove that the versions of the kata he studied under Taira remained the same over time as he taught them. Not having been a long term student of Taira, he might have forgot some things as time passed, or working to develop his Isshinryu he could have chosen to make his own changes to the forms.

As the Isshinryu of Shimabuku Tatsuo developed he could have consciously chosen to make changes. Students training in Agena at different times could have been taught different versions at different times. Even later when he was filmed in 1964 and 1966 Those forms might have been still undergoing further development of them and he could have been just showing what he was doing at that time.

Clearly Tatsuo left no record of what he was doing, or even what he was doing as time passed.

Of course this is but my opinions on these events. But I would like to add my own speculation on these events.

 

The Isshinryu I was taught by Charles Murray was all the instruction on our kobudo kata's I have ever had. He studied some of the kata under Tom Lewis, others under Shinso  Shimabuku during his time on Okinawa in Agena. Then the rest under Tom Lewis sharing his movies of the 1986 Tatsuo videos with Charles.

It is likely I had as few hours of instruction as the original students in Agena back in the 50s and the 60s.   In the case of  Chia fa (the Tonfa kata so called on that movie), Charles had given me that movie and his text editor and told me to teach it to myself, so I could then teach it to him, this happened in 1978. Then I had two lessons where he shared Shi Shi no Kon No Dai. just prior to his return to the USAF.

That's it, and a lifetime of practice that proved never ending.

I trained with many instructors who had more weapons kata than I did.

Tris Sutrisno had many, many more kobudo kata than I. When I trained with Ernest Rothrock I came to realize his studies likely included more than 200 weapons forms. For example he would pick up his straight sword and for an hour would run form after form, never repeating a form, It always something to behold. Even his Eagle Claw studies had over 75 forms. He never taught anyone everything he studied, just what was appropriate for their training.

Personally I do not believe Tatsuo was trying to develop a full kobudo system (to rival Taira's). Instead feeling it was important to add a touch of the other Okinawan tradition.

However over my own decades of study, competition and training my own students I found a more impelling reason. Eventually after decades of my own studies, i began to realize something Ernest Rothrock shared with me. Each of the weapons he studied became force enhancers for is own kung fu kuen studies.

Let me put that is karate terms. Every weapon you study takes approximately 20 years to really get the form. And every new kobudo form dosen't change that it will also take 20 years on that form. Realize no beginner kyu or dan can understand that until those 20 years have passed. It is then that the real value become part of their life. The different handling of each weapon becomes a different force enhancer that in turn can add power/focus to their karate too.

This becomes more important for as we age, we do begin to slow down. Our power begins to decrease, etc. But those kobudo studies continue to add strength/power/focus to our karate as we age. The eventual decline we all face slows because of out kobudo training.

More so I theorize all we really need is 1 bo form, 1 sai form and 1 tonfa form for this happen. I am not suggesting you should not learn the entire system, that of course is the instructors responsibility after all to direct you studies.

My proof, for myself, came from observing various videos of Tom Lewis and his later actual performances.

I have one video of him competing with Tokomeni No Kun at a point were he perhaps was 15 years study in his own Isshinryu. His performance was fine but to me he looked like he was 15 years the student. Later in the mid 80s I would often see him perform his bo in Master's divisions at tournaments. He looked vastly different, he was literally owning thse kata performances. Then one time in Salisbury I watched as he was doing one of his Bo forms. That performance was stronger, faster more focused than any Bo form I have ever seen anywhere (in person or in any video kobudo performance anywhere).

To me he had become the literal BEST I have ever seen with him and his Bo.

I am not suggesting that anyone do anything but how they are taught.

Just sharing my opinions on Kobudo, and of course sharing somewhat how i taught my students over the decades. And of course i actually have taught students who actually trained with me full time over 35 years.

I would suggest few today had had the same experience.