The Kobudo and Karate Connection.

What connects Karate and Kobudo ?

For most students that are of a Kyu grade status, it is fair to say that they would only be participating in no more than one martial art, as it would be hard to transition between styles or disciplines,  

Karate students here from their instructors that Karate is an empty-handed martial art and is taught for self-defence, protecting our selves from others that may want to cause us harm, even the name Karate means empty hand.

So what does it mean when our Karate instructors start to tell us that Karate and Kobudo are one of the same and you can’t teach one without learning the other?

To understand this, we need to first look back at the history of Kobudo and in particular, Master Taira Shinken

Who was Taira SHINKEN ?

Taira Shinken was the founder of Ryukyu Kobujutsu, her was born in 1897 on an island

called Kumejima and it was on this island that he started to develop and gather

information about the art of Kobudo before its heritage was lost forever. The art of

Kobudo became known as Ryukyu Kobujutsu as most of the kata that were developed

and past down to other generations came from the separate islands of the Ryukyu.  

Because Taira was traveling so much to gather this knowledge, the system of Kobudo

became so vast with weapons that included the Bo also known as Kon, Jo Bo, Roku Shaku Bo, Kyu Shaku Bo and Eiku. There is also the Sai, which includes the Manji Sai, Tonfa, Nunchaku and its sibling the San Chaku, and finally Kama, Tekko Tinbe-Rochin Surujin and the short and long Surujin.

Unfortunately, today there is only one living student left of Taira called Nakamoto Masahiro Sensei and he is the only black belt to be awarded 10th Dan by the Okinawan prefecture.  

The Connection

To understand the connection between Karate and Kobudo we also need to be aware that Taira Shinken’s maiden name was actually Maezato, and this is where the link comes in.

Some kata that has now been passed down may have the name Maezato. The reason for this is that some of the weapons taught did not have any kata, so Taira created a kata for that weapon, But how was this done? 

If we take the Brass knuckle duster or Tekko as its known, the kata name became Maezato no Tekko, naming it after himself. But for inspiration on how to develop this kata he reached out to the founder of Shotokan Karate Gichin Funakoshi. Between them, they made an arrangement that Taira would teach Funakoshi Kobudo and in return Funakoshi would teach Taira karate allowing him to incorporate these movements to the Tekko.

Karate clubs today will teach Kobudo as a Supplement session, linking Karate and Kobudo together.

Different versions of the same kata 

While some students are happy to learn the historical forms, some ask the question why is this kata taught differently in other clubs if the kata came from Taira?

Well during his time teaching, Taira sustained a leg injury which meant that he was not able to perform kata the way he originally intended and therefore, had to modify his teachings, this is why there are multiple versions, the version that was taught before his injury and then the version after. Both are correct it just depends on the timing of when your instructor was taught, that will determine what stances are to be used. I suggest practice both and see what is more natural for yourself.   

Sadly, Taira Shinken past away in 1970 however his legacy of Ryukyu Kobujutsu is still ongoing today through teaching of the Late Grandmaster Sensei Motokatsu Inoue, He taught a student by the name of Sensei Julian Mead who is teaching this art today through the RKAGB (Ryukyu Kobujutsu Association Great Britain) and the other affiliated dojos around the world.