Bujutsu Quest

Modern Karate styles have evolved and differ significantly from how they were practiced in the past. Sparring is one of these things, many modern styles prefer a point style method (mainly Shotokan, Shito ryu, Goju ryu, Wado ryu, Shorin ryu). Sparring brings many benefits such as; pressure testing your techniques, practicing proper form, experimentation with combos, thrill of combat, etc. The Karate-ka of the past never did any point fighting, so that begs the question. How did the karate-ka of the past spar and pressure test their techniques?  Kakete demonstrated by Juhatsu Kyoda and Chojun Miyagi Older styles of Karate mainly sparred with three methods. Prearranged sparring, free sparring and Kakkidi / Kakete (lit hooked hands). These methods will look different in different styles. Primarily because Naha te and Shuri te prioritize different principles and techniques (the principles and techniques of those styles may be the subject of a future article). Kakkidi / Kakete is a type...

Karate originated from the Ryukyu Islands, in what is now called Okinawa. The Ryukyu islands were a melting pot for trade from various countries in Asia, China held a major role in the history of the Ryukyu Islands. Inheriting Chinese architecture and martial arts.  It is commonly thought that the Naha styles of Karate (Goju and Touon) originate from Fujian White Crane. The main argument for this is that the form called Sanchin (three battles) bears similarity to White crane San Zhan. Oral history recounts Kanryo Higaonna traveling to Fujian province and studying Chinese boxing under a local master named Ru Ru Ko, bringing it back to Okinawa and teaching it to Chojun Miyagi and Juhatsu Kyoda. For this article, we will compare Goju ryu and Touon ryu to Yongchun White Crane. However many Southern Kung fu styles have the form San Zhan as their base or fundamental form. The movements and mechanics in Goju and Touon Sanchin do not resemble that of White crane. Below are videos of Goju r...

 Bujutsu Quest is a blog primarily dedicated to researching and understanding the techniques, kata and methods of Ryukyu bujutsu.  Okinawa has three main branches of martial arts; Ti, Karate and Kobudo. Ti (lit hand) is the oldest of the three and had a significant impact on the development of Karate or Tode (lit Chinese hand). Despite its influence on Karate, Ti is still quite rare and difficult to find. Antique styles of Karate are also hard to find but they still exist, some include; Touon ryu, Hanashiro-ha, Tachimura-ha, Oyadomari-ha, Kojo ryu, etc. These rarer and older styles are different to that of modern ones such as; Goju ryu, Shorin ryu, Uechi ryu, Shito ryu, Shotokan, Wado ryu, etc. Through this blog I plan on doing interviews with some Karate practitioners and writing about my own observations, style comparisons, kata, “bunkai” and history. My blog is still a work in progress (as it’s still the earlier stages). This quest of mine is certainly a lengthy one. Why do...