Matsumura Kenpo Description?

[Capt Jakk]

I will be moving in a few months and I hope to pick up my karate training again. (New babies tend to get in the way of training) I am interested in a dojo that teaches Matsumura Kenpo. I'm hoping someone can give me a description of the style and tell me the style's basic strategy. I am looking to get an idea of the differences between this style and the Kobayashi Shorin Ryu I have been practicing.

I am aware that Masumura Kenpo is an offshoot of Matsumura Orthodox Shorin Ryu and was developed by Yuichi Kuda. Kuda learned Shorin Ryu from Hohan Soken but had learned karate from Shigeru Nakamura before learning from Soken. I believe he named the style Matsumura Kenpo to honor both of his teachers.

Thanks in advance for the help everyone.

[Montana]

I have been under the teachings of the late Sensei Kuda since I began my journey back in 1975. As for a comparison between this system and Kobayashi Shorin Ryu, I haven't a clue as I've never had the opportunity to see Kobayashi Shorin Ryu before.

Sorry I couldn't help.

[Capt Jakk]

Thank you for the reply Montana. I believe I may have been asking for too much with a comparison. A quick description of the style would actually be helpful to me at this point. For example, when I checked out my last dojo I was told that it was a soft block / hard counter system that stressed evasion and speed. Something along these lines would be helpful.

I plan to visit the Matsumura Kenpo dojo the next time I am in northern Minnesota to get a better idea of the differences as well.

[Montana]

I plan to visit the Matsumura Kenpo dojo the next time I am in northern Minnesota to get a better idea of the differences as well.

Might that be with sensei Greg Ohl perhaps? If so, an EXCELLENT sensei and martial artist! I had the opportunity to train with him once for a week way back when...

[Capt Jakk]

If he runs the dojo in Bemidji MN, then yes. I don't have a lot of information to go on right now due to my friends in the area being TKD practitioners and lack of a web site. I have heard good things about the dojo through the grapevine though.

[Montana]

If it's who I'm thinking of, I met him once when I went to Mn to meet Greg Ohl and train with him for a week. Fred Ettish I believe. This was about 20 years ago, but if it's who I'm thinking it is, he's a student of Greg Ohl's, and from what I hear, very good! He picked me up at the airport and drove me to Willow River, Mn where Sensei Ohl was living at the time, but I didn't get to work with Sensei Ettish.

[Ebureto]

Mr. Ohl hasn't been practicing (as far as I'm aware) for some time now and has long since moved away from Bemidji. The school he started is still there, but I forget if it's under the name "Minnesota Kobukan" or "Bemidji Kobukan". In either case, one of his students is running the dojo in his absence (he returns two or three times a year to visit and train his local students) whose name is Peg Rickert (sandan or yondan, a Shidouin in either case).

There are still little pockets of Matsumura Kenpo around Minnesota. I teach a small private class in Brainerd, Curt Fisher (Rokudan) teaches in Walker, Duane Wolfe (Nanadan) teaches in Kensington, Brian Swedburg (Sandan) teaches in Hackensack, and I'm not sure if we still have a presence in East Grand Forks yet or not.

The face of Matsumura Kenpo has changed slightly since O'sensei's passing in 1999, when his son Tomosada took up the mantle of Kaicho. Stances and footwork have changed slightly and have become more dynamic in the use of weight shifting, reflecting Sensei's training and emphasis on tactical movement and (of course) change-body. We also now have added Matsumura nu Patsai to our curriculum due to the fact that Tomosada-sensei learned it from Miyahira Katsuya from Kobayashi-ryu.

If you still have interest in finding someone in a particular locale, let me know and I can get contact information for you.

[ShinGiTai]

There are still little pockets of Matsumura Kenpo around Minnesota. I teach a small private class in Brainerd, Curt Fisher (Rokudan) teaches in Walker, Duane Wolfe (Nanadan) teaches in Kensington, Brian Swedburg (Sandan) teaches in Hackensack, and I'm not sure if we still have a presence in East Grand Forks yet or not.

Hi,

I noticed this post and wanted to ask you a question concerning Mr. Curt Fisher. He used to make kobudo weapons, and quite a few years back I bought a pair of kama from him. I'm wanting to contact him and find out if he is still making weapons, but it seems the email address I have for him is no good. If you are in contact with hime, could you possibly give him my email address and ask him to contact me concerning kobudo weapons? My email is mjagg07@yahoo.com and my name is Matt Jaggars. I appreciate your help.

[karateguy5000]

This system is very similar to Matsumura Shorin Ryu with some extra kobudo. The Kuda kama katas are very nicely arranged.

Bob

[Ebureto]

This system is very similar to Matsumura Shorin Ryu with some extra kobudo. The Kuda kama katas are very nicely arranged.

Bob

Well, Matsumura Kenpo is a Shorin-ryu style, use of the word "kenpo" notwithstanding, so it falls under the category of "Matsumura Shorin-ryu" just as much as, say Kise Fusei's Kenshinkan or the late Arakaki Seiki's Shinbukan (I think it was "Shinbukan"). Don't let the "kenpo" fool you into thinking it's a style like Tracey's Kenpo or some other such thing.

Matt, Curt is still making kobudo gear and getting better and more refined all the time. I'll dig up his email and send it to you privately. He used to have a little page attached to the Seattle Kobukan, but since that site's gone down I believe Curt's page evaporated as well.

For those of you curious about Kuda no Tanmei's Okinawan MA training, he engaged in sumo as a youth (which is different than the mainland version), Shuri-te from a fellow naval conscript, allegedly some bojutsu from his father which influenced the bo kata of his kobudo system, Kobayashi for a short time under Nakazato Shuguro, Okinawa Kenpo under Nakamura Shigeru for long enough to earn his shihan menkyo, and finally and probably for the longest amount of time under Soken Hohan. He and his son, Tomosada, also briefly participated in a study group with other old-style contemporaries after Soken's passing (Higa, Uehara, Nagamine, I forget who else in that group, I'll have to ask when Tomosada-shinshii is back in the states)... concepts and bunkai only, apparently there was no "kata trading".