Ryukyu Kempo - Series of interviews from a founding member

[Raul Perez]

I know the name Ryukyu Kempo has a bit of a shadow cast upon it due to the likes of Dillman. I’ve been apart of an organization headed by Seiyu Oyata’s most senior student - Albert Geraldi. I have been studying with his senior students Mr. Warmuth, Mrs. Warmuth, Mr. LaPeters and Mr. Carnemolla since 1998.

I am a senior instructor within Mr. Geraldi’s organization and have been privy to several discussions on the the development of the system and politics that had happened during the height of the art.

We had urged Mr. Geraldi to document his position on a few areas that seemed that light should be shed on certain misconceptions many years ago. Mr. Geraldi has finally placed on record his position on a few things concerning Ryukyu Kempo, Okinawan Karate, Taika Seiyu Oyata, the development of Ryu-Te and his leave of absence from the Ryu-Te organization in the Mid 1990s.

To clarify - Mr. Geraldi is the longest known student of the late Seiyu Oyata. Mr. Geraldi holds teaching licenses (Menkyo Kai Den) from Shigeru Nakamura (Okinawa Kenpo), Seikichi Uehara (Motobu Ryu), and Seiyu Oyata (Ryu-Te). All information on Mr. Geraldi can be found on https://www.ryukyu-kempo.org

Mr. Geraldi was the highest ranked individual within Oyata’s organization from the 1960s through the 1990s and was instrumental in naming the art Ryukyu Kempo as well as bringing Seiyu Oyata to the United Stated in the 1960s and 1970s.

Part 1 - discusses the naming of the art and makes reference to misuse of certifications. The cryptic discussion on the certification process is directly referenced to Dillman who was awarded an honorary title for his efforts in assisting in marketing Oyata and his system during the late 1980s. However, Dillman used this to brand his own Karate, stole the original Kanji (which was not trademarked by the organization) and began to devalue the art and name with a circus show which has been well documented over the past decade and a half. At no point was Dillman ever ranked higher than the founding members of Ryukyu Kempo - Geraldi, Logue, and Wiswell. This forced the Oyata to rename the art Ryu-Te.

Part 2 - Discussion on Taika Oyata and his development of Ryu-Te as well as seminars provided. The art originally taught on Okinawa to what the art evolved to as Oyata became established in the United States.

Part 3 - Discussion on Tuite Jitsu and the origins associated with Seikichi Uehara as well as the circumstances surrounding Mr. Geraldi’s leave of absence from Ryu-Te.

While not as detailed as I would have liked it does give some perspective from an individual who has spent over 30 years directly under a renowned and recognized Kempo/Chu’an Fa master as the number 1 student and successor of the system, at one time, as well as the development and circumstances related to the developmental mindset of the master during the creation period of Ryu-Te and the current political landscape of Ryu-Te since the death of Master Oyata in 2012.

Regards,

Raul Perez

[Fat Cobra]

Mr. Perez,

Thanks for sharing these videos. I will give them a look shortly. You are spot on in regards to the legacy of Geraldi Hanshi.

Karate no michi.

[Raul Perez]

Mr. Perez,

Thanks for sharing these videos. I will give them a look shortly. You are spot on in regards to the legacy of Geraldi Hanshi.

Karate no michi.

We may have met. I was the NY group that went to the 2008 summer camp and I performed a Bogu Kumite exhibition match before the Bogu Tournament of the castles started.

[Fat Cobra]

Mr. Perez,

Unfortunately, I was not at the 2008 Summer Camp. At that time I was still in the Ryute Renmei Organization. I moved over to URKA in 2009, after attending my first summer camp with Kaicho. At that year's camp, there was also a huge Bogu Kumite tournament, which was pretty awesome.

The video interviews with Geraldi Hanshi are really good. I always love hearing the history of Ryukyu Kempo and how it was brought over for Okinawa. If there are more videos in the future, please share them.

Karate no michi!

[Raul Perez]

Mr. Perez,

Unfortunately, I was not at the 2008 Summer Camp. At that time I was still in the Ryute Renmei Organization. I moved over to URKA in 2009, after attending my first summer camp with Kaicho. At that year's camp, there was also a huge Bogu Kumite tournament, which was pretty awesome.

The video interviews with Geraldi Hanshi are really good. I always love hearing the history of Ryukyu Kempo and how it was brought over for Okinawa. If there are more videos in the future, please share them.

Karate no michi!

Ahhh gotcha, couldn’t tell from the timeline of your Alliance membership on facebook.

Funny story – 2008 Hanshi Geraldi and Kyoshi Carnemolla brought us over to Missouri to foster a friendly relationship with the Alliance group. In doing so, Hanshi Geraldi wanted to reinvigorate the Bogu Kumite fighting.

A group of probably 10 of us went over and were split up into a competition group representing various castles. We all did a mini tournament within our castles to determine the fighter. All castles selected the Hanshi Geraldi student to fight. We reconvened during lunch and discovered we were fighting each other in the tournament. Well, we fight each other weekly so it didn’t seem like much of an event for us. So we returned to our castles and bowed out from the fighting competition.

I began to eat a hearty lunch, chicken, fish, rice and washed it all down with pink lemonade. Kyoshi Carnemolla came to me after I had ate and said that the Alliance does not do bogu kumite enough so I have selected you to do an exhibition match with another blackbelt in our group. I said, “But I just had eaten a large meal!”…… *smacks me hard on the shoulder* “Don’t you effing embarrass me get suited up”

Needless to say I put on a good show. I did the Kata competition but didn’t place because I did Hanshi Geraldi’s kata Machiminato No Te kata which no judge was familiar with.

Here’s the video from 2008 exhibition match performed for the Alliance:

The following year I had work so I couldn’t get away for the 2009 official Bogu Kumite matches.

[Fat Cobra]

Mr. Perez,

Very cool!

Karate no michi!

[Journyman74]

Ryukyu Kempo I heard is "what Karate is supposed to be". I too have had the pleasure of training under a Yodan instructor of Oyatas Karate. Im still perplexed on the amount of different Karate styles that exist but Oyatas was a eye opener! Its definitly real life based..BRUTAL if I may add if executed properly!

[sensei8]

Ryukyu Kempo I heard is "what Karate is supposed to be". I too have had the pleasure of training under a Yodan instructor of Oyatas Karate. Im still perplexed on the amount of different Karate styles that exist but Oyatas was a eye opener! Its definitly real life based..BRUTAL if I may add if executed properly!

Solid post!!

I do appreciate, and thank you for bringing forward some history, thus far, Raul Perez.