Questions about Kishimoto Di?

[karate guy232]

I recently heard about a style called Kishimoto Di, I have heard that it comes from a line of Shuri te unaltered by Anko Itosu.

How does Kishimoto Di differ from Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu?

Is Tuidi present in Kishimoto Di?

What's the difference between Motobu Udundi and Kishimoto Di?

What's the lineage of Kishimoto Di?

Why does Kishimoto Di only have 4 kata and what principles does the kata teach?

Any seminars in Canada that might teach Kishimoto Di?

Thanks!

[Wastelander]

I recently heard about a style called Kishimoto Di, I have heard that it comes from a line of Shuri te unaltered by Anko Itosu.

It just so happens that I am one of the few people in the world teaching KishimotoDi, so I can actually answer your questions!

How does Kishimoto Di differ from Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu?

KishimotoDi is much softer than both Shorin-Ryu and Goju-Ryu, and doesn't use hip rotation to generate power, instead relying on twisting at the waist, sinking and rising in the stance, and stepping into the techniques. It doesn't have any ties to Goju-Ryu, at all, from an historical or curriculum point of view, but it does share 3 of its 4 kata with Shorin-Ryu; Naihanchi, Passai, and Kusanku. Of course, the versions practiced in KishimotoDi are notably distinct from modern Shorin-Ryu.

Is Tuidi present in Kishimoto Di?

Yes, although most of the tuidi-waza are techniques of opportunity, rather than something you actively seek out, and there is certainly less of it in KishimotoDi than in something like Motobu Udundi.

What's the difference between Motobu Udundi and Kishimoto Di?

Motobu Udundi is, as the name says, the "palace hand," practiced by the royal family and their close relatives, such as the Motobu family. While it does feature some of the same techniques as KishimotoDi, Motobu Udundi is based more on classical dances, and is more about the study of how to manipulate the body than about practicality, in my opinion. KishimotoDi is much more of a "get in, get rid of the bad guy, and get out" kind of system.

What's the lineage of Kishimoto Di?

"Todi" Sakugawa --> "Bushi" Tachimura --> Kishimoto Soko --> Higa Seitoku (founder of the Bugeikan) --> Higa Kiyohiko (current head of the Bugeikan)

My KishimotoDi instructor, Ulf Karlsson, is the first non-Okinawan to be granted a Shihan license in the art, and has been training directly with Higa Kiyohiko. Noteably, this style is so small and niche that it didn't even have a name registered until 2011 (they just called it "Kishimoto's material," or "Kishimoto's Shuri-Te" before that), when Ulf and a few others suggested to Higa Sensei that the art was dying out, and that registering its name could help with preservation efforts.

Why does Kishimoto Di only have 4 kata and what principles does the kata teach?

The four kata are: Tachimura no Naihanchi, Nidanbu, Tachimura no Passai, and Tachimura no Kusanku

It only has 4 kata because that is the way karate used to be trained and taught--a smaller selection of kata, studied in greater depth. Many of the past Okinawan masters even wrote about this, saying that it was normal for karateka to only know a handful of kata, and that they would study each kata for years before moving on to the next one. Think about how many kata some of the notable masters taught. Matsumura Sokon taught Naihanchi, Passai, Kusanku, and Gojushiho. Uechi Kanbun only taught Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryu before creating five more kata for his students. Motobu Choki only taught Naihanchi, Seisan, Passai, Wanshu, and Jitte, before he created Shirokuma.

KishimotoDi has three overarching principles: issun hasureru (avoid by a sun/inch), taigii ichi (body and technique as one), and kobo ittai (simultaneous attack and defense). These are present in the way that all of the kata are applied. Naihanchi introduces fundamental mechanics, such as rotation and sinking/rising, fundamental footwork, primarily using kosa-dachi to avoid and enter against an attack, and basic 90 and 45 degree angles, along with tekko-gamae (steel turtle posture, aka meotode-gamae, husband and wife hands posture). It is also very throw-heavy. The rest of the kata build on these fundamentals, and explore finer angles, but they are all interconnected. Tachimura no Passai introduces sagurite-gamae (searching hands posture), and Tachimura no Kusanku introduces hotate-gamae (standing sail posture). Nidanbu was specifically designed to help connect Tachimura no Naihanchi to the other two koryu kata, so it shows variations of some techniques that sort of blend different kata together.

Any seminars in Canada that might teach Kishimoto Di?

Not at the moment, but I'm open to travel, and Ulf Karlsson is planning on a US/Mexico trip either next year or 2026, which I'm sure he'd be happy to extend to Canada. I'm also going to be teaching an online seminar on Tachimura no Naihanchi this saturday.

[karate guy232]

Thank you for answering my question! Where can I learn Tachimura no Naihanchi?

[Wastelander]

Thank you for answering my question! Where can I learn Tachimura no Naihanchi?

Your best bet is finding or booking a seminar with someone. My teacher, Ulf Karlsson, Shihan, teaches pretty regularly throughout Europe, as well as when he goes to Okinawa, and I periodically teach it across the US. If you search on social media, you can find small groups of people practicing it here and there, as well. Aside from that, you can use reference videos to get started.

Ulf Karlsson has put out a good reference video of the solo kata, showing it from multiple angles:

He also has a video giving a nice overview of many different applications for the kata:

And one that he did in preparation for a seminar we did about a decade ago:

For a bit of a closer look, here is an example application from a seminar I taught several years ago:

And a couple Waza Wednesday videos my late Sensei and I did on the subject:

[karate guy232]

Thank you for the reference video!

[ryanryu]

This topic was a big chunk of Noah's discussion on the Conversations on Karate podcast this month if anyone wanted to hear more:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/conversations-on-karate/id1453904970