Historical Masters

[camotheman]

Hey all,

If you could choose one karateka from the past to train with, who would you pick, and why? They have to be deceased, and you cannot have trained with them while they were living.

[Spartacus Maximus]

Would certainly want to train under Miyahira, who taught my present sensei. It could have happened because he was still alive and teaching until early 2000’s(Master Miyahira passed in 2010).

Lived very near his dojo and crossed paths several times in Okinawa at karate related events and local festivals. 

Another one would be the founder of Shorin ryu小林流、Master Chibana Chosin who trained Miyahira and taught until his final day in 1969. 

 

[sensei8]

Great question and topic, @camotheman; thank you for starting this topic.

Well, that type of question is quite difficult to answer with just one historical name because there’s quite a lot of masters that reside in the hall of bushido.

Then there’s the unknown masters that aren’t known, and I’m sure those type of masters have and do exist. No sense in going down that path.

So, for the sake of this topic, and because I can’t decide which one to choose, I’ll have to mention two known historical masters that I’d love to train with, and why.

>Soken Matsumura. Why?? He was bodyguard to 3 Okinawan kings; that’s an impressive MA resume. His applications of karate techniques were of focus of effective efficiency on the battlefield. For me, he was the foundation of the Shuri lineage, of which Shindokan belongs to.

>Chotoku Kyan. Why?? His focus on speed and evasion within his mastery of movement, which is deeply interwoven in Shindokan’s 4 key factors, can’t be denied.

I would love to train under them both so that I can better understand Shindokan and perhaps increase my MA betterment.