Lives of Famous Traditional Okinawan Karate & Kobudo Masters

Many anecdotes have been told about the pioneers who laid the foundations of traditional Okinawan karate. To convey the spirit and essence of Okinawan karate, two of these anecdotes are introduced here.

Sokon Matsumura
(1809 - unknown)

Sokon Matsumura was an outstanding individual who was already a personal attendant to the Ryukyu king before he was thirty and was entrusted with diplomatic missions to China and Satsuma in Kyushu. He was a man of great dignity and refinement who reached the pinnacle of understanding and achievement in the literary and martial arts. In China, where kung-fu flourished, he earned the highest respect of the warriors of Fuzhou. Matsumura practiced the seven virtues of the warrior - "The warrior forbids violence, protects his soldiers and the people, maintains honor, keeps the people safe, preserves public harmony, and increases wealth."

The illustration at right depicts Matsumura's confrontation with Ume, a female martial artist. Taking the battle lightly, he loses his first encounter but wins the second with carefully considered tactics. Sokon later marries Ume. He devotes himself to government duties and karate, achieving much in his lifetime.

Kanryo Higaonna
(1853 - 1914)

Kanryo Higaonna was born in 1853, the year that the U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Okinawa. He was small in stature but very nimble and athletic. He took up the practice of karate, called simply "ti" (hand) in his time. When he was a little past the age of twenty, he went to Fujian Province in China to study the martial arts as was the fashion in his day. Kanryo traveled to Fuzhou three times and was forty when he finally returned home to Okinawa. Many stories are told about his strict self-discipline and training and his many heroic deeds during his time in China. When he returned he brought weapons with him and these were the forerunners of today's karate training instruments.

The illustration at right shows Kanryo's training days in Fujian Province, China. He seizes an intoxicated and violent fellow student who was one of the most talented and largest in size. A later battle with this student shows that the student was highly impressed when Kanryo demonstrated his kata. He was later treated like a teacher with respect and admiration.