ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OCA

The annual General Assembly of the OCA (Olympic Committees of Asia) took place in Macau on 8th November.

The WKF President Antonio Espinós attended the meeting upon invitation of the OCA. He was accompanied by Major General Nasser Alrazooqi, UAE Karate Federation President and WKF Executive Committee member, and by Fakhruddin Abdulmajid, General Secretary of both the UAE and the Arab Karate Federations.

The WKF delegation, that arrived in Macau already on 6th November, had the opportunity to meet the OCA and ACNO President HH Shaikh Ahmed ALfahad ALsabah, as well as the many members of the Olympic Family present in Macau.

HH Shaikh Ahmed ALfahad ALsabah with WKF President

HH Shaikh Ahmed ALfahad ALsabah with WKF President, Major General Nasser Alrazooqi and Fakhruddin Abdulmajid

WKF President, Major General Nasser Alrazooqi and Fakhruddin Abdulmajid attending the OCA AGM

The WKF delegaion with HH Shaikh Ahmed ALfahad ALsabah and Hussain Mussallam, OCA OCA General & Technical Director

WKF President, Major General Nasser Alrazooqi and Fakhruddin Abdulmajid with Ibrahim Al Quannas, President of the Saudi Arabian Karate Federation and also present in Macau as member of the NOC of the KSA

WKF PRESIDENT VISITED TOKYO

The WKF President visited Tokyo from 15th to 18th January, as a very important milestone of the campaign for the 2020 Olympic Karate. He participated, together with the President of the JKF, Mr. Takashi Sasagawa, in a gathering with the representatives of the JKF style organizations, and also he met the Minister of Sport of Japan Mr. Hirofumi Shimomura. The trip concluded with a Press Conference organized by the JKF, attended massively by representatives of Japanese press and TV.

This visit to Japan, motherland of Karate, has been an outstanding success in the way of assuring the full support of Japan to the Olympism of Karate. During his stay in Tokyo, the WKF President also held several meetings with the JKF and with the JKF President, Mr.Takashi Sasagawa, giving a detailed update on the process and all the elements necessary for allowing the JKF a full, well grounded, and active support of Karate's candidature.

From this WKF webpage, the WKF President Mr. Antonio Espinós wants to thank the JKF and very especially its President Mr. Takashi Sasagawa for all the interest, for the perfect and professional preparation of the visit and for the full support to the "K is on the way" campaign.

From left to right: Takasuke Aritake, Hiroko Noguchi, Iwaki Hashimoto, Antonio Espinós, Sports Minister: Hirofumi Shimomura, Takashi Sasagawa, Shigeo Kurihara, Akio Kondo

From left to right:
Back row: Shigeo Tanaka (Renbu-kai), Sanzo Kitahara (Shito-kai), Genzo Iwata (Shito-kai), Takeshi Nakamura (Junior High School Sports Federation), Masao Kakimoto (Junior High School Sports Federation), Yoshiaki Nobukawa (University Karatedo Federation), Homare Takeda (Rengo-kai), Kazuhiko Furukawa (University Karatedo Federation), Minoru Kawawada (Japan Karate Association), Takuya Taniyama (Japan Karate Association), Yoshinori Matsui (Wado-kai), Tomonori Namiki (Goju-kai), Toshio Sugishita (High School Sports Federation), Koichi Shimura (Wado-kai), Kiyotoshi Kanno (Renbu-kai)

Front row: Shuji Kusaka (JKF Sec. Gen.), Akio Kondo (High School Sports Federation), Iwaki Hashimoto (JKF Standing Committee Member, WKF EC Member), Shigeo Kurihara (JKF Vice-President), Takashi Sasagawa (JKF President), Antonio Espinós (WKF President), Yusaku Nakamura (JKF Standing Committee Member), Takasuke Aritake (JKF Chief Director), Hirotaka Okumura (Rengo-kai), Seiji Ikeda (Workers' Group Federation), Masamitsu Hirosume (Workers' Group Federation)

IOC MEMBERS VISIT THE 21ST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

IOC PROGRAMME COMMISSION MEMBERS AT THE 21st World Senior Karate Championships.

Mr. Michael Fennell and Mr. Pierre Fratter-Bardy, on behalf of the IOC are attending the 21st World Senior Karate Championships as observers for evaluating Karate.

Mr. Michael Fennell and Mr. Pierre Fratter-Bardy IOC Programme Commission members with Mr. Antonio Espinos, WKF President

The event started on Wednesday, 21st November, with the participation of 116 countries and more than 1000 athletes . On previous days, the WKF EC gathered to deal with several issues, among them, the approval of the new Kata Rules. Also, on the same day, 20th November, the WKF Congress was held, the NF's Presidents and representatives were attending it and the ratification of EC approved changes in the WKF Statutes took place there, together with the presentation of WKF future events: World Junior & Cadet Championships 2013, Guadalajara (Spain), World Senior Championships 2014, Bremen (Germany), World Junior & Cadet Championships 2015, Jakarta , (Indonesia) and the World Senior Championships 2016, Linz, (Austria).

These Paris Championships were officially opened by Mr. Antonio Espinós, WKF President, on Friday, 23rd November after Mr. Francis Didier, President of the French Karate Federation, gave her speech. Afterwards, an amazing Opening Ceremony took place.

ATHLETES COMMISSION ELECTIONS

The elections for the Athletes Commission took place at Bercy Sports Hall during the 41st World Senior Championships, from Wednesday 21st to Friday 23rd November when the athletes voted to elect two members from the 4 candidates, who were as follows:

Hoang Ngan, Nguyen from Vietnam

Simon Klausberger from Austria

Sarah Assem Aly from Egypt

Pasi Valtteri Hirvonen from Finland

The results after the scrutinizing were that the new members of the Athletes Commission are Ms. Nguyen Hoang Ngan (Vietnam) and Mr. Simon Klausberger (Austria). The two elected members are willing to cooperate with theAC Chair, Princess HRH Sheikha Maitha Al Maitha,the AC Deputy Chairman, Mr. Davide Benetello and Ms.Tessy Scholtes, AC Member, and to help the athletes on all related issues.

Hironori Ōtsuka (大塚 博紀 Ōtsuka Hironori, June 1, 1892 – January 29, 1982) was a Japanese master of karate who created the Wadō-ryū style of karate. He was the first Grand Master of Wadō-ryū karate, and received high awards within Japan for his contributions to karate.

[edit]
Ōtsuka was born on June 1, 1892, in Shimodate City, Ibaraki, Japan. He was one of four children to Tokujiro Ōtsuka, a medical doctor. At the age of 5 years, he began training in the martial art of jujutsu under his great-uncle, Chojiro Ebashi (a samurai). Ōtsuka's father took over his martial arts education in 1897. At the age of 13, Ōtsuka became the student of Shinzaburo Nakayama in Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu.Early life

In 1911, while studying business administration at Waseda University in Tokyo, Ōtsuka trained in various jujutsu schools in the area. Before his studies were complete, his father died and he was unable to continue studying; he commenced work as a clerk at the Kawasaki Bank. Although he wished to become a full-time instructor, he did not pursue this course at this point out of respect for his mother's wishes.

[edit]Shotokan karate

On June 1, 1921, Ōtsuka received the menkyo kaiden (certificate of mastery and license to teach) in Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu, and became the fourth master of that school. Jujutsu was not to become his primary art, however; in 1922, Ōtsuka began training in Shotokan karate under Gichin Funakoshi, who was a new arrival in Japan.^[1] In 1927, he also established a medical practice and specialized in treating martial arts training injuries.

By 1928, Ōtsuka was an assistant instructor in Funakoshi's school. He also trained under Chōki Motobu and Kenwa Mabuni, and studied kobudo, around this time. Ōtsuka began to have philosophical disagreements with Funakoshi, and the two men parted ways in the early 1930s. This may have come, in part, from his decision to train with Motobu. Funakoshi's karate emphasized kata, a series of movements and techniques linked by the fighting principles. Funakoshi did not believe that sparring was necessary for realistic training. Motobu, however, emphasized the necessity of free application, and created a series of two-person kumite called yakusoku kumite.

[edit]Wado-ryu karate

On April 1, 1934, Ōtsuka opened his own karate school the Dai Nippon Karate Shinko Kai at 63 Banchi Suehiro-Cho, Kanda, Tokyo. He blended Shotokan karate with his knowledge of Shindō Yōshin-ryū jujutsu to form Wadō-ryū karate, although the art would only later take on this name several years later. With recognition of his style as an independent karate style, Ōtsuka became a full-time instructor. In 1940, his style was registered at the Butokukai, Kyoto, for the demonstration of various martial arts, together with Shotokan, Shitō-ryū, and Gōjū-ryū.

Following World War II, the practice of martial arts in Japan was banned. After a few years, however, the ban was lifted; through the 1950s, Ōtsuka held various karate competitions. In 1964, three of Ōtsuka's students (Tatsuo Suzuki, Toru Arakawa, and Hajime Takashima) from Nihon University toured Europe and the United States of America, demonstrating Wadō-ryū karate.

[edit]Later life

On April 29, 1966, Emperor Hirohito awarded Ōtsuka the Kun-Go-To (Fifth Order of Merit of the Sacred Treasure). The Emperor later also awarded him the Soko Kyokujitsu-Sho medal for his contributions to karate. In the next few years, Ōtsuka wrote two books on karate: Karate-Do, Volume 1 (1967, focused on kata) and Karate-Do, Volume 2 (1970, focused on kumite). On October 9, 1972, the Kokusai Budo (International Martial Arts Federation) awarded Ōtsuka the title of Shodai Karate-do Meijin Judan (first-generation karate master 10th dan); this was the first time this honor had been bestowed on a karate practitioner.

Ōtsuka continued to teach and lead Wadō-ryū karate into the 1980s, and died on January 29, 1982. His son became the second Grand Master of Wadō-ryū karate and honored his father by taking the name "Hironori Ōtsuka II."

Chōjun Miyagi (宮城 長順 Miyagi Chōjun, April 25, 1888—October 8, 1953) was a Japanese martial artist who founded the Goju-ryu school of karateby blending Okinawan and Chinese influences.

[edit]Miyagi was born in Higashimachi, Naha, Okinawa on April 25, 1888, the adopted son of a wealthy businessman. He began his study inKarate-do at the age of nine (or fourteen). He first learned martial arts from Ryuko Aragaki, who then introduced him toKanryo Higashionna when Miyagi was 14. Under his tutelage, Miyagi underwent a very long and arduous period of training. His training with Higaonna was interrupted for a two-year period while Miyagi completed his military service, 1910–1912, in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture.Early life and training

[edit]Training in China

In 1915, after the death of Kanryo Higashionna, Miyagi travelled to Fujian Province. In China he visited the grave of Higaonna's teacher, Ryu Ryu Ko. He also studied some local Chinese martial arts while he was there. (Some sources claim he studied Shaolin Kung Fu in Fuzhou, although historically Southern Shaolin was razed to the ground by Qing government forces more than 300 years prior to his visit, and the modern day Fuzhou Shaolin Temple is a recent reconstruction based on a popular movie.) From the blending of these systems, the hard linear/external form of Shaolin, the soft circular/internal form of Pa Kua, and his native Naha-Te, a new system emerged. However, it was not until 1929 that Chojun Miyagi named the system Goju-ryu, meaning "hard soft style".

[edit]Return to Japan

After several months in China, Chōjun Miyagi returned to Naha where he opened a dojo. He taught for many years, gaining an enormous reputation as a karateka. Despite his reputation, his greatest achievements lie in popularization and the organization of karate teaching methods. He introduced karate into Okinawa police work, high schools and other fields of society. He revised and further developed Sanchin - the hard aspect of Goju, and created Tensho - the soft aspect. These kata are considered to contain the essence of the Goju-ryu. The highest kata, Suparinpei, is said to contain the full syllabus of Goju-ryu. Shisochin was Miyagi's favorite kata at the end of his years. Tensho was influenced by the White Crane kata Ryokushu, which he learned from his long-time friend Gokenki. With the goal of unification of various karate styles which was in fashion at that time (see Gichin Funakoshi for his works in Japan), he also created more Shurite-like katas Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni in 1940, taking techniques from higher forms (notably Suparinpei, and upper blocks uncommon for Goju-ryu at that time) and incorporating them into a shorter forms. It is said he created these kata to bridge the gap between Sanchin and Saifa, which contains much more complex moves compared to Sanchin.

[edit]Death and legacy

Miyagi had his first heart attack in 1951, and died in Okinawa on October 8, 1953 from a second heart attack. Some of Miyagi's more notable students were: Seko Higa (his oldest student and also a student of Kanryo Higaonna), Miyazato Ei'ichi (founder of the Jundokan dojo), Meitoku Yagi (founder of the Meibukan dojo, who eventually accepted Miyagi's gi and obi from Miyagi's family),Seikichi Toguchi (founder of Shorei-kan Goju-ryu), and on the Japanese mainland Gōgen Yamaguchi who was the founder of the International Karate do Goju Kai Association and who after training with Miyagi, became the representative of Gōjū-ryū in Japan. At a later date Gōgen Yamaguchi invested much time studying Kata under Meitoku Yagi. He also trained other students who went on to create their own styles, such as Shimabuku Tatsuo (Isshinryu).

Gichin Funakoshi (船越 義珍 Funakoshi Gichin, November 10, 1868 – April 26, 1957) was the founder of Shotokan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is attributed as being the "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu, he was one of the Okinawankarate masters who introduced karate to the Japanese mainland in 1922. He taught karate at various Japanese universities and became honorary head of the Japan Karate Association upon its establishment in 1949.

[edit]Gichin Funakoshi was born on November 10, 1868 (the year of the Meiji Restoration), in Shuri, Okinawa, to a low-rank Okinawan samurai and originally had the family name Tominakoshi. His father's name was Gisu. After entering primary school he became close friends with the son of Ankō Azato, a karate and Jigen-ryū master who would soon become his first karate teacher.Early life

Funakoshi's family was stiffly opposed to the abolition of the Japanese topknot, and this meant he would be ineligible to pursue his goal of attending medical school, despite having passed the entrance examination. Being trained in both classical Chinese and Japanese philosophies and teachings, Funakoshi became an assistant teacher in Okinawa. During this time, his relations with the Azato family grew and he began nightly travels to the Azato family residence to receive karate instruction from Ankō Azato.

[edit]Shotokan Karate

Funakoshi had trained in both of the popular styles of Okinawan karate of the time: Shōrei-ryū and Shōrin-ryū. Shotokan is named after Funakoshi's pen name, Shoto, which means "waving pines ". In addition to being a karate master, Funakoshi was an avid poet and philosopher who would reportedly go for long walks in the forest where he would meditate and write his poetry. Kan means training hall, or house, thus Shotokan referred to the "house of Shoto". This name was coined by Funakoshi's students when they posted a sign above the entrance of the hall at which Funakoshi taught reading "Shoto kan".

By the late 1910s, Funakoshi had many students, of which a few were deemed capable of passing on their master's teachings. Continuing his effort to garner widespread interest in Okinawan karate, Funakoshi ventured to mainland Japan in 1922.

In 1930, Funakoshi established an association named Dai-Nihon Karate-do Kenkyukai to promote communication and information exchange among people who study karate-do. In 1936, Dai-Nippon Karate-do Kenkyukai changed its name to Dai-Nippon Karate-do Shoto-kai. The association is known today as Shotokai, and is the official keeper of Funakoshi's karate heritage.

In 1939, Funakoshi built the first Shōtōkan dojo (training hall) in Tokyo. He changed the name of karate to mean "empty hand" instead of "China hand" (as referred to in Okinawa); the two words sound the same in Japanese, but are written differently. It was his belief that using the term for "Chinese" would mislead people into thinking karate originated with Chinese boxing. Karate had borrowed many aspects from Chinese boxing which the original creators say as being positive, as they had done with other martial arts. In addition, Funakoshi argued in his autobiography that a philosophical evaluation of the use of "empty" seemed to fit as it implied a way which was not tethered to any other physical object.

Funakoshi's interpretation of the word kara to mean "empty" was reported to have caused some recoil in Okinawa, prompting Funakoshi to remain in Tokyo indefinitely. In 1949 Funakoshi's students created the Japan Karate Association (JKA), with Funakoshi as the honorary head of the organization. However in practise this organization was led by Masatoshi Nakayama. The JKA began formalizing Funakoshi's teachings. Funakoshi was not supportive of all of the changes that the JKA eventually made to his karate style. Funakoshi got Osteoarthritis in 1948 and died of Colorectal cancer in 1957.

Kenwa Mabuni (摩文仁 賢和 Mabuni Kenwa^?, 1889–1952) was one of the first karateka to teach karate on mainland Japan and is creditied as developing the style known as Shitō-ryū (糸東流).

[edit]Funakoshi Gichin learned kata from Kenwa Mabuni: In order to expand his knowledge he sent his son Gigō to study kata in Mabuni's dōjō in Osaka.

Achievements

1. Kenwa Mabuni, Motobu Chōki and other Okinawans were actively teaching karate in Japan prior to this point when Gichin Funakoshi 'officially' brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan.
2. Shitō-ryū (糸東流) is a school of karate that was founded by Kenwa Mabuni in 1931. In 1939 the style was officially registered in the Butoku Kai headquarters.

[edit]Early years

Born in Shuri on Okinawa in 1889, Mabuni Sensei was a descendant of the famous Onigusukini Samurai family. Perhaps because of his weak constitution, he began his instruction in his home town in the art of Shuri-Te (首里手) at the age of 13, under the tutelage of the legendary Ankō Yasutsune Itosu (糸州安恒) (1831-1915). He trained diligently for several years, learning many kata from this great master. It was Itosu who first developed the Pinan kata, which were most probably derived from the 'Kusanku' form.

One of his close friends, Sensei Chōjun Miyagi (宮城長順) (founder of Gōjū-ryū) introduced Mabuni to another great of that period, Sensei Higaonna Kanryō (東恩納寛量), and began to learn Naha-Te (那覇手) under him as well. While both Itosu and Higashionna taught a 'hard-soft' style of Okinawan 'Te', their methods and emphases were quite distinct: the Itosu syllabus included straight and powerful techniques as exemplified in the Naifanchi and Bassai kata; the Higashionna syllabus, on the other hand, stressed circular motion and shorter fighting methods as seen in the popular Seipai and Kururunfa forms. Shitō-ryū focuses on both hard and soft techniques to this day.

Although he remained true to the teachings of these two great masters, Mabuni sought instruction from a number of other teachers; including Seishō Aragaki, Tawada Shimboku, Sueyoshi Jinoand Wu Xianhui (a Chinese master known as Go-Kenki). In fact, Mabuni was legendary for his encyclopaedic knowledge of kata and their bunkai applications. By the 1920s, he was regarded as the foremost authority on Okinawan kata and their history and was much sought after as a teacher by his contemporaries. There is even some evidence that his expertise was sought out in China, as well as Okinawa and mainland Japan. As a police officer, he taught local law enforcement officers and at the behest of his teacher Itosu, began instruction in the various grammar schools in Shuri and Naha.

[edit]Shito-ryu history

In an effort to popularize karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as 'Te' (Chinese Fist) or Karate had been passed down through many generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. In fact, many masters of his generation held similar views on the future of Karate: Sensei Gichin Funakoshi (船越義珍) (founder of Shotokan (松濤館)), another contemporary, had moved to Tokyo in the 1920s to promote their art on the mainland as well. During this period, Mabuni also taught many other prominent martial artists, such as Otsuka Hironori (founder of Wadō-ryū) and Konishi Yasuhiro (founder of Shindō jinen-ryū). Both men were students of Funakoshi sensei.

By 1929, Mabuni had moved to Osaka on the mainland, to become a full-time karate instructor of a style he originally called Hanko-ryū, or 'half-hard style'. In an effort to gain acceptance in the Japanese Butokukai, the governing body for all officially recognized martial arts in that country, he and his contemporaries decided to call their art 'Karate' or 'Empty Hand', rather than 'Chinese Hand', perhaps to make it sound more Japanese. Around the same time, perhaps when first introducing his style to the Butokukai, is when it's believed the name of the style changed to Shitō-ryū, in honour of its main influences. Mabuni derived the name for his new style of Shitō-ryū from the first Kanji character in their names, "Shi" for Higashionna and "To" for Itosu. With the support of Sensei-ryūsho Sakagami (1915-1993), he opened a number of Shitō-ryū dojo in the Osaka area, including Kansai University and the Japan Karate-dō Kai dojo. To this day, the largest contingent of Shitō-ryū practitioners in Japan is centred in the Osaka area. However, Mabuni's contemporary Shinpan Shiroma remained in Shuri, Okinawa, and established Okinawan Shito-ryu.

[edit]Career

Mabuni published a number of books on the subject and continued to systematize the instruction method. In his latter years, he developed a number of formal kata, such as Aoyagi and Meijō, for example, which were designed specifically for women's self defense. Perhaps more than any other Master in the last century, Mabuni was steeped in the traditions and history of Karate-do, yet forward thinking enough to realize that it could spread throughout the world. To this day, Shitō-ryū recognizes the influences of Itosu and Higashionna: the kata syllabus of Shito-ryū is still often listed in such a way as to show the two lineages.

[edit]Later years

Kenwa Mabuni died in 1952, and he is succeeded by his sons Kenei and Kenzo. His son Kenzo Mabuni died in 26 June, 2005, and was succeeded by his daughter.