Akatonbou Martial Arts

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https://www.facebook.com/Martial-Arts-and-Health-Expo-2022-201287006712049

Martial Arts and Health Expo International Event inspiring movement, community and health. Seminars, banquet and belt testing

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It's on! Hope you can join us May 20-22, 2022 in Thunder Bay, the Martial Arts Capital of Canada! We will be announcing our presenters, schedule and details soon!

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Photo of the Day: Tatsuo Shimabuku

Founder of Isshin Ryu (One Heart Style) which is Japanese hybrid system combining Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu methods. He is the older brother of Eizo Shimabuku, a notable Shorin Ryu instructor.

Tatsuo Shimabuku was born in Gushikawa village, Okinawa, on September 19, 1908. He was the first of ten children born into a farming family. He began his study of karate at the age of 13 from his uncle, who lived nearby him in Chan Village.

Around the age of 23, he began to study Shuri-te karate (Shorin-ryu) under Chotoku Kyan in the village of Kadena at Kyan's home. Within a short time, Shimabuku became one of Kyan's best students and learned the kata: Seisan, Naihanchi, Wansu, Chinto and Kusanku, along with the weapons kata Tokumine-no-kun and basic Sai. He also began his study of "Ki" (or "Chinkuchi" in the Okinawan dialect) for which Kyan was most well known. Shimabuku studied with Kyan until 1936. He always considered Kyan his first formal Sensei and was very loyal to him.

Shimabuku had always been fascinated by Naha-te karate (Goju Ryu) and sought out Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju Ryu. Miyagi's teacher had been Higaonna Kanryo (also called Higashionna) who brought from China a derivative of Kenpo called 'kin g*i'. Pang*i Noon was the bearer of Uechi-ryu from China to Okinawa. Eventually this became Naha-te. From Miyagi, Tatsuo learned Seiunchin ("Seize-Control-Fight") kata and Sanchin ("Three-Fights/Conflicts") kata.

After studying with Miyagi, Shimabuku, in 1938, sought out another famous Shorin-Ryu instructor, Choki Motobu, who was probably the most colorful of all of Shimabuku's instructors. Motobu had had many teachers for short periods of time, including some notable ones such as Anko Itosu (Shuri-te) and Kosaku Matsumora (Tomari-te). Motobu was known for often getting into street fights in his youth to promote the effectiveness of karate. Shimabuku studied with Motobu for approximately one year.

Shimabuku opened his first dojo in 1946 after the war in the village of Konbu, near Tengan village. By the early 1950s Shimabuku was refining his karate teaching, combining what he felt was the best of the Shorin-Ryu and Goju-Ryu styles, the weapons forms he had studied, and his own techniques.

His interest in weapons (Kobudo) grew, and he sought out the most renowned weapons instructors, because he only knew the one bo (staff) kata, 'Tokumine no Kun' and basic sai techniques he had learned from Chotoku Kyan. He soon became a master in the Bo and Sai weapons. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he continued his study of Kobudō with one of Moden Yabiku’s top students, Shinken Taira. This training took place in Shimabuku’s dojo in Agena. He learned Hama Higa no Tuifa, Shishi no Kun, Chatan Yara no Sai, and Urashi Bo. Shimabuku created Kyan Chotoku sai and Kusanku sai using sai techniques he learned from Chotoku Kyan. To honor Chotoku Kyan, he named his first sai after him.

In 1955, the Third Marine Division of the U.S. Marine Corps was stationed on Okinawa, and the Marine Corps chose Shimabuku to provide instruction to Marines on the island. As a result of his instruction, Isshin-ryū was spread throughout the United States by returning Marines. The karate that the Marines brought back to dojos in the United States was a blend of what Shimabuku considered the best of the karate systems.

The first of the Marines to bring Isshin-ryū karate to the United States were Don Nagle and Harold Long. Nagle opened his dojo outside Camp Lejeune, North Carolina in late 1957, while Harold Long’s first dojo was in his backyard at Twenty-Nine Palms, California in late 1958. Upon their discharge from service, Nagle moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, and opened the first Isshin-ryū dojo in the Northeast. Harold Long returned home to Knoxville, Tennessee, and opened his first dojo at the Marine Reserve Training Center.

Shimabuku made two trips to the United States to visit his top students in 1964 and 1966. During his 1966 trip, he visited Steve Armstrong in Tacoma, Washington, Harold Long in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Nagle in New Jersey. All three men were promoted to the rank of Hachi-Dan (Eighth Degree). Each of these men became a driving force in the promotion and spread of Isshin-ryū karate in the United States. Shimabuku was well known to not enjoy traveling far from home, and further visits representing him were conducted by his students, mainly Uezu Angi, who was his son-in-law.

Shimabuku continued teaching at his dojo in Agena until his retirement in early 1972. He passed his legacy over to his son, Kichiro Shimabuku. There was much controversy over this decision, as Shimabuku had originally intended to pass on the system to his number one Okinawan student, Kaneshi Eiko. When Kichiro learned of this decision, he was outraged and demanded that his father stay with Okinawan tradition and pass the system over to him. Shimabuku relented and granted his son's wish, but their relationship never recovered.

Shimabuku died from a stroke at his home in the village of Agena on May 30, 1975 at the age of 66.