About Kinjo Takashi

金城 孝

Kinjō Takashi (given in the Japanese manner, family name Kinjō followed by given name Takashi) was born on August 24,1939, in Naha City, Okinawa, Japan. In 1945, when he was just a young boy, he lost his father in the Battle of Okinawa. This battle is known as the “Typhoon of Steel” for the ferocity of the battle. He is proud to point to his father’s name on the Cornerstone of Peace monument in Peace Memorial Park, Okinawa, engraved with the names of over 250,000 dead from all countries involved in the battle.

The young Kinjō Takashi was naturally athletic, excelling in track events. He started his martial arts career in 1958, while still in high school. He brought this athleticism to his karate training, but is quick to point out that, while athletically gifted, he also trained harder than anyone else.

Sōke Kaichō Kinjō is renowned for his expertise in ieku, the oar. He has performed Tsuken Akachu no Ieku De and later his own version of the kata, Kōbu no Ieku, for many demonstrations through the years. A great showman, his versatility, speed and skill is second to none. More than showmanship, the kata of Kōburyū karate and kobudō demonstrate the practicality of the Okinawan fighting arts of old.

The Meaning of Ko

孝

The Japanese character for Takashi is 孝. In the way of Japanese kanji, this character has a second pronunciation of kō (rhymes with toe). It is the kō pronunciation that Sōke Kaichō Kinjō has used to identify his style, Kōburyū.

Kō has the meaning of “filial piety,” a concept that carries great meaning to Japanese people. Filial piety is a means to achieve family and social harmony. The concept comes from the teachings of Confucius. Defined as a child’s respect for his parents, it includes any relationship of a person to his parents, elders, ancestors and country. The filial child must care for his parents, owing them not only respect but love, support, loyalty and reverence.

Ko’s Fighting Way

孝武流

The name of Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s karate and kobudō style is Kōburyū, which means Ko’s Fighting Way. Kōburyū includes karate and kobudō as one unified style.

The Meaning of Soke Kaicho

宗家会長

Sōke means originator.
宗家

Kaichō means chairman or president of an organization.
会長

Okinawa Kōburyū Karatedō Kobudō Kōbukai is the name of Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s international karate and kobudō organization.
沖縄孝武流空手道古武道孝武会

The title, Sōke Kaichō, honors Kinjō Takashi as both the originator of the karate and kobudō style, Kōburyū, and the current head of the organization, Okinawa Kōburyū Karatedō Kobudō Kōbukai.

Soke Kaicho Kinjo’s Background

Karate

Sōke Kaichō Kinjō began his karate career in 1955, studying Shōrin Ryū under the renowned Shōrin Ryū master, Nagamine Shoshin, founder of Matsubayashi Shōrin Ryū. However, in 1959, Sokei Kaichō Kinjō turned to Uechi Ryū under Itokazu Seiki, another karate great and master of Uechi Ryū karate. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s lifelong study has been in the Uechi Ryū family of karate styles.

Sōke Kaichō Kinjō studied Uechi Ryū under Itokazu Seiki. Itokazu Seiki was a direct student of Kanbun Uechi and later of Kanei Uechi. Itokazu Seiki encouraged the young Kinjō Takashi, then a godan (5th degree black belt), to teach Uechi Ryū karate. Sensei Kinjō opened his first dojo in 1965, called Hantagawa Shureikan.

In 1978, a group of eight dojo, led by Itokazu Seiki and including Sensei Kinjō’s dojo, went back to the original style name, Pangainoon Ryū (半硬軟流). The rift was relatively quickly healed, but Pangainoon Ryū remained separate from Uechi Ryū until very recently. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō continued to teach Pangainoon Ryū with Itokazu Seiki as his teacher and mentor, eventually earning hanshi kyūdan in Pangainoon Ryū before Itokazu’s health declined.

Pangainoon (半硬軟) means “half hard soft.” It was a type of Chinese kung fu studied by Kanbun Uechi in China. The same kanji in Japanese are pronounced Hankōnan. In 1989, Sōke Kaichō Kinjō renamed Pangainoon Ryū, choosing to use the Japanese pronunciation of the kanji. The kanji for “half” was dropped to better indicate a balance between hard and soft. Kōnan Ryū, meaning “hard soft style,” was the name chosen by Sōke Kaichō Kinjō. More importantly, Kōnan Ryū, unlike Uechi Ryū or Pangainoon Ryū, included both karate and kobudō under one organization.

Kobudo

Historically, kobudō was never part of Uechi Ryū. Kinjō Takashi’s karate master, Itokazu Seiki, himself never studied kobudō. Indeed, Itokazu Seiki told his young karate protégé that practicing weapons would spoil his karate technique. In spite of this advice, in 1964, the young Kinjō Takashi began to study kobudō under Matayoshi Shimpo, then head of the Matayoshi family of kobudō and son of Matayoshi Shinko, who founded the Matayoshi family kobudō style.

Sōke Kaichō Kinjō earned hachidan (8th degree black belt) from Matayoshi Shimpo, but they eventually parted ways. Matayoshi Shimpo’s personal goal was to pass on the family kobudō style exactly as he was taught by his father, Matayoshi Shinko. Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s desire to analyze and improve the movements of kobudō was in direct opposition to Matayoshi Shinpo’s chosen life’s work.

Sōke Kaichō Kinjō studied both karate and kobudō because he understood the benefits of studying both. Indeed, he came to feel that karate and kobudō were, like two halves of the same coin, inseparable. Therefore, in 1989, when Sōke Kaichō Kinjō established Kōnan Ryū (硬軟流), he included karate and Matayoshi kobudō under one organization. In the year 2000, when he created Kōburyū, he went one step further and included karate and kobudō as one unified style.

Soke Kaicho Kinjo’s Lineage

Karate

Kobudo