Kinjō Kaichō brought to the 2019 Kōburyū seminar four essays from the Japanese monthly magazine, “Chichi” (致知). Chichi is a Japanese magazine of “philosophical anthropology.” While the essays are written in Japanese and are heavy into Japanese thought (with some religious and cultural interpretation) they also speak to the serious student of karate and kobudō. …
“Shi to deshi” describes the relationship between a great teacher and a student who feels awe for his teacher’s abilities and follows his teachings with humility and respect. A student can learn a lot from a teacher they truly respect. However, growth will stop if the student begins to criticize or superficially serve the teacher. …
Japanese proverbs, called kotowaza (諺) can be difficult for Westerners to understand, but with a little explanation they do make sense. On Aging “Fifty to sixty flowers, seventy to eighty fruits, ninety to one hundred mature” 「五十六十花盛り、七十八十実が成って、九十百歳蒸れ盛り」 This kotowaza is sometimes quoted by Kinjō Kaichō. It compares the aging process to the development from flower …
Kinjō Kaichō is an amazing martial artist, but he denies that he had more innate ability than anyone else. He says he simply worked harder than everyone else. Kōburyū today is a living, evolving martial art because Kinjō Kaichō did not limit himself to the conventional. He had the passion to think deeply and creatively …
Many times in the martial arts you will find a student who has been gifted with special ability. It is easy for this talented young person to become satisfied with his or her skill level and not work to develop his or her ability to its full potential. All students should be encouraged to learn …
Learning as Play The kanji for yū (遊), comes from the Japanese verb, asobu (遊ぶ), meaning to play. The play of yū is not play in the sense of messing around or killing time. Nor is the play structured or engaged in for a purpose, like a sport with rules and the ultimate goal to …
Loosely translated hamon (破門) means “broken gate.” In the martial arts, if a person behaves in a severely inappropriate manner hamon can be the result. The person is denied access to training, the name of the person is removed from the registration of the school and the person is stripped of all ranks and qualifications. …
Kōburyū is a modern style of traditional Okinawan karate and kobudō. How can a karate style be both modern and traditional at the same time? Kōburyū is karate as the old masters intended it: powerful, practical and effective. Most karate masters of today have become content to simply pass on exactly what was taught to …
Kobudō is the study of the weapons of ancient Okinawa. These are not the sword and spear of the samurai of Japan. Most of the weapons of ancient Okinawa were farming and fishing implements. You often hear the claim that karate is more practical than kobudō because you can’t carry your weapons around with you. …
Sōke Kaichō Kinjō believes that every movement of a kata must have a practical application. Movements without a clear application have been modified or removed from the kata. Students of Kōburyū are encouraged to analyze the movements of the kata and develop practical applications for the movements. This process of analysis is called bunkai. Bunkai is practiced with a partner. The bunkai of experienced partners begins to have the appearance of a real fight.