Sorry, sorry, i've been distracted by the spiritual world. Okay, here's number 2: 2. What was the main source of master shimabuku's spiritual side? At what point in his life did he first begin his study with it, and with who did he study it? -Well, to me it looks like he started his spiritual study with his uncle Ganiko, considering the definition of a sanjinso as a “fortuneteller; diviner”. This was before he actually started training in martial arts.
sure if this is what you wanted but... 4. What are the origins of the megami and the isshinryu patch? There are two very different answers to this question. -Master Shimabuku fell asleep listening to the radio. He dreamed of a half-dragon half-woman –in other words, Megami the water goddess – who challenged Shimabuku. It was this dream from which the patch had come. -One source is similar; except that in the dream, a man (not half-dragon) entered the dojo and asked Shimabuku to fight, but shimabuku refused, dismissing him with the open palm (“peace”) while hiding his closed fist (“last resort”)
Yes, you are right about the fortunetelling. Notice as you do your research that some sources depict this as a side note, while other sources depict this as being the core of shimabuku as a human being. The megami histories, you are correct, but develop the answers further, more details. The more details uncovered, the more differences that are apparent. While you find more about these two megami histories, read other isshinryu history from the same sources to see what other differences you can find. By the way, you have done an outstanding job with this so far! You're almost done the challenge!! p.s. don't forget the bonus question, what age did master shimabuku take the name tatsuo?
here we go... Bonus. What age did shimabuku change his name to tatsuo? -About 33...? 4. What are the origins of the megami and the isshinryu patch? There are two very different answers to this question. -Master Shimabuku fell asleep listening to the radio. He dreamed of a half-dragon half-woman –in other words, Megami the water goddess – who challenged Shimabuku. It was this dream from which the patch had come. Advincula conceived the dream; and, with shimabuku’s permission, drew a design showing the goddessd fighting a dragon. Tatsuo corrected him, explaining that megami was half woman half dragon. These are the symbols and their meaning: 1. 3 Stars - The stars are in the position of one (-) in Kanji and mean one or ichi and is the "is" in Isshin-ryu. They represent heart, as shown in the heart of scorpio, or "shin". They also represent Shimabuku's teachers: 2. Ganeku Shinko (uncle) Chotoku Kyan (Kiyan) - Shorinryu, Chojun Miyagi - Gojuryu, Choki Motobu - Kobudo, Shinken Taira - Kodudo They also represent the following triads: Mind/Body/Spirit Strength/Speed/Technique Serenity/Tranquility/Humility Shorinryu (mother)/Gojuryu (father)/Isshin-ryu (baby) Shorinryu/Gojuryu/Kobudo 3. Night - The unknown (the stars, Tatsuo Shimabuku's teachers light up the darkness) 4. Woman's Upper Body - Karate can be as gentle as a woman 5. Dragon's Lower Body - Karate can be as fierce as a dragon. 6. Goddess' Calm Face - Be calm in adversity. 7. Turbulent Water - Danger or evil which is always present. 8. Left Hand Open (Soft) - Talk your way out if possible. 9. Right Hand Closed (Hard) - Use force only as a last resort, and then only what is necessary. 10. Dragon in the Sky (Heaven) - Tatsuo who is the energy of Isshin-ryu moves endlessly from earth to heaven. Dragon (Tatsuo) can also be written "ryu" and is pronounced the same as ryu (way, style or mode). Its hidden meaning -- the ryu of Isshin-ryu. 11. Tiger in Headdress (Earth) - The dragon represents the spirit and the earth represents the matter. The dragon is male and the tiger is female. Both must be in harmony with each other to become united as one mind and body. 12. Gold Border - Karate is golden and pure and is a discipline that must not be misused. -One source is similar; except that in the dream, a man (not half-dragon) entered the dojo and asked Shimabuku to fight, but shimabuku refused, dismissing him with the open palm (“peace”) while hiding his closed fist (“last resort”). Instead of leaving in peace, the man surrounded shimabuku in flames and disappeared. The next day, tatsuo entered a house and saw a picture of megami in the same pose/stance as tatsuo was in his dream. she was waist deep in water and was using the water from the sea to extinguish flames; like tatsuo had extinguished the fire with water from the tank he had fallen asleep on. Mizu Gami - Shinto Water Goddess Symbolizes the peacefuleness and agressive natures of the Karate Students The left open hand represents the peaceful nature of all karateka; also holding back the turbulent sea The right hand clenched represents the strength and power of karate (which is available) Troubled Water The trials and tribulations a karateka must go through Symbol of purity, strength and goodness The Gray Sky Along with the troubled water, represents the trials and tribulations of the karateka Represents the calm and quiet nights which stand for the true meaning of karate; that it should only be used for defense The Dragon Sign of good luck, that Isshinryu will prosper The dragon has obtained the total enlightenment we all seek through the knowledge and practice of Isshinryu. Stands for TATSUO (which means Dragon Boy or Dragon Man) Spiritual evolution of the karateka 3 Stars The three instructors of Master Shimabuku: Kiyan, Miyagi and Motobu Shorin-Ryu and Goju-Ryu making Isshinryu Physical, mental and spiritual aspects of Isshinryu. (Mind, body and spirit) Good, Better and Best The Japanese Characters (Kanji Writing) Spell out: 1. ISS (One) 2. HIN (Heart) 3. Ryu (Method) 4. Karate (Empty Hand) Characters can also be translated into Japanese as "Concentration" The Oval shape of the patch Represents the vertical fist of Isshinryu, which became one of it's trademarks Represents wholeness, the complete martial art. The Orange Border Represents the flames that surrounded Master Shimabuku in his dream Represents fire, signifying evil and impurity that can be overcaome by Isshinryu Karate The Isshinryu patch is of oval shape to represent the vertical Isshinryu fist. In the center is the figure of Mizu Gami (water goddess) and at the top are three stars representing Master Shimabuku's three teachers. A red (sometimes orange) circle signifying the flame that surrounded Shimabuku in his dream borders the emblem. The patch is always worn on your uniform over the heart symbolizing the "One Heart Way".
EXCELLENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you hit the nail on the head there. congrats for successfully completing your learning challenge!!!!!!!! the bonus question you missed though, lol. He changed his name to tatsuo at the age of 39 (if you find a source that says a different age, feel free to post the link). So, my question for you now, has all the reading changed or added to your thoughts or insights about the style of isshinryu any? What was most interesting for you to learn about? What have you gained from this information scavenger hunt?
For the bonus question, I had to guess. the source i got t from didn't really say what age.; i did somemath. the paragraph before that said "at age 30", tgen "in 1946" then "one year later". lol the interesting things were: 1. he went to the Philippines! thats where my dad was from...Manila! 2. the comments people made about shimabuku. especially the ones about climbing a phone pole (lol) and sneaking behind a person thatwas wielding a knife. 3. he was born the same year as a great earthquake...? wha...? 4. he scared young uezu away when he was hitting the makiwara there isa bunch of different things on different sites that arent on others. it starts getting old when you keep getting thesame info scavangers for the stew. but when you find that rare stuff it just makesyou read on to find more rare stuff
Funny, I too find myself interested by the little tidbits of information as well. My isshinryu school most closely follows the teachings of Master Uezu, and at my school, the megami is referred to as mizu-gami, if it helps clarify my background any. Which lineage does your school most closely follow? By the way, as an update to my training progress, i successfully executed my first 540 degree round kick. It is still not at the normal height and its not as consistent or as smooth as i like, but after 4 months, I finally pulled one off.
My entire lineage is as follows: Tatsuo Shimabuku Don Nagle James Chapman Jesse Gallegos Bill and Eva Birdsaw Steve Walden Jim Fox Me Nobody A 540? :wow: So not fait! For my training, I'v been using a 4'6" bom but just recently my sensei wanted me to try my tokumine no kun with a 5'6" bo. As a result, he thinks it looks waaaay better than when i use my 4'6" bo. not sure why though... I test for green belt on the 25th.
I thought I had a thread already somewhere about this...but I'm sure it's really old, seeing how I haven't been here for a while. But yes, I too am an Isshin ryu practitioner, and I love it, and I love to study the history and all that stuff as well. Although I've only been training for about a year now, and I'm almost at Green belt level (still Orange for now), I go there five days a week, and practice as much as possible, and plan on sticking with it. I read somewhere earlier in this thread that you go from yellow belt w/stripe to green belt? Well, my dojo doesn't do that...we go from yellow belt to orange belt, and then to green belt. In fact, the only belts I know of where we earned stripes was white belt, and I think we might for brown. I know that in the younger student's classes they get stripes and stuff, but the adult class doesn't. The kata's I've learned so far are Seisan, Seiuchin, and Sanchin. I believe my lineage is from Master Uezo, although I am not 100% certain, my sensei usually talks about him the most, and claims that his sensei has trained on more than one occasion with Uezo (although not a "formal" student).
Another almost-green belt! You already know Sanchin? my sensei says i will learn it after i get my green belt.
The bo form probably does look better with the 5'6 bo. Traditionally, the bo should be about as long as the user is tall. I stand around 5'9 or 5'10 and i use a 6 foot long bo staff. Good luck on your green belt test on the 25th, I look forward to hearing your results. Unsung hero, what kata are you currently learning. It sounds as if you may be eligible for a green belt test soon as well. And yes, at my old school, yellow belt with one green stripe on the tail is equivalent to orange belt. This just saves someone the trouble of buying an all new belt since they will be going for green belt in a couple of months anyway is the logic. When i start teaching on my own, I plan on using an orange belt for that rank.
The kata I am currently learning is Sanchin...although I already know the whole thing, I guess you could say we're just working on "perfecting it". I also know Tokomine (I can't remember the entire name now, I just had a "brain fart")...the first bo kata. And we've been fooling around with the sai's quite a bit, and I already know the first sai kata. I guess we aren't supposed to be learning how to use the sai until later, but according to my sensei I'm a quick learner, and he wants to do other stuff to pass the time other than sparring and bag work, so we break out the sai occasionally.
My sensei says I won't get to learn the sai kata until after black belt. Is there a specific reason for this? BTW, Unsung hero, the whole name is tokumine no kun.
Although some students would learn the sai kata at brown belt to pass the time, at my isshinryu school, a student only needs to know a single weapon kata for black belt. When i tested, i knew tokimine no kun and the 2nd bo urashi bo. Since i was only required to know one, i performed tokimine no kun. Although isshinryu does have a strong kobudo element, the core of the style is in its empty hand techniques. After Shimabuku reached a level in empty hand training he was satisfied with, he then went on to pursue kobudo more actively with taira shinken. The idea of reaching a satisfactory level of all empty hand knowledge before more actively pursuing weapons is reflected in many isshinryu schools. Most schools, a student only knows 1 or 2 weapon kata before black belt, and the rest are requirements for further black belt promotions, but every isshinryu school I know of requires all empty hand curriculum prior to black belt.
Well, the sai kata isn't required for black belt at my school either, it's just something we're dabbling with to pass the time, seeing how I'm there almost every day it's open, and since apparently the organization he's (my sensei) affiliated with gets mad when you let someone advance to the next belt before at least four to six months (depending on the belt), we do that to pass the time on some classes. Especially when it's just my sensei and I.
Update: I broke my first double boards today. with hammer fist. there was one funny outcome, where one board broke, but the two halves were held together as if the edgges were taped.
