Martial Art Legends - a list of individuals and the arts that they founded, inherited and passed on for others to teach and learn.
The following information and list of individuals and events is only a basic introduction of those of the past that have influenced today’s Martial Arts. Many have disputed over which art form came first, is the oldest or which one is best! Which is best is a personal choice, but from recorded history the following is evident!
1. Minamoto Yoshiie: (1041-1108) was a famous general known for his ability at Kyujutsu. He is widely considered to be the greatest warrior in the history of Japan. Legend states that all he had to do was order his horse saddled to cause entire armies to surrender.
2. Minamoto Yoshimitsu: (1056-1127) the younger brother of Minamoto Yoshiie. Yoshimitsu was the founder of the Daito-Ryu, Takeda-Ryu and Ogasawara-Ryu or (Rules of the Samurai). He was famous for his skill at Sojutsu, Kenjutsu, Jujutsu and Kyujutsu. According to legend he dissected the bodies of war dead to develop the Daito-Ryu joint-locks.
3. Takeda: (c1163) a family descended from Minamoto Yoshikiyo, 2nd son of Minamoto Yoshimitsu which lived in the small village in the Kai province.
4. Takeda Minamoto Kunitsugu: (c1575) first of the Takeda family to move to the Aizu area in 1573. Aizu: A district in northern Honshu where two great generals met after defeating the northern barbarians, the Ainu. The Ainu’s were the earliest inhabitants of the Japanese islands (coming from Siberia) and were gradually driven north by the new settlers from China and Southeast Asia.
5. Miyamoto Musashi: (1584-1645) Japan’s most renowned Kenjutsu warrior. He was a Samurai and by the age of 30, had fought and won more than 60 contests by killing all his opponents. He formulated his philosophy of “The Way of the Warrior” and wrote: (A Book of Five Rings).
6. Takeda Soemon: (1758-1853)
7. Okinawa; A group of islands south of Japan which was united by the Shimazu family under King Sho Hashi in 1429 and became part of Japan in 1875. In 1609, Okinawa was invaded and conquered by the Satsuma (Samurai) clan. Both the Shimazu and Satsuma families were from the southern island of Kyushu and the Shimazu family, were the 2nd richest family (next to the Tokugawa family) in Japan. Through the invasion of Okinawa by the Satsuma, weapons were also banned. The banning of weapons brought about the secrete training by the Okinawan farmers by turning their every day tools of trade into weapons against the Satsuma Samurai. Today these taught weapons (Sai, Kama, Tonfu, Nunchaku, Bo and Eku) are known today as Kobudo or ancient weapons of Okinawa.
8. Saigo Tanamo: (1830-1905) a student of Takeda Soemon and 34th headmaster of Daito-Ryu.
9. Takeda Sogaku: (1860-1943) 2nd son of Takeda Sokichi and 35th headmaster in 1898 of Daito-Ryu. Was the most famous of the Takeda clan and the link between ancient and modern Martial Arts! Because of his abilities and small stature of 4’ 11” he was known as the (Aizu Kotengu), or “Little Demon of Aizu”. He never had his own dojo, but traveled throughout Japan teaching. With the exception of Ueshiba Morihei and members of the Sendai Army Regiment, he restricted his teachings to those of power and influence.
10. Kano Jigoro: (1860-1938) the founder of Kodokan Judo in 1882. He was a student of Tenshin Shin Yo-Ryu in 1877 and Kito-Ryu in 1881 and founded the Kodokan in 1882. He is the man most responsible for bringing martial art to the general public by taking out the killing elements of the Jutsu Arts in order that everyone could learn an art in safety. He also introduced the colored belt system for Kyu grades!
11. Shida Shiro: he was adopted, by Saigo Tanamo after Tanamo failed to convince Takeda Sogako to give up Itto- Ryu Kenjutsu in favor of Daito-Ryu. He changed his name to Saigo Shiro in 1884.
12. Saigo Shiro: (1867-1922) a founding member of the Judo’s Kodokan and is famous for defeating the Yoshin- Ryu with the Daito-Ryu technique known as Yama-Arashi or Mountain Storm! He was director of the Kodokan in 1888 and heir-apparent to both Kodokan Judo and the Daito-Ryu, but left both and moved to Nakasaki in 1899 where he became Hanshi of Kyujutsu. His life was the subject of the movie Sanshiro Sugata.
13. Funakoshi Gichin: (1868-1957) known as the father of modern Karate who raised the art from it’s obscured roots in Okinawa to public attention in Japan and eventually the world. He founded the Shotokan system.
14. Kyan Chotoku: (1870-1945) founder of Shobayashi-Ha or Shorin-Ryu.
15. Ueshiba Morihei: (1883-1969) a student of Takeda Sogaku, he merged the teaching of Daito-Ryu with Omoto- Kyo religion and founded modern Aikido. Taking lessons from Kodokan Judo, he began teaching it to the general public.
16. Shigeru Nakamura (1894-1969) established the 1st Okinawa Kenpo Karate dojo in Nago City. Nakamura valued the importance of free style full contact fighting over just kata training. He invented protective equipment which consisted of a modified kendo mask, chest protector and gloves. This was the first time in history of karate that students could practice their fighting skills at full power and speed without serious injury.
17. Miyagi Chojun: (1888-1953) Miyagi, a student of Higaonna from 1902-1915. He founded Goju-Ryu, a major style of Okinawan karate. In 1928 he introduced his system to Japan at the Kyoto Imperial University in 1929 & Hawaii in 1934. Yamaguchi Gogen inherited the Japanese branch in 1930!
18. Okazaki Seishiro: (1890-1951) was known to all by Henry and one of the first Asians to break from the tradition and teach to non-Asians. He is the founder of Kodenkan (the school of ancient teachings), or Danzan- Ryu-JuJitsu and established the (AJI), the American JuJitsu Institute.
19. Shimabuku Zenryo: (1904-1969) student of Kyan Chotoku and founder of Chubu Shorin-Ryu.
20. Takeda Tokimune: (1917-1993) 3rd son of Takeda Sogaku and 37 headmaster of Daito-Ryu.
21. Katsuyuki Kando (1945- ) present headmaster of Daito-Ryu.
22. Nakasato Shoshu: (1918- ) Soke of Shobudo BuJitsu JuJitsu. See website history.
23. McGale Vincent J: (1923- ) Nakasato’s first American student and teacher (Rokudan) who taught Morton and Banks sensei. See website on McGale sensei.
24. Shimabuku Eizo: (1925- ) the inheritor of Shobayashi-Ha Shorin-Ryu. Youngest man ever to attain the rank of Judan ... (10th), at the age of 34 from Toyama Kanken.
25. Seikichi Odo (1926-2002) At age 9, he began training in Judo. At 13 took up Okinawa-Te under master Koho Kuba. At age 20, began to study Okinawan kobudo and fell in love with the weapon arts and studied them tediously to perfection. Over time, Odo’s kobudo instructors included many of the leading practitioners of Okinawa. At 23, Odo began to study karate under Nakamura Senesei. In addition, he studied both kobudo with Mitsu Kakazu as well as karate and Kobudo with Seike Toma, whom was a senior student of Chotoku Kyan ... however, Odo Sensei considers Master Nakamura as his primary instructor and mentor. It was during his studies with Master Nakamura that Nakamura Sensei asked Odo to incorporate kobudo with Nakamura’s own karate teachings.
During the last few years of Nakamura’s life, Odo began to undertake the teachings responsibilities of the dojo. It was then that Odo Sensei began to incorporate Kobudo training with the Okinawa Kenpo Karate system in the mid 1970’s.
In July of 1983, Master Odo structured the system as the Okinawa Kenpo Karate Kobudo Federation. In 1998 Master Odo changed it to the Ryukyu Hon Kenpo Kobujiutsu Federation.
For more in-depth information of history and lineage of the above masters and others not mentioned, many books and websites are available.