...History of Isshinryu...

It is a well-known proposition that “the adversity is the mother of prosperity”. In order to prove the above proposition, an astonishing event happened in Italy . An earth quake that rocked the Southern Italy in 1908 took away the lives of 150000 people. A contemporaneous prospective event also took place in the same year. A tenth baby was born on the 19 th of September 1908 to a butcher who lived in the village of kinaka with the older name of Chan in gushikawa city known for its defense art in Okinawa Island. Thus brought up Shinkichi had his primary education in the local grammer school and his higher studies in Okinawana Agriculture School . In the later part of his period, he had changed his name to Tatsou Shimabuku (dragon Boy) on account his sheer enthusiasm for the defense art. He is now Tatsou Shimabuku, the father of the modern defense art Isshinryu Karate, it becomes a necessary to look at one point, the thousands of persons who had been trained and are under training becoming a cultured people and they alone stop the immense possibility of crimes thereby saving the innumerable lives and properties. That was why they wee compared with the 150000 people killed in the earth-quake that rocked the Italy . It is not an exaggeration to have treated this art as have paved the way for stopping the damages to the person and properties. It could be justified by looking at this angle. While examining the circumstances facilitating the entrance of Tatsou Shimabuku into the new defense art he was brought up as one of the ten boys. His parents did not look into the mischief done to him by his eldest brother and took it as childish behavior. He was mentally upset by the carelessness of his parents. In order to save himself from this mischief Tatsou Shimabuku took interest in learning defense art. He had to run to the home of his maternal uncle Kamasu Chan and the teacher of the defense art suri-te in Shuri village a twelve miles away from his native. With the intention of making his dream into a real. He told the reasons for his enthusiasm to the learning's of the defense art but he refused to impart the art of defense by taking into consideration of his age and the silly reasons. He advised him to practice running to save himself from the mischief of his brother. However Tatsou Shimabuku frequented his uncle's house without losing his heart and finally his uncle accepted his request. At last, his uncle had imposed certain conditions if he wanted to be his student such as cleaning the class room's house work and service to the master. For that Tatsou Shimabuku expressed his willingness without hesitation. His uncle accepted him as his student. These all happened in the eighth year of his life i.e. in 1916 a remarkable event. He studied the art of shuri-te whole heartedly far four years ie up to 1920 he had obtained various degrees in that art. He excelled all the students and stood first in the class. Notwithstanding his excellence there was not any deminishing factor in his enthusiasm for learning the art. His enthusiasm aimed at learning the art at the maximum possible. In order to further improve his knowledge in that art, he had to approach gojoku chioyu, the teacher of the defense art Kalayashi Shorinry. He studied under him from 1920 to 1921 and acquired the knowledge of that art from him. Noting his glittering knowledge and enthusiasm in defense art he introduced him to the famous legend master Chokuku Kyan. He learnt the defense art shobayashi shorinryu under the guidance of chotoku kyan. He learnt the defense art shobayashi shorinryu under the guidance of chotoku kyan from 1921 to 1930. as he was a truthful and talented student he was taught some katas of seisan, naikanchi, wanzu, chinto and kusanku and the techniques of other defence art such as tokumani no kun bo kata. He invented a new art by blending his learned art and his own defence knowledge and gave a name to it as chan migawa – te ( chan small eye ) and was taught by japanese marine. But it is remarkable to mention here that the defense art born out of his ideas excelled the techniques of the defense art chan migawa – te.

During the period of his learning he had the opportunity of learning the defense art mahiwara from the boxer Choki. He had seized off the opportunity to his fullest betterment. He learnt the defense art from Shimabuku and the knowledge of boxing from choki motobu and the techniques of mahiwara and the new version of naihanchi kata.

The period of his learning was a top of his learning's. His fame was spread out in Okiwanawa like a jungle fire. At that juncture the Second World War became an impediment to his defense art. Because the situation compelled him to join the Japan army. In order to avoid it he had shifted his place to a country side. He did agriculture and the practice of the defense art in his concealment.

In such a situation the special team of Japanese army found out his place of confinement. On identify the approached him to impart the knowledge of the defense art or otherwise they would divulge his place of concealment to the Japanese army. As they agreed upon to the condition of not informing the place of his concealment he tught them the art of self defense. After the Second World War, his teacher shotoku kyan was succumbed to vagaries of the Second World War on 20 th of 1945. Subsequently Tatsou Shimabuku learned the self defenses art of naha te from kanryo henonna with excellence. He had excelled himself in that art. Therefore he learned the art of goju ryu invented by choin miyagi from him. He learned the self defence art of goju ryu and its techniques and the katas such as seiuchchin sanchin with par excellence.

Finally his enthusiasm raised towards art of Okinawan kobudo a famous art of self defense of the year 1950 in Okinawa . He learned from Tirs Seinken the art of kobudu and the handling of the weapon like bo, sai, tonfa, kama, nunchaku and their related katas such as kata fshd,urashi bo shi si no kun no dai bo, chatan yara no sai, nippon sai, kamakata, nunchaku kata and hama higa tonfa. He had used the knowleldge and the techniques of the toppest self defence art acquired from the expert teacher to the better developent of his earlier teaching chan migawa te. He invented a kata sun su. In addition to that he creatd a new kat namely kusan ku sai by blendings he art kusanku with the weapon sai and adding his learnings of seisan, seiuchchin, naikanchi wansu chinto sanchin kusanku along with his self created sunsu kata with the art weapon like urashi bo, shi si no kun no dai bo, chatany yara no si, nama higa tonfa and nunchaku kata kama kata and bobo kumite bo sai kumite and joind them with his self defence art of chan migawa-te so far taught by him.he gave a new name of isshinryu (one heart syste) to his karate earlier taught self defence migava te. On 15 th january 1956 and declared its globlalisation. This is isshinryu karate now practiced. Tatsou shima buku worked hard for further imporvement of the art and he was attacked by stroke. He let his art be inherited by his son-in-law angi ueizu and appointed the american student like steve amstrong , don nigel , advinala , harold mitchum , willve adams and finally left this world on 30 th may 1975.