Seibukan Shorin Ryu

Shimabukuro Zenryo(Nov. 14, 1908 - Oct. 14,1969)

Shimabukuro Zenryo(Nov. 14, 1908 - Oct. 14,1969)

By John Sells

Shorin-ryu karate is like a stout tree with manybranches. Its base is firmly rooted in the karatethat developed in Okinawas old Shuri City andTomari Village over a century ago. While mechanically sharingthe same foundation, each branch points in a differentdirection, having been guided byvaried influences. One of the largestbranches, really an elemental divisionof the main trunk itself, is that linerepresented by the Shorin-ryu stylesthat trace their l ineage to KyanChotoku (1870-1945), one of thefounders of Okinawan karate as it isknown today. And it is directly fromKyan that the karate of ShimabukuroZenryo (Nov. 14, 1908 - Oct. 14,1969) comes.

Any explanation of Seibukan muststart with Kyan Chotoku, who was theson of Kyan Chofu, a high-rankingofficial in the Okinawan royal court.

Chofu was a royal steward,attending to the Okinawan king,Sho Tai, personally. Though bythe time of Chotokus birth inGibo Vi l lage, Shuri, theOkinawan kingdom was alreadyin transit ion. Although theSatsuma samurai from Kyushu,Japan, had completelysubjugated the Ryukyuarchipelago in 1609, itsmonarchy and internaladministrat ive bureaucracy(including its civil police and royalgarrison) had been allowed tocontinue as a puppet state.However, even this pretense wasabandoned in 1872, when themonarchy was dissolved by aJapanese Government that haditself moved out of the feudal eraunder Emperor Meiji's leadershipin 1868. The now former king

Kyan Chotoku

Kyan Chofu

SEIBTHE SHORINJI-SHIMABUKURO

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BUGEISHA: Traditional Martial Artist 15

and his family were subsequently taken toJapan, where they continued for some timeto live an aristocratic life. Accompanying theking were some of his old retainers,including Kyan Chofu, who brought histwelve-year-old son to be educated inTokyo. However, Chofus service to theformer king ended when Chotoku wassixteen and the Kyan family moved back toOkinawa to a land where much of the gentryclass, the people who developed karate,had fallen on hard times -- their feudallargess having ended when Okinawa wasmade a prefecture of Japan and thekingdom period ended.

Still, young Kyan Chotoku was to receivea remarkable martial arts education fromsome of Okinawa's most prominentkarateka. Though he was a small, slightindividual -- Shimabukuro Zenryo said hewas only 4'10", he overcame his physicalsize by training arduously, often devisingtechniques that enhanced the art itself.Techniques that he perfected under theguidance of such men as his grandfather,Kyan Oyakata (who was his first martial artsteacher); Matsumura Sokon, the old leadingkarateka of Shuri from whom he learned theold karate training routines (kata) Seisan,Naifanchi, and Gojushiho; Oyadomari Kokanof Tomari-te, another former high-rankingofficial, who taught him Passai kata; andMatsumora Kosaku, known as Tomari-tes

leading exponent, taught Kyan Chinto kata.These men had been secured by Chotokusfather to teach his son from the age oftwenty. By the time Chotoku was thirty, hehad become well known as askilled karateka himself. He alsosought out others whoseknowledge and expertise hecould benefit from. Theseincluded Maeda, anotherformer official from whomhe learned the Wanshukata; Yara of YomitanVillage (a descendantof Chatan Yara, whowas contemporarywith Matsumurasalleged teacher, TodeSakugawa), fromwhom he learned abeautiful long versionof Kusanku kata; andTokumine, the banishedShuri officer who is saidto have taught Kyan hisbo kata, Tokumine noKon (though Tokuminemay have been dead bythe t ime Kyan visitedYaeyama Island, south ofOkinawa Island, where theold regime had banishedTokumine).

It has also been said many times thatKyan was a student of Matsumura Sokonsmost famous protege, Itosu Anko. However,Kyans own students and Chibana Chosin,Itosus successor, steadfastly maintainedthat Kyan never studied under Itosu.Nonetheless, Kyan amassed a wide array ofknowledge from some of the best sources inold-style Okinawan karate. With thisexpertise and knowledge, Kyan became asought after and acknowledged master ofthe art. He was famous for his kicking skills

and fast and l ight but effectivemovements. He was supposedlychallenged many times and was ableto emerge victorious throughout it all.

By the 1920's, karate wasentering the modern era. Many

of the old masters who taughtKyans generation were dead,and times were difficult formany who had belonged tothe old privi leged class.Quite a few of them beganto work out with each otherand give demonstrationstogether. Along with others,

Kyan began teaching atvarious schools andinstitut ions of higherlearning. New territory wasopened up by theexpansionist JapaneseGovernment, including theisland of Taiwan, whereKyan went for a t imeaccompanied by at leasttwo other karateka,Kuwae Ryusei andKudaka Kori (AKAHisataka). Upon returning

Zenryo Shimabukuro and his son Zenpodemonstrating a sukui uke or scoopingblock with a kick counter.

UKAN RYU KARATE OFZENRYO

The SeibukanPatch

Photo by Walter Dailey

karate instruction and training did notimmediately begin anew, but by 1947, a fewof the surviving instructors began to revivetheir classes. Shimabukuro Zenryo was oneof these, and though he continued to ply histrade as a baker, he began to give lessonsto perpetuate his teachers karate to a fewschool-age students, who, by the 1950's,included his son, Zenpo, and nephew, Zenji.Like most Okinawan karateka of that era,their dojo was the open air, usually atZenryos house, but anywhere space couldbe found to train in would suffice. Gradually,Zenryos group grew as did his reputation asone of Kyans most senior survivingstudents, a position that he felt honor boundto continue his mentors karate just as it waspassed on to him. This meant that studentslearned Kyans curriculum, the kata Ananku,Wanshu, Seisan,Naifanchi, Passai,Chinto, Kusanku, andGojushiho. It also meantthat he trained hisstudents in hard,practical karate.

As the 1950's woreon, Shimabukuro was tobecome anacknowledged karateleader, though not astrident one. He wasgood friends with somevery prominent karatepeople such as ChibanaChosin, one of theislands most senior

16 BUGEISHA: Traditional Martial Artist

Shimabukuro Sensei poses in a movementfrom the Yara Kusanku which he learnedfrom Chotoku Kyan.

Shimabukuro Sensei overlooking dojo activities. Sempai LarryHall sits next to him. Photo by Walter Dailey 1963

from Taiwan, Kyan began to teach a newkata called Ananku, which he had evidentlydevised as a basic kata from techniquesdeveloped from or inspired by his Taiwanadventures. Kyan also took part in thefamous meeting in 1936 that essentiallydecided the future course of karate andchanged the arts name from "China hand"to "empty hand."

It was during these times that the seedsof Seibukan were sown when ShimabukuroZenryo, who had moved to Chatan Villageand set up a bakery shop, became astudent of Kyan. In those days, not justanyone was admitted into a masters courseof instruction. However, after a formalintroduction and much persuasion, Zenryobecame Kyan's student. He was to staywith Kyan for ten years until the devastationthat punctuated the final years of World WarTwo ended all training for some time. Notonly did training end, but also many of theold karate masters did not survive the war.According to Zenryo Sensei, Kyan died ofstarvation in 1945, after giving what littlefood there was to children, so that theymight survive.

After the war, karate as we now it todayreally began to take shape. Of course,

leaders, and they had often demonstratedkarate together, Shimabukuro representingKyans style and Chibana, Itosus. Nakamuraand Shimabukuro had been friends for mostof their lives, each believed that karateshould be real and taught their studentsaccordingly. Both Shimabukuro andNakamura taught sparr ing, and hardsparring at that, something many of theother karate leaders did not agree with. Infact, when the original Okinawan KarateFederation was formed, Shimabukuro wasnot invited to become a member even thoughhis longtime friend, Chibana, was a leader ofthat group. This evidently did not sit well withChibana and would be one of the contributingfactors to Chibana withdrawing from theorganization within a few years.

THE BIRTH OF THE SEIBUKANBy the end of the 1950's, the various

karate groups who traced their lineagesback to Shuri-te and/or Tomari-te of theOkinawan kingdom period were knowngenerical ly as Shorin-ryu. The groupChibana headed used a different Chinesecharacter (kanji) for "sho" than the originalone, which represented the ChineseMandarin "shao" as in Shaolin Temple(Shorinji in Japanese; "Young Forest").However, many of the Kyan-derived groupswere using the term Shorinji-ryu to describetheir style. This was before Shorinji-ryubecame the official name of one factionunder Nakazato Joen, another student ofKyans who was junior to Shimabukuro.Therefore, the end of the 1950's sawseveral groups emerge as Shorin-ryu andShorinji-ryu, but these terms were often usedinterchangeably as the solidification of thevarious styles had not yet been completed.The Shorin-ryu of the Kyan-derived groupswas also known generical ly as"Sukunaihayashi," an Okinawan (Hogen)rendering of the same kanji.

Things began to change rapidly around1959, when a group of Americanservicemen stationed nearby heard of

SEIBUKANTHE SHORINJI-RYU KARATE OF

SHIMABUKURO ZENRYO

Shorin-RyuSeibukan

Zenshu-HaThe Zenshu-Hapromotes andpreserves theKarate-Do andphilosophies ofSensei ZenryoShimabukuro.

For moreInformation

Please contact:

Walter DaileyZenshu-Ha HombuMorgantown, PA.

610-286-7771email:

[email protected]

Shimabukuros reputation.They were from the 2/503Airborne Battle group (whichbecame the 173rd Airborne,which saw heavy action in theVietnam war), paratrooperswho wanted to learn theOkinawans karate. Rebuffedat first, the young trooperswere persistent and finallypersuaded Shimabukuro totake them on as students. Thiswas at a time when theAmerican forces who hadoccupied the island since 1945were increasing in number andU.S. service personnel werereally starting to explore theOkinawan martial arts. Beforethe late 1950's, karate waspretty much restricted toOkinawans only, though therehad been a few exceptions. Also, Okinawansas a rule were not allowed onto the militarybases, thus there was not as muchinteraction with Americans as one might thinkgiven their presence on the island.

It was due to the efforts of an influential

U.S. Army sergeant major named Fuller, thatthe GIs had access to Shimabukuroskarate. Fuller secured permission for any GIwho wanted to, to train with Shimabukuro.Fuller also was able to secure, on occasion,empty barracks or other facilities on the

military base that he couldget for the purpose of karatetraining.

They were often leftwithout a place to train asother groups with higherpriority often bumped themout of on-base facil it ies.However, they did often trainat the field house, an on-base athletic facility for themilitary. Off base, theytrained wherever they could,Okinawans and Americanstogether, includinggraveyards. Included in thisfirst group of Americanswas Walter Dailey, whojoined Shimabukuros karateat the field house trainings inearly 1960.

By 1962, Shimabukurodecided to take a gamble that wouldbecome part of his legacy. He arranged toborrow money, purchased land in Chatanand had a dojo built. Many of the studentsjoined in the construction efforts andcontributed much time and energy toward

Very rare photos of Shimabukuro Sensei actively teaching in a classat the Army Barracks in Mashisato, Okinawa. The Seibukan dojo wasnot yet built at this time. Photo by Walter Dailey 1961

Zenryo Shimabukuro (center) displaying his 10th degree certificate from theAll-Japan Karate-Do Federation in 1964. Seated to his right is ShigeruNakamura and to his left is Joen Nakazato and Seikichi Odo.

Students of Shimabukuro Sensei would often take him to theKadena Air Force Base Officers Club for dinner. This picture wastaken in 1963 in front of the newly built Seibukan dojo pryor to anevening dinner at the club. Sensei would always dress up and wearhis favorite hat. Photo by Walter Dailey 1963

Shimabukuro Sensei and members from the 2/503 Airborne Battlegroup (which became the 173rd Airborne). The masters son Zenpois seated to the far left. Photo by Walter Dailey 1961


Shimabukuro Zenryo Sensei awarding a rank diploma to Mike Richardson in September1962. Mike Richardson returned to the USA and opened up a dojo in Texas. Unfortunatelyhe died in a car accident in the early 70s. Photo by Walter Dailey 1962

The flag for the All Japan Karate DoFederation. The bottom kanji readsOkinawa regional special headquartersreffering to the Seibukan dojo.

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Shorin-Ryu Senseis gather at the Seibukan dojo to honor its grand opening. L-R: third fromleft: Chozo Nakama, Shigeru Nakamura, Choshin Chibana, Zenryo Shimabukuro, and JoenNakazato . Photo by Walter Dailey

the building of the new dojo. Duringconstruction, Shimabukuros mix ofOkinawans and GIs continued to train outside,usually in back of his house. They often didkata near a grave or tomb that was right inthe middle of their training area. After the dojowas built, they continued to train outside onweekends and at night. At that time,Shimabukuros dojo was one of the biggest inall of Okinawa. He named it the "Seibukan,""Hall of the Holy Art."

POLITICS AND ORGANIZATIONSHowever, more changes were to occur in

the first couple of years of the 1960's. Onechange was represented by Tamotsu Isamu,a former Shimabukuro student who hadbeen l iv ing in Japan. Tamotsu wasrepresenting a mainland group called the All-Japan Karate Federation, an organizationheaded by Toyama Kanken and ChitoseTsuyoshi, two Okinawans who had migratedto Japan decades before and establishedinfluential karate styles there. Originally, theAll-Japan Karate Federation (AJKF) hadincluded Funakoshi Gichin of Shotokan,Mabuni Kenwa of Shito-ryu and Higa Seikoof Goju-ryu. But by 1960, it was primarily aToyama and Chitose group.

Tamotsu wanted to organize karate inOkinawa under the AJKF banner inOkinawa. He held a series of meetings withvarious Okinawan karate leaders includingShimabukuro, whom he persuaded to take aleading role. Out of this, the AJKF/OkinawaBranch was chartered in May 1960. Itsoff icers were Shimabukuro Zenryo aspresident, fel low Kyan style teacher,Nakazato Joen as vice president, and theactive participation of Nakamura Shigeru,Kaneshima Shinsuke of Tozan-ryu (a style

more related to Shuri-te), and SeigyuYonamine of Shorin-ryu. These karateka,along with some of their senior students whohad become karate instructors themselves,made up the bulk of the AJKF/Okinawa,though many others had been invited to join.

It was a somewhat amorphous group assome Okinawan karateka only participatedinitially but did not continue the relationshipfor long. All of the Okinawans were invited toJapan proper by Toyama Kanken topart icipa te in a con fe rence to be"cer t i f i ed" and to cement re la t ions .However, only Shimabukuro Eizo wentand was awarded a 10th dan (10thdegree b lack be l t ) by Toyama. Theorganization soon became embroiled inpolitics and only lasted a few years.

Many of the Okinawans distrusted themotives of the mainland-sponsored initiativeand the AJKF competed with the alreadyestabl ished OKF, which made for anunstable situation. However, one of thetechnical results of the relationship was thatsome of the Okinawans adopted the use offull body protective gear for sparring (bogu),which had been made popular in the schoolsof southern Japan. Shimabukuro and hisfriend Nakamura especially liked the gear andadapted it for use in their schools. By 1962,Shimabukuro and Nakamura formed theirown training group, the Okinawa KenpoFederation. Not a style, but a trainingorganization that concentrated on thesparring aspect of karate with bogu gear.

Gradually, because of bickering and adistrust of the mainland Japanese, the AllJapan Karatedo Federation, OkinawaBranch withered. However, not before itsboard of directors conferred the 10th dan onZenryo Shimabukuro as one of its leading


SHIMABUKURO ZENRYO

Shimabukuro has been described as aquiet man, not one to call attention tohimself. And for that reason, not much hasbeen published about him in the West.However, he was highly respected in his owntime, even by those who originally ignoredhim in the old Okinawa Karate Federation.After the demise of the AJKF on Okinawa,Shimabukuro began to quietly lobby for theformation of a new, more inclusiveorganization to unify Okinawan karate. Inthe interim, he maintained his relationshipwith Nakamura as part of the somewhatinformal Okinawa Kenpo Federation, but by1967, Shimabukuro and many of the islandsmainstream karate leaders formed the newAll-Okinawa Karatedo Federation (AOKF)and Shimabukuro was named as one of itsvice presidents. This was a significant eventas the AOKF became the leading

Sensei Uragami seated in front. Behind him(l-r) are Zenpo Shimabukuro, Walter Daileyand Zenji Shimabukuro. Uragami and Zenjifounded the Renshinkan Dojo in Osaka,Japan in 1961. Uragami was the All-Japan fullcontact (Bogu) Karate champion during thelate 50s and early 60s. Photo by Walter Dailey

Sensei Yoshimitsu Takenouchi controls a fullcontact Bogu match at the Seibukan inthe early 60s. Photo by Walter Dailey


exponents. While the organization declinedon Okinawa, it continued on in Japan underToyama and Chitose. Tamotsu Isamu, whohad lead the organization effort on Okinawa,organized what he called the Shorinji-ryuRenshinkan in Kyushu, billing Nakazato Joenas his instructor rather than Shimabukuro.Of course, Tamotsu had trained underShimabukuro, but Zenryo had sent him toNakazato to learn the bo kata, Tokumine noKon, which Nakazato had taken pains topreserve exactly as Kyan taught it to him.

This was also the era that saw the riseand normalization of many familiar groupnames. While all of the groups descendedfrom Kyan still looked virtually identical, andmost still used the general name of Shorinji-ryu to label their style, each group began tospin off on its own and adopt new names. Bythe mid-1960's, Nakazato had taken thename Shorinji-ryu as his own andShimabukuros group was sometimes referredto as Sukunaihayashi-ryu. However, by 1966,Shimabukuros school was known as Shorin-ryu Seibukan, by which it is still called.

organization of the so-called "mainstream"Okinawan karate styles and includedrepresentation from Kobayashi Shorin-ryu,Uechi-ryu, Sukunaihayashi Shorin-ryu, Goju-ryu, and related groups. In this affair,Shimabukuro showed the strength of hislow-keyed leadership style. Zenryo Senseireceived his 10th dan from the AOKF,making it his second such award.

As part of this AOKF, Shimabukuro alsoled another effort to form smaller, constituentgroups within the AOKF consisting of thevarious Shorin-ryu groups. At first twogeographically organized associationscoalesced: the Nambu (Southern Okinawa)Shorin-ryu Association, headed by JoenNakazato and the Chubu (Central Okinawa)Shorin-ryu Association, headed byShimabukuro himself. These were politicalconstructions involving---at first---all thedifferent kinds of Shorin-ryu, not just Kyan style.

Eventually, the Nambu and Chubu groupsmerged into the Chubu Shorin-ryu KaratedoRengokai ("confederation"), but predictably,this was not to last. It's history is ratherconvoluted, but essential ly this ChubuShorin-ryu group would, after Zenryopassing, evolve into a federation of fiveaffiliated Shorin-ryu schools that included theSeibukan and would be headed byKatsuhide Kochi, who traced his own lineageultimately to Zenryo-sensei. EventuallyKochi's school would simply be called theChubu-Shorin-ryu Karatedo Kyokai(Association), teaching the Shorin-ryu ofZenryo-sensei.

SEIBUKAN IS EXPORTED TO THEOUTSIDE WORLD

Seibukan began to grow by the mid-1960's. This era saw Shimabukuro adopting

A typical Kampai Party at the Seibukan dojo. This one took place in 1962 to celebrate the grand opening of the dojo. This photo clearlyillustrates a strong camaraderie and that there was also a time to let your hair down and have a good time. Back row far left: BenSchwartz, Walter Dailey, Zenryo Shimabukuro, Shigeru Nakamura and Joen Nakazato . Front row seated: second from left Chozo Nakama,third from left Zenpo Shimabukuro and fifth from left a very young Fusei Kise. Photo by Walter Dailey

The first Seibukan dojo in the UnitedStates was founded by Walter Dailey in

1962 at Norwood, PA. Photo by Walter Dailey

Walter Dailey and Zenpo Shimabukuro in the summerof 1965 at the Dailey residence in Pennsylvania. Photoby Walter Dailey


the off icial emblem or patch of hisorganization that is known today. It wasdevised in Japan by a fr iend ofShimabukuros who was part of a dojoorganization run by someone affiliated withTamotsu. Another member of Tamotsusgroup was Uragami, who ran the OsakaRenshinkan and was the 1960 All-Japan full-contact (using bogu) kumite champion.Uragami also maintained strong ties toShimabukuro and hosted Walter Dailey in1962 when the latter had been sent toOsaka with Zenryo Shimabukuro's sonZenpo as Seibukan representatives.

The Seibukan emblem is steeped insymbolism and has significant meaning tothe "old timers" of the organization.

Dailey actually received his black belt fromthe AJKF in Japan. Shortly afterward, Daileyreturned to the States and opened up thefirst Seibukan school outside of Okinawa inPennsylvania. It was to remain the only otherschool for years afterward. Dailey returnedto Okinawa in 1966 and found that the termsShorinji-ryu and Sukunaihayashi had beensupplanted by Seibukan Shorin-ryu.

In 1963, Shimabukuro Zenryo sent a giftto Dailey, whom he had given the adopted

name of Yoshihide (also pronouncedZenshu) -- Dailey also now representedShimabukuro and was the East Coast U.S.Headquarters of the AJKF. This "gift" wasShimabukurus 19-year-old son, Zenpo.Zenpo was to live with Dailey for three years,helping to organize and teach his fatherskarate. During his stay in the United States,Zenpo also successfully competed in severalkarate tournaments, including the 1964

Pennsylvania State Championship, the 1964National Kata Championship, and the 1965Canadian International Championship.Finally, after a highly successful stay in theUS, Zenpo returned to Okinawa in 1966 tohelp his father run the Seibukan dojo.

Another American who was training inOkinawa at this time was Edward Takae,originally from Hawaii. Significantly, Takaewon the All-Okinawan Karate Championshipheld in Nago on May 17, 1964. This eventwas a rough affair and showcased bogusparring. Takae went on to serve multipletours of duty with the American ArmySpecial Forces in Vietnam and laterestablished another Seibukan branch in theUnited States.

By 1969, Shimabukuro Zenryo and hisSeibukan karate were continuing to gainrecognition and influence. In October1969, Zenryo Sensei was invited to theJapanese main land to g ive ademonstrat ion of his karate. He wasscheduled to perform Seisan kata. However,on the ship from Okinawa, Shimabukuro wassuddenly stricken with appendicitis, and onOctober 14, 1969 he died. He was buried inan old-style Okinawan tomb in Jagaru,Okinawa, near his dojo. Succeeded by hisyoung son and the senior members ofSeibukan, the sty le has f lour ishedworldwide ever since. Zenpo became notonly the leader of the style, but a successful


SHIMABUKURO ZENRYO

Edward Takae bows at the grave of ZenryoShimabukuro which is located near the dojoin Jagaru, Okinawa. Photo by Angel Lemus 1993.

Okinawa Shorinji-Ryu Zentokukai Karate-Do

The Zentokukai is a Karate-do Associationcreated for the sole purpose of preservingand promoting the teachings passed downto us by Kyan Chotoku and Shimabukuro

Zenryo. This association provides a mediumto unite dojos as a family, to practice and

share the same beliefs, common interests.

TM

Kyan Style Karate(Shorinji-Ryu/Sukunaihayashi)

Advanced TrainingDojo AccreditationBunkai AnalysisPower Generation &

Body Dynamics

Okinawan KobudoInstructors Yearly Gashuku

For more information:East Coast:

Saichian KanSensei Tim Rodgers

305-623-3352West Coast:

Nincho KanSensei Angel Lemus

310-479-5141

Kyan Chotoku

ShimabukuroZenryo

Chartered Zentokukai Dojos & SenseisSensei Tim Rodgers

Miami, FLSensei Angel Lemus

Los Angeles, CASensei Jim PiziiWestchester, PA

Sensei Lola HammerMorristown, TN

Sensei Steve HammerMorristown, TN

Sensei Nobu KajiSan Francisco, CASensei Jane Joyce

Morristown, TNSensei Jay Setser

Morristown, TN

Sensei Greg DillonDunbar, WV

Sensei Keith A. PrewittAustin, TX

Sensei Eric StewartAtlanta, GA

Shidoin Chad GracyOrlando, FL

http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/pagoda/3460

Dailey, the most senior sensei in the UnitedStates, has taught O-Senseis teachingsunder the Zenshu-ha rubric. This branch ofSeibukan has maintained the integrity of notonly the physical aspects of the art but thespiritual ones, which were paramount toZenryo Sensei over and beyond the physicalones. Walter Dai ley is st i l l active andteaching out of Morgantown, Pennsylvania.

3) North American Branch. EdwardTakae runs the "North American Branch"of the ISKA. This was the original USbranch from the time the association wasformed in 1978 in Philadelphia (Takae wasthe f i rst president of this branch andShimabukuro Zenpo was the supremeinstructor under the ISKA). In 1992, Takaetook over complete control of the NorthAmerican Branch and became supremeinstructor. At this t ime, ShimabukuroZenpo assumed the position of "chairman"and no longer has any controlling powerover it, other than at the ceremonial level.

Takae now runs h isorganization from Tampa,Florida.

4) Zentokukai. TheZentokukai is anindependent, Seibukan-based organization formedby T im Rogers (a formerstudent of Ed Takae) andAngel Lemus (student of TimRodgers). The name"Zentokukai" comes fromborrowing elements from thenames of ShimabukuroZenryo and Kyan Chotoku.Tim Rogers (president) runsthe Zentokukai Hombu Dojo

Edward Takae and Zenryo Shimabukuro after Takaewon the All-Okinawan Karate Championship in1964.

SENSEI SHIMABUKURO ZENPO 1998 VISIT TO THE USA

Shimabukuro sensei will be teaching at the USANKF National Championships inNew Orleans on July 29th and then will be giving a demonstration at the finals on

Sunday August 2nd. He will also be in the USA forthe Seibukan World Cup Championships October 9,10 & 11. He will teach a seminar on the 9th for allSeibukan people. The event will be in Atlanta. We arehaving our 4th Seibukan National Championships onthe 10th. The world cup will be hosting nine foreigncountries with black belt teams. All Seibukan peopleare invited to attend.

If anyone is interested in more information orspecific details they can contact Dan Smith at 770-844-0999, or e-mail (ussska@aol orwww.seibukan.org)

Sensei Shimabukuro will be teaching in thefollowing cities during July and August.

L-R: Tim Rodgers, Walter Dailey (Zenshu-Ha) and AngelLemus during 1st annual Zentokukai training in 1997.

Zenryo Shimabukuro and Choshin Chibanaat Chibanas backyard in October 1966.They were always very close friends. Thisphoto was taken after Chibana Senseiunderwent cancer treatment in Japan forthe mouth and throat.Photo by Walter Dailey


real estate developer and leader within theOkinawan karate community.

SEIBUKAN TODAY ANDTOMORROW

Organizationally, the modern Seibukan"movement" is dominated by four groups.These groups are representative of three"ha" (from ryu/ha -- style/branch) or stylistic-branches and one independent branch:

1) Seibukan International KaratedoAssociation. The hombu (headquarters)dojo located in Jagaru (Chatan) Okinawa, isheaded by the late masters son,Shimabukuro Zenpo. Zenpo is also thehead and supreme instructor of theSeibukan Internat ional Karate-doAssociation (ISKA), which has branch dojoin over sixteen foreign countries, includingtwo separate branches in the UnitedStates, one run by Edward Takae and oneby Dan Smith, who is the president of theUS branch.

2) Zenshu-Ha. Since 1962, Walter

located in Miami, Florida. Angel Lemus isthe associations vice president and runs hisdojo in Los Angeles, California.

Of the four modern branches of Seibukan,

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Taka

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Zenpo Shimabukuro

JULYAtlanta, GA July 17 & 18Witchita, KS July 19 & 20Huntsville, AL July 22nd Jacksonville, FLA July 23rd Vero Beach, FLA July 24 & 25Jackson, MS July 26 & 27

AUGUSTGrand Junction, CO Aug 5 & 6 Denver, CO Aug 8 &9,Portland, OR Aug 12 & 13Seattle, WA Aug 15 & 16

A treasured historical photo of Shorin-Ryu Senseis at the Seibukan dojo. Front row left toright: Shinsuke Kaneshima, Tatsuo Shimabukuro, Zenryo Shimabukuro and Chozo Nakama.Back row left to right: Zenji Shimabukuro, Isamu Tamotsu and Joen Nakazato.

At the Seibukan after a testing and promotion session. It was this day that Walter Dailey was awarded hisYondan (front row wearing a headband next to Zenryo Shimabukuro). Visiting that day and participating inthe testing panel was Shosei Kina 10th dan (a close friend of Shimabukuro). The wearing of the headbandhas a special meaning in Okinawa, it promises the sensei and everyone in the dojo that you are devotingyourself to train very hard. Photo by Walter Dailey


EDITOR'S NOTEIn an attempt to bring together

all the major branches active inSeibukan today and to contributein part to the writing of this articlein honor of the late ZenryoShimabukuro, all representativeswere contacted and invited toparticipate. Bugeisha did nothear from Zenpo Shimabukuro,and Edward Takae declined toparticipate.

only the Zenshu-ha and the Zentokukaiexclude sport karate and moderncompetition from their core curriculum.Instead these two branches focus on old-style combative karate principles as well asintrospective and spiritual aspects.

THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OFSEIBUKAN

As a karate system, Seibukan representsthe Sukunaihayashi branch of Shorin-ryu: thekarate of Kyan Chotoku. As such the kataare a mix of Shuri-te and Tomari-te asinherited from Kyan directly to ZenryoShimabukuro. It is based on the katataught by Kyan: Ananku, Naifanchi, Passai,Seisan, Kusanku, Chinto, Wanshu,Gojushiho, and one bo staff form, Tokumineno Kon. These were the kata taught byZenryo-sensei from the late 1940s on.However, Zenryo-sensei did not emphasizethe Tokumine no Kon bo kata and wasknown to have sent students, includingTamotsu, to Nakazato Joen for advancedinstruction on that bo form. Kyan was knownfor his legendary kicking abilities and his fluidTai Sabaki (body movements). He was saidto have been untouchable. These principlesare in Seibukan as taught by ZenryoShimabukuro and are inherent in the katasSuri Ashi or foot sliding movement. Seibukankata reflect their own unique flavor that is quitedifferent than other Shorin-ryu branches.

In 1962, Shimabukuro Zenryo gatheredprinciples that hed learned from Kyan and

placed these into an or ig inal kata hecreated called Wanchin. This kata displaysvery advanced concepts, not seen in otherkata such as blocking and striking, orpunching and kicking simultaneously. It is avery challenging kata to perform due to itsunique timing and footwork. One can seeKyans karate and Shimabukuros owncreative genius blended into one. This katais considered a family kata and is onlytaught within the Seibukan schools.

Shimabukuro devised this kata when theAJKF was just getting started and the oldOKF had not recognized. However, in theworld of the AOKF that Zenryo Shimabukuro

helped organize, non-contact and lightsparring became the dominant influence.

Shimabukuro had many, highly competentfriends who were leaders in their own right,such as the aforementioned Chibana Chosinand old time Chibana student and associateNakama Chozo, who was a very close, familyfriend of Zenryo Sensei. From Nakama,Shimabukuro Zenpo adopted the Pinan,Passai-gua, Naifanchi 2 and 3, and a sai kata.These kata were added to the Seibukancurriculum in the years just before Zenryo-sensei died.

However, regardless of branch or faction,the Seibukan still holds to Zenryo's principles.

This very quiet, humble, and self-effacing man was a proponent of strongkarate developed through sol idbasics; an attention to the detail ofkata (practiced with an emphasis oneach individual movement and hard,sharp, and powerful execution); andhard, strong, power-oriented, head-to-head fighting. In stature, Shimabukurowas a small man, but in character andtoughness, he was a giant in thekarate world.


SHIMABUKURO ZENRYO

Seibukan Shorin Ryu

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