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Motobu Chōki

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Background

Motobu Choki (1871-1944) was born in Akahira village of Shuri, Okinawa. As the third of three sons, he was not entitled to an education in his family's style of Ti (an earlier name for karate). As a result of his interest in the art, Motobu spent much of his youth training on his own, hitting the makiwara, and lifting heavy stones to increase his strength. He is reported to have been very agile, which gained him the nickname "Motobu no Saru", Motobu the Monkey.

Although he is reputed by his detractors (most notably, Gichin Funakoshi) to have been a violent and crude streetfighter, lacking in formal instruction, at one time or another, Motobu was the student of several of Okinawa's most prominent karate practicioners. His instructors included Ankoh Itosu (1830-1915), Kosaku Matsumora (1829-1898), and Shitsunen Tokumine Pechin (1860-1910). Many teachers found his habit of testing his fighting prowess in streetfights in the tsuji (red light district) undesirable, but his noble birth (as a descendent of the royal Okinawan Sho family) may have made it hard for them to refuse.

Popular myth holds that Motobu only knew one kata, Naifanchi. Although he favored the kata, and called it "the fundamentals of karate", he also made comments on the practice of Passai, Chinto and Rohai. Other sources include Sanchin, Kusanku and Ueseishi as having been part of his repetoire. He apparently developed his own kata, Shiro Kuma (White Bear), which was (apparently) never handed down. Motobu lived and taught karate in Japan until 1941, when he returned to Okinawa and died shortly thereafter. Prior to this, he made several trips there to study orthodox kata and kobudo in an effort to preserve the traditional forms of the art.


The Boxing Match

Following a series of failed businesses, Motobu moved to Osaka, Japan, in 1921. While working as a security guard, a friend told Motobu about a "Boxing vs. Judo" match (which were popular at the time) which was taking place. Although there are various accounts of the story, Motobu is said to have entered into a challenge match with the visiting foreign boxer, described variously as a Russian boxer or strongman. Although there is considerable speculation, the man's identity and nationality remain uncertain. According to Seijin Jahana ("Choki Motobu, a Forerunner of Combative Karate" "Aoi Umi" magazine, No.70 February 1978) after a few rounds, Motobu moved in on the taller, larger boxer and knocked him out with a single strike to the head. Motobu was fifty years old.

A 1925 article in "King" magazine described the match, and detailed Motobu's suprising victory, although the illustrations clearly show Gichin Funakoshi as the Okinawan fighter in question. This 'publication error' increased the bitter rivalry between the two men, and led to an apparent confrontation. The two were often at odds in their opinions about how karate ought to be taught and utilized.

The popularity generated by this unexpected victory propelled both Motobu and karate to a degree of fame that neither had previously known in Japan. Motobu was petitioned by several prominent individuals, including boxing champ "Piston" Horiguchi, to begin teaching the art. He opened a dojo, the Daidokan, where he taught until the onset of World War 2 in 1941. Motobu faced considerable difficulties in his teaching. Chief among those was his inability to read and speak mainland Japanese- Okinawan dialects are more or less incomprehensible to mainlanders. As a result, much of his instruction was through translators, which led to the unfortunate rumor that he was illiterate.


Motobu's Legacy and Notable Students

Motobu Choki's eldest son, Chosei Motobu, still teaches the style that his father passed on to him. As a point of reference, it is important to distinguish between the "Motobu Ryu" that Chosei teaches, and "Motobu Udon Ti", the unique style of the Motobu family, which bears a resemblence to aiki-jutsu.

Motobu's karate is marked by a series of two man kumite drills, which were an advancement in the popular thinking and instructional methods of the time. As mentioned, he heavily favored the Naihanchi kata because of the correspondence between its' applications and actual fighting, which he experienced in his infamous brawls as a young man. Below are some of his ideas on the kata.

  • "The position of the legs and hips in Naifuanchin (the old name for Naihanchi.) no Kata is the basics of karate."
  • "Twisting to the left or right from the Naifuanchin stance will give you the stance used in a real confrontation. Twisting ones way of thinking about Naifuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each movement of the kata will also become clear."
  • "The blocking hand must be able to become the attacking hand in an instant. Blocking with one hand and then countering with the other is not true bujutsu. Real bujutsu presses forward and blocks and counters in the same motion."


Motobu trained many students who went on to become noteworthy karate men in their own right, including:

Motobu published two books on karate, "Okinawa Kenpo Karatejutsu Kumite-hen" (1926) and "Watashi no Karate Jutsu" (1933 Available in translation by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy).

References

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