Monthly Archives: January 2018

Kata Taught by Matsumura Sōkon (2)

“Karate no omoide” (My Memories of Karate) by Kyan Chōtoku was published on 1942-05-07 in the Okinawa Shinpō Newspaper. “I never forgot when I went to Shikina-en together with my father in the spring of my 16th year. My father … Continue reading

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Kata Taught by Matsumura Sōkon (1)

Since I read about Matsumura Sōkon in social networks recently and about the kata he presumably taught, I thought it might be a good idea to remind Karate circles of an eyewitness account about the eminent master. In his 1941 autobiography, … Continue reading

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On the Persistence of Historical Distortions

Back in 2004 or so an old picture found its way onto the cover of a newly published Karate book. The seemingly irresistible narrative spun around it claimed that it showed Matsumura Sōkon and Itosu Ankō, as body guards of the … Continue reading

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