Taira Shinken
Taira Shinken was born in 1897 on Kume Jima, one of the Ryukyu Islands. His birth name was Mézato (Japanese, Maezato) Shinken, but later in life he would use the surname Taira, which was his mother's maiden name. When he was a boy, he studied Ryukyu kobudo and ti (karate) under his grandfather, Kanegawa Gibu. His grandfather taught him how to use kama (sickles), tekko (metal knuckles), suruchin (weighted rope/chain), and the timbei and rochin (shield and short spear).
When he was a young man, he worked in the mines at Kita Daito Jima. One day he was caught in a cave-in and literally buried alive. Even though his leg was crushed, he somehow managed to dig his way out to safety. As a result of the accident, Taira was left with a permanent limp in his right leg. He was determined to make his body stronger, and decided that martial arts training would be the way he would do it.
So in 1922, at the age of 25, he left the Ryukyus for Tokyo, Japan. While there he would learn karate from Funakoshi Gichin, founder of the Shotokan karate style. He also learned kobudo from Yabiku Moden. (1) In 1932 he moved to the Gunma Prefecture, and opened his first dojo at the Hot Springs Resort of Ikaho, Ikahononsen City. In August of 1933, Taira Shinken was awarded his Shihan Menkyo certification or instructors certificate, by Master Yabiku Moden in Yamani-ryu kobudo. (2) In 1942, he returned to the Ryukyu Islands and continued to study the various weapons techniques and forms slowly being lost with the passing of time. In 1945, Taira began teaching kobudo in various dojo across Okinawa.
About this time, he also formed the Ryukyu Kobudo Kenkyukai (The Ryukyu Kobudo Research Society) in order to carry on the teachings of Yabiku Moden and other teachers who had since passed away. During these early days, he researched and developed about thirty kata while devising a solid, comprehensive curriculum for teaching the many styles of Ryukyu kobudo that made up his system. (3)
At some point, the name of Taira's organization was changed to Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Kenkyukai (Preservation and Research Society) in order to better reflect the group's purpose. (4) He continued to teach Ryukyu kobudo in dojos across Okinawa and Japan throughout the fifties and sixties. In 1958, he taught kobudo to Shimabuku Tatsuo, founder of Isshinryu karate. (5) He also instructed many other karate masters who would add Ryukyu kobudo to their curriculums, including Hayashi Teruo (Shito-ryu), Sakagami Ryusho (Shito-ryu), Kuniba Shiyogo (Shito-ryu), and Shimabuku Eizo (Shobayashi-ryu). (6)
Taira opened a dojo in Naha in 1959. While there, he studied under Yabiku Moden's Yamne-ryu bojutsu colleagues Higa Raisuke, Higa Jinsaburo, Higa Seichiro, and Akamine Yohei. It was through them that he was introduced to their student Akamine Eisuke, who would in turn become Taira's student, and eventually his successor.
In 1964, he published Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan (The Encyclopedia of Ryukyu Kobudo); the first comprehensive book about Ryukyu Kobudo written in Japanese. Currently, no official translation is available to the public in any other language.
In addition to founding our organization and preserving Ryukyu kobudo for posterity, one of his greatest achievements came from his longtime friendship with Higa Yuchoku, a practitioner of Chibana-ha Shorin-ryu karate. Taira was impressed with the power Higa generated in his techniques by using his hips, and enlisted his aid in adding gamanku (hip technique) to all of the kobudo waza and kata that he taught.
In failing health in 1970, Taira Shinken officially changed the name of his organization to Ryukyu Kobudo Hozon Shinko Kai (Preservation and Promotion Society), and appointed Akamine Eisuke as the second president of the organization. He passed away of cancer later that same year.
(1) An Overview of Taira Shinken's Life by Doug Dalton
(2) Okinawan Karate by Mark Bishop
(3) Taira Shinken, One Man's Mark by Doug Dalton
(4) Mario McKenna, based on early Taira Shinken business card, Kowakan web site
(5) Clarence Ewing, in forward of book Isshinryu Karate by John C. Lennox
(6) Taira Shinken, “The Funakoshi Gichin of Kobudo” by Patrick McCarthy