A very brief History of Okinawa's Naha Te & Shorinjiryu
The history of Asian Martial Arts is filled with mystery, awe and some misconceptions. This is in part due to a lack of tangible written records and a deliberate effort to obscure the true teachings of fighting arts in order to halt or delay their misuse or their falling into the wrong hands. What we understand of the genesis of these arts has been a combination of oral transmissions from one generation to another, as well as some witten texts preserved by priests, family guardians or laymen who believed in their importance. What we now know as OKINAWA-TE originated from the Chuan-fa Styles of Mainland China The Martial Arts & Zen Buddhism have shared a parallel and at times, tumultuous history. The teachings of Bodhi Dharma found their way into the islands of Okinawa by Monks on pilgrimages or those escaping the invading merciless Mogul army. The system of fighting brought over by these monks was infused with spiritual tenets, ethics, harmlessness, social rules, philosophy and guidlines for engendering justice among the Rulers and their subjects. Simply constructed, the Shaolin-Szu Chuan-Fa (China) became Okinawa-Te and Shorinj-ryu(Okinawa) which became Shorinji-Kempo(Japan) maitaining its roots to the Shaolin Temple and its Chinese Kempo nature. Sokan Matsumura is commonly known as having established what is known as Naha-Te The distinguishing features of Naha-Te (and Shurei-te) are pronounced in the codified Katas: 'Sanchin' & 'Seiunchin'. These teachings are still preserved in the hard/soft aspects of such styles as : Uechi-ryu, Goju-ryu & Ruhei-ryu. The first introduction of Shorinjiryu in the U.S; was in 1920, in Los Angeles brought over by Narimichi Yabe Sensei, who was received with incredible enthusiasm. Shorinjiryu was coined as a 'very personal Art', which allowed those who practiced it, to develop their own style of spiritual, mental & physical advancement.
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