Kodokai Dojo

Okinawa island was divided into many independent fiefdoms for centuries. Eventually these became organized into three separate kingdoms, which, by force, were united in 1429. This was the beginning of the first dynasty of the "Kingdom of Ryukyu". This dynasty lasted for 64 years and, after a coup, was followed by a second dynasty which lasted 410 years.

Meanwhile, after centuries of war on the mainland of Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun unified the Japanese nation. The Shogun allowed the powerful Shimoza clan in southern Japan to attack the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1609, a flotilla of samurai invaded Okinawa and seized control. Though they left the royal family in power, they dominated the island until 1879 when Japan officially annexed Okinawa. The 1800's were a period of modernization for Japan and saw the abolishment of the class system. This was the end of both the samurai and the nobility on Okinawa.

Palace Hand was the exclusive practice of the royal family on Okinawa for centuries. It was designed to provide self-protection skills, to control civil unrest, and for the battlefield (Okinawa was a frequent target of pirates).

Palace Hand is called Motobu Udundi in Japan. "Motobu" is the name of the noble family that developed and protected this martial art. "Udun" refers to the royal grounds and royal status. The "di" at the end of udundi means "martial art". Palace hand, therefore, was the martial art of the noble Motobu family.

There was a popular myth that Okinawa was an unarmed society. This is wrong, however. The Kingdom of Ryukyu was ruled by a society with a wide range of weaponry.

The son of the 27th king of Ryukyu (Okinawa), Motobu Chohei, is credited with formally organizing the art of Palace Hand in the 1600's. The noble Motobu family lived near Shuri castle in what was known as an "Udun", a compound of land and buildings housing nobility.

The Chinese foundation of Palace Hand was mixed with skills practiced by the samurai of Satsuma as members of the noble class frequently visited Satsuma in southern Japan. This made Palace Hand a unique blend of both Chinese and Japanese martial arts.

As a true martial ('military' art rather than civilian) Palace Hand has not been frozen in time. New strategies and technologies were adopted as needed. Obsolete skills, such as fighting on horseback, were abandoned. This has given us a living art that offers extraordinary functionality. It is not a dead historical practice but a lively, practical and intelligent way of training that brings past wisdom and skills into our day and age.

After the kingdom was abolished Motobu Choyu's sons left Okinawa for work in Japan. Concerned that the secret martial art would be lost, Motobu taught a student named Seikichi Uehara.

Uehara later traveled to Japan to teach Motobu Choyu's son, and return the art to the Motobu family. Years later this son was killed by U.S. bombs in WWII. Uehara was, again, challenged with returning the art to the Motobu family. In 2003 he accomplished this by teaching the nephew of Motobu Choyu. His name is Motobu Chosei and he is the current soke (hereditary headmaster) of Motobu Udundi (Palace Hand).

Seikichi Uehara was very protective of Motobu Udundi. He taught only a handful of teachers. Enjoying a long and healthy life, he actively taught until his death in 2004 at the age of 100. Uehara taught our teacher, Taira Ryoshu, and the other teachers that we visit for training on Okinawa.

Taira Ryoshu passed away in 2009 at the age of 80. We were fortunate to have him visit us in Rhode Island before his passing. Taira sensei trained under Seikichi Uehara for thirty years and received menkyo kaiden (certificate of complete transmission).

Takamiyagi sensei is now our head teacher on Okinawa. He has gone to great lengths to provide us with opportunitites to train in private schools of Palace Hand that are off the beaten path on Okinawa. He has visited us in Rhode Island several times.

Taira sensei and Takamiyagi sensei asked us to teach in America. Kodokai is the first school in the country entirely devoted to this unique martial art.