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.

There was a popular myth that Okinawa was an unarmed society. This made a nostalgic backdrop for the inspiration behind the development of "karate". It is wrong, however. The Kingdom of Ryukyu was ruled by a society with a wide range of weaponry. The martial arts practiced on Okinawa today all trace their roots to high ranking individuals who had the financial means and political connections to travel to China where they studied martial arts.

Our martial art, Motobu Udundi,was a method for the battlefield. There probably were other similar methods but only Motobu Udundi has survived. While it is a remarkable martial art by today's standards Motobu Udundi is typical of many other old arts (ko-ryu).

In old samurai arts it was not uncommon to include ju-jitsu type training for grappling against an enemy- striking was less ideal since the enemy may be wearing armor. This also enabled self-defense if ones personal weapon was dropped or broken. It was also not unusual to include training in a variety of other weapons one might encounter. This not only helped one to learn the strengths and weaknesses of various weapons, it allowed a person to pick up a weapon from a fallen fighter and continue fighting effectively in the event of a loss of a personal weapon.

It is believed that the martial art now known as Motobu Udundi began to be formulated in the late 1500's. The son of the 27th king of Ryukyu (Okinawa), Motobu Chohei, is credited with formally organizing the art 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 Motobu Udundi of today is unlikely identical to the art as it was 400 years ago. The Chinese foundation of Motobu Udundi was mixed with skills practiced by the samurai of Satsuma, for instance. Members of the noble class frequently visited Satsuma in southern Japan.

As a true martial (military art rather than civilian defense method) it has not been frozen in time. It has adopted new strategies and technologies as needed. Just as nations don't cling to obsolete defense methods, Motobu Udundi isn't archaic. Skills such as fighting on horseback have been abandoned, yet skills that offer more pertinent teachings have been preserved. This has given us a living art that offers extraordinary functionality. It is not a dead art that "takes a lifetime to master" (how would that be a good thing for a young warrior?) but a practical accessible and intelligent way of training.

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 of Motobu Udundi.

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 visited his dojo on Okinawa and we were fortunate to have him visit us in Rhode Island. 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 Motobu Udundi 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 and only school in the country entirely devoted to this unique martial art.