Kodokai Dojo

First, a few words about Okinawa... Okinawa is a small island (1/3 the size of Rhode Island) located several hundred miles south of the main Japanese islands and several hundred miles east of China.

Okinawa embattled for centuries and there still are the remains of hundreds of castles scattered throughout Okinawa and neighboring islands. Eventually the island was organized into three separate kingdoms which, by force, became united in 1429. This was the beginning of the first Sho Dynasty of the "Kingdom of Ryukyu". This dynasty lasted for 64 years and, after a coup, was followed by a second Sho 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 Satsuma clan in southern Japan (of 'Last Samurai' fame) to take the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1609, a flotilla of Satsuma samurai invaded Okinawa and quickly seized control. Though they left the royal family in power, they dominated the island until 1879 when Japan officially annexed Okinawa. The late 1800's was 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 and peaceful society. This made a nostalgic backdrop for the inspiration behind the development of "karate". It was often repeated that the Okinawan peasants used their farming tools and fists to fight off the samurai. But, like the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny, this was only a story. Karate is a modern sport created by combining stylized martial arts movements with Japanese physical fitness methods. The Kingdm of Ryukyu was ruled by a society using a wide range of weapons.

Our martial art, Motobu Udundi, is a method that was for training for battle. There probably were other methods but only Motobu Udundi has survived. While it is a remarkable martial art by today's standards where most are sports rather than fighting arts, Motobu Udundi is typical of many other old arts (ko-ryu).

In 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.

Martial arts from China were brought to Okinawa as early as the 1500's. 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), Sho Koshin (also called 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.

No one claims that the Motobu Udundi of today is precisely as it was 400 years ago. The Chinese foundation of Motobu Udundi was heavily influenced by the occupying samurai of Satsuma, for instance. Members of the noble class frequently visited Satsuma in southern Japan. Like the unique culture of Okinawa, Motobu Udundi is a blend of various influences.

As a true martial (military) art rather than a historical preservation art or a sport, it has not been frozen in time. It has adopted new strategies and technologies as opportunities arose, and other skills, such as fighting on horseback, have been abandoned. 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 an art of accessible straightforward applications.

Uehara later traveled to Japan to teach Motobu Choyu's son, Motobu Chomo, to return the art to the Motobu family. Years later Motobu Chomo was killed by U.S. bombs in WWII. Uehara was, again, challenged with returning the art to the Motobu family. Years later, in 2003, he accomplished this by teaching the son of Motobu Choki (Choyu's brother, a famous karate master). 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 who 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 a couple of weeks prior to his death. 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 a variety of training experiences and has visited us several times. When we visit Okinawa he brings us to train in private schools of Motobu Udundi that are off the beaten path.

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.