| Four Winds Martial Arts Training Karate |
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| Origins (or at least one version) There is a commonly held belief among people, who are unfamiliar with the martial arts, that any striking (punching & kicking) art is karate. This is simply not the case. Arts such as kung-fu (China) and Tae Kwon Do (Korea) were developed in other East Asian countries and have distinct differences. Karate was developed by the island people of Okinawa, which is off the southern coast of Japan in the South China Sea. Because of its central location in sea trade routes, the Okinawans were heavily influenced by the Chinese culture. While, the definitive origins of karate are unknown, it is widely believed Chinese travelers brought their hand-to-hand boxing styles to the Okinawans who, in turn, added their own "flavors" to the art, which eventually became known as kara-te (aka Empty Hand or China Hand). A practitioner of karate is known is karateka |
Choki Motobu
| Ryu-kyu Kempo Four Winds teaches a form of Okinawan karate called Ryu-kyu kempo. The lineage of Ryu-kyu kempo started with the teachings of renowned karate master Choki Motobu; however, the art may have had its beginnings with Motobu's brother, Choyo. The art then passed onto Shigeru Nakamura, who coined the title of Okinawan Kempo to identify it; finally Seiyu Oyata established the art with his school in Kansas City. |
Shigeru Nakamura
| Most recently, Ninth-dan George Dillman brought Ryu-kyu kempo to the spotlight with his kata (forms) interpretations; these explanations focused on pressure point strikes and locks (tuite) as answers to techniques performed in kata. These theories changed the way many of karateka viewed their art. |
| Seiyu Oyata |
| Four Winds offers a 10 belt system if one would like to pursue a black belt in Ryu-kyu Kempo. If not, many of the techniques and basic kata are integrated into the basic non-belt curriculum. Also, advanced kata instruction and interpretation can be included at no extra charge at the desire of the client. Finally instruction in traditional weapons such as the bo, kama, nunchuku, and tonfa are offered as well. |