INFORMATION ON KARATE STYLES AND HISTORY
   

  Wado Ryu Karate Hironori Otsuka, Mei Jin (1892-1982)

The karateka should always hold true three vital elements - the heart, spirit and physical strength Master Hironori Otsuka was born June 1, 1892, in Shimodate, Japan, where his father, Dr Tokujiro Otsuka, operated a clinic. As a boy, he listened to a samurai warrior, his mother's uncle, tell thrilling stories of samurai exploits. This may well have been where the first seeds were sown that would later be some of the guiding principles and philosophies of Wado Karate. Otsuka Sensei began martial arts training at five-years of age under his great uncle Chojiro Ibashi (Shintani & Reid. 1998), and by age thirteen, was formally studying shindo yoshin ryu jujutsu. Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu was founded by Katsunosuke Matsuoka (1836-1898), although its lineage can be traced to the early 1600s through the line of Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu, founded by Akiyama Yoshitoki . Matsuoka was a doctor of Chinese medicine and a subject of the Tokugawa shogunate. He learned Tenjin Shinyoryu Jujutsu and Yoshin Koryu Jujutsu together with Jikishinkageryu Kenjutsu and Hokushin Ittoryu Kenjutsu in the martial arts school of the shogunate. Matsuoka was fully licensed in Tenjin Shinyoryu jujutsu in 1855 and opened a dojo of Tenjin Shinyoryu in Tokyo in 1858. In 1864 he started his own style of jujutsu Shindo Yoshinryu and in 1870 he opened Shindokan Matsuoka-dojo where he taught both kenjutsu and jujutsu Whereas most Jujutsu schools specialised in naga waza (throwing and ground techniques), the Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu School stressed atemi striking and kicking. This, combined with the fact that other bujutsu arts were taught in the school, had an influence on the style of karate he was to create as it provided a common ground between the classical Japanese bujutsu and Okinawan karate. The Kendo influence is still seen today in the Kihon Gumite, and the demonstrations ofÊ tachi-dori and tanto-dori that frequently accompany Wado instruction. Matsuoka's successor was Matakachi Inose (1852-1921), who was succeeded by Tatsuo Matsuoka (1893-1989), who was succeeded by Otsuka's teacher, Tatsusaburo Nakayama(1870-1933). By 1905, Otsuka was formally studying Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu under this respected master, who was also a skilled Kendo instructor. Throughout his school years (1906-1911) he continued to excel. Otsuka's martial arts training continued even when, in 1911, he entered Waseda University to study business administration. It was during this period that master Otsuka began studying atemi-style Toshin-Kenpo, while he continued his studies in shindo yoshin ryu. When his father died in 1913, he was forced to quit school and return to Shimodate to work in a bank. By 1921, at the relatively young age of 29, he was awarded the coveted menkyo- kaiden, designating him the successor, as master, of this style. A year later he began karate training under Gichin Funakoshi,the man who introduced karate to Japan from Okinawa. Otsuka Sensei had heard of Funakoshi's visit to Japan and journeyed to Tokyo to witness the demonstration. Later, when Funakoshi decided to stay in Japan and teach karate at the Meishojuku Gymnasium, Otsuka Sensei asked to stay and study with him. In 1927 he left the bank at Shimodate, and became a medical specialist treating martial arts injuries, in order to devote more time to the martial arts. In 1929 he started the first karate club at Tokyo University, and the next five years would see him establish clubs in many other universities as one of Funakoshi's most senior students. During this time, Otsuka Sensei also had the opportunity to study with other prominent karate stylists of the time, including Kenwa Mabuni of the shito-ryu style, and Choki Motobu, who was known for his emphasis on kumite and the Naihanchi kata. However, Otsuka Sensei eventually began disagreeing with Funakoshi over developmental issues, particularly Otsuka Sensei's desire to develop free sparring which Funakoshi denounced as an impurity in karate with a potential for great injury due to the deadly nature of some techniques. By the early 1930s Otsuka Sensei eventually parted company with Funakoshi, and traveled to Okinawa to learn more deeply of Karate from the masters who had taught Funakoshi. It was his belief that Funakoshi had over-simplified and over-modified several Karate techniques and Katas in the interests of teaching large groups of beginners. Otsuka Sensei combined knowledge of Funakoshi's karate with his new knowledge of Okinawan karate,and added several of his own adaptations from Japanese bushido (the way of the warrior) martial arts to form Wado karate. It was his Otsuka Sensei eventually opened his own dojo as the Dai Nippon Karate Shinko club in 1934.According to records published by Shintani Reid (1998), the name changed to Dai Nippon Karate-do Shinbu-Kai,then to Ko-Shu Wado-Ryu Karate Jutsu, which was subsequently shortened to Wado-Ryu Karate Jutsu, followed finally by Wado Ryu. Otsuka Sensei registered Wado karate in 1940 at Butokukai, Kyoto, and it has become one the four major styles of Japanese karate, the others being: Shotokan, Shito, and Goju. In the same year, Otsuka Sensei organized the All Japanese Karate-do Federation, Wado-Kai, which serves as the world-wide sanctioning body for Wado karate and it's affiliates. As early as 1934 he had developed rules and regulations for competitive free sparring to be incorporated into his system, the first karate style to do so. These rules have been wholly or partially adopted by virtually all modem martial arts competitions. In 1966, Otsuka Sensei received the Kun-Go- To, or "The Fifth Order of Merit of the Sacred Treasure" from the Emperor of Japan, who also bestowed upon him the Soko Kyokujitsu- Sho medal for Otsuka Sensei's contributions to the development and promotion of karate. In 1972, he received the Shodai Karate-do Meijin Judan or "First Generation Karate-do Master of the Tenth Dan", as was designated the head of all martial arts systems within the All Japan Karate-do Federation. Otsuka Sensei passed away on January 29, 1982, after which Wado karate separated into several organizations based upon differences in leadership and teaching concepts. WADO is a Japanese karate style founded in 1939 by Hironori Otsuka, which combines Otsuka Sensei's early experience with classical jujutsu with the shotokan karate he learned as a student of Gichin Funakoshi's. Wado, meaning the "way of peace/harmony", is one of the four major styles of karate in Japan and perhaps the purest form of karate-do (the way of the empty hands). Trained in classical bujutsu (the techniques of the samurai), Otsuka Sensei applied this outlook and experience to his teachings. Some of the harsher resistive or hard contact elements of sparring technique, typical of many karate styles, are not present in Wado. Otsuka Sensei rejected hardening certain parts of the body, such as hand conditioning, as useless preparation. The current head of Wado Kai karate for North America is one of Otsuka Sensei's senior students, Masaru Shintani Sensei. The aim of Wado karate is not merely perfection of the physical techniques of self -defence, but, the development of a mind that is tranquil yet alive, able to react intuitively to any situation. In Wado, as skill and knowledge are acquired through training and concentrated effort, the student is expected to develop inner strength and calmness of character, as well as the virtues of self-control, respect for others, and true humility. Karate-do for Otsuka Sensei is primarily a spiritual discipline. Basic techniques - punching, kicking, blocking, striking with open hand, joint twisting, and trapping techniques - kata (a sequence of techniques done in certain order against imaginary opponents), and prearranged and free style sparring comprise the training foundation of this style. Equally fundamental to Wado is taisabaki, body shifting to avoid the full brunt of an attack, a technique derived from Japanese swordmanship. Kumite (sparring) is usually judged on a point system; one referee and four comer judges determine which techniques are given a point. In free sparring, there is no contact allowed to the head, below the waist except for foot sweeps, or to the spine; only light to medium contact is allowed to the torso. Attacks to the head and torso can all score points in a tournament, therefore, Wado karate-ka tend to fight with explosive, close movements with an emphasis on well-controlled techniques.