Kōbukai
| kai | 会 | society association |
The Kōbukai is the an association of dojos connected by their adherence to Kōburyū as a style and Sōke Kaichō Kinjō as the sole arbiter of the style. While Kōburyū is small in numbers compared to the more established styles of Okinawan karate or kobudō , the Kōburyū Kōbukai is international in scope. There is a long-standing presence in the US and Fukuoka, Japan, and a more recent presence in France and China.
The Kōbukai in the US
The name of our Kōburyū organization in the US is Okinawa Kōburyū Karatedō Kobudō Kōbukai. To be perfectly clear, we are the US chapter of Okinawa Kōburyū Karatedō Kobudō Kōbukai.
The Kōbukai in Japan
The name of the Kōbukai in Japan is also Okinawa Kōburyū Karatedō Kobudō Kōbukai, but spelled out in Japanese, of course:
沖縄孝武流空手道古武道孝武会
The name looks intimidating in Japanese because the Japanese language does not use spaces between words. Separated into words, the name becomes less intimidating:
沖縄 ▪ 孝武流 ▪ 空手道 ▪ 古武道 ▪ 孝武会
沖縄 Okinawa
| Okinawa | 沖縄 | prefecture of Japan |
| honbu | 本部 | headquarters |
The headquarters of our karate organization is Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s dojo in Okinawa, Japan. His dojo is therefore called the honbu dojo, the headquarters dojo.
孝武流 Kōburyū
| Kōburyū | 孝武流 | |
| kō | 孝 | Takashi |
| bu | 武 | martial arts |
| ryū | 流 | style |
The kō of Kōburyū comes from Sōke Kaichō Kinjō’s first name, Takashi. The Chinese character (孝) for Takashi also has a pronounciation of kō. It is this pronunciation that is found in our style name, Kōburyū . Kō, then, is a reference to Sōke Kaichō Kinjō.
Bu can mean the art of war, but it also refers to the martial arts. Since karate was never an art of war but always an art of personal defense, the second definition is more appropriate.
Ryū means style.
Therefore, Kōburyū loosely means “Kō’s Martial Arts Style or “Takashi’s Martial Arts Style.”
空手道 Karatedō
| kara | 空 | empty |
| te | 手 | hand |
| dō | 道 | way |
The word karatedō emphasizes that it is not just the physical aspects of karate, but a balance of the physical and mental. It was Gichin Funakoshi who first promoted karate as a path to both physical and mental perfection. Gichin Funakoshi is revered by martial artists for spreading the then little-known art of Okinawan karate to Japan in the early 1900s.
The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory or defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.
Gichin Funakoshi
Sōke Kaichō Kinjō often says that karate is a way to polish ones own character. The words most often associated with character include honesty, strong moral principles, manners and integrity.
古武道 Kobudō
| ko | 古 | ancient |
| bu | 武 | martial art |
| dō | 道 | way |
Kobudō means “ancient martial way.” The long-ago martial arts of Okinawa included punching and kicking techniques, joint locks, a form of grappling and weapons. Over time, kobudō was separated from karate, but the reference to “ancient martial way” remains in the name.
孝武会 Kōbukai
| kō | 孝 | Takashi |
| bu | 武 | martial art |
| kai | 会 | association |
Kai means association. Kōbukai is the association of the dojos teaching Kōburyū. Like any association, there are regulations to follow. These regulations are spelled out in Kōbukai’s Kaisoku. The smooth workings of the Kōbukai depend on your cooperation.
The Kōburyū Mission
Karate is a fighting art. The most basic goal of Kōburyū is to learn to use 100% of your body strength so that you are prepared to defend yourself anywhere/anytime. Unlike sparring, where the goal is to score points, the purpose of karate is to end the fight as quickly as possible. Even better, end the fight before it begins through simple avoidance or by using reason or cleverness. If the fight cannot be avoided then the opponent must be dealt with in such a way that he or she becomes:
- demoralized and unwilling to continue.
- disabled and unable to continue.
Hands and feet can be neutralized by moving outside the line of the attack and/or by grabbing the opponent’s arm or sleeve to take control the opponent. If the opponent carries a weapon, the weapon must be neutralized. Either pound the weapon out of the opponent’s hands or attack the hands in such a way that the weapon can no longer be used effectively. In either case, counter the attack by striking vulnerable points of the human body.