(1733 - 1815; photo Creative Commons)
One of the most influential masters of Okinawa's indigenous martial art Te ["hand"]. Te was practiced mainly in the Okinawan towns of Shuri, later called Shuri-Te [首里手], in Naha, later called Naha-Te [那覇手], in Tomari, later called Tomari-Te [泊手], and in Itoman.
Click here to read about the three officially recognized Karate systems in Okinawa
(1800 - 1891; photo Creative Commons)
Prominent student of Sensei Sakugawa's and supposed to be the creator of the Shuri-Te system, which is considered to be the most indigenous style of Okinawan Te, less influenced by Chinese martial arts.
Click here to read about the three officially recognized Karate systems in Okinawa
(1831-1915; drawing & photo Lara Chamberlain)
Influential student of Sensei Matsumura's, considered by many as the "father of modern karate", because he introduced the art to the Okinawan public, after it initially was practiced in complete privacy, even secretly, as a fighting art for Okinawa's gentry. He developed several new Kata and curricula to teach Karate at Okinawan schools.
The re-examination of previous findings, done since the creation of the Karate Kaikan in Okinawa, reveals new facts; e.g. that the popular photo of Anko Itosu, published 2006 in "Okinawa Times" actually shows the fencing instructor Miyake Sango. The above image was drawn by artist & sensei Lara Chamberlain, based on a photo of Sensei Itosu the Okinawan research group found and published.
(1885 – 1969; Photo Wikimedia Commons)
One of Sensei Itosu's legendary students, who established the famous phrase "one strike, total destruction". In the early 1930s he organized Shorin Ryu as a tradition within the array of karate systems practiced in the Shuri area. Several forms of Shorin Ryu are practiced and use slightly different curricula, characterized by specific kanji, which all mean "Shorin", but are pronounced differently in Japanese. The kanji Sensei Chibana chose for "Shorin" (which is the pronunciation he always used) is pronounced "Kobayashi" in Japanese.
We are grateful to Sensei Jason Perry for helping us to avoid the popular misconception of Sensei Chibana "re-naming Shuri-Te into Shorin Ryu": the term "Shuri-Te" was not replaced and is still in use today in Okinawa to name the family of styles that came from the Shuri area (e.g. Sukunai Hayashi Ryu, Kobayashi Ryu, Matsubayashi Ryu, Shobayashi Ryu, Seibukan, Shubukan, and others).
Click here to read about the three officially recognized Karate systems in Okinawa
(1920 – 2016; Photo Okinawan Times)
Most prominent student of Sensei Chibana's and custodian of Kobayashi Ryu. He created the Shorin Ryu Shorinkan organization and successfully spread it worldwide.
Sensei Nakazato was elected by Japan's karate officials to demonstrate the art at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. For this event he created the kata Gorin ["five rings"] where he integrated elements from all three Okinawan karate styles (Shorin Ryu, Goju Ryu, Uechi Ryu) to develop a overarching, style-integrating kata of Okinawan karate.
In 2000 he was designated as an "Intangible Cultural Asset Holder" by the Okinawa Prefecture Government.
You can download a table containing all Okinawan Intangible Cultural Asset Holders
Today
Sensei Smith is one of the so-called “Original Seven“ black belts, directly trained by Sensei Nakazato and sent to the USA to promote Shorin Ryu Shorinkan. He has devoted his life to maintaining, teaching, and promoting (Kobayashi) Shorin Ryu in its initial form and purpose as it was taught to him in Okinawa by Sensei Shugoro Nakazato.
The mentioned famous "Original Seven" are, along with Noel Smith, the Okinawan Tadashi Yamashita (initially born in Japan) and Jiro Shiroma, and the Americans Eddie Bethea, Sid Campbell, Frank Hargrove, Robert (‘Bob’) Herten. While Bob Herten (2020) and Sid Campbell (2008) passed away, the other five are still teaching in the USA.
Click here to read about the three officially recognized Karate systems in Okinawa
Well into his eighties, Sensei Smith is still teaching, though not regularly. He studied Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate with O'Sensei Nakazato Shugoro, since the mid 1960s while stationed in Okinawa, and thereafter while living on the island with his Okinawan wife. At that time he trained daily, six days per week, during daytime and in the ev
Well into his eighties, Sensei Smith is still teaching, though not regularly. He studied Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate with O'Sensei Nakazato Shugoro, since the mid 1960s while stationed in Okinawa, and thereafter while living on the island with his Okinawan wife. At that time he trained daily, six days per week, during daytime and in the evenings. His “lunch-time” trainings allowed many one-on-one sessions with the master, who then would share deeper aspects of kata and bunkai.
Sensei Smith teaches karate as, in his words, “it was intended to be,” in a no-nonsense, traditional approach. With this fighting version of karate he trained members of the Navy SEALs and of the Virginia Beach police SWAT team. On the other hand he developed successful sports applications based on traditional moves, and his dojo produced many champion karateka over the years. From 1973 to 1978, he served as head coach for the U.S. karate team, competing nationally and internationally. However, at OBI sports-karate is never confused with "the real thing", with karate for self-defense purposes.
Sensei Smith's dedication, contributions, and successes were recognized with the “Distinguished Service Award—Man of the Year” and induction into the USA Karate Hall of Fame in 1976.
Sensei Glenn is our OBI head-instructor. He started to study karate as a college student some four decades ago, and he has closely worked with Sensei Smith for 20+ years. Sensei Glenn ensures that Sensei Smith's no-nonsense, traditional approach to Shorin Ryu karate is preserved and curated at OBI in its initial purpose and form, and that
Sensei Glenn is our OBI head-instructor. He started to study karate as a college student some four decades ago, and he has closely worked with Sensei Smith for 20+ years. Sensei Glenn ensures that Sensei Smith's no-nonsense, traditional approach to Shorin Ryu karate is preserved and curated at OBI in its initial purpose and form, and that the karate-jutsu we teach embodies the art “as it was intended to be” in Sensei Smith's understanding .
Sensei Hermann started to train and to study karate―including its historical and socio-cultural development―in 1981. His experience covers old-style (non-sports) Japanese karate-do as well as Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate-jutsu. To better understand the initial purpose of the art beyond its Japanese interpretation, he (already holding a blac
Sensei Hermann started to train and to study karate―including its historical and socio-cultural development―in 1981. His experience covers old-style (non-sports) Japanese karate-do as well as Okinawan Shorin Ryu karate-jutsu. To better understand the initial purpose of the art beyond its Japanese interpretation, he (already holding a black belt in Doshinkan) re-started at white belt level with Sensei Smith in 2017 and worked his way up to black belt levels in Shorin Ryu Shorinkan as well. He has spent considerable time with Japanese, Western, and Okinawan teachers to research the socio-cultural backgrounds and the core essence of the styles they represent. This led to several publications establishing his recognition as an expert on karate's socio-cultural developments and as a distinctive voice for the preservation of genuine Okinawan karate.
Karate 6:30pm-8pm ----------- Kobudo 6:00pm-6:30pm
(contact us for directions)
No Training on Monday January 20th (MLK Day)
Reminder SMS will be sent.