Article by Emanuel Giordano I wasn't sure I wanted to write this short article, but finally convinced myself to do it. My first trip to Okinawa was in 2013, and since then I have traveled to the island where Karate was born at least once a year, always attending only my teacher, his dojo,...

Articolo a cura di Emanuel Giordano  Non ero sicuro di voler scrivere questo breve articolo, ma alla fine mi sono convinto a farlo. Il mio primo viaggio ad Okinawa avvenne nel 2013, e da allora mi sono recato sull’isola dove è nato il Karate almeno una volta all’anno, sempre...

Article by Emanuel Giordano (original article 25/02/2021) The only Westerner who faced Motobu or, at least, the only one whose encounter has been documented by articles and interviews, was the boxer who was defeated in 1923 at the Butokuden in Kyoto (Motobu, in the 1936 interview,...

Article by Emanuel Giordano I recently re-read yet another post on facebook about the fact that Itosu sensei has "closed the hands in Karate", and how everyone before him hit with open hands. This, unfortunately, is a widespread belief, which has its roots in time. Of course, the reality is...

Articolo a cura di Emanuel Giordano  Di recente ho riletto l’ennesimo post su facebook relativo al fatto che Itosu sensei abbia “chiuso le mani del Karate”, e di come prima di lui tutti colpissero con le mani aperte. Questa, purtroppo, è una credenza diffusa, che affonda le sue radici...

Article by Emanuel Giordano The Shushi no kun / kon kata is one of the most popular Bo kata. There are many versions practiced today, and although most are variations of the Sho version, they are almost always kata elaborated / modified in recent times (second half of...

Articolo a cura di Emanuel Giordano  Il kata Shushi no kun/kon è uno dei kata di Bo più diffusi. Molte sono le versioni oggi praticate, e sebbene la maggior parte siano variazioni della versione Sho, si tratta quasi sempre di kata elaborati/modificati in tempi recenti (seconda metà del...

Article by Emanuel Giordano After Sho Iku's death, his second son 尚 泰 Sho Tai (1843 - 1901), the last king of the Ryukyu, ascended the throne of the Ryukyu Kingdom. Sho Tai had already been appointed Prince Nakagusuku (中城 王子 Nakagusuku Oji), that is, the prince heir to the throne, on the...

Article by Emanuel Giordano Continuation of PART 8   As we saw in the previous part, King Sho Ko retained his title until his death, despite having received permission from the Shogun to abdicate. The son reigned de facto from 1828 with the rank of sessei, and obtained the crown...

Article by Emanuel Giordano Continuation of PART 7 As I mentioned in part 6, Sho On died at the age of only 18, leaving the throne to the eldest son 尚成 Sho Sei (1800-1804). Sho Sei (also known by the infant name 思徳金 Umitokugani) was officially crowned on January 6, 1803, but reigned for a...