Article by Emanuel Giordano  All practitioners of Shotokan Karate know very well that in the Heian yondan kata two kakiwake-uke are performed. What most of them don't know is that the schools that derive from Funakoshi Gichin sensei are the only ones to perform this technique in that...

Articolo a cura di Emanuel Giordano    Tutti i praticanti di Karate Shotokan sanno benissimo che nel kata Heian yondan si eseguono due kakiwake-uke. Quello che la maggior parte di loro non sa, è che le scuole che derivano da Funakoshi Gichin sensei sono le uniche ad eseguire...

Article by Emanuel Giordano  There are many rumors that the Naihanchi kata was once practiced in Goju-ryu as well. Some of them even state that this kata was also practiced by Higaonna Kanryo sensei, known as the "renovator" of Naha-te. However, it is necessary to immediately clarify...

Articolo a cura di Emanuel Giordano  Esistono molte voci relative al fatto che il kata Naihanchi fosse un tempo praticato anche nel Goju-ryu. Alcune di esse affermano addirittura che tale kata fosse praticato anche da Higaonna Kanryo sensei, conosciuto come il "rinnovatore" del Naha-te....

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 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...

Article by Emanuel Giordano Continuation of PART 6   Before moving on to the next investiture mission, that of 1808, I would like to talk about the scholar aristocracy, one of the administrative classes of the Kingdom of the Ryukyu. The families of the scholar aristocracy were...

Article by Emanuel Giordano Continuation of PART 5   Continuing on our path, we will now face the diplomatic mission following that of 1756. In 1794 King Sho Boku died, who was succeeded by his young nephew Sho On (1784-1802) the following year. The latter reigned briefly, as he...