History of the Art

“Once upon a time” there was a Buddhist monk named ‘Bodhidarama’ from India travelling through China along the ‘Silk trail’
(trading route between India and China) dated 527 a.d..

This monk travelled to the Sho-Lin-ssu Buddhist temple in northern China to teach his philosophy. The temple had been established in 495 a.d. Upon arriving, he noticed that the Monk’s were very weak and ‘sickly,’ which made it impossible for them to concentrate for long periods of time when meditating. Bodhidarama focused on solving this problem for quite some time (said to be nine years).
During this time he wrote two classics, the first classic is called the ‘Yi Gin Ching’ and was designed to strengthen the physical body of the monks and improve their health and fitness. The basis of Martial Arts training has its roots in the Yi Gin Ching.
The second classic had more to do with the spiritual philosophy of Buddhism so it is not covered in our training classes.

The Monks practised the series of exercises that not only improved their health but also incorporated strikes to Acupuncture points in combinations that would immobilise an attacker (the art of Shaolin-Ryukyu Kempo is to train at this level). The monks became so formidable with their fighting abilities they were sort by the Emperor’s for personal protection throughout the next few centuries.
The art of Shaolin Chuan Fa (Kempo), spread throughout China during this time and some practitioners moved offshore
to the Ryukyu islands.

In 1756 a Chinese military envoy of the Ming Dynasty named ‘Kusanku’ (chin.: g ngxi nj g, ) also known also as: Ku Shanku, Kosokun, Kung Hsiang Ch’ün, Kwang Shang Fu, Ku Shan Ku, Koshokun, Kwanku, Ko Sokun, Gong Xiang Fu moved to the Ryukyu islands as part of the ‘36 families’ in the village of Kanemura, near the city of Naha, that migrated at that time.
Kusanku was famous for his Martial Arts abilities and is believed to be either a Shaolin monk or had been trained by one.
To date I am unable to find any information about Kusanku prior to him arriving in the Ryukyu islands.

One of Kusanku’s students was Sakugawa Kanga (1733 - 1815) of the Shuri Region. Sakugawa trained with Kusanku for six years and developed his techniques into the Kata called ‘Kusanku.’ This Kata is part of our training syllabus. Sakugawa combined the styles of the Shuri region (Shuri-Te) with the teachings of the Shaolin Master to develop what we now call Ryukyu Kempo and Karate. Sakugawa is credited as being the first true Karate practitioner, it is the lineages from him throughout history that have developed into the Ryukyu and Japanese Martial Arts we see today. After training with Kusanku, Sakagawa also became known as Tode Sakagawa,
Tode referring to ‘Chinese Kempo.’

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“Once upon a time” there was a Buddhist monk named ‘Bodhidarama’ from India travelling through China along the ‘Silk trail’ (trading route between India and China) dated 527 a.d.. This monk travelled to the Sho-Lin-ssu Buddhist temple in northern China to teach his philosophy. The temple had been established in 495 a.d. Upon arriving, he noticed that the Monk’s were very weak and ‘sickly,’ which made it impossible for them to concentrate for long periods of time when meditating. Bodhidarama focused on solving this problem for quite some time (said to be nine years). During this time he wrote two classics, the first classic is called the ‘Yi Gin Ching’ and was designed to strengthen the physical body of the monks and improve their health and fitness. The basis of Martial Arts training has its roots in the Yi Gin Ching. The second classic had more to do with the spiritual philosophy of Buddhism so it is not covered in our training classes. The Monks practised the series of exercises that not only improved their health but also incorporated strikes to Acupuncture points in combinations that would immobilise an attacker (the art of Shaolin-Ryukyu Kempo is to train at this level). The monks became so formidable with their fighting abilities they were sort by the Emperor’s for personal protection throughout the next few centuries. The art of Shaolin Chuan Fa (Kempo), spread throughout China during this time and some practitioners moved offshore to the Ryukyu islands. In 1756 a Chinese military envoy of the Ming Dynasty named ‘Kusanku’ (chin.: g ngxi nj g, ) also known also as: Ku Shanku, Kosokun, Kung Hsiang Ch’ün, Kwang Shang Fu, Ku Shan Ku, Koshokun, Kwanku, Ko Sokun, Gong Xiang Fu moved to the Ryukyu islands as part of the ‘36 families’ in the village of Kanemura, near the city of Naha, that migrated at that time. Kusanku was famous for his Martial Arts abilities and is believed to be either a Shaolin monk or had been trained by one. To date I am unable to find any information about Kusanku prior to him arriving in the Ryukyu islands. One of Kusanku’s students was Sakugawa Kanga (1733 - 1815) of the Shuri Region. Sakugawa trained with Kusanku for six years and developed his techniques into the Kata called ‘Kusanku.’ This Kata is part of our training syllabus. Sakugawa combined the styles of the Shuri region (Shuri-Te) with the teachings of the Shaolin Master to develop what we now call Ryukyu Kempo and Karate. Sakugawa is credited as being the first true Karate practitioner, it is the lineages from him throughout history that have developed into the Ryukyu and Japanese Martial Arts we see today. After training with Kusanku, Sakagawa also became known as Tode Sakagawa, Tode referring to ‘Chinese Kempo.’
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