by Bruise* Lee » Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:23 am
I really appreciate the respect the Uechi people here have for other styles. I know a bit, a very little bit about Keichu Do - because my instructor Rod Sacharnoski had a very large following in Louisiana.
Karl Marx caught some harsh teasing from some traditional Japanese stylist because of him creating his own style - being a Soke. My instructor Rod Sacharnoski also catches alot of heat from some people. I often see some of the old Koryu martial artists who often argue ad infinitum about whose styles are more "legitimate" - ignoring the fact that the very roots of many Koryu are very tenuous (some say their systems were created by mythical hobgoblins - doesn't get more legit than that). But in the end all that matters to me is that the people are good, the training is fun and the stuff works.
I had the opportunity to train with Tsutomu Oshima of the Shotokan system - he translated Gichin Funakoshi's book KARATE DO KYOHAN. He said that when Funakoshi first traveled to Japan Jigoro Kano asked him what system of Jujutsu he taught - since the Shotokan he did at the time had many throws - such as the "topple a folding screen" throw or the "turn upside down and hammer" throw. There was not alot of distinction between the various ryu of Karate and Jujutsu - lots of hard strikes and lots of vicious throws.
I have heard other Asian masters say that it was their belief that at one time the various ryu of Okinawa were not all that different. The division into various ryuha was a much later thing - before the styles were similar (perhaps more complete) and that although students gravitated towards certain techniques based on their preferences the systems themselves had a mixture of soft strikes, hard strikes, throws, locks etc.