RyuKyu Kingdom Sui-Di Bujutsu 琉球王朝首里手武術 Authentic Okinawan Karate

15/07/2026

22/06/2026

Tusui ya tatashina mun (“The old should be treated with due respect.”) and Tusui ya takara. (“Old people are treasures to us.”) are two Okinawan sayings. Mrs. Miyahira and Iha Sensei had a close friendship and visited together whenever he was in Okinawa. Sensei said it is always sad when the older generation is forgotten and that in the old days everyone looked out for each other.

19/06/2026

Mineo sensei explaining footwork to set up angles for a devastating spinning kick and also working the correct distance for defence. ⁣
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Our team is looking forward to training with Toguchi Sensei this summer in Okinawa.⁣
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19/03/2026

“Cultivate a heart that cares about other people through karate. If you want to be better, you must have a partner. You might want to get better, but if your partners don’t like you how can you grow? So you need to learn how to adapt and flow with another person. Otherwise you will have regrets.” Iha Sensei, spoken when he was 90.

19/02/2026

Hanshi Koichi Nakasone with his Tameshiwari demonstration at the World Shorin Ryu Celebration Festival in 1997.

Nakasone Sensei retired undefeated as the undisputed all Okinawa full contact karate champion and his students from his renowned Naha Dojo simultaneously held champion positions in all senior male, senior female and junior high school titles at one point.

He developed a unique realistic/full contact fighting style from his research in old style Shorin Ryu known as “Sui-Di”.

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05/02/2026

On the class after class

Some of the best discussions and instruction with Iha Sensei occurred while he sat on the bench after class. We would usually gather around and stretch while a few students practiced what they had been working on during the session. This ambiance was fruitful for discussions and demonstrations and always a reminder that Sensei was a teacher of deep experience and insight. It was also a time that individuals would follow up with questions about their own particular karate. This was instructive to all of us, because Sensei would give specific and often unique instructions; what one student could do or had an apt for he would build upon. His karate was not one size fits all. The idiosyncrasies of each of us became his canvas and we saw that the class curriculum was a foundation, not a ceiling. Something might work for one student but not another, and that was normal. He would often say, “Show me how you do”, “You have to figure out” and “Do your homework”.

He was also genuinely interested in our own opinions and perspective to “make more better”. If we did something he liked, he would say so; if not, he would smile and say something like “I don’t know”. If we could pull it off well he might say to keep trying. And he always followed up. Sometimes a week or more later he would ask us to demonstrate what we discussed to see if we did our homework.

Sensei’s own teacher, Gusukuma, would usually have tea and sweets after instruction for the students who wished to stay for a while. Iha Sensei said that one of his regrets was the long trip home from Gusukuma’s because he often had to leave shortly after class. There were times, however, when he could stay and Gusukuma would share stories about his own teachers (Itosu and Higaonna) other contemporary teachers, living or recently passed (Motobu, Kyan, Miyagi, Chibana and so on) and his karate perspective in general.

Miyahira Sensei likewise enjoyed after class tea, smoking and discussions, which is pictured here. Sensei remains in his gi, while Miyahira Sensei has already changed.

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