The History of Matsubayashi-Ryu

Matsubayashi-Ryu was founded by Shoshin Nagamine in 1947 to pay honor to two great Okinawan Karate teachers who instructed two of Nagamine's previous teachers. They were Sensei Kosaku Matsumura of Tomari villiage and Sensei Sokon Matsumura of the town of Shuri. Allthough having the same name, they are not related. The history of Matsubayashi-Ryu is therefore the history of Shoshin Nagamines Karate training.

Shoshin Nagamine (1907- Nov 2nd, 1997 ) Born in Naha, he was the son of a farmer and as a child suffered from poor health. To improve his health he began Karate training at the age of 17 under Chojin Kuba who taught a style of Tomari-Te. He eventually became captain of his school Karate team and at this time was receiving instruction from Taro Shimabuku, Ankichi Arakaki, and Kodatsu Iha.

In 1928, he was drafted into the army and served in an artillery regiment in China. After his return to civilian life in 1931 he entered the police force and served at the Kadena police station .He had the opportunity to study under Chotoku Kyan. In 1936 , he was sent to Tokyo to study police work at the Metropolitan Police Academy.

While there, he studied Karate under Choki Motobu and met Chomo Hanashiro and Kentsu Yabu. Both of these teachers warned him the Japanese were drastically altering the Okinawan Kata. They asked Nagamine to keep the kata in their original form , which Nagamine promised to do.

In 1940, Nagamine received a Renshi title in Karate (master instructor) upon the recommendation of Chojun Miyagi (the founder of Goju-Ryu). At the same time he was promoted to 3rd Dan in Kendo. In 1941 he composed the kata Fukyukata-Ichi which was accepted as official Karate Kata in 1945

He opened his first Dojo in 1942 in the town of Tomari. In 1947 Shoshin Nagamine founded our particular style of Shorin-Ryu and named it Matsubayashi-Ryu in honor of Kosaku Matsumura and Sokon Matsumura.

Their teachings have greatly influenced the development of Matsubayashi-Ryu. In 1953 Nagamine resigned from the police force and decided to devote his full attentions to Karate. He built his present Dojo and called it The Kodokan at Naha.

When the Okinawa Karate-Do Federation was formed in 1956 Nagamine was its first vice president and later on served as an adviser to that organization.

Nagamine has one son, Takayoshi, who runs an organization in the United States called the World Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do Association. Their Web Site address is www.matsubayashi-ryu.com

Since Nagamine's death in 1997, Matsubayashi-Ryu on Okinawa proper has been run by a board of directors. Nagamine's personal dojo has been taken over by his son.

At this point we begin the history of Matsubayashi-Ryu in America and the man most responsible for its early spread was Ueshiro Ansei.

The battle for Okinawa took place when Ueshiro was thirteen years old. During this battle both of his parents were killed and Ueshiro suffered severe burns over a large portion of his body. Most of his fingers on both hands were burnt off

Despite these injuries, he eventually became one of the best Bo technicians on Okinawa

Ueshiro was taken in by some relatives but because of his injuries and emotional trauma they felt that he had very little potential to learn a trade and lead a normal life.

At the age of thirteen they enrolled him into Shoshin Nagamine's Karate Dojo. Since Nagamine was wealthy compared to the typical Okinawan at that time, he provided his students with a place to sleep and food.

This fact of course took a burden off of Ueshiro's relatives. For the following years all that Ueshiro did was to train everyday. In those days Karate instruction was very informal and boiled down to "learning by imitating" the more advanced students. This particular learning method fit Ueshiro well because he was quiet by nature and his emotional trauma probably made him even more withdrawn.

In time, Ueshiro attained a level of skill which was remarkable considering his injuries. After a few years Ueshiro was an instructor at the Dojo and began to observe and learn from other Karate masters outside of the Nagamine Dojo. As exceptional as Ueshiro was in Kata and with the Bo he was most well known for his fighting abilities. He was said to have been absolutely terrifying in combat.

Ueshiro's basic survival needs had been provided for by Nagamine but he had no money nor a trade. In an effort to make spending money Ueshiro would go to the bars and prostitution houses and perform karate breaking demonstrations and also served as a bouncer and debt collector.

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