Motobu Choyu
本部朝勇
Okinawan nobleman (1865–1928), the last bearer of the family art of Motobu Udundi, elder brother of Choki Motobu and chairman of the Okinawa Karate Research Club in Naha.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Motobu Choyu was an Okinawan nobleman and martial arts master, the eldest son of the Motobu Udun house and the last bearer of the family art of Motobu Udundi, which he passed on to Seikichi Uehara. According to the Motobu-ryu website and Wikipedia he was born in 1865, Wikipedia giving 2 May and the Ryukyu Bugei website 1857. He died on 21 March 1928.
He was the eldest son of Prince Motobu Choshin and elder brother of Choki Motobu. From the age of six he learned the family art of Udundi, intended for the heir of the house, from his father. Sokon Matsumura and Itosu Anko taught him karate at the family residence, and with his brother and friend Kentsu Yabu he studied the Tomari style under Kosaku Matsumora.
He was chairman of the Okinawa Karate Research Club in Naha, led by Chojun Miyagi and Kenwa Mabuni. In March 1918 he demonstrated the kata Shochin at a seminar at the Okinawa Teachers School, and in 1923 and 1924 he performed with Seikichi Uehara at demonstrations in Shuri and Naha. Uehara trained under him from July 1916 to the end of 1926 and was to teach Udundi to his son Chomo in Wakayama.
After the war Uehara named the school Motobu-ryu, and from 1970 Motobu Udundi, and in 2003 passed the title of head of the school to Chosei Motobu, the son of Choki.
Early life
Motobu Choyu was born in the village of Akahira in Shuri as the eldest son of Prince Motobu Choshin and his wife Ushi and the elder brother of Choki Motobu. Wikipedia gives the date 2 May 1865, the Ryukyu Bugei website the year 1857. As heir of the Motobu domain he received the title Inoha Aji from the king at his coming-of-age ceremony.
From the age of six he learned the family art of Motobu Udundi from his father, which heirs trained until about the age of fifteen. The Motobu-ryu website lists him as the 11th head of the house, Wikipedia as the 12th. He had three sons, and the second son, Chomo, lived in Wakayama.
Training and teachers
Sokon Matsumura and Itosu Anko taught him karate at the family residence, according to Wikipedia from 1881, when Itosu was invited to the palace. With his brother Choki and his friend Kentsu Yabu he studied the Tomari style in the house of Kosaku Matsumora. According to the Motobu-ryu website he knew up to thirty kata and the handling of weapons, and for his kicks he received the nickname Motobu Kick.
Contribution and innovations
He was chairman of the Okinawa Karate Research Club in Naha, led by Chojun Miyagi and Kenwa Mabuni. The sources differ on the year the club was founded, between 1923 and 1926. According to the Motobu-ryu website, he taught there the interpretation of kata by Miyagi and the rope-binding techniques of Mabuni. On 20 March 1918 he demonstrated the kata Shochin at a martial arts seminar at the Okinawa Teachers School.
He did not demonstrate the family art of Udundi in public. With Seikichi Uehara he performed in 1923 in the palace of Shuri Castle and in 1924 in the Taisho Theatre in Naha with kata of ordinary karate. Uehara trained under him from July 1916 to the end of 1926 and was to teach Udundi to the son of Choyu, Chomo, in Wakayama. According to the Okinawa Times from 1978, after the abolition of the feudal domain only he knew the tradition of Udundi.
Legends and documented facts
Wikipedia lists Kaneshima Shinsuke and Tsuyoshi Chitose as students of Choyu. The official Motobu-ryu website does not mention them, and the Chito-ryu association speaks only of guidance without dates, so we consider the link weakly documented.
In 1978 the Okinawa Times reported that Choki took over Udundi from Choyu in 1924 after a training match. The Motobu-ryu website states on the contrary that Choyu passed Udundi to Uehara for his son Chomo. Both versions are passed on by sources connected with the family school, and we have not resolved the dispute. The year of birth differs between 1857 and 1865.
Legacy
He died on 21 March 1928 after an illness he caught on the return journey with his brother from a demonstration on Kume Island. Chomo died in 1945 in the bombing of Osaka, and Seikichi Uehara resumed the transmission after the war. On 5 March 1961 he named the school Motobu-ryu and in 1970 Motobu Udundi. In 1984 his association became the first Okinawan school affiliated with the Nihon Kobudo Kyokai.
In 1976 Uehara met Chosei Motobu, the son of Choki, and on 17 August 2003 passed the title of head of the school to him. According to the Chito-ryu association, Tsuyoshi Chitose also improved under Choyu, but it gives no dates.