Hohan Soken
祖堅方範
Okinawan karate and kobudo master (1889–1982), nephew of Nabe Matsumura, who after returning from Argentina in 1952 taught Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu.
Quick Facts
JapanBiography
Hohan Soken was an Okinawan master of karate and kobudo who, after returning from Argentina, taught the Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu style. He was born on 25 May 1889 in the village of Gaja in Nishihara, and Wikipedia, citing Hokama, gives the year 1891. He died on 30 November 1982 aged 93.
He was the son of the sister of Nabe Matsumura, grandson of Sokon Matsumura. He began training with his uncle Nabe at thirteen, according to an interview with Ernie Estrada from 1978 in 1902 or 1903, and at 23 he learned the kata Hakutsuru. According to the same interview, he learned the handling of weapons from Komesu Ushi-no-tanmei and Tsuken Mantaka.
In 1924 he moved to Buenos Aires, where he worked as a photographer's apprentice and in a dry cleaner's and taught karate. In 1952 he returned to Okinawa and opened a small dojo, at first only for family members. Around 1956 he named his style Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu, the orthodox Shorin-ryu of the Matsumuras. In June 1961 he was at the founding of the Okinawa Kobudo Kyokai as a representative of Matsumura Seito, and according to the Fightingarts website he founded the All Okinawa Kobujutsu Association in 1970.
His students included Fusei Kise, Seiki Arakaki, Hideo Nakazato and the Americans James Coffman and Thomas Hunnicutt. In 1979 he named Norman Small the Australian director of his association, and according to the World Budokan website he stopped teaching in 1978.
Early life
Hohan Soken was born on 25 May 1889 in the village of Gaja in Nishihara. The date is given by the Fightingarts website in connection with the interview that Ernie Estrada conducted with him on 10 September 1978, and the World Budokan website agrees. Wikipedia, citing Hokama from 2005, gives the year 1891. His mother was the sister of Nabe Matsumura, grandson of Sokon Matsumura.
Training and teachers
At the age of thirteen he began training with his uncle Nabe Matsumura, according to the 1978 interview in 1902 or 1903. He learned the kata Pinan, Naihanchi, Passai, Chinto, Kusanku, Gojushiho and Rohai and, at 23, Hakutsuru last. Wikipedia gives his handwritten autobiography from 1961 as the source of the list of kata.
According to the interview with Estrada, he learned the handling of weapons from Komesu Ushi-no-tanmei and later from Tsuken Mantaka. The World Budokan website also mentions brief training with Kenwo Mabuni and instruction in hakutsuru kenpo from the Chinese tea merchant Gokenki, and we have not verified either claim elsewhere.
Contribution and innovations
In 1924 he moved to Buenos Aires, where he was a photographer's apprentice, worked in a dry cleaner's and taught karate. In 1952 he returned to Okinawa and opened a small dojo, at first for family members. Around 1956 he named his style Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu, the orthodox Shorin-ryu of the Matsumuras. According to the interview, he was a member of the Ryukyu Historical Society and taught older forms to Shinken Taira.
In a photograph from 17 June 1961, when the Okinawa Kobudo Kyokai was founded, he is listed as a representative of Shorin-ryu Matsumura Seito. The first chairman of the association was Higa Seitoku. According to the Fightingarts website, he founded the All Okinawa Kobujutsu Association in 1970.
Philosophy and principles
In an interview with Ernie Estrada from 10 September 1978, conducted in Spanish, he said that the study of his Matsumura Seito takes one back to the time when karate was stronger and more demanding. According to him, old training was always done in secret so that others would not steal the techniques, and he changed his approach only when Americans came to learn from him.
Legends and documented facts
The World Budokan website claims that the kata Hakutsuru, the white crane, was a family secret of the Matsumuras. Wikipedia, citing Mark Bishop from 1989, states that Soken himself admitted that he obtained this training from another source.
The year of birth differs between 1889 and 1891, and the years of life of Nabe Matsumura between 1860 and 1920 and 1860 and 1930. As teachers of weapons, the 1978 interview names Komesu Ushi-no-tanmei and Tsuken Mantaka, and we have not found another form of the name of the first of them in the sources.
Legacy
The World Budokan website names Fusei Kise as the oldest Okinawan student and also names Seiki Arakaki and Yuichi Kuda. Wikipedia also lists among his students Hideo Nakazato, Seijun Kina, Roy Suenaka, James Coffman and Thomas Hunnicutt. In 1979 he named Norman Small the Australian director of his association.
According to the World Budokan website, he did not join the new Okinawan organizations and stopped teaching in 1978. According to the same website, his son and grandson did not continue in karate. He died on 30 November 1982 at the age of 93.
Teachers, students and family
Associated Martial Arts
An Okinawan striking art reshaped in the 20th century into Japanese budo and an Olympic sport. Built on kata and hand and foot techniques.
Shorin-ryuMaster→A family of Okinawan lineages descending from Shuri-te. The name points to Shaolin, but that is a claim to the tradition, not evidence of a direct line.
Kata and forms
Organisations
Quotes
Old training was always done in secret so that others would not steal your techniques.