HOHAN SOKEN
The Life of a Grand Master
BY George W. Alexander, Ph.D.
Grand Master Hohan Soken
(1889-1982) was born on May 25, 1889 and was the founder of the
Matsumura Seito (Orthodox) style of Okinawan Shorin Ryu Karate. He was
born in Gaja Village, Nishihara City, Okinawa Prefecture. According to
Master Soken, in an interview conducted on September 10, 1978, his style
is derived from Bushi or Warrior Matsumura (1809-1889). Bushi Matsumura
was one of the most renowned martial
artists of his time. King Sho Tai gave him the title "Bushi" meaning
warrior in recognition of his abilities and accomplishments in the
martial arts. He eventually became the chief martial arts
instructor and bodyguard of the Okinawan King.
According to Hohan Soken
Sensei, Matsumura Orthodox is not the only authentic Shorin Ryu style.
Bushi Matsumura had more than a dozen dedicated students. Each one
learned his methods and expanded on them. However, Matsumura
autudi or the
Matsumura family lineage of Shorin Ryu was passed on from Matsumura
Sensei to Nabe Matsumura his grandson, who lived from (1860-1920).
Master Soken began training in karate at age thirteen
in 1902 under his Uncle Nabe Matsumura. According to Hohan Soken, “ When
Bushi Matsumura died he left the 'hands' of his teachings to my uncle,
Nabe Matsumura who was also known as Nabe Tanmei or old man Nabe.”
Tanmei is a title that means respected old man in Okinawa.
Soken sensei had to work in the
fields as a youth despite his samurai heritage. This was due to a
political reorganization in the Ryukyu Islands and all of Japan as a
result of the Meiji
restoration. The reorganization did away with the age-old feudal system
that existed in Okinawa for hundreds of years. The Emperor Meiji
instituted this change in 1871 and forced the
daimyo (feudal lords)
to give up their estates in favor of a geo-political organization based
on the prefecture system. Therefore, young Soken received his martial
arts training at night or early in the morning. All of his training was
conducted secretly. According to Soken Sensei, “In the old days training
was always done in secret so that others would not steal your
techniques.”
Back then, a master of the martial arts did not have
a large following of students.
According to Soken sensei, “Ankoh Itosu
(1830-1915) had less than a dozen students and he was one of the
greatest of teachers at the time. My uncle had only one student,
and that was me.” Master Soken has also been quoted a saying, “According
to my uncle he only learned from Bushi Matsumura and only taught me what
he had learned. So it can be said that Matsumura Orthodox is an
'old version' with no modern influences or sport applications.”
After ten years of basic
training under Nabe Matsumura,
Soken began learning the secret techniques of the white crane or
hakutsuru.
This was in 1912 when he was twenty-three years old. According to
Soken, this
was a secret technique or training methodology that was confined to the
Matsumura family.
Master Soken also trained for a
while with Kenwa
Mabuni (1889-1953), the founder of Shito Ryu
Karate and Gokenki,
a Chinese tea merchant living in Okinawa. Gokenki,
Soken
and Mabuni along with several other Okinawans all
trained together as a group. Gokenki’s style was
hakutsuru kenpo
(white crane fist style) and he was from the Fukien coast of China.
Master Soken also studied traditional weaponry under Komesu Ushi-no-Tanmei
and later under Mantaka Tsuken. Tsuken is known for the bo form
called Tsuken-bo, which was Soken sensei's favorite weapons form. Tsuken
is also pronounced Chikin
in the Okinawan Hogan dialect. Master Soken also learned the sai, tuifa,
kama, nunchaku, kusarigama and suruchin.
In 1924 Hohan Soken moved to
Buenos Aires, Argentina to find his fortune. He learned to speak
Spanish fluently and worked as a photographer and later worked in the
dry cleaning business. He taught a few students in Argentina and
gave numerous demonstrations throughout the country. Master Soken then
returned to Okinawa in 1952. At first he did not teach karate. But
eventually, he began to teach a few family members and then opened up a
small dojo. Master Soken initially called his karate by the Okinawan
dialect or Hogan
name Machimura Sui-de or in Japanese, Matsumura Shuri-Te.
In 1956 he officially changed the name of his
teachings to Matsumura Orthodox Shorin Ryu Karate-do. However, he still
maintained and trained in the old ways. Because of this, he did not join
the new organizations that were being formed at the time. Soken taught
many Americans. However, his most senior Okinawan student was Fusei Kise.
Soken Sensei taught other Okinawans such as Seiki Arakaki (c.1922-1987),
Yuichi Kuda (1928-1999), Chojun Makabe, Isamu Teruya, Kosei Nishihira,
etc.
THE MATSUMURA KATA
The kata that Soken Sensei taught were pinan shodan,
pinan nidan, naihanchi
shodan, naihanchi nidan, patsai-sho and dai, chinto,
gojushiho, kusanku,
rohai ichi-ni-san, and the hakutsuru. According to
Master Soken, “Hakutsuru is my favorite kata that I demonstrate--because
it is easier to do. When I was young,
the best kata was the kusanku. This is the
Matsumura kusanku--the older version that is not done much now.”
Master Soken also commented
that the most important Matsumura kata is the kusanku kata. According to
Soken sensei, "Sometimes we would practice the kusanku with
kanzashi (hairpins)
held in the hands--this was a common method of fighting. The
hairpins were symbols of rank and many Okinawans carried them for
decoration [to hold their topknots in place] and for protection.
Therefore, they were expedient as self-defense weapons.
A unique feature of the
Matsumura Shorin Ryu style is the teaching of the white crane or
hakutsuru kata,
although white crane techniques are woven throughout most of the kata of
the style and are especially evident in gojushiho and kusanku.
However, the hakutsuru kata is one of those elusive and esoteric kata of
karate. According to the Hohan Soken, the white crane style was
learned by Bushi Matsumura while he was in China. He then brought
the style back to Okinawa in the 1860’s. From then on, the system
was a secret style only taught to immediate members of the Matsumura
family. The white crane style was passed on from Bushi Matsumura
to Nabe Matsumura, his grandson, and then to Hohan Soken,
Nabe’s nephew [his sister's son].
Hohan Soken did teach the white crane to some members of the
ryu. These
people were not family members but were a chosen few. Keep in mind
the concept of a hereditary ryu
is a closed social nexus, like a family or a clan. Its membership
is restricted to blood relatives, whereas a
ryu ha is a group
that practices the same style but its members are not necessarily
related. Usually anyone can get into this social group, like a bowling
league or a “self-defense” studio. The family blood lineage of
Matsumura Shorin Ryu seems to have been broken though. It is my
understanding that Hohan Soken’s son was a "Sake Joe" and his grandson
now lives in New York City and has no interest in karate. The
Matsumura white crane system is still in existence and being taught
today, but it is rare and still underground.
The hakutsuru technique manifests the Chinese concept of the soft fist
as opposed to the power-oriented native Okinawan techniques. The
soft fist is defensive and relies on speed and evasion as its primary
tactic. Therefore, the Matsumura family style has both the
power-oriented linear Okinawan technique as well as soft circular
Chinese techniques. A perfect combination! Finally, there is the
Matsumura no hakutsuru
kata itself. The kata
is taught in two forms, a sort of sho
(minor) and dai
(major) format. The sho
version of the kata has the same embusen
(pattern) as the dai
version but it is simplistic in its techniques. The
dai version of the
hakutsuru kata is very elaborate with many intricate hand techniques
that make use of the wing (hane)
of the crane. The wing is used in blocking to trap, cover or repel
a blow. This evasive soft-blocking maneuver takes the form of a
crane posture in the kata. This crane posture features an outstretched
arm position (White Crane Spreads its Wings) used mainly for blocking.
In conjunction with this maneuver, a crane stance is assumed, with one
leg raised off the ground. This is where balance becomes
essential. The
hakutsuru kata features a unique low level kicking
sequence delivered from this posture and many of its movements are based
on the naihanchi, rohai, chinto, gojushiho and kusanku kata. From this
one-legged crane position two rapid-fire kicks are delivered to an
opponent’s groin and knee consecutively with the same leg. In
addition, spearfinger thrusting to vital points is the main means of
attack and counterattack taught within the framework of the kata. Its
intricate and complex movements make the performance of the Matsumura no
hakutsuru kata unique among karate kata. It certainly deserves to be the
secret kata of the ryu.
However, a source of confusion with regard to the orthodoxy of the
performance of the kata
has contemporary practitioners of this
style in a quandary. The confusion arises in that there is limited
source material [8mm-film footage] depicting Soken Sensei's version of
the kata and the fact that Soken taught his art differently to his
various students. In fact, he often tailored his teachings to his
student's biotype and personality.
MASTER SOKEN'S TRAINING METHODS
Soken’s instruction in the
white crane technique emphasized balance training. One training
method that he practiced was to perform the hakutsuru kata on a pine log
in a river. In Master Soken’s own words, “Initially, I learned the form
on the ground and then I had to perform it on a log laying on the
ground. For the advanced training the log was put into the river
and tied down so as not to float away. I was then instructed to
perform the kata while balanced on the log. It was very difficult
and I almost drowned several times by falling and bouncing my head off
the log." He further stated, "We would cut the leaves off the banana
tree and place them on the ground. He [Nabe Matsumura] would then have
me do exercises to develop balance. If the balance was not good, I
would fall and since the exercises were always vigorous, a fall could
seriously hurt you. We would train twice a day. Early in the
morning we would train on striking objects and conditioning to prepare
one for the day. After working hard in the fields, we would have nightly
training in two-person techniques and conditioning like present-day
kotekitai
(arm pounding). We had to toughen our legs and
hands like iron, then they became true weapons. During the late hours we
would practice the kata of Matsumura."
In October 1999 the author conducted an interview and
trained with Nishihira sensei, one of Soken's top students. Nishihira is
a virtual clone of Hohan Soken both in physical characteristics and
techniques. Nishihira sensei said Soken always emphasized blocking with
the fleshy portion of the arm [sometimes referred to as a double bone
block] so that both bones of the forearm, the radius and the ulna, were
used in blocking. During our training session Nishihira kicked me in the
groin at least eight times to get his point across about the
effectiveness of the Matsumura style (See: Okinawan Karate Voyage). It
was painful and humiliating but the information we were looking for was
obtained first hand so to speak. Training with Nishihira sensei
was like looking through a window into the past and seeing what Okinawan
"village" karate looked like a hundred years ago. It's totally different
then the karate taught in Naha today, which is becoming much more sport
oriented.
Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito Karate-do, as Soken Sensei
stated, is an old style
with many secrets. As Soken sensei got older he
felt that it was important to pass on these "secrets" to the dedicated
students or they would be lost. According to Soken Sensei, “There are
many secrets in karate that people will never know and will never
understand. These ideas are really not secret if you train under a
good teacher who knows his style.”
Hohan Soken was a highly respected Grand Master in
Okinawa. He retired from teaching in 1978. However, for many years he
was the oldest living karate master actively teaching. He has been
quoted as saying, “Karate training has no limits.” His
legacy was to bring karate from a bygone age into the modern era. He
helped pass on the legacy of Matsumura Shorin Ryu. Perhaps his
life is reflected best in his own words. The following death poem is his
final conversation with one of his students in November of 1982.
I have taught you all I know. There is no more
I can teach you. I am a candle whose light has traveled far.
You are my candles to whom I have passed on my light. It is you
who will light the path for others. Today I see around me the
lights of Shaolin.
The flame of tomorrow. My task is done, soon my
flame will end. Teach the true spirit of karate-do and one day you
may enter the Temple of Shaolin.
Hohan Soken’s light was most certainly passed on to a
candle to help light the way for others. Soken Sensei was instrumental
in passing on a martial arts legacy from Bushi Matsumura and Nabe
Matsumura to his students and to future generations. The legacy of
Matsumura Shorin Ryu continues.
Nishihira Sensei (R) and George Alexander
with the sign from Hohan Soken's dojo.