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Pechin Higa
(1790–1870), often called , is a semi-legendary martial artist in Ryūkyūan history who was a direct influence on the development of karate and kobudo, especially with respect to bōjutsu. is social class of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. A resident of the island of Hama Higa, he was perhaps a student of the Chinese emissaries Zhang Xue Li and later Wanshu, who would have taught him techniques of quan fa. Ryūkyūan history relied mainly on oral tradition prior to the 20th century, so it is difficult to separate fact and fiction (or embellishment). It is said that Higa had forearms like tree trunks and that he could crush a coconut in his bare hands, though he stood only tall and weighed about . Legends state that Higa with his bō stood up to the head-hunters of Formosa and to Japanese pirates from the north and never lost a battle. What has turned out to be a big misunderstanding, however, is that Higa was the teacher of Takahara Peechin, who in turn taught Sakugawa Ka ...
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Ryūkyū
The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ryukyu Islands are divided into the Satsunan Islands ( Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami) and Okinawa Prefecture ( Daitō, Miyako, Yaeyama, Senkaku, Okinawa, Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), and Yonaguni as the westernmost). The larger ones are mostly volcanic islands and the smaller mostly coral. The largest is Okinawa Island. The climate of the islands ranges from humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfa'') in the north to tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification ''Af'') in the south. Precipitation is very high and is affected by the rainy season and typhoons. Except the outlying Daitō Islands, the island chain has two major geologic boundaries, the Tokara Strait (between the Tokara and Amami Islands) and the Kerama Gap (between the Okinawa and Miyako Islands). The islands beyo ...
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Wokou
''Wokou'' ( zh, c=, p=Wōkòu; ; Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ; ; literal Chinese translation: "dwarf bandits"), which translates to "Japanese pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 17th century.Wakō
Encyclopaedia Britannica
The wokou were made of various ethnicities of East Asian people, East Asian ancestry, which varied over time and raided the mainland from islands in the Sea of Japan and East China Sea. Wokou activity in Korea declined after the Treaty of Gyehae in 1443 but continued in Ming dynasty, Ming China and peaked during the Jiajing wokou raids in the mid-16th century. Chinese reprisals and strong clamp-downs on pirates by Japanese authorities saw the wokou disappear by the 17th century.


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1790 Births
Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took part in the Brabant Revolution at the end of 1789, sign a Treaty of Union, creating the United States of Belgium. * January 14 – U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton submits his proposed plan for payment of American debts, starting with $12,000,000 to pay the foreign debts of the confederation, followed by $40 million for domestic debts, and $21.5 million for the war debts of the states. The plan is narrowly approved 14-12 in the Senate, and 34-28 in the House.''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p169 * January 15 – Fletcher Christian & 8 mutineers aboard the ''Bounty'' land on Pitcairn. * January 26 – ...
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Okinawan Male Karateka
Okinawan may refer to: * Something or someone related to: ** Okinawa Island ** Okinawa Islands ** Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawan language, an endangered language spoken by the people of Okinawa Island See also * Okinawa (other) * Ryukyuan (other) Ryukyu may refer to: * Ryukyu Islands, a volcanic arc archipelago * Ryukyuan languages * Ryukyuan people * Kingdom of Ryukyu (1429–1879) * Ryuko Tatsuma, a character in the animanga series ''My Hero Academia'' See also * Okinawa (disambiguat ... {{disambiguation Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
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Sai (weapon)
The ''sai'' (Japanese language, Japanese: wiktionary:釵#Japanese, 釵, ; Chinese language, Chinese: wikt:鐵尺, 鐵尺, ) is a pointed melee weapon from Okinawa Island, Okinawa. It was historically utilized in martial arts such as Okinawan kobudō and southern Chinese martial arts, and has been absorbed into the curriculum of many modern martial arts. Although similar weapons can be found in other parts of Asia, the sai is the Okinawan take on the basic concept and should not be confused with the other weapons. The sai is primarily used for stabbing, striking, parrying and disarming opponents. It consists of a pointed metal main prong, that projects from a one-handed handle, two shorter metal side prongs, which project from the opposite sides of the base of the main prong and point in the same direction as it, and a blunt metal pommel fixed to the bottom end of the handle. The sai came to international attention when Okinawan kobudō and karate reached international popularity in ...
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Tonfa
The ''tonfa'' ( Okinawan: , lit. ''old man's staff'' / ''"crutch"'', also spelled as ''tongfa'' or ''tuifa'', also known as T-baton) is a melee weapon with its origins in the armed component of Okinawan martial arts where it is known as the ''tunkua''. It consists of a stick with a perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, and is about long. It was traditionally made from red or white oak, and wielded in pairs. The tonfa is believed to have originated in either China, Okinawa or Southeast Asia, where it is used in the respective fighting styles. History Regional variants Although the tonfa is most commonly associated with the Okinawan martial arts, its origin is heavily debated. One of the most commonly cited origins is China, although origins from Indonesia to Okinawa are also possible. Although modern martial artists often cite that the tonfa derives from a millstone handle used by peasants, martial arts in Okinawa were historically ...
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Kata
''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts as a way to memorize and perfect the movements being executed. Korean martial arts with Japanese influence ( hapkido, Tang Soo Do) use the derived term '' hyeong'' (hanja: 形) and also the term ''pumsae'' (hanja: 品勢 hangeul: 품새). Kata are also used in many traditional Japanese arts such as theatre forms like kabuki and schools of tea ceremony ('' chadō''), but are most commonly known in the martial arts. Kata are used by most Japanese and Okinawan martial arts, such as iaido, judo, kendo, kenpo, and karate. Background Kata originally were teaching and training methods by which successful combat techniques were preserved and passed on. Practicing kata allowed a company of persons to engage in a struggle using a syste ...
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Sakugawa Kanga
, also Sakugawa Satunushi and Tode Sakugawa, was a Ryūkyūan martial arts master and major contributor to the development of Te, the precursor to modern Karate. Karate-do Kanga "Tode" Sakugawa trained under his father Kangi Sakugawa. Kangi Sakugawa began his training as a student of a Ryūkyūan monk, Peichin Takahara. After six years of training, Takahara suggested that Kangi Sakugawa train under Kusanku, a Chinese master in Ch'uan Fa. Kangi Sakugawa spent six years training with Kusanku, and began to teach his son Kanga. Kanga became such an expert that people gave him the nickname ''Tōde'' ("Chinese Hand"). Kanga Sakugawa then spread what he learned to Ryūkyū in the 1810s. Kanga Sakugawa's most famous student, Matsumura Sōkon, went on to develop the Shuri-te which later develop into a number of karate styles including Shotokan, Shito-ryu, and Shōrin-ryū Shōrin-ryū (少林流) is one of the major modern Okinawan martial arts and is one of the oldest styles o ...
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Takahara Peechin
was an early karate practitioner. was a social class of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The principles of the ''dō'' ("way"), as explained by Takahara Pēchin, are: 1) ''ijō'', the way-compassion, humility, and love. 2) ''katsu'', the laws-complete understanding of all techniques and forms of karate, and 3) ''fo'' dedication-the seriousness of karate that must be understood not only in practice, but in actual combat. The collective translation is: "One’s duty to himself and his fellow man." He was the first teacher of Sakugawa Kangi, the father of Sakugawa Kanga , also Sakugawa Satunushi and Tode Sakugawa, was a Ryūkyūan martial arts master and major contributor to the development of Te, the precursor to modern Karate. Karate-do Kanga "Tode" Sakugawa trained under his father Kangi Sakugawa. Kangi S .... References Okinawan male karateka 1683 births 1760 deaths People from Naha Ryukyuan people {{Japan-karate-bio-stub ...
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Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait from the southeastern coast of the Mainland China. The East China Sea is to the north of the island, the Philippine Sea to its east, the Luzon Strait directly to its south, and the South China Sea to its southwest. The ROC also controls a number of smaller islands, including the Penghu archipelago in the Taiwan Strait, Kinmen and Matsu in Fuchien near the Mainland coast, as well as Pratas and Taiping in the South China Sea. Geologically, the main island comprises a tilted fault block, characterized by the contrast between the eastern two-thirds, consisting mostly of five rugged mountain ranges running parallel to the east coast, and the flat to gently rolling plains of the western third, where the majority of the population resides. Sev ...
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Karate
(; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While modern karate is primarily a striking art that uses punches and kicks, traditional karate training also employs Throw (grappling), throwing and joint locking techniques. A karate practitioner is called a . Beginning in the 1300s, early Chinese martial arts, Chinese martial artists brought their techniques to Okinawa. Despite the Ryukyu Kingdom being turned into a puppet state by Japanese samurai in 1609, after the Invasion of Ryukyu, its cultural ties to China remained strong. Since Ryukyuans were banned from carrying swords under samurai rule, groups of young aristocrats created unarmed combat methods as a form of resistance, combining Chinese and local styles of martial arts. Training emph ...
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Chinese Martial Arts
Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common traits, identified as "families" of martial arts. Examples of such traits include ''Shaolin kung fu, Shaolinquan'' () physical exercises involving Five Animals, All Other Animals () mimicry or training methods inspired by Chinese philosophies, Old Chinese philosophies, religions and legends. Styles that focus on qi manipulation are called ''Internal martial arts, internal'' (; ), while others that concentrate on improving muscle and cardiovascular fitness are called ''Styles of Chinese martial arts#External styles, external'' (; ). Geographical associations, as in ''northern'' (; ) and ''Nanquan (martial art), southern'' (; ), is another popular classification method. Ter ...
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