| Ryu Te 琉手 | |
|---|---|
| Date founded | c.1990 |
| Country of origin | Okinawa (Japan) |
| Founder | Seiyu Oyata |
| Arts taught | karate, kobudo |
| Ancestor schools | Uhugushiku, Wakinaguri |
Ryu te (琉手 Ryū-te, thought to be similar to Japanese words for: "flow of the hand" or "Ryūkyū hand") is a made up word and combining 琉 the first character of "Ryūkyū Islands" and 手 "Te" meaning "hand" and is a Registered trade mark.[1] The word "Ryu Te" is not a noun, but an adjective to describe the type of karate taught by Seiyu Oyata. Ryu Te karate is a traditional form of karate from the Ryukyu Islands. Ryu Te emphasizes effective self-defense; its techniques aim to take control of an opponent while avoiding the use of excessive force that threatens to injure or maim. Neither a sport nor a form of exercise, Ryu Te is a method of training the body and mind. In addition to striking, kicking, and blocking, Ryu Te includes grappling, locking, and escape techniques (tuite jutsu); striking techniques that exploit the body's weak points to temporarily disable an opponent without injury (kyusho-jitsu); weapons techniques (kobudo); and forms (kata). Practitioners study a wide range of techniques and prudent ways to use force in controlling an attacker.
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Seiyu Oyata, the founder of Ryu Te, was exposed to the Okinawan form of Tegumi through his father, Kana Oyata and during World War II he received instruction in iaido, kendo, and judo.[2][3] After the war he began training with Uhugushiku no Tanmei, a retired officer of the Okinawan government.
Uhugushiku was known as a kakurei bushi (hidden warrior) and taught neither outside of family lines nor those without a direct connection to the warrior class of Okinawa. Uhugushiku introduced Oyata to Wakinaguri, an elderly gentleman who was a descendant of Chinese emissaries sent to Okinawa when it was a tributary state of China. These two gentlemen began to teach Oyata the ancient ways of Okinawan and Chinese martial arts. During this time karate was taught openly as a public art. However, what Uhugushiku and Wakinaguri taught were family arts handed down through generations. Neither Uhugushiku nor Wakinaguri had descendants to whom they could pass down their art, and therefore Oyata became the inheritor of this knowledge.
After Uhugushiku and Wakinaguri died, Oyata sought other karate masters to continue his training. He joined several research groups (kenkyūkai) and trained directly with Shigeru Nakamura, founder of Okinawan Kenpo. Under Nakamura-sensei, Oyata learned the 12 basic empty-hand kata that are practiced in Ryu Te today and helped establish Bogu Kumite as the sporting aspect of Okinawan Kenpo.
In 1977 several of Oyata's senior American students (Jim Logue, Albert Geraldi, Bill Wiswell and Greg Lindquest) began to organize within the United States. They brought him to Kansas City, Kansas and established the American headquarters. Oyata began to broaden the knowledge of the general martial arts public by introducing the concepts of tuite and kyūsho jutsu that have influenced the way in which karate is taught in the modern day (Robert Rousselot comments at [1] that he was unable to locate pre-Oyata references to tuite and kysho, while after Oyata introduced them, the terms proliferated quickly).
In order to credit Okinawa, from 1968 until the late 80's Oyata called his organization "Ryūkyū Kempō" (琉球拳法) — a generic term often used to describe all forms of karate from Okinawa. In the early 90's he renamed it "Ryu-te" (琉手), which means "Ryūkyū Hand," or "flowing hand." These kanji characters were chosen to describe the way in which karate techniques should be performed.
Oyata stressed several important points regarding the practice of Ryu Te self-defense.
Advanced students of Ryu Te achieve multiple blocks and strikes in a single flowing motion, rather than thinking of blocks, strikes, and locks as separate techniques end-to-end.
A kata or form is a choreographed pattern of movement, somewhat resembling a dance, that contains the basic movements of karate. The kata are the alphabets from which the words and sentences of self-defense are constructed. Each movement holds meanings not readily discernible to the untrained eye, and therefore it may be said that a hidden art is contained within the kata.
The 13 kata taught in Ryu Te are called:
Ryu Te incorporates kobudo, in that the study of weapons supplements the empty-hand techniques as an integral component of training. Practitioners study the interrelationship between empty-hand movements and weapons techniques, with an emphasis on the value of weapons training in the perfection of empty-hand movement. Weapons include chizikunbo, tanbo, tonfa, nunchaku, kama, jo, bo, nunte bo, eku, sai, and manji sai.
Training aims to improve flexibility, strength, stamina, coordination, and balance by requiring students to push themselves to and stretch beyond their physical limits. Physical training also functions as a means to spiritual attainment (i.e., improved mental and physical discipline, greater vigilance, and increased self-confidence.)
Students are required to learn and live by a basic moral code, expressed in 5 "Dojo Kun" and 10 "Guiding Principles." Similar Dojo Kun are used in many Japanese martial arts; the English translation used for the Ryu Te Dojo Kun is:
The Guiding Principles are:
Several books by George Dillman teach Ryukyu Kempo, a style which is somewhat similar Ryu Te but is not sanctioned by Oyata.
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