I had the pleasure of participating in the 25th annual Okinawa Karate and Kobudo taikai at the Budokan in Naha, Okinawa on Saturday. Many karateka from the Matsubayashiryu dojos in Okinawa attended alongside around a couple of thousand other karateka and spectators from across all the traditional Okinawan karate and kobudo styles.
It was a great event to take part in and watch, the first of this kind I have been to in Okinawa. Our club demonstrated Pinan Shodan and Wankan kata as a group and this was followed by a demonstration of Chatanyara Kusanku kata and bunkai by 3 of the most senior instructors in the organisation, Taira sensei, Arakaki sensei (my instructor) and Higa sensei. The video is here on my Youtube channel.
And the fuller photo album is on my Facebook site.
This kind of event is a great opportunity to not only see demonstrations of karate and kobudo across many different Okinawan styles but also meet sensei and students from other dojos in the Matsubayashiryuha. All in all a good day and a nice bonus that the sun came out after a week of rain and grey skies.
Matsubayashiryu sensei and students
