(1790–1870), often called is a semi-legendary martial artist in

Ryūkyū The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Geography of Taiwan, Taiwan: the Ōsumi Islands, Ōsumi, Tokara Islands, Tokara, Amami Islands, Amami, Okinawa Islands, Okinawa, and Sakis ...

an history who was a direct influence on the development of

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and kobudo, especially with respect to bōjutsu. is

social class A social class is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the Upper class, upper, Middle class, middle and Working class, lower classes. Membership in a social class can for ...

of the

Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in t ...

. 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 Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

. 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 Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...

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 was an early karate practitioner. He was known as a great warrior and is attributed to have been the first to explain the aspects or principles of the ''dō'' ("way"). was a social class of the Ryūkyū Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle ...

, who in turn taught

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 In 1750, Sakukawa (or Sakugawa) began his training as a student of a ...

. Takahara Peechin (1683-1760) died 30 years before Higa(1790-1870) was born. Higa was one of the first to codify a system of

kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

and techniques. His contributions live on in several weapon katas, especially for

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. It consists of a stick ...

, sai, and bō. In a book of Taira Shinken: Ryukyu Kobudo Taikan, (published in Tokyo 1964) it is written about a man, Pechin from the island Hama Higa. He lived from 1663 to 1738 and demonstrated Tode and Saijutsu to the 5th Tokugawa shogun.

References

Birth of Martial Arts with Weaponry and Lineage
at Okinawa Prefectural Government Karate and Martial Arts with Weaponry

from Legacy Shorin Ryu

at hasudojo.ca Okinawan male karateka 1790 births 1870 deaths Ryukyuan people {{Japan-karate-bio-stub

See also

References