{{short description, Style of karate Meibukan (明武舘) is a branch of Gōjū-ryū

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

. It was created by Meitoku Yagi, a student of Gojyu-ryu's founder, Chojun Miyagi. Meibukan means "House of the pure-minded warrior." Yagi opened the first Meibukan

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

in 1952. He was the first student of Miyagi recorded to be given permission. He was given the calligraphy (Oku myo zai ren shin). Yagi is the recognised Menkyo Kaiden of the Gojyu-ryu style as he was the recipient of Miyagi's gi and obi in 1953. Meibu-kai karateka practice Gojyu-ryu kata as well as a set of kata known as the Meibu-ken

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 practis ...

Meibukan Gojyu-ryu Syllabus

Kihon Kata

Sanchin is a kata of apparent Southern Chinese (Fujianese) origin that is considered to be the core of several styles, the most well-known being the Okinawan Karate styles of Uechi-Ryū and Gōjū-Ryū, as well as the Chinese martial arts of Fujian ...

* Tensho

Kaishu Kata

*Geki Sai Ichi *Geki Sai Ni * Saifa *

Shisochin is a kata of naha-te karate style, whose authorship has been mentioned as Kanryo Higaonna. There are two theories that explain the origins of kata shisochin: the first suggests that the shape or style comes from white heron or the Tiger, Shaol ...

*Sanseryu *

Seisan The karate ''kata'' (alternate names ''Sesan'', ''Seishan'', ''Jusan'', Hangetsu) literally means '13'. Some people refer to the ''kata'' as '13 Hands', '13 Fists', '13 Techniques', '13 Steps' or even '13 killing positions'; however, these name ...

*Seienchin *Sepai *Kururunfa *Suparinpe

Heishu Kata

*Sanpo Aruite Tensho

Meibuken Kata

*Tenchi *Seiryu *Byakko *Shujaku *Genbu Tenchi’s name is taken from the first line in a poem in the

Bubishi The ''Wubei Zhi'' (; ''Treatise on Armament Technology'' or ''Records of Armaments and Military Provisions''), also commonly known by its Japanese translated name Bubishi, is a military book in Chinese history. It was compiled in 1621 by Mao Yu ...

, "''Jin shin wa Tenchi ni Onaji''." This means "the mind is one with heaven and earth." Originally, Tenchi was composed of two kata, Fukyu kata ichi and Fukyu kata ni. They were eventually combined, and now Ten no kata represents the first half, while Chi no kata is the second half. The kata are named after

Chinese constellations Traditional Chinese astronomy has a system of dividing the celestial sphere into asterisms or constellations, known as "officials" (Chinese ''xīng guān''). The Chinese asterisms are generally smaller than the constellations of Hellenistic t ...

: Seiryu means azure dragon, Byakko means white tiger, Shujaku means vermillion bird and

Genbu Genbu may refer to: * Black Tortoise, a Chinese constellation symbol * Genbu (''YuYu Hakusho''), a fictional character in the series ''YuYu Hakusho'' * Genbu (''Fushigi Yūgi''), a fictional character in the series ''Fushigi Yūgi'' * Genbu, a fi ...

means black turtle. Meitoku Yagi got the idea after seeing these names bannered on war flags during the Tsuna-Hiki (Tug of War Festival) held each year in Naha.

Other Kata

As well, Taikyoku patterns are practiced. They can be done alone; as well as with a partner (Renzoku kumite), which is done in a straight-line pattern; or with three or five people altogether (Kakomi kumite), in which one

karateka (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian ...

is surrounded by the others. There are no traditional Meibukan weapons forms; however, Yagi did adapt some Meibuken Kaishu kata to

bō A ''bō'' (棒: ぼう), ''bong'' (Korean), ''pang'' (Cantonese), ''bang'' (Mandarin), or ''kun'' (Okinawan) is a staff weapon used in Okinawa. ''Bō'' are typically around and used in Okinawan martial arts, while being adopted into Japanese ar ...

and sai, and are commonly referred to as Meibuken Kobudo. They are as follows. *Geki Sai Ichi Bo *Geki Sai Ni Bo *Saifa Bo *Geki Sai Ichi Sai *Geki Sai Ni Sai *Saifa Sai *Shisochin Sai

Kumite

In Meibukan style of Goju-ryu, dojos practice forms of Yakusoku Kumite and Jiyu Kumite.

IMGKA and the Hombu Dojo

Currently, Yagi's eldest son, Meitatsu, is Chairman of the IMGKA (International Meibukan Goju-Ryu Karate Association) and travels the world frequently. Presently he is the most senior active Meibukai student of Meitoku Yagi. There are branches in Australia, Canada, United States, England, India,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Russia,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Israel and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. Meitatsu Sensei universally conveys the philosophical message that some teachers of budo in the world teach how to fight, we of Meibukai rather teach how not to fight. In other words, Meibukai does not practice the emphasis of how to win but rather how not to lose. The Meibukan Hombu Dojo was founded by Meitoku Yagi in 1952 prior to the death of Gojyu-Ryu founder, Miyagi Chojun. Since then, the Meibukan Hombu Dojo has been an integral part of Okinawa Karate. Yagi was a founding father of the Okinawa Goju-kai and All Okinawa Karate-do Association both of which the Meibukan Hombu Dojo has been actively a part of since their formation. While Yagi was alive, he appointed international representatives that are still practicing Meibukan today and are still recognized by the Meibukan Hombu Dojo. These representatives are Shiki Tadanori of Ibaraki, Japan, Anthony Mirakian of USA, Yonamine Yasunori of South America, Rajesh Thakkar of India, and Cristofi Clemente of Australia. Note, however, that Johannes Wong was also a long-serving student and instructor of Gojyu-Ryu Meibukan directly under Yagi since the mid-1980s in Australia. The Meibukan Hombu dojo also has satellite branches in Okinawa, Japan that includes Matsugawa, Tsukayama, Naha, Tsuji, Kume, and Nagata. Yagi's second son, Meitetsu, currently is president and head instructor of the Meibukan Hombu Dojo in

Naha, Okinawa is the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 persons per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). The total area i ...

and has traveled the world. He has been invited to India, Hawaii, Australia, and USA to share his knowledge of Meibukan. The Meibukan Hombu Dojo maintains an important role in keeping Yagi's legacy alive through the participation and support of the Okinawa Goju-kai and the All Okinawa Karate-do Association.

Difference

There are four suffixes to "Meibu" used: kan, kai, ka, and ken. Meibukan is the "house of the pure-minded warrior." This refers the style of karate practiced. Meibukai is the association. Meibuka describes a karateka practicing Meibukan. Meibuken is, roughly translated, the "law (or fist) of the pure-minded warrior." The last one is used in association with the kata.

Meanings of Meibukan

The Meibukan crest is the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subse ...

"mei," which is the first kanji in the first names of Yagi and his two sons. Meitatsu’s two sons, Akihito and Akihiro also share the kanji. The following are three interpretations of the crest. *The kanji mei is a combination of the kanji for sun and the kanji for moon. Using them as separate kanji, you can say "hi to tsuki," which literally means "sun and moon." However, by this pronunciation, it can be interpreted as an expression meaning "one punch." The idea is that a karateka must train with the mindset that he or she may only have one opportunity to end a conflict—the karateka must train seriously and with a sharp mind. *The kanji represent the dualities of nature. The moon is slender, flexible and always changing in the sky. The sun is thick and constant. These ideas are physically represented in the crest—the sun half of the kanji is much thicker than the moon. A karateka must be both like the sun—able to stand ground and be strong—and the moon—be adaptable and soft. *"Ah" and "Um." Again, two dualities. Um represents defensive nature. When one inhales one must relax and be prepared. Inhaling is for conserving energy and being ready to receive an attack. Ah is the other side of the coin. Exhaling represents attacking, tension and release of breath. There are several maxims used in Meibukan—some are particular to the style, while others are common to other styles of Gojyu-ryu and karate. The following are some of the more common sayings. *''Oku myo zai ren shin''. "Practice with a good heart." *''Oku myo zai hyaku ren sen tan''. "Train a hundred times, train a thousand times." *''Nangi go gokui''. "The secrets of training are revealed through hard work." *''Ryu su fu sen kyo''. "Running water in a stream faces no barriers." *''Kan chiku fu sho''. "The pine tree bends in the wind. The bamboo is hard in the cold."