Suparimpe, Shuu & Kanbun Sensei
* A re-post from the original Uechi-ryu Journal website; this article was initially published in May of 2006
Author: G. Seizan Breyette
Bio: Sensei Breyette is the owner and instructor, Okinawa KarateDo UechiRyu Zankai Nagahama Branch Dojo; and a student of Toyama Sensei.
Abstract: Article provides insight into the system (or sub-system) taught to Kanbun Uechi Sensei, with specific focus on the form Suparimpe; the form which Kanbun Uechi did not stay in China to learn.
Specific information is also presented in regards to Sifu Simon Lailey’s time in China studying Suparimpe under the Shuu lineage with Sifu Guo.
INTRODUCTION
Kanbun Sensei repeatedly stated quite firmly that Shuu Sensei was his teacher in China. He mentioned no other instructors. I have seen strong evidence from Fuzhou that Shuu Shiwa was directly linked to Kanbun Sensei’s training in China. The full details belong to Simon Lailey, and are forthcoming.
The picture of Shuu Shiwa found in most dojo is a picture of the same Shuu Shiwa spoken of by Uechi Kanbun Sensei as being his teacher. This has been confirmed by his descendent students in Fuzhou. We find on the wall of Simon Lailey·s teacher in Fuzhou a photo of the dojo founder (Guo Sifu, who passed away recently at over 100 years of age), his teacher, and the same picture of Shuu Sensei as found in UechiRyu dojo.
I’ve been told many times that the picture of Shuu Sensei given to the Uechi Family is not a photo but an astonishingly realistic charcoal and ink drawing, using a technique that is now nearly extinct today due to the ready availability of cameras and negatives. What we have are good photographic copies of that hand-drawn picture.
Conjecture is that it may be a drawn reproduction of a true photograph. Since only one photo may have existed, it was more feasible to make a realistic charcoal and ink reproduction.
The system taught to Kanbun Sensei consisted of three forms: specifically Sanchin, Seisan, and Sandairyu. The Suparimpe may not have been of the same system. Perhaps several 108 forms exist today because the systems to which they belonged are preserved. However there are no corresponding forms so far that strongly resemble UechiRyu’s Sanchin, Seisan, or Sandairyu, though in August 2005, Simon Lailey demonstrated for me a ‘Dog Style’ form that slightly resembles Sanchin. The pangainoon system taught to Kanbun Sensei was apparently preserved only through Kanbun Sensei and his descendent students (all of us). Had Kanbun Sensei remained in China long enough to learn the 108 form, it would possibly have been “borrowed” from another system.
One original Suparimpe taught by Shuu Sensei was shown to Toyama Sensei about 30 years ago by two elderly Chinese gentlemen who studied in Kanbun Sensei’s original dojo in Nansoue. The visit by these Chinese gentlemen is known to many who studied in the Futenma Dojo in the early or mid 70’s. The dojo in China remained open after Kanbun Sensei left. It’s fair to assume that Shuu Sensei assigned another of his top students to teach there in Kanbun Sensei·s stead, otherwise Toyama Sensei’s two elderly visitors would not have been able to perform Suparimpe. They performed in exactly the same manner that Toyama Sensei performs (posture, timing, extensive use of a UechiRyu-like Sanchin stance, large circular blocking movements, etc.). Performed in that manner, many techniques and positions nearly identical to UechiRyu could be seen.
Toyama Sensei described their body physiques even in their old age to be much the same as his own, and resembling Kanbun Sensei’s physique.
In August 2005, Simon Lailey demonstrated a Suparimpe form for Toyama Sensei. Sensei recognized it immediately as technically the same 108 form, but modern changes affected the performance so it was not as similar to the UechiRyu taught by Kanbun Sensei. With the few changes suggested by Toyama Sensei, Simon’s performance would very nearly match the one seen 3 decades ago.
The list of students who studied with or under Shuu Sensei is rather large – I have seen the list – and many descendent students practice Shuu Sensei’s style today, either alone or as teachers. The name of Uechi Kanbun (Shangti Wanwen) is recorded among the students (I saw solid documentation, more details will be published by Simon in his forthcoming book); however the particular system he studied has not yet been found in China. To my understanding, one elderly man on Taiwan told a UechiRyu researcher about 40 years ago that he thought the UechiRyu kata looked like something Shuu Sensei might have taught many years before. This was a rather vague statement, and there was no further information as the interview was not extensive.
It is possible that the system still exists in China, but contact with the right people has not been made yet. UechiRyu is only one of fourteen descendent names of branches or masters extant two generations after Shuu Sensei. Simon will release more details in time.
I own hours of extensive video coverage shot in Fuzhou of all the forms taught by Guo Sifu. After very careful watching, I can say that none of them bear resemblance to UechiRyu except for a small number of isolated techniques probably shared by several systems. The major part of Guo Sifu’s system is utterly different from UechiRyu. However, in the Suparimpe there are several techniques and sequences which are strikingly similar (no pun intended) and this could well be a “final form” in which several otherwise complete sub-systems culminated a century ago.
So – though the Suparimpe may not have been specifically a part of the complete subsystem taught to Kanbun Sensei, it is possible that Shuu Sensei (and his teachers?) intended that several subsystems and styles culminate in the study of this (or another?) Suparimpe.
The hours of video coverage of Simon’s practice in China show Guo Sifu present, directing nearly every practice. The Suparimpe was rehearsed before him countless times – exactly the same way each time. It did NOT change from day to day, nor with each practice. Some techniques and sequences were repeated for training purposes, as we would repeat a technique while teaching a new student. But the entire Suparimpe performance was, when performed as a whole, the same pattern each time. It did not change, shift, alter, etc. Suparimpe is fluid but not formless; it is a set pattern. The same is true of all the other forms shown in these videos of Simon’s studies in Fuzhou, with Guo Sifu present.
Simon’s reference long ago to the seeming changes day after day were simply due to his inexperience with a pure Chinese system at that time – the misperception of the new student. His present performance and understanding of Suparimpe is certainly far different and deeper than his ·beginner·s performance· released publicly on video several years ago.
There are many more contacts to be made in Shuu Sensei’s descendent-student lineage. There are many names and leads to follow, and it doesn’t seem very far-fetched now to imagine discovering a training hall of very-nearly Uechi-style practice in Fuzhou or the surrounding area. Continued research is indicated and may produce surprising and exciting results. Simon and I are tentatively planning a joint research visit to Fuzhou during this decade.
In researching the history of the Uechi Ryu discipline, I have uncovered some unusual ideas that may shed some light on the elusiveness of the origin. Naturally one looks to China for the answers. We also have the words’Tiger’ ‘Crane’ ‘Dragon’ ‘Shu Shi Wa’ and Fuchow and Fukien to work with, and of coarse any oral traditions which we know even if they may seem to conflict. Any research must have some background probabilities to work with. We know that Fuchow boasted a long trade relationship with Okinawa. Chinese merchants from here had settled in Okinawa. We also know that an expatriate community of Okinawans lived in Fuchow. What is interesting in our research can be gotten at in the Chinese history from that area. Fukien at one time was the home of the Southern Shaolin Monastery. With the 17th century Manchu invasion of China, we see a regime change. We know that the monastery fell out of favor as a result, and the Manchu ordered the monastery destroyed. Later we find that itinerant Shaolin monks become the nucleus and movers of the underground movement to depose the Manchu. We learn of their traveling from village to village under the guise of performers, doctors and herbalists; treating villagers, instructing in martial arts, but most importantly setting up underground resistance to the Manchus. This effort was also to lay the groundwork for the Chinese triads, as the clandestine nature of their undertaking would introduce secret aparatus within Chinese society. The call sign of the followers of the movement was the open palm on top of the closed fist hand signal. It has been said that any school of Kung Fu that display this signal in their forms can trace their origin, or sympathies to this time and movement. We also know that the practice of Shaolin Kung Fu was criminal under Manchu edict. As a result, many practitioners simply included their training into the traditional morning exercises and renamed them by their own family name as a cover. How long this practice continued we are not sure but once established we may guess that it could easily have carried on into Kanbun’s day.The Hun Gar kung fu tradition traces it’s origin to this source, as well as the Tiger Crane tradition. When we come to the mysteriuos Shu Shi Wa, we find that he is an herbalist, a mendicant, a Taoist priest, a Budhist temple monk, an Tiger boxer etc. But I have discovered that in the Shaolin tradition, there is a dicipline called the ‘fingers of bamboo’ It concentrated using Shaolin techniques executed with finger strikes. Interestingly enough the discipline is called “Zhou Zhi”. Shu Shi Wa in the Chinese is Zhou Zhi He or ‘ The Bamboo Finger One’ which brings us to conclude that this is a title rather than a proper name. It does seem that he is called either a priest or monk by most so there must be something to this. When we put some flesh and blood on the account we must admit that Kanbun must have been forced to keep some what of a low profile also considering the nature of his coming to China, i.e. escaping Japanese conscription. What Shu Shi Wa called his own discipline is unknown at this time. Kanbun called it Hard and Soft, however this concept is not new within Shaolin traditions. The Lohan system of Fukien (Monk Boxing, named from it’s Shaolin origin) seems to me to resemble Uechi Ryu. Perhaps Uechi is an abreviated rendition of the Lohan Boxing with an added emphasis on the Bamboo Fingers. In the end it seems that the best of research brings us to conclude that Uechi Ryu is the style that Kanbun Uechi brought from China. Fitting enough and conclusive enough for me at present.
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