HISTORY OF SEIGOKAN KARATE-DO
Seigokan (正剛館) is the Goju-Ryu Karate-do organization founded in 1945 by Seigo Tada (1922-1997) Hanshi (8th Dan). With its Hombu Dojo (headquarters) in Himeji, Japan, the Seigokan All Japan Karate-do Association (SAJKA) — its official name — has branches in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Sri Lanka, the United States, England, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.
Master Seigo Tada was a pupil of Chojun Miyagi and the head of the Karate Club at Ritsumeikan University. In the 1960s, Seigokan was considered the most important Goju-Ryu Association (Kai-Ha) in Japan, with more than 200,000 members.
Seigokan includes two unique kata created by Seigo Tada — Kihon-Tsuki-no kata and Kihon-Uke-no kata — in addition to the traditional Goju-ryu kata Sanchin, Tensho, Gekisai Dai Ichi, Gekisai Dai Ni, Saifa, Seienchin, Seipai, Shisochin, Sanseru, Seisan, Kururunfa and Suparinpei.
The Seigokan curriculum also includes Yakusoku Kumite (set sparring techniques) in the variants 1 to 7 of Zenkutsu and 1 to 7 of Shikodachi, as well as seven Torite (grappling and striking techniques). Today, SAJKA is directed by Sandaime Kancho — or Soke Seigo Tada III — who succeeded Mrs. Okamoto Michiko (Seigo Tada II), the widow of Seigo Tada Hanshi.
FUNG FEI-SZE FATHER
FANG CHI-NIANG DAUGHTER
FANG CHI NIANG ( FANG CHI-NIANG) 1770?
Founder of Fujian White Crane Fujian White Crane is one of the constituent styles of Five Ancestors.
Five Ancestors as well as various styles of Karate, notably Goju-ryu, Chitō-ryū and Uechi-ryu, obtained the routine San Chian / San Zhan (Mandarin) from Fujian White Crane. San Chian is best known by the Japanese pronunciation of its name: Sanchin.
WHITE CRANE was founded by a woman named Fang Chi-Niang. She was born in Lei Chow Fu. Her father was called Fang Hui Sz. Her mother was Lee Pik Liung. Her father studied Shaolin at the Nine Lotus Mountain in Ching Chiang district. The family, moving away from hostile land lords settled at Ching Chea Mountain in Lei Fu Show at the Ching Chu Temple. Fang Chi Niang was drying grain at this temple one day when a huge white crane landed near her and started to eat up the grain. Fang quickly grabbed her staff and tried to shoo away the bird but everything she attempted was foiled by the crane: it evaded with its head, avoided strikes to its wings and pecked at the staff. Despite the knowledge shown to her by her father she was completely unsuccessful in driving off the crane. She felt frustration but also curiosity. On subsequent days, when the crane returned, she would play with it and eventually absorbed the essence of the crane’s spirit.
During this era the Chien Lung Manchu Emperor ordered the Southern Shaolin Temple to be burned down. Fortunately Fang the elder escaped and took his wife and daughter to Pik Chui Liang. Fang reinstalled himself in Sah Liang Temple, FooChow. He continued to teach his daughter who eventually decided to blend her father’s Shaolin with what the crane had revealed to her.
KWAN PANG YUIBA
WHITE CRANE KUNG FU (CRYING CRANE)
Kwan Pang Yuiba (1828-1912).(Became Master of Shaolin White Crane in the temple and supplanted Black Crane in 1837 as the official Temple Crane style, he was first student of Fāng.
XIE ZHONG XIANG,
Founder of Whooping Crane Kung Fu
Teacher Kwan Pang Yuiba
Of the well known White Crane Masters of this century, Xie Zhong Xiang is perhaps the most famous. Having learnt from Pan Yu Ba, Xie Zhong Xiang became the first generation master of the Whooping Crane.
The founder of Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate Do - Chojun Miyagi, was a student of Higashionna Kanryo, who learnt White Crane from Xie Zhong Xiang. Okinawan’s also refer to Xie Zhong Xiang as Ryuruko.
Master Huang Sheng-Shyan also learnt Fujian White Crane directly from Xie Zhong-Xiang, from the age of 14. After a few years of personal tutorage, Huang Sheng-Shyan still only in his late teens, was sent by Xie Zhong-Xiang to study full-time for two years with his eldest disciple Ch’en Shih Ting.
In 1930 Master Huang went on to train with another famous White Crane exponent P’an Ch’un-Nien, who also began teaching him the use of medicinal herbs, and stimulated an interest in Huang for other Chinese Martial Arts.
ARAKAKI TSUJI PECHIN SEISHO. 1840-1918
MONK FIST BOXING (LUOHAN BOXING)
Teachers Wai Xinxian, Xie Zhong Xiang
(He did not develop a specific style himself, his techniques and kata are scattered through a number of modern karate and Kobudo styles)
(Notable student Funakoshi Gichin)
KANRYO HIGASHIONNA. 1853-1916
Teachers Arakai Seisho, Xie Zhongxiang, Wai Xinxian
MONK FIST BOXING ( LUOHAN QUAN)
(FOUNDER OF NAHA-TE)
In 1867 he began to study Monk Fist Boxing (Luohan Quan) from Aragaki Tsuji Pechin Seisho who was a fluent Chinese speaker and interpreter for the Ryukyu court.
CHOJUN MIYAGI. 1888-1953
Teachers Kanryo Higashionna, Ryuko Aragaki
HARD LINEAR/EXTERNAL FORM OF SHAOLIN THE SOFT CIRCULAR FORM OF PA KUA AND NAHA-TE ( Shaolin Nam Pai Chuan, Fujian White Crane)
( FOUNDER OF GOJU-RYU)
After several months in China, Chōjun Miyagi returned to Naha where he opened a dojo.He taught for many years, gaining an enormous reputation as a karateka. Despite his reputation, his greatest achievements lie in popularization and the organization of karate teaching methods. In recognition of his leadership in spreading karate inJapan, his style, the Goju-Ryu, became the first style to be officially recognized by the Dai Nippon Butokukai. He introduced karate into Okinawa police work, high schools and other fields of society. He revised and further developed Sanchin - the hard aspect of Goju, and created Tensho - the soft aspect. These kata are considered to contain the essence of the Goju-ryu. The highest kata, Suparinpei, is said to contain the full syllabus of Goju-ryu. Shisochin was Miyagi's favorite kata at the end of his years. Tensho was influenced by the White Crane kata Ryokushu, which he learned from his long-time friend Gokenki. With the goal of unification of various karate styles which was in fashion at that time he also created more Shurite-like katas Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni in 1940, taking techniques from higher forms (notably Suparinpei, and upper blocks uncommon for Goju-ryu at that time) and incorporating them into a shorter forms. It is said he created these kata to bridge the gap between Sanchin and Saifa, which contains much more complex moves compared to Sanchin.
SEIGO TADA 1922-1997
FOUNDER OF SEIGOKAN KARATE
Teachers Chojun Miyagi,and (Chinese Kempo) with Master Ching Lou in Shanghai.
Seigokan (正剛館) is the Goju-Ryu Karate-do organization founded in 1945 by Seigo Tada (1922-1997)Hanshi (8th Dan). With its Hombu Dojo (headquarters) in Himeji, Japan, the Seigokan All Japan Karate-do Association (SAJKA) — its official name — has branches in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), India, Italy, the Philippines, Portugal, Sri Lanka, the United States, England, Chile, Colombia and Venezuela.Master Seigo Tada was a pupil of Chojun Miyagi and the head of the Karate Club at Ritsumeikan University. In the 1960s, Seigokan was considered the most important Goju-Ryu Association (Kai-Ha) inJapan, with more than 200,000 members. During the war, he was a member of the "Tokotai" Battalion with suicide identical missions to the "Kamikaze" (Divine Wind).