Juhatsu Kyoda: Kanki Izumikawa's First Naha Te Teacher

Juhatsu Kyoda is someone who isn't spoken about much, despite being one of the most senior students of Kanryo Higaonna. He began his training with Kanryo in 1902, joining a few months before Chojun Miyagi. The two were considered brother disciples and can be seen in several early photographs training together. Kyoda is also said to have trained with Kanyu Higaonna and learned Seisan Kata from him too. 

Juhatsu Kyoda

There aren't too many stories of his training with Kanryo. The most famous one has to do with Sanseiru kata. Most people have heard this already, but it's said while Chojun Miyagi was away on military service, Kanryo Higaonna taught Sanseiru to Kyoda. Indeed, the Kyoda version of Sanseiru does have a number of key differences from Goju-Ryu.

Even after Kanryo Higaonna passed away, it seems Kyoda, Miyagi, Higa, Mabuni and others remained on friendly terms as they can be seen in several group pictures together from the 1920's time period. Around 1924, Kanki Izumikawa began learning Naha Te from Kyoda. At this time, neither Goju Ryu nor To'on Ryu were named yet.

Prior to this, Izumikawa mainly trained Shuri Te with his grandfather, who was a direct student of Sokon Matsumora. Izumikawa trained with Kyoda for about four years and appears to have learned Sanchin, Seisan and partially Sanseiru. I say partially because the Izumikawa Sanseiru kata has some traits of Kyoda's teachings, but it also has some techniques from the Goju-Ryu version.

This brings up another interesting question. It's often said that Kyoda never passed on the Kanryo version of Seisan. Indeed it seems his students on the mainland only learned the Kanyu version. However, if Kanki Izumikawa learned Seisan, then he may have learned the Kanryo version. The kata is close to Seiko Higa's but contains a few key differences. 

While Kanki Izumikawa later moved to the mainland in 1939,  there was still contact and communication with Kyoda, who also lived on the mainland. In 1958, Kanki Izumikawa sent Keisetsu Yoshimaru, one of his senior students to Beppu to train with Kyoda. Yoshimaru received additional corrections on Sanseiru and other kata which he then presented upon his return to the Senbukan. 

Ultimately, both Juhatsu Kyoda and Seiko Higa had a rather big influence on Kanki Izumikawa's teachings. This also explains why his kata aren't quite like the Shodokan as well, because Seiko Higa wasn't his only teacher. One of the techniques in the Senbukan Gekisai Nidan (which Kanki Izumikawa created as his own version Of Gekisai Ni), was taken from Kyoda's Kanyu Seisan. Since Kanki Izumikawa trained under two students of Kanryo Higaonna, it can be said he preserved the old ways of Naha Te, with techniques not seen in other Goju-Ryu schools.  

A comparison of the same technique in Izumikawa's 
Gekisai and Tou'on Ryu Seisan 

The deeper meaning of Goju-Ryu's Mawashi Uke

Mawashi Uke is one of the most recognized techniques in Goju-Ryu and is found in many of the kata. Sanchin, Saifa, Seisan, and Kururunfa all end with this technique. Generally, the application is taught as a circular block to a punch, followed up by a strike to the chin and groin. 

While the fighting applications are interesting, there are other meanings to this technique that many people don't seem to talk about often. Let's consider the following quote given by Genkai Nakaima, who was a senior student of Chojun Miyagi:

"The hand position at the ending of Sanchin is the same as that of a Buddha statue." Miyagi Sensei often told us this story. I think the hand position at the ending of Sanchin is the most beautiful expression of praying. In fact, I saw the same hand position of Buddha statues in some temples."

If you look at the picture of the Buddha statue below, there should be an obvious resemblance to the end position of mawashi uke, but what does it mean exactly? 

Lingshan Grand Buddha Statue

In this case, the statue is expressing two different Mudra. The right hand is known as "Semui-in". The left hand is "Yogan-in". These are the names in Japanese but other cultures will also have their own way of referring to it. More commonly, you may find it as Abhaya Mudra and Varada Mudra.

The right hand is meant to symbolize fearlessness. At the same time, the five fingers point to heaven. The left hand or Yogan-in symbolizes charity and compassion.  

Another example of Semui-in

The same position in Goju-Ryu is no coincidence and has an intended meaning. In the Goju Kata we see many of them have numbers in the names, which also has ties to Buddhism (it's not merely the number of techniques or steps). I think if you truly want to understand Goju-Ryu, it's important to study all its aspects. Simply looking at the fighting applications is only one area of it.