Kosei Nishihira

Nishihira Sensei (2003)

Kosei Nishihira ( Japanese 西 平 向 盛 ; born June 10, 1942 near Yonabaru, Okinawa , Japan ; † May 14, 2007 ) was a Japanese karateka and master of Matsumura Seito Shōrin-Ryū karate.

biography

Kosei Nishihira was born on June 10, 1942 in a small village near Yonabaru, south of Okinawa , Japan . From the age of 15 he studied the karate style called “orthodox”, also known as Shōrin-ryū Matsumura Seito, with master Hohan Sōken. The style of Nishihira was very difficult and was only taught to a very carefully chosen uchi-deshi (internal student). Some outside students from Japan and the United States of America were also trained, but without training some of the techniques as they were deemed too dangerous for general use. At the age of 30, Kosei married the daughter of an Okinawan kobudo and had two sons. He opened a Bentō shop in Nishihara near his master Hohan Sōken's house. His zeal and commitment resulted in a close relationship with his master Sōken. So Nishihira used to call him “Tan-mei” (little uncle). Nishira stayed with Grandmaster Sōken and took care of him in old age, until Sōken's death.

Although he kept a low profile for many years, Kosei Nishihira became a grandmaster. Internationally recognized as the heir to Matsumura Seitos karate from Grand Master Sōken. Like his master, he only passed on his style to a select group of students.

He died on May 14, 2007 at the age of 64.

Various karateka claim to have been Nishihira's disciple. However, Nishihira only recognized a handful as his apprentices: Giuseppe Meloni (representative for Europe ), Ricky Rose ( United States ) and Theodore Lange ( Australia ). Both Ricky Rose and Theodore Lange had also been students of the master Sōken Hohans.

bibliography

• Paolo Vaccaro, Shōrin-Ryū Matsumura Seito Karate - La vita dei maestri ieri e oggi , Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Spa, 2011
• Ronald L. Lindsey, Okinawa no bushi no te , RR Enterprises, 2011. ISBN 0-6155-3412-0 .
• Tetsuhiro Hokama, Karate Site Guidance , Budovideos, 2003
• Shoshin Nagamine, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters , Tuttle Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-8048-2089-9 .
• Mark Bishop, Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques , Tuttle Publishing, 1990. ISBN 0-7136-5666-2 .
• Takayo Nakaya, Karatedo History & Philosophy

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Paolo Vaccaro, Shōrin-Ryū Matsumura Seito Karate - La vita dei maestri ieri e oggi , Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Spa, 2011 - page 66
2. ↑ Obituary on cw-fc.com (English)
3. ↑ Shoshin Nagamine, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters , ed. Tuttle Publishing, 2000
4. ^ Mark Bishop, Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques , ed.Tuttle Publishing, 1990
5. ^ Ronald L. Lindsey, Okinawa no bushi no te , ed.RR Enterprises, 2011 - page 168
6. ↑ Tetsuhiro Hokama, Karate Site Guidance , ed. Budovideos, 2003 - page 23
7. ↑ Paolo Vaccaro, Shōrin-Ryū Matsumura Seito Karate - La vita dei maestri ieri e oggi , Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Spa, 2011 - page 68
8. ↑ ^{a b} Suiken Bugei Kai
9. ^ Ronald L. Lindsey, Okinawa no bushi no te , ed.RR Enterprises, 2011 - page 169
10. ↑ Paolo Vaccaro, Shōrin-Ryū Matsumura Seito Karate - La vita dei maestri ieri e oggi , Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Spa, 2011 - page 68
11. ↑ Paolo Vaccaro, Shōrin-Ryū Matsumura Seito Karate - La vita dei maestri ieri e oggi , Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso Spa, 2011 - pages 61 and 63
12. ↑ Hohan Sōken - The Life of a Grand Master ( Memento of the original from January 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ About Shinseido Shōrin-Ryū: The Way Born of Truth and Reality ( Memento of the original from December 16, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.