Chotoku Kiyan
(1870-1945)
I believe the story of Master Kiyan is a perfect example of what the martial arts can really do. Master Kiyan was born a very weak and fragile child. He never became a big guy. Master Kiyan was called “Mi-gwa Chan,” which means “Small-eyed Kiyan.” Master Kiyan had very small and weak eyes. Despite all of these “handicaps” Kiyan was able to become very proficient in the Martial Arts and overcame all of those handicaps. Master Kiyan studied Shuri-te under Master Bushi Matsumura and Anko Itosu. He also studied Tomari-te under Kosaku Matsumora, Peichin Maede, and Peichin Oyadomari. Through his studies Master Kiyan formulated his own style or branch of Shorin-Ryu. Kiyan called his style, “Mi-gwa-te,” which meant small-eyed Kiyan hand. His top students later renamed this branch, Sukunaihayashi Shorin-Ryu. Master Kiyan is also credited with having introduced the kata Ananku and Wansu to Okinawa, which he had learned during a trip to Taiwan. Master Kiyan was reported as being a master of the Bo staff and of jumping kicks. His top two students were Ankichi Arakaki and Taro Shimabukuro. They very rarely ever left his side. Master Kiyan was said to have loved rooster fighting and would actually enter his own rooster in the fights. During a trip to one of these fights, Arakaki and Shimabukuro wanted to test out their masters skills. To do this they started a fight with three men and then ran and hid behind some bushes. Master Kiyan came over to find out what was going on with his students, and the enraged men attacked him. Master Kiyan easily defeated all three men. The amazing feat of this fight was that during the entire fight master Kiyan held his rooster under his arm, therefore he was able to defeat all three mean with one arm and his feet. After this they never tested the skills of their master again. Master Kiyan was adamant about the code of “Bushido.” He believed that all people in Martial Arts should follow this code. Master Kiyan was said to be the law enforcement of his village. At this time there was not a uniform law enforcement system. This responsibility was left up to the Master of the village. Kiyan believed in social order and felt that this came through self-discipline. He tried very hard to instill self-discipline into his students. Master Kiyan was reported to have defeated and killed four raiders that had attack the village. After this very few people ever tried to attack Master Kiyan’s village. Master Kiyan is very famous for his quote, “Fight with your back straight.”
Kata Practiced by Master Kiyan: Naihanchi Shodan, Naihanchi Nidan, Passai, Seisan, Chinto, Wansu, Ananku, and Gojushiho.
