Kūsankū

For the kata named for Kusanku, see Kusanku (kata).
Kusanku
Born 1670?
China China
Died 1762
Other names Kūshankū
Kwang Shang Fu
Style Ch'uan Fa
Notable students Chatan Yara,[1][2] Kanga Sakukawa

Kūsankū (クーサンクー、公相君) or Kūshankū (クーシャンクー), also known as Kwang Shang Fu, was a Chinese martial artist who lived during the 18th century.[3] He is credited as having an influence on virtually all karate-derived martial arts.[4]

Kūsankū learned the art of Ch'uan Fa in China from a Shaolin monk. He was thought to have resided (and possibly studied martial arts) in the Fukien province for much of his life.[5] Around 1756, Kūsankū was sent to Okinawa as an ambassador of the Qing Dynasty.[6] He resided in the village of Kanemura, near Naha City. During his stay in Okinawa, Kūsankū instructed Kanga Sakukawa.[4]

Sakugawa trained under Kūsankū for six years.[7] After Kūsankū's death (around 1762), Sakugawa developed and named the Kusanku kata in honor of his teacher.

References

  1. First Karate Pioneers
  2. History of Shorin-Ryu Kenshin Kan Karate
  3. Kushanku
  4. 1 2 The History of Martial Art and Karate
  5. Biographie of Kushanku
  6. NOTE: Previously this read Ming dynasty. However since the Ming Dynasty fell in 1644, either Kūsankū was not sent by the Ming or the date of his journey is wrong.
  7. Kushanku "To View the Sky"


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 20, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.