[I:http://sportsrealm.info/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/AlCase9.jpg]There’s going to be a lot of different ideas on who was the toughest Master of Karate, but Motobu Chōki is certainly up for the vote. He was one of the first instructors to spread ‘naha te’ outside of Okinawa, and he is responsible for the fame and notoriety of that Art. Interestingly, not many people have heard of this ‘George Washington’ of Okinawan Karate.
Motobu entered the world in Okinawa in 1870, and descended from the royal lineage. As the third son, he was not supposed to train in the self defense disciplines, but that seemed to make him want to study all the more. He spent much time bashing makiwaras, lifting heavy stones, and training as he could.
Eventually, because he developed such a high degree of agility, people called him Motobu the Monkey. He also was looked on as a fierce, though untrained (brutal?) street fighter. Though he was held in low esteem for his brawling, instructors took him on as a student, probably because of his lineage.
His instructors read like a Who’s Who of early Okinawan Karate. Among the masters who taught him were Ankō Itosu, Sakuma Pechin, Sōkon Matsumura, Tokumine Pechin, and Kōsaku Matsumora. This would be like somebody who trained under Ed Parker, Morihei Uyeshiba, Bruce Lee, and Gichin Funakoshi.
Motobu eventually made his way to Japan, where some fighting instructors were earning a living teaching. Motobu being a rough character, and not succeeding at business, signed up to fight in a ‘Judo v Boxing’ match. He was fifty-two years old the night he stepped into the prize fight ring, and he was about to change Karate for all time.
His opponent is said to have been a strongman from Russia. Strong or not, Motobu is said to have used a single punch to put the fellow down and out. People were astounded at this incredible knock out, and newspapers gave the thing coverage, and here is where the story takes an odd twist.
The newspapers didn’t have a picture of Motobu, so they used the only picture they did have, which was of a teacher named Gichin Funokoshi. That’s right, Motobu won the fight, knocked the strongman out and proved his art was the best, but his fellow countryman, and competitor, Gichin Funokoshi, got the fame. Thus, Shotokan circled the world, and Motobu got nothing.
Motobu Chōki, brawler and roughneck, is as responsible for the spread of the Okinawan arts as anyone, and he was a true master. He was a technician of tremendous punching power, and he founded the Motobu Ryu Karate school. People may not know much about him, but he is definitely in the running for toughest Karate Master of all time.
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