Yamanni ryu

Yamanni-ryū (山根流) (also Yamanni-Chinen-ryū and Yamane Ryu) is a form of Okinawan kobudō whose main weapon is the bo, a non-tapered, cylindrical staff. The smaller buki, such as sai, tunfa (or tonfa), nunchaku, and kama (weapon) are studied as secondary weapons.

Lineage

Tradition maintains that Sakugawa SATUNUSHI, entrusted with the protection of prominent Ryūkyū families, had studied the art in China. Later he lived in Akata village in Shuri, Okinawa. Sakugawa developed the style in the late 18th century. He passed it on to the Chinen family, beginning with Chinen Umikana. Sanda Chinen (1842–1925), also known as Yamani USUMEI and Yamane TANMEI, introduced the "bouncing" motion of the staff which is the style's hallmark. His grandson, Masami Chinen, named the style after him.

Ryūkyū Bujutsu Kenkyu Doyukai

In 1979 Chogi Kishaba, a student of Masami Chinen, sent his student, Toshihiro Oshiro, to the United States. In 1985 they founded the Ryūkyū Bujutsu Kenkyu Doyukai or RBKD (Association for the Study and Research of Okinawan Martial Arts) for the purpose of bringing Yamanni-ryū to the West. Kishaba is the head of the RBKD. Shihan Oshiro (8th dan, Yamanni-ryū; 9th dan, Shōrin-ryū) is the Chief Instructor of RBKD USA and its West Coast Director. The Midwest Director is Kiyoshi Nishime. Oshiro gives seminars in Yamanni-ryū in the U.S. and around the world.