Kitoku Sakiyama (1892 ~ 1904)
Born in Wakuta village (now a part of Naha city).
He was a famous master of traditional Okinawa "Ti", which consists of empty hands and weapon techniques.
Shinkichi Kuniyoshi (1848 ~ 1926)
Born in Kumoji village (now a part of Naha city) and moved to Tomari village later.
He was a student of "BUSHI" Sakiyama (Kitoku Sakiyama).
He was renowned for his powerful fist, and his punch was strong enough to sink into the ground to his wrist when he hit it.
He had continued to study traditional Tomari-te and was known as "Tomari Bushi Kuniyoshi".
He moved to "Yanbaru"(northern part of Okinawa island) from Tomari village in his late years and taught "Ti" to Nakamura and others.
He taught following Tomari-te Kata and technique; Naihanchi, Seisan, Niseishi, Passai, Kusanku, Buki (Weapons), Buki-no-kumigata, and etc.
Shigeru Nakamura (Jan. 20, 1891 ~ Jan. 21, 1969)
Born in Nago village (now Nago city), he inherited Tomari-te from Shinkichi Kuniyoshi.
In 1906, he learned karate from Anko Itosu, Kentsu Yabu, and Chomo Hanashiro at Okinawa Prefectural Icchu Middle school (now Okinawa Prefectural Shuri High school).
After returning to his home town of Nago, he challenged to Bushi Kuniyoshi, who moved from Tomari village, and was knocked out with one punch. Nakamura admired Kuniyoshi's strength and became his disciple.
Other than Kuniyoshi, he widely exchanged his skills and knowledge of karate with famous masters such as Kanryo Higaonna, Soko Kishimoto, Choki Motobu, Chotoku Kyan, Chojun Miyagi, and etc.
After WW2, Nakamura opened his own dojo at Miyazato, Nago village.
On Feb. 5, 1960, he was awarded his Hanshi 10th Dan certificate from The All Japan karate-do Federation.
He formed "The Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Renmei" in the same year.
In 1961, he assumed the office of chief director of The Okinawa Kobudo Kyokai (President, Seitoku Higa)
In 1967, he was honored with lifetime achievement award of sports karate from The Zen Okinawa Karate & kobudo Renmei.
He proposed "full contact free sparring with Bogu gear" and made an effort for its spread around 1950 (1940?).
Based on his belief "There used to be no Ryuha in Okinawa karate", he tried to unify all the styles of Okinawa karate under the name of "Okinawa-kenpo".
Hiroshi Miyazato
Born in Haneji village (now a part of Nago city), he started learning karate from Grand Master Shigeru Nakamura at the age of 19. He inherited complete Nakamura's karate system.
He taught karate to other students as Shihan-dai (instructor) at Nakamura's dojo, Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Shurenjo.
In 1969, he received Shihan certificate and was appointed as Nakamura's successor by The Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Renmei.
After Nakamura's passing, he retired from Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Shurenjo and started teaching karate at his house of Haneji, because he thought "Sensei's son should be the successor".
The council meetings of The Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Renmei were held at Haneji thereafter.
His students were Tatsuo Yamashiro and others.
Tatsuo Yamashiro
Born in Nakijin village, Kunigami County, Okinawa.
He became a disciple of Hiroshi Miyazato by the advice of his father, who was a friend of Kentsu Yabu.
After mastering the art of "Ti", he moved to Naha. By the introduction of Sensei Miyazato, he started training full contact free sparring with Bogu gear under President Toshimitsu Kina.
As vice president of The Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Kyokai, he made an effort for the spread and development of Okinawa-kenpo while cooperating with President Toshimitsu Kina.
He had sponsored "All Okinawa Full Contact Fighting with Bogu Gear Tournament" since 1990.
He became independent from The Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Kyokai in 1995, and started as "Okinawa-kenpo Karate-do Oki-Ken-Kai".
