Muribushikan Dojo

During the summer holidays, I had the opportunity to visit Japan to see my family and, of course, to squeeze in a bit of training as well.

After spending a few days with my family near Mount Fuji, I visited several dōjō in Tokyo, Shizuoka, and Kanagawa. Each visit was a wonderful and enriching experience.

Muribushikan

The Muribushikan Dōjō is part of the Uechi-Ryū Karatedō Kyōkai, the same organization I represent in France (URKDE).
Gunseikan is located on the 3rd floor of a building near Kōenji Station.

To access the dōjō, you pass through the hallway of a restaurant on the first floor and then head upstairs.
In Europe, we often share training spaces with judo clubs and usually train on judo mats. However, in traditional dōjō in Japan and the United States, practice is often done on wooden floors.

I was warmly welcomed into the karate group led by 篠原 雅司.

A Traditional Uechi-Ryū Session

The session followed the traditional Uechi-Ryū format. It began with a formal Japanese-style bow (rei), followed by warm-up exercises (junbi undō), and ended with deep breathing (shinkokyū).
This final breathing segment is rarely done in Europe, often due to time constraints.

After the warm-up, we practiced hojō undō (supplementary exercises), which gave us an opportunity to observe and share the subtle differences in practice methods between Europe, America, and Japan.

We then went through all the Uechi-Ryū kata, followed by bunkai (applications).
As a refresher, here are the kata we practiced:

• Sanchin (三戦)
• Kanshiwa (完子和)
• Kanshū (完周)
• Seichin (十戦)
• Seisan (十三)
• Seiryū (十六)
• Kanchin (完戦)
• Sanseiryū (三十六)

Each kata gave practitioners the chance to demonstrate their personal understanding of the techniques.
It was fascinating to observe and revisit the small differences in execution, such as hand or elbow angles.

Tribute to the “Old Way”

At the end of the session, several kata demonstrations were performed.
While talking with the sensei and senior practitioners about the “old forms” and “classic methods,” I was invited to perform Sanseiryū using an older kata template from the 1960s.

To honor Muribushikan members , I performed the kata with added kiai and competition-style focus, while maintaining the old-style structure.

It was a truly memorable afternoon shared with an exceptional group.
I hope to return regularly in the future.
Thank you all so much for your warm welcome and hospitality!

Lionel – 莉雄念　（リオネル）