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4. Uechi-Ryu
8. Shorei-Ryu
10. Jissen Kobudo
11. Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu / Ueshiro Matsubayashi-Ryu
12. Nankurunaisa
13. Sanchin
14. Chito-Ryu
15. Kobudo
16. Okinawa Karate
沖縄剛柔館 is the martial arts style Okinawan Gojukan or Okinawan Goju-Kan.
The meaning is “Okinawa hardness [and] softness hall.”
沖縄 = Okinawa.
剛 = Hard, firm, or strong.
柔 = Soft, softness, flexible, supple, yielding, gentleness, or pliant.
館 = Hall, building, school room, or an alternate word for a dojo.
Okinawan Kobudo
上地流 or Uechi-Ryū is the short name for a traditional style of Okinawan karate.
Uechi-Ryū is named after its creator, Kanbun Uechi. Uechi was an Okinawan man who left at the age of 19 for China to study Chinese martial arts and medicine.
The meaning of this title is “Uechi Flow,” “Uechi Style,” or “Uechi School.” Although, the name 上地 or Uechi can mean “higher stages of practice” in the Buddhist context. Therefore, you can stretch the meaning to be “Higher-Stages-of-Practice Style.”
小林少林流 is the title Shobayashi Shorin-Ryu in Japanese Kanji.
Shōbayashi Shōrin-Ryū is of real Okinawan karate lineage, but the romanization causes confusion.
小林 = Shōbayashi (can also be read Kobayashi)
少林流 = Shōrin-Ryū (Shaolin style) which means “Small-forest Shaolin School.”
This reflects the lineage that uses 小林 (small forest) instead of 松林 (pine forest) or 少林 (Shaolin) as the branch identifier of the Okinawan martial arts style.
You should use this, 小林流 (Shōbayashi/Kobayashi-Ryū) or “Small-forest style” for the Chibana lineage.
You should use 松林流 (Matsubayashi-Ryū) or “Pine-forest style” for the Nagamine lineage.
なんくるない or nankurunai is an Okinawan word, written in Japanese that means “Don't worry, be happy.”
沖縄/Okinawa and/or the 琉球/Ryūkyū Islands have a more laid-back “island style” approach to life. So the nankurunai idea is a perfect match for that lifestyle.
Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Hiragana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
ウエシロ鬆林流 is the title Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu or Ueshiro Matsubayashi-Ryu in Japanese Katakana and Kanji.
Ueshiro's name is Okinawan, so there is no standard Japanese Kanji transliteration; therefore, a Katakana version (ウエシロ) is appropriate.
松林 can be romanized/pronounced as shorin or matsubayashi thus the two title variations.
Note: Because this selection contains some special Japanese Katakana characters, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
Everything will be all right, it will all work out one way or another
なんくるないさ or Nankurunaisa means “Everything will be all right” and/or “It will all work out one way or another.”
なんくるないさ is an Okinawan (琉球 / Ryūkyū Islands) word written in Japanese.
You might see this romanized with breaks like nankurunai-sa or nankuru-nai-sa. It's the same word either way. However, there is a separate word, なんくるない, in there which is nankurunai, translated as “Don't worry, be happy.” The “sa” or さ part indicates an assertion or interjection.
Note: Because this title is entirely Japanese Hiragana, it should be written by a Japanese calligrapher.
三戦 is a title that literally means “three battles/conflicts/wars.”
三戦 is often figuratively used to relay the idea of a battle to unify the mind, body, and spirit.
Original usage likely comes from Fujian province in Southern China (just across from Taiwan).
This title is used in various schools such as Okinawan Karate, Uechi-Ryū, Gōjū-Ryū, Fujian White Crane, and Five Ancestors among others.
千唐流 (Chitō-Ryū, Chito-Ryu, or Chitoryu) is a style of karate founded by Tsuyoshi Chitose.
Here's the meaning of each character of the title:
千 = 1000
唐 = China (literally Tang, as in Tang Dynasty).
流 = Style or School.
Together, Chito-Ryu means “1,000 [year old] Chinese style.”
I will leave it up to you whether this is of Japanese or Okinawan style. The title certainly suggests roots traced back to China.
古武道 is the title for Kubudo, which can be defined as Okinawan weapons fighting.
The literal translation would be something like “Old Martial Way.” The last two characters are often translated as “martial arts” so “Old Martial Arts” is another possible translation.
Please note that even though these are Chinese characters and can be pronounced in Chinese, this is a Japanese-only title. It is not often used nor understood in Chinese. So please consider this to only be appropriate for a Japanese audience.
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The following table may be helpful for those studying Chinese or Japanese...
| Title | Characters | Romaji (Romanized Japanese) | Various forms of Romanized Chinese | |
| Okinawan Goju-Kan | 沖縄剛柔館 沖縄刚柔馆 | okinawa gou juu kan okinawagoujuukan okinawa go ju kan | ||
| Okinawan Kobudo | 沖縄古武道 | oki nawa ko bu dou okinawakobudou oki nawa ko bu do | ||
| Ryukyu Kobujutsu | 琉球古武術 | ryuukyuukobujutsu ryukyukobujutsu | ||
| Uechi-Ryu | 上地流 | ue chi ryuu uechiryuu ue chi ryu | ||
| Okinawa Kenpo | 沖縄拳法 | okinawa kenpou okinawakenpou okinawa kenpo | ||
| Shobayashi Shorin-Ryu | 小林少林流 | shou baya shi shou rin ryuu shoubayashishourinryuu sho baya shi sho rin ryu | ||
| Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do | 上地流空手道 | ue chi ryuu kara te dou uechiryuukaratedou ue chi ryu kara te do | ||
| Shorei-Ryu | 昭霊流 | shou rei ryuu shoureiryuu sho rei ryu | ||
| Don't Worry, Be Happy | なんくるない | nan ku ru nai nankurunai | ||
| Jissen Kobudo | 実戦古武道 | jissen ko bu dou jissenkobudou jisen ko bu do | ||
| Ueshiro Shorin-Ryu Ueshiro Matsubayashi-Ryu | ウエシロ鬆林流 ウエシロ松林流 | u e shi ro matsu bayashi ryuu / u e shi ro shou rin ryuu u e shi ro matsu bayashi ryu / u e shi ro sho rin ryu | ||
| Nankurunaisa | なんくるないさ | nan ku ru nai sa nankurunaisa | ||
| Sanchin | 三戦 | san sen / sansen | sān zhàn / san1 zhan4 / san zhan / sanzhan | san chan / sanchan |
| Chito-Ryu | 千唐流 | chi tou ryuu chitouryuu chi to ryu | ||
| Kobudo | 古武道 | ku bu dou / kubudou / ku bu do | gǔ wǔ dào gu3 wu3 dao4 gu wu dao guwudao | ku wu tao kuwutao |
| Okinawa Karate | 沖縄空手 | oki nawa kara te okinawakarate | chōng shéng kōng shǒu chong1 sheng2 kong1 shou3 chong sheng kong shou chongshengkongshou | ch`ung sheng k`ung shou chungshengkungshou chung sheng kung shou |
| In some entries above you will see that characters have different versions above and below a line. In these cases, the characters above the line are Traditional Chinese, while the ones below are Simplified Chinese. | ||||
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All of our calligraphy wall scrolls are handmade.
When the calligrapher finishes creating your artwork, it is taken to my art mounting workshop in Beijing where a wall scroll is made by hand from a combination of silk, rice paper, and wood.
After we create your wall scroll, it takes at least two weeks for air mail delivery from Beijing to you.
Allow a few weeks for delivery. Rush service speeds it up by a week or two for $10!
When you select your calligraphy, you'll be taken to another page where you can choose various custom options.
The wall scroll that Sandy is holding in this picture is a "large size"
single-character wall scroll.
We also offer custom wall scrolls in small, medium, and an even-larger jumbo size.
Professional calligraphers are getting to be hard to find these days.
Instead of drawing characters by hand, the new generation in China merely type roman letters into their computer keyboards and pick the character that they want from a list that pops up.
There is some fear that true Chinese calligraphy may become a lost art in the coming years. Many art institutes in China are now promoting calligraphy programs in hopes of keeping this unique form
of art alive.
Even with the teachings of a top-ranked calligrapher in China, my calligraphy will never be good enough to sell. I will leave that to the experts.
The same calligrapher who gave me those lessons also attracted a crowd of thousands and a TV crew as he created characters over 6-feet high. He happens to be ranked as one of the top 100 calligraphers in all of China. He is also one of very few that would actually attempt such a feat.
Check out my lists of Japanese Kanji Calligraphy Wall Scrolls and Old Korean Hanja Calligraphy Wall Scrolls.
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