RyuShinKan - Kenshūkai: An OyataTe International School
A Life Protection Association of practitioners dedicated to continuing the legacy of their instructor
OyataTe International
Taika Seiyu Oyata
OyataTe is a Life Protection Arts Association that descended from the teachings of Taika Seiyu Oyata. Taika did not refer to his art as a 'Martial Art' as he believed what he taught was not about war, but saving the lives of yourself, family and friends. The group has descended from the original Kansas City Shihan Dai that trained at Taika's home and dojo. The Shihan Dai was established many years prior to Taika's death while training directly with him, and our chief goal has been to continue the teachings and research that Taika dedicated his life to. We stay true to the teachings and philosophies of Taika Seiyu Oyata, continuing to carry the torch as he gave it to us. The five founding members all began training with Taika as far back as 1979,
We continue down the path he led us on utilizing the principles, philosophies, scrolls and other recorded resources in an effort to retain the knowledge he gave us as well as continue to push our understanding of his art. In his final 10 years of teaching, during the genesis of our shihan dai with its current members, he taught us principles and philosophies so that we could continue to grow without him once he had passed away. This was much similar to the method his original instructors used with him as they were already in their 90's when he began to train with them. By using these tools, you are not limited in your growth.
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The main goal is to train in Taika's arts, without the interference of ego and politics.
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There are typically 10 kyu ranks in the system so that instructors may keep their early students organized, but individual dojo organize their curriculum as they see fit. Each dojo decides its foundational set of requirements before yudansha, though the twelve foundational kata developed by Oyata are recommended.
In keeping with Taika's philosophy that we should treat each other the same, there is no tier of yudansha. Once black belt is achieved, there are no further rankings other than simply Yudansha (black belt). The intent is to remove the ego from the training. The goal is knowledge. The sharing of knowledge in many other systems is often stifled by the politics, ego, and the quest for higher rank. The learning does not stop once yudansha is reached, there are a myriad of upper level topics to train in for an entire lifetime of learning. In a conversation with Taika just prior to his death he stated that he wished he hadn't had to rely on ranks and titles as these were seeds of discontent, but the art was his only source of income. He attempted in several ways over the years to get rid of ego. He first stopped the wearing of colored Dan belts. Later he forced all students into set uniforms that made everyone a black belt 6 months of the year and a white belt the other 6. Due to the financial tie to his source of income he was never able to completely remove the temptation of rank in relation to ego.
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Titles are additionally disposed of. We teach respect for your training partners, not their title. First names are encouraged. We believe that students and peers can be respectful without fancy titles.
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One of our favorite expressions of Taika's was to not let pride settle in the back of your head, allowing your nose to rise in arrogance of others.
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The core sub arts of this system are: Kyusho Jutsu, Tuite Jutsu, Atemi Jutsu and Kobudo.
There is no emphasis on Okinawan Kenpo style Bogu as Taika separated himself from this more than a decade before his death. Though it is occasionally trained by some members still, there is no emphasis on it for anything more than fun, as Taika believed it emphasized bad habits as a true encounter would have no rules. The gear is instead used for other drills that are much more productive.
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Most public content is hosted on our youtube site as well as member only facebook sites.
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To strive to further knowledge and understanding, with suppression of ego.
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To strive to continue the art as Taika left it, and continue down the path he set us upon with the tools he left us.
Quebec
Tauranga
Christchurch
Poland
Chili
Czech Republic
AR, CO, GA, FL, KS, MO, NC, NE, NY, SC, TN
OyataTe International has students in four countries currently and nine states as well as numerous other locations that virtually train and host seminars with us. For information about checking out online Zoom coursework or hosting a seminar contact us at one of the links below.
OyataTe International instructors either have seminars regularly in the above states or conduct regular online courses with members in those states.