International Okinawan Kempo Federation
History
The federation was registered in 2015, but this is not the beginning of the history of Okinawan Kempo.
The Federation (International Okinawan Kempo Federation) originated from Taika Seiyu Oyata, the creator of the system that initially existed under the name RyuKyu Kempo, and then Ryu Te Kempo Karate. The art taught by Taika Oyata comes from family fighting systems. Master Oyata initially studied traditional weapons (kobudo) under Uhugusku (a bushi and retired palace guard). Taika also studied tuite and kyusho under Master Wakinaguni, whose family emigrated to Okinawa from China during the Ming dynasty. Shigeru Nakamura also influenced the Taika style. After the deaths of Masters Uhugusku and Wakinaguni, Taika was a member of his dojo and studied Okinawan Kempo until Nakamura's death in 1968.
The history of Okinawan Kempo in Europe began when Taika received a letter from one of the karate schools in Poland in 1993. In the letter, Taika was asked about the possibility of establishing cooperation aimed at deepening his knowledge of Okinawan martial arts. Taika agreed to the above request, and therefore in 1994, the first Ryu Te seminar in Europe was held in Pińczów, led by his student - the Pole Hanshi Piotr Ciećwierz. By Taika's decision, Hanshi Piotr became the representative of the system in Europe.
Since then, Hanshi Piotr Ciećwierz has organized seminars for various karate schools throughout Poland many times during his subsequent stays in Poland. These efforts resulted in the creation of a group practicing this art in 1997 under his personal patronage. One of his first students was, among others, Renshi Marek Tuszyński. On May 25, 2000, the first examination for master's degrees took place in Washington, with the participation of adepts from Poland - Renshi Marek Tuszyński and Renshi Ludwik Orthwein. After this event, a center was established in Warsaw led by Renshi Ludwik Orthwein. In 2001, the Polish Ryu Te Federation was registered with its headquarters in Warsaw, and in the following years centers were established in: Ursus, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Wrocław, Opole, Warta, Sieradz, Bełchatów, Odolanów, Kraków and Przemyśl.
In 2011, Taika came to Poland for a summer camp organized by the Polish Ryu Te Federation in Warsaw to personally teach students. He liked Poland very much, and he also visited Krakow, Auschwitz, the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Czorsztyn and Zakopane. He decided that if fate allowed, he would come to Poland again to show these wonderful places to his wife. Unfortunately, fate wanted it otherwise. After a difficult battle with cancer, Taika died on June 18, 2012 at Saint Luke's Hospital in Aberdeen, USA.
After three years of mourning for his master, Hanshi Piotr Ciećwierz decided to continue the great work of Taika and in 2015 created the International Okinawan Kempo Federation, which currently operates in many countries (USA, Poland, Czech Republic, Israel, Spain, Great Britain and Germany).
