The face of Itosu
Few karate masters have exerted as much influence as Yasatsune "Anko" Itosu (1831 – 11 March 1915) - the alleged creator of the pinan kata and possibly the naihanchi series; teacher of such luminaries as Gichin Funakoshi , Choki Motobu , Chomo Hanashiro , Chotoku Kyan, Shinpan Shiroma, Choshin Chibana and Kenwa Mabuni - among many others. It would be fair to say that, while his legendary teacher Sokon Matsumura is regarded as the start point of the Suidi or Shorin school of karate, the real "father" of this school was Itosu . I will let you read Tom Ross's excellent articles on Fightingarts.com concerning the man and his legacy. I also invite you to read my article on the Channan kata and on the origins of Naihanchi . But what did Itosu look like? Is the picture to the right really him? Until 2006 the only images we had of Itosu were drawings - and conflicting ones at that. Specifically there were 3 main ones to be found on the net. Two seemed ...