Once upon a time, there was a great kingdom called Ryukyu (old name for Okinawa) on an island in the southern ocean. The kingdom Ryukyu supported itself by trading with China, Korea and many other Southern Eastern Asian Countries. It was also home to the Shuri Castle, the largest Okinawan caslte, built during the 14th Century.
In 1979, after many years of training, Tomohiro Arashiro was chosen for the task of bringing this traditional style of Ryuei Ryu to the United States, along with Tsutomu Kuniyoshi. together with his friend Kuniyoshi Tsutomu—immigrated to the United States to introduce Ryuei Ryu Karate and Kobudo to a wider audience. What began as informal training sessions in a San Diego park soon grew into regular classes at local recreation centers and VFW halls, eventually leading to the establishment of a formal dojo in 1984. Since then, the style has continued to become more widely recognized, and is now taught in dojos around the world, including Argentina, chile, mexico, Europe, austrailia, Okinawa, and throughout Asia and the United States. Hanshi Arashiro currently remains as the Pan-American Chief Instructor.
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Norisato Nakaima (also known as Kenri Nakaima), the founder of Ryuei Ryu, was born in 1819 in ryukyu. During this time, Ryukyu experienced a strong Chinese influence. The Chinese not only appointed their king, but also served ambassadors to establish trade route and carry out official business. Norisato was well disciplined in the Chinese language.
In 1968, Kenko Nakaima decided it was no longer necessary to keep his family’s style a secret and founded founded the Ryuei Ryu Karate and Kobudo Preservation Society. He then taught Ryuei Ryu to his three sons, two 13 year old students, Tomohiro Arashiro and Takeshi Matsuda.
At the age of eighteen years old, Norisato would watch military officers practicing martial arts. Norisato was interested in learning a martial art too, but could only learn by watching the officers practice. One day, one of the officers noticed Norisato and began speaking to him. The general took note of Norisato’s interest and invited the strong, young man to China for martial arts training.
As a result, Norisato only passed his knowledge on to one of his sons, Kenchu Nakaima, who then passed his knowledge on to one of his sons, Kenko Nakaima.
The following year, after much preparation, Norisato traveled to China. Thanks to the general’s introduction, he became a student of Master Ru Ru Ko, Shihan of the Military School of Ching Dynasty. At the military school, Norisato received a military officer’s education, studying a range of subjects from military strategy to astrology.
Arashiro and Mastuda began their training session by sweeping the leaves off Nakaima Sensei's courtyard to strengthen and purify their spirits and to develop patience. Arashiro worked very hard as he went to Nakaima Sensei's house to train from 8 pm - 10 pm after basketball practice and listened to Nakaima Sensei's teaching about the ways of martial arts and its history until late at night.
After several years of training under Master Ru Ru Ko, Norisato received a certificate of graduation and returned to Okinawa at the age of 26. Norisato did not open a martial arts school due to the secrecy of the Chinese Kung Fu. He could not risk exposing the techniques of the military school. He told his family, “The power of the martial arts is to support the heart and defend the body. It should not be used without good reason nor taught to others easily. It should be kept in the family and be taught to one child per generation.” The Nakaima family respectfully followed Norisato’s instructions.