- Pēchin Higa
Nihongo|Higa Pēchin|比嘉 親雲上 (1790–1870), often called Nihongo|"Machu Hija"|マチュー ヒジャー is a semi-legendary martial artist in
Okinawan history who was a direct influence on the development ofkarate andkobudo , especially with respect tobōjutsu . Nihongo|Pēchin|親雲上 issocial class ofRyūkyū Kingdom . A resident of the island of Hama Higa, he was perhaps a student of the Chinese emissariesZhang Xue Li and laterWanshu , who would have taught him techniques of chu'an fa.Okinawan history relied mainly on oral tradition prior to the 20th century, so it is difficult to separate fact and fiction (or embellishment). It is said that Matsu Higa had forearms like tree trunks and that he could crush a coconut in his bare hands, though he stood only 5 feet 2 inches (157 cm) tall and weighed about 140 pounds (64 kg). Legends state that Matsu Higa with his
bo stood up to the head-hunters of Formosa and to Japanese pirates from the north and never lost a battle.What is known, however, is that Matsu Higa was the teacher of
Takahara Pēchin , who in turn taughtSakugawa Kanga . Matsu Higa was one of the first to codify a system ofkata and techniques. His contributions live on in several weapons katas, especially fortonfa , sai, andbo .References
* [http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/eng/005/001/index.html Birth of Martial Arts with Weaponry and Lineage] at Okinawa Prefectural Government Karate and Martial Arts with Weaponry
* [http://www.shorinryu.ca/stories/matsu_higa.html Machu Higa (1790 - 1870)] from Legacy Shorin Ryu
* [http://www.hasudojo.ca/kobudo.htm Machu Higa was the Sensei of Takahara Peichin who taught Karate Sakugawa (1733-1815)] at hasudojo.ca
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