“Teacher, Policeman, Martial Artist” Please share with friends and students.
Higa Seiko 1898 – 1966
“Teacher, Policeman, Martial Artist”
Seiko Higa was born in Naha Okinawa,
formerly the Ryukyu Kingdom, Japan. He
was a Goju Ryu karate practitioner and teacher.
His original style was Naha-te.
His rank was Hanshi, 10th degree black belt. He was an educated man, and was employed as
an elementary school teacher. He
resigned after one year, and went on to have a 10-year career as a
policeman. He resigned from the police
force and dedicated himself to Karate.
At age 13 he began to study naha-te under Higaonna Kanryō until Higaonna's death 4 years later. Higaonna had three students at the time: Juhatsu Kyoda (1887-1968), Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953), and Seko Higa (1898-1966).
Kyoda went on to create his style, To'on Ryu, and Miyagi assumed the mantle of Higaonna's legacy. Higa, a policeman at the time, continued his studies with Miyagi Chōjun for 38 years until Miyagi's death. In 1931, Higa retired from the police force and opened his first dojo in the Kumoji section of Naha. In 1935, Higa went to the island of Saipan to teach Goju-ryu at the request of a friend. The move was not successful and he returned to Okinawa two years later.
Only three students of Miyagi's were allowed to open a dojo while
the master was still alive: Seiko Higa, Jin'an Shinzato, and Jinsei Kamiya. In
a document published in 1952 in an Okinawan newspaper, Miyagi listed the senior
members of his group and their titles.
Only Seiko Higa was listed as ‘Headmaster’.
Seiko Higa took over as Chojun Miyagi’s immediate successor temporarily after his death in 1953, a responsibility that would eventually pass to Meitoku Yagi, who would later receive the menkyo-kaiden.
In 1956, Seiko Higa became vice-president of the Okinawa Karate-Do Federation, and became the president 2 years later. In 1960, Higa built and opened a dojo in the Yogi district of Naha, naming it the Shodokan, and formed the International Karate and Kobudo Federation.
Notable students of Seiko included: Seikichi Higa (son), HigaKanki Izumikawa, Teruo Hayashi, Juei Tamaki (kobudo), Seitoku Matayoshi, Choyu Kiyuna, Zenshu Toyama, and Eiki Kurashita.
Grandmaster Seiko Higa believed that the true purpose of Karatedo is to serve the public and to promote friendship throughout the world.