To many, Okinawa is the sub-tropical vacation paradise and biodiversity hotspot that is Japan’s southernmost prefecture. To Okinawans, it is the former Kingdom of the Ryukyus with its own distinct cultures and languages, all of which are endangered. However, to the over 130 million estimated Okinawan martial arts practitioners around the globe (Okinawa Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2021-2024), Okinawa is the birthplace of karate and kobudo. Members of this international community of practice regularly travel to Okinawa and interact with Okinawan martial artists in Japan and abroad; they are deeply appreciative of any knowledge that may improve their understanding of their practice and offer a direct example of embodied learning. As an extension of previous interview, survey, and field research on Okinawan language reclamation in karate and kobudo (May, 2016), this research explores the intersection of language, culture, and martial arts through the term “muchi”. Among Uchinaaguchi speakers, who form the largest Indigenous Okinawan language group, muchi is a complex, culturally embedded term at once connected to traditional food, movement, stickiness, and flexibility. Both concrete and highly abstract, the application of this uniquely Okinawan concept in the martial arts opens a window on the need for and appreciation of the continued use of the Okinawan languages in maintaining Okinawan cultural practices. This in turn has implications for Indigenous language and culture reclamation efforts around the globe.

Authors:
Samantha May, Alexander College, Canada

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Samantha May is Department Head of Social Sciences and a professor of anthropology and sociology at Alexander College in Vancouver, Canada. Her research focuses on Indigenous language revitalization, martial arts studies, and Okinawan culture.

Additional website of interest
https://www.facebook.com/uchinaaguchimartialarts

See this presentation on the full schedule – Thursday Schedule

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