The path to the Meibukan

In 20 years, Tobias has tried pretty much everything that looks like a martial art: boxing, kickboxing, aikido, judo, taekwondo and medieval swordsmanship. In 2019 he came to karate – first to Shōrin-Ryū Seibukan, simply because there was no alternative in Leipzig. On the side he taught himself Gōjū-Ryū, with YouTube as a patient teacher.

Since 2022 he has also been taught by Dai Sifu Nam Hoai Duong (Vietnamese: Dương Hoài Nam), a Vietnamese grandmaster of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu. Sources: Shaolin Kung-Fu Schule Leipzig – Über uns; 1. Chemnitzer Kung Fu Verein Meister Nam.

In 2023 he went to Okinawa for the first time – and landed straight in the Meibukan. Since then he has trained Meibukan every day. That he became the first official international student of Akihito Yagi was less down to talent than to the lack of Meibukan in Germany and his stubborn habit of simply going back every year. On top of that came seminars in the Czech Republic and Portugal.

On Okinawa he also trained for a month each under Zenpo Shimabukuro and James Pankiewicz and regularly with Dan Antonsen. After the trips in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the fourth begins in November 2026 – among other things to prepare for his 1st Dan examination under Akihito Yagi Sensei. Officially he currently holds the 2nd Kyu.

Outlook

If all goes well, 2027 will bring official admission to the Meibukan and the founding of the German Meibukan Goju Ryu Association. Until then – and all the more so afterwards – training stays as it is: small, intensive and personal.