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Founder of Zenkoku Ryukyu Kempo Karate-Do Renmei Kyoshi Albert O. Geraldi Kyoshi Albert O. Geraldi has over 40 years experience in the Martial Arts. He holds an 8th degree black belt in Okinawan Ryukyu Kempo making him Master Seiyu Oyata's most senior student. He is the founder of Zenkoku Ryukyu Kempo Karate-Do Renmei. While stationed in Vietnam during the early sixties, he served in the Green Beret Special Forces. For over 27 years he was employed as a New York City Transit Police Officer. During his law enforcement career he was decorated for bravery. For ten years, he taught police tactics at the Transit and NYC Police Academies. As an instructor, he was credited for developing innovative law enforcement concepts that are now accepted as standard police practice. Kyoshi Geraldi was also awarded the "Top Instructor Award" while attending and FBI instructor course for advanced tactics.
History of The Martial Arts The Martial Arts have been dated back as far as 2000 B.C.History
points to India as one of the originating societies that adapted formal martial
training in the form of wrestling. After
hundreds of years of trade and/or war, the influence of other cultural forms of
wrestling helped develop and characterize later forms of Martial Arts.
It
is said in some scriptures that an Indian Warrior Monk named Bodhidharma (born
approximately 460 AD) traveled to China to teach and study Zen Buddhism.
He settled in a Temple known as Shoalin in 520 A.D.
Finding the monks of Shoalin weak, and subject to bandit attacks, he
proceeded to teach them breathing and conditioning exercises, derived from his
martial training. These exercises
formed the foundation of Shoalin
Martial Arts. Over the next few
centuries, the Shoalin temples divided taking with them different ideas of
martial training. As they studied
nature and the movements of animals they evolved several different fighting
systems, which we see as gung fu (Kung fu) today. During
the Ming Dynasty (approx.1386-1644). The
Okinawan Ryukyu Islands had sustained a long history of commerce with China.
With political oppression blooming from the Japanese, this was the
breeding ground for the development of Okinawan Te, or known as Tote or Tode
(Chinese Hand). It was during this
era that several styles of Shoalin Boxing influenced the local fighting systems
of Okinawa and created the Martial Arts that we see today. Ryukyu Kempo (the Art of the Okinawan Royal Class) is the only martial art derived from the three systems or classes of okinawa; Shuri-Te (Warrior Class), Naha-Te (Merchant Class), and Tomari-Te (Sea Community). The Above Lineage chart will explain the path in which Ryukyu Kempo Kobudo has evolved. There may be pieces of lineage that are still unknown, especially before bushi matsumura. There are other teachers and masters that have influenced the evolution of ryukyu kempo. Nakamura & Oyata are the two most responsible for cultivating all of the knowledge taught today.
"A Martial Arts Association dedicated to developing the practice, patience and perseverance necessary to perfect skill, discipline the will, and cultivate the spirit of the peace-filled warrior."
ZENKOKU RETREAT CENTER at Terravita Ranch For more information about the Zenkoku Retreat Center contact Master Geraldi at : info@ryukyukempogeraldi.org
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