Dear friends,
my name is Massimo Braglia and I am the founder of the ATKO, acronym of Ahnan Tomari-Te Karate-do Organization or Ahnan Tomari-te Karate-do Dantai 安南泊空手道団体. After more than twenty years of research carried out in three continents, I finally discovered the Chinese martial arts system that is the origin of Karate techniques and I decided to create this martial arts academy to teach the true meaning of the techniques contained in kata. »Read-more My research began with the observation that, when teaching Karate based solely on competition, one can reach the point of no longer distinguishing the difference between the true defensive movements (rinto), those inserted in the kata to increase energy (rentan) and those that have only an educational function (hyoen). Furthermore, an excessive emphasis on the sporting aspect can also lead the practitioner to not understand the relationship between the study of fundamental techniques (kihon), forms (kata), personal defense (goshin) and real combat (jissen kumite). In response to these problems, I used what I discovered in my research to develop a new training method based on a more efficient teaching system, with three special programs divided by skill levels based on the traditional knowledge that many experts believed lost. The simplest curriculum, the Shotokan of the Japan Karate Association, coincides with the basic program. A little more complex, the Uchinadi, collects most of the technical program learned from the Funakoshi family and other important Masters of Okinawa. The highest program, the Ahnan Tomari-te, is composed of Okinawan “lost” kata, Chinese forms, techniques and many applications that come directly from the heirs of an ancient family of Taoist warrior monks, whose temple was located in Ahnan neighborhood in Fuzhou. This martial art was considered the most precious and sought after by the pioneers of ancient Karate. In summary, the missing link in Karate between China and Okinawa. Although young, our academy born in Italy but already internationally recognized, is also distinguished by its openness of thought. In fact, despite the traditional approach, the ATKO allows an individual expression both by teachers and students, provided they respect each other. Finally, in addition to training technicians and students through lessons and seminars open to all practitioners, ATKO also promotes the publication of books and lecture notes, holds courses on history and culture for teachers, emphasizing the ethical and spiritual aspects of Karate that are universal for all humanity. If you are interested in hosting a technical seminar or a theoretical lesson, if you wish to participate in the presentation of my books “The Shotokan Stylistic System” or “The Great History of Karate” in which I have transcribed the history of kata and the true origins of Karate, or have questions to ask, do not hesitate to contact us! »Read-less
Massimo Braglia
ATKO Founder

TOMARI-TE
From a historical point of view, many experts know that the stylistic systems of the cities of Shuri and Naha – the Shuri-te and the Naha-te respectively – have inspired many Okinawan masters in creating their own schools which have become the modern styles of Karate, but few know that, without the rich contribution of the Tomari-te, the Shotokan, Shito, Wado, Shorin and other schools would have less than half of their current kata.

The first Tomari-te techniques come from Chatan Yara, Tode Sakugawa and their students residing in the village of Tomari, but the great catalyst of this tradition was a man from Southern China who shared part of his knowledge towards the middle of the 19th century with these people.
Gichin Funakoshi was the first expert to speak of this Chinese in his article published in 1914 on the Ryukyu Shinpo, citing it as the “shipwreck from Ahnan”.
The tradition also remembers him with the name of Channan or Chinto and considered him a beggar or a pirate but, in reality, he was a Taoist monk, his name was Leung Wong Chiu and the martial arts school from which he came was known in Fuzhou as Liu Long Gong, although called to Okinawa Ryu Ru Ko.

The best known kata from the Ahnan monk and his Fuzhou family are Channan, Passai (Bassai), Jitte, Jiin, Wanshu (Enpi), Chinto (Gankaku), Chinte, Rohai (Meikyo), Gojushiho and Wankan (Matsukaze).
Anko Itosu learned these forms and simplified them to teach them in the public school, creating 11 new forms: the 5 Pinan (Heian), Passai Dai, Passai Sho, Jion and the 3 Rohai that he transmitted to Funakoshi, Mabuni, Chibana and other students who founded current styles of Karate.
About the training program, our organization owns all the kata learned from the Funakoshi family in Okinawa, some “lost” forms like Unuibu, Chinsu, Chinpe, the original versions of Rohai and Wanduan along with various Chinese forms and many applications transmitted by the monk of Ahnan to his heirs. If you are interested in learning our technical program, do not hesitate and contact us!
ATKO Founder
Massimo Braglia was born in 1963 in Italy and in 1980 began the practice of Shotokan Karate.
In 1987, thanks to the technicians Leo Lotti, Roberto Baccaro, Loris Guidetti, Gilberto Sedioli and Rossano Ruffini, I obtained the qualification of Karate Shotokan Instructor in front of Hanshi Hiroshi Shirai. For the occasion, I was recognized as the youngest instructor in my region (Emilia Romagna). From that moment I started a particular period of research that led me to experiment with other Karate styles together with the first notions of Chinese martial arts.
My meeting with Hanshi Paolo Bolaffio dates back to 1996, for many years the right-hand man of Shirai Sensei, founder of the Institute Shotokan Italy and technical director of the JKA for Italy before Naito Takeshi Sensei.
The following year I obtained the title of Shotokan Karate Master in front of Bolaffio Sensei. So, I started practicing Makotokai Karate directly under the guidance of its founder, Shodai Soke Bolaffio. The technical bases of the Makotokai system mix elements of Japanese Karate (Wado-ryu and Shotokan), Okinawan Karate (Goju-ryu and Shorin-ryu) from the “hidden” bushi Kinjo Sugino and internal Chinese martial arts (Neijia) learned from the Grandmaster Ho Xuxiao. Before his passing away, Sigung Ho donated the fullness of his lineage from the Wudang monastery directly to Sigung Bolaffio.
»Read-more In 1997 I held my first personal defense course for law enforcement. In 1999 I started studying Tai Chi Chuan, Pa Kwa Chang and Qi gong always under the guidance of Paolo Bolaffio according to the double lineage of Sigung Ho Xuxiao and Shifu Gu Meisheng. In 2000 I started writing articles on martial arts and resumed studying other styles of Karate. Furthermore, I started to deal with technical training and specific athletic training for Karate at federal level. In 2003 I obtained a scholarship for historical research on Karate and, since 2005, I have dedicated myself full time to researching and spreading martial arts. In 2007 I resumed traveling in a more intense way to study the origins of Karate, especially Shorin-ryu Matsubayashi that followed Takayoshi Nagamine, also experimenting with the Uechi-ryu of Kyohide Shinjo. In 2008 I obtained the qualification of Master also in Makotokai Karate, of Superior Instructor in Tai Chi Chuan of the Yang family, so I started the practice of traditional Chinese weapons – the Bing Qi Shu of Wudang – under the guidance of Sigung Bolaffio and Okinawan Kobudo of the Matayoshi school under the guidance of Andrea Guarelli Sensei. In 2009 I created a permanent home to the Budoshin H. association which I had founded in 1996 through the construction of the Budoshin Dojo in Carpi MO, Italy. In 2012 I started studying Wing Chun Kuen with Andrea Bisaschi and my first meeting tookplace with the heirs of Ahnan Tomari-te according to the lineage of Grand Master Zhu Guan Peng and the Oyadomari family. In 2015 I published my first book in two versions. In 2016 I met Shihan Diane Luc Batigne, the most important female master student before Bruno De Michelis and then of Jean-Pierre Fischer. For over ten years, Diane was the greatest Italian-French kata and kumite champion who retired undefeated. I call her my personal muse, because it was she who pushed me towards independence and motivated my efforts to create a personal academy. So, in 2017, I decided to abandon my training in Karate and internal martial arts within the MakotoKai school to become the European head of the AhnanTomari-te World Organization and I started an intense period of national and international seminars. After various experiments, in 2019, I opted for absolute independence and I founded the Ahnan Tomari-te Karate-do Organization academy in which I play the role of international technical director. »Read-less
In 2020 I have published one other book in English language: “The Great History of Karate“.
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ATKO Patch
The patch of the Ahnan Tomari-te Karate-do Organization has a long history connected to a painting given by the Chinese monk of Ahnan to his pupil Kosaku Matsumora before his departure from Okinawa in 1860. The monk gave him this gift to testify his own lineage. This transmission from Master to disciple is similar to that of receiving a diploma today and is equivalent to having perfected the style.
The woman in the image represents Wu Mei / Ng Mui, respectively in the Beijing and Cantonese languages, a great expert in Chinese martial arts, from which different fighting styles come, as well as the oldest section which is the origin of the defense system that arrived in Okinawa.
The branch that Ng Mui holds is a pussy willow (Salix Caprea), a variety of willow that grows near the river banks, important for stabilizing the land of the banks. Unlike the more well-known weeping willow, which symbolizes the correct attitude, while in the presence of divinity it also represents immortality, eternity and spirituality, the stem of the pussy willow is straight, despite its great flexibility, since it represents the necessary attitude to approach this martial arts system and the development of the Zhen Ren 真人 (the “true” person).
In addition to the statements of the oral tradition of the Tomari village, there are other testimonies written on this image by researchers Fujiwara Ryozo, Mark Bishop and Fernando P. Camara. The confirmation of the images from these numerous references shows that the figure of the young woman indicates the spirit and essence of the forms. It illustrates the concepts of lightness, cunningness and agility as the style of movement that is light and rich in strategies, since it exploits mobility and intelligence.
The calligraphy of the five animals around Ng Mui coincides with the first five Taoist martial arts animals from which modern fighting styles were born. These five animals – Tiger, Crane, Dragon, Praying Mantis and Snake – are present in many forms, especially the more advanced ones.
Both, the image of Ng Mui and Chinese calligraphies, are superimposed on the Chinese symbol of Yin-Yang, the eternal energy process of transformation and change. This image describes the origins of the two extremes from the center of Chaos. This symbol is incorporated in the style, it is based on Taoism and Shamanism, and it is found throughout this style. The two opposites related to Yin and Yang are always in contrast with each other, but still in balance, as they continue to flow into one another. Stagnant images of Yin and Yang are simply a temporary “snapshot” because they are constantly in motion.