Motobu Chōyū was born in 1865 in Shuri Akahira, the capital of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the first son of father Chōshin and mother Ushi.

[1] He then studied Shuri-te karate and koryū ("old school") Japanese martial arts under the legendary karateka Matsumura Sōkon.

[2] In 1881, Chōyū invited Itosu Ankō to the palace of the Motobu Udun, where he and his brother Chōki learned karate from him.

From the age of 24 or 25, Chōyū, along with his younger brother Chōki and his friend Kentsū Yabu, began studying under Matsumora Kōsaku from Tomari.

In 1926, together with Miyagi Chōjun, Chōyū founded the Okinawa Karate Research Club in Naha and became its president.