Empty Hand

Kenei Mabuni

In cooperation with Masahiko Yokoyama

Empty Hand

The Essence of Budō-Karate

Edited by Carlos Molina

Translated from Japanese

by B. Winter

Palisander

As to the notation of the Japanese personal names: On the cover and the title sheet the name of the author has been written according to the conventions of the English-speaking countries, i.e. in the order first name, last name. In the text of the book the usual notation of Japanese names is used, i.e. the last name followed by the first name.

The publisher would like to thank Jörg Seidel, Chemnitz, for proofreading the English edition. Furthermore he thanks Patrick McCarthy, Brisbane (Australia) for putting the photograph of Itosu Ankō at his disposal.

First English Edition

1 st ed. May 2009

Original title:

武道空手への招待(»Invitation to Budō-Karate«)

© 2001 by Sanko-sha Ltd.

Translation from Japanese by B. Winter

© 2009 by Palisander Verlag, Chemnitz

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.

Cover design: Anja Elstner, using a drawing by Matthias Stein and the Shitō ryū emblem.

Publisher's editor: Frank Elstner

Setting: Frank Elstner

1 st Digital Editon

Digital Publication by Zeilenwert GmbH

ISBN 9783938305249

www.palisander-verlag.de

Sōke Mabuni Kenei (2001)

Union Shitō ryū Europe

Internet: www.shitoryu-europe.org

The Author

Mabuni Kenei, holder of the 10th Dan, was born in 1918 on Okinawa, the birthplace of karatedō. As the son of Mabuni Kenwa, the founder of the Shitō ryū and one of the most important karate experts in history, from his childhood on he was in touch with karate and some of its greatest masters. At the age of 34 he became the head of Shitō ryū. Even today, in his old age, he holds seminars in different parts of the world where he teaches authentic karatedō.

The Publisher

Carlos Molina, the editor, holder of the 7th Dan, was born in 1947 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. He became one of the first disciples of Mabuni Kenei in Latin America. Since 1976 he has introduced the Shitō karate in the Federal Republic of Germany. Today he is the Shitō ryū representative in Germany.

Sōke Mabuni Kenei und Shihan Carlos Molina (2007)

Acknowledgement

The editor thanks his disciple Mrs Silvia Pellegrini for her extraordinary efforts to realize this project.

Illustrations

The copyright for the photograph on p. 4 and for the photographs no. 5 to 10, 12 to 15, 20, 22, 24 to 80, 82 to 87 and 96 is owned by the author. The copyright for the photograph on p. 6 and photograph no. 21 is owned by Carlos Molina. The other photographs and illustrations are public domain. On many of the photos Mizuguchi Hirofumi – sometimes together with the author – can be seen demonstrating techniques.

Table of Contents

Cover

Titelpage

Copyright

Sōke Mabuni Kenei

Author

Preface by the Editor

Introduction

A Martial for Everyone

Karate as a Means for Physical, Martial and Spiritual Education

The Emergence of Modern Karate

Karate and Health

The Physical Effects of Karate

Karate in Dangerous Situations

Karate as a Spiritual Martial Art

The Breathing Techniques in Karate

The State of Total Inner Calmness

I Budō Karate

1 The Development of Karate

1.1 Karate as Fighting Technique

Unarmed Fighting in Ancient Times

Shaolin Kempō – the Fighting Techniques of the Warrior Monks

The Influence of the Chinese Kempō on the Japanese and Okinawan Martial Arts

Karate – the Fundament of Martial Arts

1.2 The Emergence of Karate on Okinawa

The Old Okinawa-te

The Kata of the Shuri-te

The Jigen Sword Technique and the Shuri-te

Drawing a Circle With a Straight Line

The Emergence of the Naha-te

The Origins of the Tomari-te

The Shitō Style as Heritage of the Okinawa-te

2 Shitō Karate – the Teachings of Mabuni Kenwa

2.1 “Captured” in the World of Budō

Striving for a Healthy Body

A Life Without Selfishness and Greed

Praised by Kanō Jigorō

Funakoshi Gichin Learned Kata From My Father

The Creation of the Shitō Ryū

Following My Father’s Footsteps

My Father’s Goals

Shitō Karate is Authentic Budō Karate

2.2 The Pleasure of Learning and Teaching Karate

How to Teach Karate

Karate for Children and Youngsters

The Wealth of the Traditional Kata

Karate in Europe

A Lack of True Leaders in Karate

3 How to Overcome the Own Limits

3.1 Karate – More than Kicks and Punches

Yagyū Sekishūsai and the Art of Mutō Dori

Karate Turns the Whole Body into a Weapon

How to Harden the Body

Thrusts with Muchimi

Karate as Support for Every Budōka

3.2 Blocking is Attacking – Without Beat

Starting With a Block

Blocking the Opponent’s Attack With a More Powerful Counterattack

Rhythm and Speed

The Five Principles of Blocking

3.3 Learning the Techniques

The Diversity of the Kata Techniques

Three Principles of the Bujutsu

The Principle of Hikite

Understanding the Heian Sandan Kata as Fighting Technique

The Gojūshiho Kata, and how to Cope with Unexpected Attacks

The Kata Niipaipo and Haufā

4 Criticizing Present-Day Budō

4.1 Budō Becoming Sport

Sport or Martial Technique

Competitive Sports and Ritual Games

Hagoita – Ritual and Game

Sports or Budō – What is More Serious?

Separation of Sports and Budō

Sundome and Full Contact

4.2 Modern Competition and Budō

The Assessment of Competition Kata

Is Modern Karate Really a Progress?

Flowing Techniques – Consciousness Going Ahead

Learning in the Flow of the Practice

The Reductionism of Sports

Competition Karate Returning to Ancient Patterns

4.3 The Unity of Soul, Body and Technique

Testing the Abilities Before Kumite Came into Use

Harmony instead of Competition

“There is no First Attack in Karate”

II The Spirit of Budō

1 The Essence of Budō

1.1 The Difference between Budō and Violence

Taking Life, Giving Life

Karate and the Spirit of Respect (Shurei)

The Meaning of the Karate Techniques

The “Superhuman Techniques” of Ueshiba Morihei

The Main Principle of Karate: The Body Follows the Mind

1.2 Beyond the Natural Movements of the Body

Reacting to Natural Changes

“God-like” Techniques, and the Falling Dewdrop

The Magic Experience of the Control of Gravity

Ambling, and the Parallel Punch

The Release of Power in Budō and Sports

The Crab Walk, and “Taking the Knees out”

2 Victory or Defeat

2.1 Their Famous Fights

Ōyama Masutatsu’s Report

A Lack of Heroic Stories

Matsumura’s Fight with his Bride

Matsumura and the Bull they Called “the Killer”

Knocking down a Raging Bull

2.2 Not to Lose Means Winning

Victory Without Struggle

A Victory by Running Away

Matsumura Sōkon and the Big Guy

The “Miyamoto Musashi of the Ryūkyūs”

2.3 The Absolute Will to Win in the Yagyū Ryū

Sword Fighting and “Mental Cleansing”

The “Life Saving Sword”

Mutō Dori and the Point of Origin of Karate

Yamaoka Tesshū and the Mutō Dori

Karate and the Yagyū Ryū

2.4 The “Soundless Kamae”

The Satori of Yamaoka Tesshū

“There is no Kamae in Karate”

The Simultaneous Withdrawal of Both Opponents

The Utmost Spheres of Bu Are Beyond those of Zen

A Sword with Blunt Blade

3 Karate as “Zen in Motion”

3.1 The Sphere of Emptiness (Kū) in Karate

Karate as the “Fist of the Nobles”

The Sūpārinpai Kata and the Worldly Desires that Cause Suffering

Karate – the Hand Reaching into the Spheres of Emptiness

The Enlightenment of the Novelist

The Buddha Nature in the Depths of the Heart

3.2 “Zen in motion”, and the Rules of Breathing

“Zen in motion” – the Unity of Body, Soul and Technique

Arranging the Soul

Regulating Body and Breathing

Types and Forms of Breathing

Yin and Yang in Breathing

3.3 Preventing Disorder

Methods to Prevent Disorder

The Story of the Marvelous Techniques of the Old Cat

Theory and Experience

The Spirit of Death Defiance

Preventing Disorder

Bu – Never Accomplished

Afterword by the Editor of the Japanese Edition

Footnotes

Preface by the Editor

I met sensei Mabuni Kenei for the first time in November 1965. At that time I was 18 years old and sensei Mabuni came to my hometown Quetzaltenango for a karate demonstration together with a group of karateka from the capital Guatemala City. Already in ancient times Quetzaltenango was a Maya city and it is the second largest city of Guatemala today.

Sensei Mabuni had already been staying in Central America for a year, at first in Mexico following an invitation by sensei Murata Nobuyoshi, and then in Guatemala where at that time about one thousand karateka were practicing Shitō ryū.

I still had no karate experience, nevertheless I realized that there was a great difference between the way of moving demonstrated by sensei Mabuni and the performance of the other karateka representing various schools. I was so impressed that I decided on the spot to study karate. So, I joined the Shitō ryū club in my hometown. My first teachers were Jorge Sosa and Nobuyoshi Murata. I learned the basics of Shitō ryū and a lot about the history of the Mabuni family from sensei Murata.

In 1969 when I received the 1st kyū I got the chance to attend a lesson by sensei Mabuni in Guatemala City. This was a great honor for me. About 20 disciples, all of them holders of the 1st kyū degree participated in this lesson. We all had studied different karate techniques for several years, but Sensei Mabuni exclusively trained breathing techniques with us. After two hours of such exercises, of the 20 participants only a friend of mine and myself were ready to continue. The other ones left the training room because they could not bear the constraints caused by the breathing techniques any longer. When the two of us were alone with sensei Mabuni he said: “Now you can begin to study karatedō.”

Sensei Mabuni stayed for another year in the Guatemalan capital. To attend his lessons we traveled every week the 120 miles between Quetzaltenango and Guatemala City.

In 1974 Sensei Mabuni came for the last time to Guatemala. At that time I held the 2nd dan. In 1976 I decided to visit my Sensei in Japan. However, on the way to Japan first I came to Europe – to Berlin. Here I met a lot of people who asked me to teach them karate. So, I stayed there.

I met Sensei Mabuni again only in 1984 – on Corsica. He was invited by sensei Nakahashi Hidetoshi who had been living in France for many years. Hence I became a disciple of sensei Nakahashi until sensei Mabuni accepted me as his uchi deshi1. Since then I have been trying very hard to deepen my understanding of Shitō ryū karate under the guidance of sensei Mabuni and supported by sensei Nakahashi and Sensei Hatano. Thanks to sensei Mabuni I could learn a lot about the essence of budō karate. He always emphasized that karate is no sport but a way of life that can be helpful in any situation.

I feel grateful and happy that sensei Mabuni has decided to express his ideas in this book that has become not only a source of the Shitō ryū but also shows the history of the origins of karate as martial art and way of life. When I look back to my first steps in karatedō, trying to compare my personal character of those days with the present one I realize how much I have changed. Only now I begin to understand what he ceaselessly has taught since then. Sensei Mabuni always stressed the importance of values like politeness, charity, respect and grace, and he always warned us of the dangers of mistrust, laziness, pride and envy. Although I am not always able to achieve all of this in my own life I begin to understand that these values are the basis of social and human existence. There is a motto he always uses to repeat and that is now deeply ingrained in my heart: “Try to improve, become better today than you were yesterday, and tomorrow become better than today.”

I am deeply grateful that sensei Mabuni gave us this book. It is a treasury of wisdom!

Shihan Carlos Molina, Corsika, 1 August 2007

Introduction
A Martial Art for Everyone

I was born in 1918. I have been happy to spend all my life with karate. My father, Mabuni Kenwa, who founded the Shitō karate, always said: “Anyone can practice karate, young and old people, men and women.” Karate can meet different needs of different people. It can be used to take care of the health and to maintain beauty and fitness, and of course it can be a means of self-defense or of real fighting. But that is not all. In particular budō2 karate is not only a system of physical techniques, called taijutsu, but also rich in mental techniques, called shinjutsu. Once during a kata performance by an experienced karateka, I heard a bystander saying: “Just by feeling this spiritual energy, I understand that karate is something of great value.”

Other people like karate as a means of artistic expression. For example, at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000 the Austrian team in synchronized swimming caused considerable public discussion because they included a karate kata called Heian yondan into their performance. In August 2001 in the Nihon Budōkan the 3rd Shitō Karate World Meeting took place. I met a famous Japanese dancer there who told me: “I can see a connection between karate and dance.”

To my mind karate can be compared with a huge mountain that can be climbed via many different paths, which will reveal very different sights according to the point of view or to the season. Neither the aims nor the paths of this mountain hiking adventure are fixed. Some walk slowly up the hillside to build up their physical strength, others, the ambitious mountaineers, want to climb the highest and steepest summits at any cost.

Karate as a Means for Physical, Martial and Spiritual Education

Education and development in karate comprise three main elements: the physical, the martial and the psycho-spiritual aspect. As a means of physical education it improves the health and provides the basis for a long and healthy life. It helps to build up fighting abilities, and as a method to strengthen mind and soul it can contribute to reach a high level of vitality and mental energy. These different elements are closely connected and support each other. Which of the aspects is prevailing depends on the practitioner’s motivation and aims.

With regard to the fighting abilities there are some common misunderstandings. Many people are afraid when they hear words like “real fight karate” or “street fighting karate”. “Real fight situations” can be considered as rather rare occasions in the everyday life of average people unless such situations are provoked deliberately or one searches for them. But in the past few years, more and more cases of unprovoked attacks or conflicts escalating into violence in the streets or in public transport facilities have happened to occur even in Japan, which is considered as one of the most secure and most disciplined societies of the world. Especially in times of change, family members or friends might be threatened and forced to fight. So, one should be prepared. The best way to escape such situations is to avoid the attack of an enemy or to hit him at vital points in order to gain time to flee.

Normal people are only confronted with a real fight when they have to defend themselves. For the samurai in times of feudal wars, or for the soldiers in the world wars “real fighting” meant simply to kill each other. At this point I must admit that the masters of karate, like myself, practice day by day a bujutsu3 karate that surpasses the limits of self-defense. And, frankly speaking, techniques that surpass the limits of self-defense are techniques to kill people, called satsuhō. It sounds a little bit daring to say it, but this was the starting point of karate as budō, i.e. as “martial way” or “warrior’s way”. But it should be taken into consideration that by practicing budō karate one is doing the same as members of military units are doing who acquire techniques to kill in order to defend their homeland, the land of their ancestors.

The techniques of “minimal” self-defense that are not designed to kill people were developed from techniques that had the purpose to kill.

The Emergence of Modern Karate

The man who later was called “founder of modern karate” was Itosu Ankō (1830-1916), also named Yasutsune. He was the greatest master of the Shuri-te, which represents the original Okinawan hand-fighting techniques, te.4 Master Itosu reorganized karate when it became part of the official curriculum of middle school education in Meiji-era Japan.

Master Itosu chose traditional techniques and modified them in such a way that they could be used for physical education. According to the ideals of modern physical education, highly dangerous techniques where replaced by techniques that were demanding and rich in substance and at the same time efficient with regard to physical education. So, the Passai dai kata contains a sequence from a side sweep (yoko barai) to a kick (geri), which was originally a movement from a spear hand stab in the eyes (kaishu metsubishi) to a kick to the genitals (kinteki). – Itosu Ankō created for example the group of the five Heian kata which is still very popular. According to the Japanese word Heian, which means calm and peaceful, this kata does not contain attacks on the so-called “golden targets” (e.g. the genitals and other vital points) and no dangerous techniques like the “eye crusher” (metsubishi).

The founder of Kōdōkan Jūdō, Kanō Jigorō (1860-1938), proceeded in the same way when he removed all throwing techniques (nage waza) and blows (atemi) which had the potential to kill from traditional jūjutsu, thus developing modern jūdō. These were results of the modernization process the movement for cultural reform was aiming at.

But in Shitō karate a lot of old kata remained. Although they were reformed by Master Itosu, there are numerous hidden techniques that have been handed down to us as non-written secret knowledge. Amongst them were rather cruel techniques to kill. One of my most diligent students, Terada, led the karate lessons in a club of a school that his son also used to attend. Once he told me laughingly that his son had criticized him saying: “Dad, your karate is always against the rules.” This touches the question whether such dangerous techniques should be part of karate practice and whether a martial education makes sense that surpasses the limits of self-defense. As stated above, attacking in order to defend oneself is part of the essence of karate. Indeed there is a certain “borderland” in the study of karate where one learns how to kill very efficiently. That means entering the world of budō. This problem is in fact the most important topic of this book. But first I would like to write about today’s values and the general aims of karate.

Karate and Health

My father had dedicated his life to the development of karate as a means of physical education already before I was born. In the world of martial arts he was called “Mabuni the technician”. Being one of the inheritors of the authentic Okinawan hand-fighting techniques (te), he was generally considered to be an outstanding expert with respect to techniques. He wanted to develop and spread karate as a method to improve the health situation of the general population.

In contrast to other martial arts, in karate the physical abilities can be enhanced by kata practice. All in all there are about 50 classical kata. Of course not all of them must be learned unless one wants to become a karate teacher. Kata are sequences of movements of attack and defense with respect to one or several imaginary opponents. In order to execute them no training devices are needed. Kata are easy to practice even in larger groups of people, and their practice can be a source of joy. There are some beginners who are afraid of kata exercises with partners called kumite. But in case one practices karate exclusively for one’s health, kumite is not needed. Furthermore one needs only little space. An area of 3.5 to 4 tatami mats (about 75-85 sq ft) should be sufficient.

The Shitō karate developed by my father contains the traditional Okinawan hand-fighting techniques of the Shuri-te and the Naha-te. Apart from some small technical differences, it is a typical feature of the Shuri-te kata that they consist of many effective and fast attack and defense movements designed for long-distance fighting. For the Naha-te kata, close-distance fighting is typical, with “heavy” movements and a special breathing technique derived from Chinese Fukien kempō5. Having such a broad basis it is easy to find the appropriate kata for any age and any kind of physical condition. This is the great advantage of Shitō karate.

Long kata include about 70 different techniques, shorter ones about 20. A short kata does not take more than one minute. During kata practice literally every inch of the body moves, so that results can be seen very soon. Men get strong and well-balanced bodies and women also become more beautiful. No space, no special devices or clothing is needed. So there is no easier method to improve the state of health. Even very busy people should be able to afford the few minutes a day needed to keep fit by kata practice. Some may think that they are already too old for it. But in principle one can start practicing kata at any age. Most of the masters of karate from Okinawa and mainland Japan enjoyed a long life.

The Physical Effects of Karate

I myself could be regarded as living proof. I am now 83 years of age. I have never been seriously ill. Several times a year I travel overseas to supervise karate training. I never feel any jetlag and always start practicing with the young karateka the next morning after my arrival. 6

In 1938 my father published the book Introduction into Attack and Defense Techniques in Karate Kempō.7 He stressed the positive effects of training, writing: “Karate helps to gain more pleasure in all other activities”, “Weak persons can strengthen their body practicing at home”, “Sick and overweight persons get strong muscles and become healthy”, “One drinks less alcohol in the evenings and one works more efficiently at day”, or “Neuralgia and mental weakness get cured”.

My father actively propagated karate as an excellent means to protect and strengthen health. In cooperation with a medical university he could scientifically prove the positive physical effects by blood tests and urinalysis. In his book there are extracts from a research report on the physiological effects of karate by marine physicians. According to their report the metabolic functions and nerve reflexes, the sense of balance and the muscle power were improved. The whole physical condition was harmonized. Thus, the positive influence of karate practice on the body was sufficiently proven.8

When his book was published my father had already been living on mainland Japan and propagating karate for ten years. He had brought from Okinawa a rather spiritual and even religious karate. Present-day karate is unfortunately very far from the one he wanted to spread. In his opinion, practicing karate for self-defense did not only require the training of fighting techniques but also a supporting spiritual and mental education. At the end of the book he wrote: “Once you will be confronted with a situation that demands action you will be able to act.”

Karate in Dangerous Situations

Several times I had the experience of spontaneous reactions towards sudden danger. When I was 16 or 17 I went with a friend to the Shirahama beach in the Wakayama prefecture. We wanted to enjoy the view of the Senjōjiki cliffs. I was wearing a swimming suit, and I just turned my back to the sea and fixed my belt when I was suddenly hit by a huge wave. My friend, facing the sea, saw the wave coming and ran away. But I could not see it and was fully stricken. In this very moment I understood that a wave had swallowed me and that my body had lost its freedom, and so I clung instinctively to the rocks the breakers had thrown me against. Had I allowed the wave to draw me into the sea I would not have survived. Many people have lost their lives this way.

Towards the end of the Greater East Asia War9 I was stationed on the Philippine island of Cebu. When the American troops had landed there with considerable force, we had to flee together with the Japanese settlers to the central highlands. We had to march at night because in daylight American reconnaissance aircrafts were cruising over our heads. So we were marching in total darkness, one hand touching the belt or the shoulder of the man in front. Suddenly I slipped and fell down the slope. When I regained consciousness I found myself about 15 feet below the path, and I was gripping my knapsack. Astonishingly I had remained uninjured. I thought: “Maybe it’s not such a good idea to stay behind.” Then I climbed up the precipice as quick as I could and managed to join the others. I remember that again I thought how helpful it was to practice karate. Once more my body evidently had spontaneously reacted to the sudden danger so that I remained unharmed in spite of the deep fall.

There were many similar occasions, maybe less dramatic, in my life to make me realize that without karate I could have lost my life or at least would have been seriously injured. Some may say that my reactions were due to special training. But this is not correct because everyone can reach the same result if only the person’s karate practice is serious and continuing.

Karate as a Spiritual Martial Art

Karate has changed more and more into a competition sport. This is one of the reasons why the number of women practicing karate mainly for self-defense has recently considerably decreased. But besides health care, self-defense was the original aim and is still a very important aspect of karate.

When my father taught at the Meijō Girls College, he invented two special self-defense kata for girls. One was called Meijō kata according to the name of the school and meaning “bright star”. The other was called Aoyagi (green willow) referring to elegance and gentleness. These kata were made for real combat. They contain techniques against typical attacks towards women like embracing from the front or from behind, and punches that use the energy of the attacker. But these real-combat kata are very short and not appropriate for competition and therefore unfortunately not very popular in our days.

Recently, I read an article in the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. It was about a high school boy in Ōsaka who was at home when a burglar came in and attacked him with a knife. But the boy was clever enough to evade the attack and managed to escape. Afterwards he told a reporter, “When I saw the knife my body reacted spontaneously. If I had not practiced karate I would have been paralyzed by fear.”

To use karate for self-defense, it is not enough to study a number of techniques. One has to develop a special mental energy, ki,10 necessary to mobilize the abilities in the very moment they are needed, that is, just when one is confronted with sudden danger. No matter how often one may have practiced the techniques, without this energy one cannot make use of them. That is why the mental education is so important.

The development of ki is important for all kinds of martial arts, such as jūdō, kendō or iaidō. The mental education is needed to get rid of any inner agitation or inner tensions and to become able to focus the whole mental energy on one point. Since karate is aiming at the ability to defend the own body with empty hands flexible mental energy is extremely important. For this reason one can consider karate as martial art of the soul (ki no budō).

Of course the physical condition affects the general development of a person. It could be said that people who are lacking physical self-confidence are apt to mental and psychological weakness. Because karate practice develops the whole body, even people who begin in a rather weak condition can gain strong physical confidence after a short time, building the basis for mental and psychological strength.

Of course the physical condition affects the general development of a person. It could be said that people who are lacking physical self-confidence are apt to mental and psychological weakness. Because karate practice develops the whole body, even people who begin in a rather weak condition can gain strong physical confidence after a short time, building the basis for mental and psychological strength.

The Breathing Techniques in Karate

However timid and weak a person might have been, by regularly and seriously practicing karate – even if the practice is not very intense – one can experience how the body gradually fills with energy, how self-confidence grows from the ground of the abdomen and calmness installs in a quite natural way in the whole body. This is a particularity of karate.

Especially the breathing techniques (kisoku hō) of the Naha-te are a good example to explain how karate strengthens the spiritual and mental unity.11 It goes without saying that breathing is important for all kinds of martial arts but its deliberate and systematic training is a special aspect of karate. Breathing, and in particular inhaling (iki o suru), is closely connected with life. The Japanese verb meaning “to live” (iki ru) is said to be derived form the expression “to take breath”. People can live without food for about a month. But as is well known, it is hard to survive without breathing.

If one gets nervous in a situation of violence one will lose. Such nervousness comes from disturbances of pulse and blood pressure, which again are caused by breathing disturbances. For this reason some people get also nervous in front of a crowd. When things go wrong somehow and life is full of trouble one often feels depressed. Unconsciously breathing becomes short, flat and throat-centered. In the worst case, one breathes only with the tip of the nose, so to speak. If someone gets used to such kind of breathing he cannot expect to be blessed with a long life.

In order to harmonize the soul one must harmonize breathing. Breathing deeply into the abdomen arranges the energies in the lower abdomen. If in this area everything is “well settled”, one has good reason to hope for a long life. The effects of correct breathing will be greater the better the breathing rules are understood and followed consciously. I studied several breathing techniques like those of yoga or qigong. According to them, holding the breath (taisoku) is harmful. But in karate it is regarded to be very reasonable. It strengthens the heart and improves the flexibility of breathing. I am now more than 80 years of age but I do not have any problems climbing a staircase and never grasp for air.

The State of Total Inner Calmness

Karate practice develops body, spirit and fighting abilities. Since these three aspects of education are closely connected in the kata, kata training allows progress in all of them. This kind of learning is a real pleasure and can be a never-ending one.

In the Edo period (17th to 19th century) the samurai of the Nabeshima fief on Kyūshū Island (now Saga prefecture) were educated on the basis of the famous warrior code Hagakure12. The first rule a samurai had to follow was about his attitude towards aging. This rule demanded that learning and practicing should never end. No matter which level of abilities a samurai may have reached, how high in the hierarchy he might be, there is no reason for conceit, no reason to stop learning and improving oneself. 13

Those who learn only in order to win over others, to be better and stronger than others, are people who in fact learn for others. This is not the right way. A real master follows his way by continuously trying day by day, all his life, to improve himself. If one does not practice karate with joy so that nothing can stop oneself whatever people might say, this cannot be called true karate. Only if one enjoys practicing karate for oneself, not for others, if one cannot stop even if one would like to, one will experience karate as an endless path and reach a state of total concentration and inner silence.

About such a state of deep concentration called zanmai,14 my father once wrote the following words: “I enjoy my mind getting empty while rowing to the island of bu«.15

There is a Japanese term called gunshū meaning “learning by absorbing the smell”. It is based on the idea that the odor of an object is transmitted to the person steadily handling it. If one works with wood one will gradually acquire a wooden smell. What one does and thinks day by day finally becomes part of oneself, shapes the character and gives a certain “smell”. When my father was a policeman on Okinawa, visiting the karate masters at hidden places, teaching karate at the fishery school or attending karate performances, he always took me along and let me sit on his lap. That is maybe how I acquired his “smell”.

I always remember my father stripped to the waist practicing with his comrades in the light of a naked bulb, encouraging each other and forgetting the world around them. After he had moved to Ōsaka, he never knew what the day would bring. Nevertheless he went on with his life devoted to the study of karate, spending time with his comrades with whom he often shared his food and shelter. He also took care of the tatami mats that were always worn fast by the practice of the karateka. When one of his students came home from the battlefields of the Pacific War unharmed, he was as happy as he was when I returned. All this is the “smell” of my father my body has absorbed and I shall never lose. I also shall go the way of my father, the way of karate, which has no end. I shall practice karate as long as my body can move, step-by-step, stage-by-stage. I cannot predict how far I will come. But I know that I shall move on as long as I can. Progressing and improving oneself, that is what really makes sense, provides pleasure and joy. This is special about budō karate, that kind of karate I would like to propagate and that is the subject of this book.

I

1 The Development of Karate
1.1 Karate as Fighting Technique
Unarmed Fighting in Ancient Times

Methods of fighting without arms are mentioned in the ancient records of all peoples and therefore can be considered to be part of the common heritage of mankind. In the oldest Japanese chronicle Kojiki16, a fight between the gods Takemigazuchi no kami and Takeminakata no kami is mentioned which took place on the Inasa beach in the Izumo region. The Nihonshoki annals report about a fight between Nomi no Sukune and Taima no Kehaya. This fight is considered to be the moment when sumō was born.17 But in contrast to present-day sumō it must have been a life-and-death struggle. Although carried out without weapons it was nevertheless a fight without rules, since Sukune broke Kehaya’s hips and then kicked him to death.

Such techniques of fighting without weapons have existed everywhere in the world since ancient times. It is even reported that in ancient India Buddha has fought against his younger brother for the right to marry a beautiful girl. I saw fights in India that were very similar to sumō. In ancient China there were fist-fighting techniques called kempō in Japanese. In the Spring and Autumn Annals18 they were called “brave fist” (kenyū) or “martial art” (bugei), during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) “punching technique” (gigeki) and in the Han period (202 BC to AD 220) simply “technique” (gikō) or “circular punching” (shubaku).

Shaolin Kempō – the Fighting Techniques of the Warrior Monks

The Shaolin-Kempō was created in the Chinese Shaolin monastery that was built in 495 (late Wei period) by order of the emperor Xiào Wén (471-499) for the Zen Buddhist priest Ba Tuo, who had come from India. The monastery is placed in the Honan province south of the Yellow River at the foot of the Songshan mountains. That is why it was also named Songshan Shaolin. It became famous because Bodhidharma19 (Japanese: Daruma), who became the founder of Zen Buddhism in China, stayed there and introduced zazen20. This might be the reason why he was – probably by mistake – considered to be the founder of the temple and the father of kempō, too.

Fighting techniques were developed particularly in the monasteries because they owned rich treasures of art and other property that the monks had to defend in this country that was ceaselessly stricken by unrest and war. The term Shaolin kempō includes all techniques that were invented in the monastery itself or came from the surrounding region. Some of them got lost in the course of time, such as the “smashing fist” (tsūhai ken), the “animated fist” (shin i ken) or the “cosmic fist” (rikugō ken).

In the Shaolin monasteries the monks were divided into prayer monks who where specialized in religious studies and warrior monks who mainly practiced fighting techniques. Those to become warrior monks had their hair shaved and wore monks’ habit immediately after entering the monastery. They spent their monastic life mostly with martial exercise rather than with Buddhist studies. The present-day Japanese style of Shaolin kempō (called Shōrinji kempō) practiced as a religious exercise is a historically new phenomenon that appeared after World War II. It was founded by Master Sō Dōshin (1911-1980).

Incidentally, since the Ming period the Shaolin monks were famous rather because of their staff fighting, kompō21 or bōjutsu, than because of their fist-fighting techniques. The Fukien kempō was developed in the Fukien and Kanton provinces in southern China. This martial art, too, is said to originate from a Shaolin monastery – not the Songshan Shaolin but another one built later in the Fukien province.

The Fukien Shaolin temple does not exist anymore. Possible remains were found at different places. That is why its location could not be determined until today. Because the Songshan Shaolin monastery was located north to the Yangtze River and the Fukien Shaolin monastery south to it, their respective martial arts were also referred to as northern and southern Shaolin or northern and southern kempō.

As in other countries, there were times when certain religions were supported and times when they were suppressed by the rulers. So the Shaolin temple, too, experienced times of promotion and prosperity and times of suppression and destruction. There might have been monks who practiced in both temples or others who had to flee the Shaolin monasteries and found shelter in other temples were they shared their knowledge and fighting experience with their hosts. It can be supposed that their knowledge and abilities were spread even among the common people. Chinese distinguished between the “monastery or house” kempō of the monks and the “outsiders” kempō of the commoners. The taijiquan is an example of the latter.

That is how present-day Chinese kempō developed in a long historical process out of different schools and styles of fighting without weapons which influenced each other. But there is no doubt that Chinese heroism in general was inspired by the monks of the two Shaolin monasteries. Like the monks of the Japanese Hieizan monastery at the end of the medieval times they took up arms and intervened in the secular world.

So did Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Musashi Bō Benkei at the end of the Heian period (794-1185) in Japan. Yoshitsune, who as a child was called Ushiwaka-maru, lived in the Kurama monastery north of the capital Kyōto. He studied esoteric Buddhist teachings (mikkyō)22,and started to practice fighting techniques. He was said to have been taught martial arts by the long-nosed mountain spirit of Kurama called Dai Tengu23. To strengthen his body he walked every day from the Kurama mountains to the center of the capital. Once he encountered the fearsome warrior monk Benkei on the Gojō bridge of Kyōto. In a great fight he achieved a victory over him.24 This episode is widely known in Japan because it is part of a famous kabuki25 theater play.

The Influence of the Chinese Kempō on the Japanese and Okinawan Martial Arts

According to old chronicles, kempō was first brought to Japan by a Chinese called Chin Gempin26 in the Edo period. He was said to have learned kempō at the Songshan Shaolin temple and was praised to be a true genius. He was profoundly knowledgeable not only about Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism but also about arts like calligraphy, brush painting and poetry, or crafts like pottery, making of sweets and preparation of medicinal herbs, and also about acupuncture or moxibustion27. After his arrival in Nagasaki he traveled on the main island Honshū up to the region of present Nagoya. He is reported to have been received three times by the shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu and to have met many other lords to speak about his knowledge and show his abilities. Fukuno Masakatsu Shichirouemon and Ibaragi Sensai developed the Kitō style of Japanese jūjutsu after having been instructed by Chin Gempin.

There are other styles of jūjutsu whose roots can be found in China such as the famous Yōshin ryū that was created in Nagasaki by the physician Akiyama Shirōzaemon in the beginning of the Edo period after he had studied kempō during a journey in China. The Yōshin style became the basis for the Tenshin Shinyō style, which together with the Kitō style was the material Kanō Jigorō used to create modern jūdō.

But this should not lead to the conclusion that the original jūjutsu styles were directly derived from Chinese kempō. Techniques of unarmed fighting had existed in Japan since ancient times. The Takenouchi style, which is considered to be the oldest in Japanese jūjutsu originated from shortsword techniques. These techniques were taught by Takenouchi Hisamori. According to a myth, he had learned them from a hermit with long white hair who appeared while he was praying to the god of Atago to make him a master of martial arts. This happened in the beginning of the feudal wars in the 16th century, 100 years before Chin Gempin came to Japan.

Of course Chinese kempō had a strong influence on the Japanese jūjutsu. Although it was not its origin, it nourished and inspired its development. However, in jūjutsu highly dangerous blows (atemi) are not used and thus almost not practiced in order to avoid fatal injuries. But throwing and joint-locking techniques are very important. In particular, jūjutsu was aimed for supporting the fight with weapons. Since the beginning of the age of the samurai in the 12th century sword techniques had become crucial, and the fighting techniques with bare hands only played a secondary role.

It is also often said that the origin of karate was the Chinese kempō. Because of similarities with regard to techniques and terms this might be plausible, but there are no written records supporting this assumption, and consequently it cannot be considered as proven. Since ancient times there has been a kind of kempō on the island of Okinawa which was simply called “hand” (ti; Jpn. te or de), whereas Chinese kempō was called “Chinese hand”, tōde.

Since the middle of the 14th century, the Ryūkyū kingdom was tributary to the Chinese Ming dynasty. The relations with China became closer than those with Japan. People from the Ryūkyūs who had traveled to China to study or as members of diplomatic missions were not only influenced by Chinese culture but also learned martial arts. Of course, many Chinese came to Okinawa, too, and imparted their knowledge to the islanders. The bodyguards and other escorts who accompanied the Chinese envoys seem to have played a special role in transferring fighting skills to the Okinawans. They were highly trained and experienced elite soldiers because they had to defend the missions against the almost omnipresent pirates during the sea passages. In the history of the Ryūkyū islands, 23 of such Chinese missions were reported. Altogether about 500 Chinese came to Okinawa in this way. When the Chinese diplomatic missions arrived on Okinawa, welcome ceremonies were held and the bodyguards performed Chinese kempō kata, so-called tao. There are some kata in the Shuri-te, like the Wanshū and Kōsōkun kata, which are said to have been named after the bodyguards who taught them to the islanders.

There is also the opinion that the term “hand” (te) for all Ryūkyū techniques corresponds to the general term for fighting techniques used in Japan, the “18 arts of fighting” (bugei jū happan)28 because similar to the samurai on mainland Japan, the Ryūkyū bushi29 also practiced different special fighting techniques.

The original Okinawan karate developed in particular during two periods of prohibition of weapon use. After Lord Oho (Shō) Hashi (1372-1439) had unified the country, King Oho (Shō) Shin (1465-1526) had the local gentry disarmed and he forced them to settle in the castle town of Shuri. Furthermore he created a central government and introduced a legal system.

In 1609, almost one and a half centuries after the first prohibition of weapons the Shimazu clan conquered the Ryūkyū islands. These samurai came from southern Kyūshū, from the province of Satsuma. Again the possession of any weapons was forbidden on pain of death for the islanders. Under these circumstances, the development of fighting techniques had to focus on unarmed fighting. So, under the influence of Chinese kempō the Ryūkyū kempō was developed, the archetype of present-day karate.

If the possession of weapons had also been forbidden on mainland Japan, methods of unarmed fighting similar to karate would probably have been developed there, too. If on the other hand the possession of weapons had been allowed to the people of the Ryūkyūs, techniques assisting sword fighting similar to the Japanese jūjutsu might have been developed. So a unique and pure method of unarmed fighting emerged on Okinawa about which in 1934 my father wrote the following sentences in the prologue to his book Introduction into Attack and Defense Techniques in Karate Kempō «30.

In the southwest of Japan there is a chain of islands stretching in the open sea (Jpn. oki) like a rope (Jpn. nawa). So the name of the islands of Okinawa means “rope in the open sea”. Since ancient times these islands have been famous as a strongly armed country without weapons. Because its only weapons are the karate fighting techniques.

Karate – the Fundament of Martial Arts

My father used to say: “Karate is the legitimate heir of the bujutsu martial arts.”31 I think that karate is in fact the basis of all budō fighting techniques. There are two reasons for this statement. First, fighting with nothing but the empty hands is the most elementary way of fighting. Furthermore it is justified to say that any weapons, from staff, sword, bow and arrow or gun up to present-day missiles, could be regarded as extensions of the hand.

If one does not have any weapons one has no choice but to fight with empty hands. If a samurai was called to fight against an unarmed opponent, he would lay down his weapons without any hesitation. The tournaments in the Heian and Kamakura periods always started with archery and were followed by spear and sword fighting. When the fights became too violent the opponents got the order: “Attention! Depart!” They had to lay down their weapons and to continue fighting with empty hands.

If forced to fight with empty hands, everything within reach can be used as an assisting fighting tool. That is the logical and historical starting point for the development of the various techniques of armed fighting. Jūjutsu is a technical system to support fighting with a sword or other weapons, whereas karate integrates weapons to support fighting with empty hands. On the Ryūkyū Islands, for centuries several agricultural and other tools have been used to support karate fighting such as staffs (bō), tridents (sai), sticks with a side-handle (tonfa) or segmented staffs (nunchaku).32

There is a second reason for considering karate as the fundament of all budō fighting techniques: There are no forbidden techniques because the aim is to injure the opponent deadly and this aim must be reached unarmed, with empty hands. That is why the whole body is extremely well prepared for fighting. During the prohibition of arms under the Satsuma rule, the old knowledge about how to fight for life and death without weapons was transferred from generation to generation quite exactly, although not in a written form. Karate practice consisted mainly of kata practice which was done alone so that nobody could be hurt and therefore no kicks or thrusts or punches had to be forbidden. So karate became a worldwide unique art of fighting.

In 1938 my father wrote in this context the following:

If there are people who think that under the pretext of physical education kata and kumite should be changed into sports and separated from their bujutsu or martial arts essence just to fit into the modern times, they should be told that they are obviously not realizing that by doing so they are making the first step to commit a very serious mistake, that is they are contributing to the destruction of the original values of karate as bujutsu. Of course in the practice of kata and kumite the movements of the arms and the legs must be evaluated in detail. But this must be done from a martial arts point of view. Rational-physiologically based preparing and supporting exercises to improve the function of the limbs and the inner organs can be integrated in the practice of karate. But no one should think that the martial content of kata and kumite practice could be improved by changing both into sports or enjoyment.

In a certain way my father thus predicted the present form of karate and warned us of this development. The transformation of karate into competitive sports is one of the main topics of this book, too. But before coming to this point, I would like to say something more about the history of karate.

1.2 The Emergence of Karate on Okinawa
The Old Okinawa-te

On Okinawa, three different styles of karate developed in three localities – Shuri, Naha and Tomari.33 The term karate was introduced in the years 1911-1912 when the “Okinawa Boxing” or the “Okinawa Hand” became a compulsory subject at Japanese middle schools.

At first karate was written combining the character for “Tang China” with that for “hand”. The people of Okinawa called their native martial art only “hand” (te), and the Chinese kempō was called tō-de i.e. “Tang Chinese hand”. The three local styles were called Shuri style, Naha style and Tomari style, or Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te, respectively. The oldest one was the Shuri-te. This is an original Okinawan system of hand-fighting techniques which took an independent development nourished by Chinese kempō. There was a saying among the Okinawa karate masters: “The only true hand (te) is the Shuri-te.”34 The youngest style is the Naha-te in which the Chinese kempō is preserved most obviously. The Tomari-te is somewhere in between, geographically as well as technically.

Photo 1: Itosu Ankō (1831-1915), second from left in the second row (with white moustache). This photo was discovered only in 2006 in the archives of Kinjo Hiroshi (born in 1919, 9th dan, president of the International Ryūkyū Karatejutsu Research Society). It is the first known photograph showing Master Itosu. It was taken in 1909 or 1910 when Itosu Ankō had started to teach at the middle school of the Okinawan prefecture in Shuri. The picture also shows the director of the school, some teachers and kendō and jūdō students.

Thanks to the recommendation of an acquaintance of the family my father was allowed to join the dōjō of the great master of the Shuri-te Itosu Ankō when he was 13 years old. Many of the famous karate personalities who contributed to the creation of modern karate came from the school of Master Itosu. He was said to have hit the makiwara (rice straw that is bound together in bundles and attached to a wooden post or board) every day several hundred times according to a schedule he had fixed in the morning in order to harden his fists which in the end looked like black stones. A lot of stories were told about the very muscular body of Master Itosu. His upper arm, when being hit with a thick wooden pole did not even quiver when the pole bounced. He could smash a big bamboo cane in his hand or move hand over hand along a ceiling beam across the room without any effort.

Photo 2: Mabuni Kenwa (1889-1952).

In those days karate was not as popular as today and the rooms for practice (dōjō) were rather simple. Quite often the own garden was used as a dōjō and practice was done in open air. As a child I often watched my father exercising in the garden in the light of a bare bulb hitting the makiwara and hardening his muscles with stone weights.

Master Itosu’s dōjō was not open for everybody. Only very selected persons were taught by him. When my father became 19, Master Itosu allowed him to get lessons from Higaonna Kanryō (1853-1916), who was a famous master of the Naha-te. As a young man Higaonna had traveled to the Chinese province of Fukien and studied there the local kempō. After his return to Okinawa he created the Naha-te based on his studies in China. My father was introduced to Higaonna by Miyagi Chōjun (1888-1953), who later founded the Gōjū ryū. Both became favorite students of Master Higaonna and were called “Dragon and Tiger”, and a lifelong friendship developed between them.

Besides the Shuri and Naha styles, my father also studied the Tomari-te and traditional techniques of the Ryūkyū kobudō. He learned bō techniques from Master Aragaki Seichō (1840-1920), knife techniques from Tawada Shinkatsu (1851-1920) and special bō techniques from Master Soeishi Yoshiyuki.

Photo 3: Higaonna (Higashionna) Kanryō (1853-1916). He was the most important representative of the Naha-te.

Photo 4: Miyagi Chōjun (1888-1953), Higaonna’s disciple and successor, founder of the Gōjū ryū.

The Kata of the Shuri-te

Karate is a system of self-defense techniques which have been developed on Okinawa since the 17th century at the beginning of the Tokugawa era and passed on secretly to the following generations. It was used to fight with empty hands against opponents armed with swords and other weapons in times when the lords of Satsuma ruled over the Ryūkyū Islands and did not allow the natives to possess weapons and suppressed any resistance. That is why in Ryūkyū kobudō only agricultural tools were used as weapons.

Furthermore, and unlike to the sword techniques or jūjutsu, which were supported by the Tokugawa government in Edo and by the daimyōs in their fiefs, no written records existed about karate. The masters of karate had to transform the technical experience and ideas they had acquired in many dangerous situations into kata, i.e. certain sequences of movements that were rather different of those practiced in other martial arts. They looked similar to traditional Okinawa “boxing dances” called genkotsu odori. Punches, kicks and blocking techniques are carried out as a sequence of attack and defense movements against an imaginary opponent. This way of practicing might also have been helpful to camouflage the true character of the exercises. So the kata became the legacy of the Okinawan karate. The karate student acquires the techniques and the spirit of karate by exercising kata. In the old days, learning the te always meant practicing kata. The masters arranged the kata according to their own experience and understanding. The Ishimine no Passai, for example, is suitable for fighting against small opponents. So it can be supposed that master Ishimine was not a small person. There are five different variations of the Passai kata named after Itosu, Matsumura, Matsumora, Tomari and Ishimine.

Except for the great masters Itosu and Higaonna, it was quite normal for a karate master to teach only one kata. Many of the kata used in our days in the Itosu style are named after masters or places they came from like the Chatan Yara no Kōsōkun, Tomari no Passai, Matsumura no Passai and Ishimine no Passai. Tomari is the name of a place.35 Matsumura and Ishimine were martial arts teachers. Chatan Yara no Kōsōkun means the Kōsōkun kata, created by master Yara from the village Chatan. This kata, which recently has become rather popular in competitive karate, is the most representative one for the Shuri-te. However, in the form transmitted by Yara it contains a circle block technique (mawashi uke) which is very typical for the Naha-te. It was modified considerably to be used as a competition kata. Anyway, the legitimate kata of Shuri-te are the ones taught by master Itosu.

The Jigen Sword Technique and the Shuri-te

According to certain recent research, the tao of Chinese kempō are said to be the archetype of karate kata. But although certain similarities may be found in the tao, karate is – technically and spiritually – totally different from Chinese kempō. This will be explained on the following pages.

As mentioned above, all Okinawan hand-fighting techniques are based on the two main styles Shuri-te and Naha-te. The Shuri-te was taught as secret knowledge among the Shuri nobility. It was perfected by Matsumura Sōkon (1800-1896), the incomparable master of the fist. His teacher was Sakugawa Shungo (1733-1815), who was known in Shuri as an outstanding martial arts expert. He had studied the Chinese kempō (tō-de) in China and passed his knowledge on to the Shuri nobility. That is how he earned the name Tōde Sakugawa. He had learned the northern Peking style which some people think to be the archetype of the Shuri-te. At the age of 20 Matsumura was sent by the Ryūkyū court to the Satsuma province in southern Kyūshū. There he learned the Jigen sword technique and reached the highest level of perfection called unyō (flame cloud). At the age of 27 he returned to the Ryūkyū islands and soon had the opportunity to travel on board of a tribute ship to China. So he could study Chinese kempō in Peking.

In the Jigen ryū there are no upper, middle and lower positions of the sword but only one position called hassō. The sword is raised as if to thrust into the sky. Then, with a bloodcurdling kiai36, one makes a step forward or lowers the stance, crashing the tachi sword down.

The philosophy of the Jigen sword technique demands full control of the oncoming situation and the readiness to win with the first strike. Kondō Isamu, member of the Shinsen gumi37, remembered that there was nothing they were more afraid of than this first strike by the Satsuma men using the Jigen sword technique and that they were repeatedly instructed to evade it. During the war to overthrow the Tokugawa government in 1868 as well as during the samurai rebellion against the new Meiji government in 1877, the Satsuma samurai were feared because of their first strike technique that intimidated their enemies whose corpses were often found cut open by a “sash strike” from the shoulder to the navel. Some even had the guard of their own sword stuck between the eyebrows. They had tried to stop the Satsuma sword by raising their own sword above their heads. But they had underestimated the speed of attack by far so that the defending sword was smashed into the defender’s skull.

The Jigen sword technique was aiming at the highest speed of impact. The highest level of perfection was called flame cloud. This is described in the Manual of Jigen Style Military Techniques as follows: “One eighth of a minute is a byō. A tenth of a byō is called shi. A tenth of a shi is a kotsu. A tenth of a kotsu is a kō. A tenth of a kō is called rin. When one has reached rin this level is called ‘Cloud of Flames’ (unyō).”

The masters of the Jigen style were said to be able to cut raindrops falling from the roof three times before they hit the ground. To train the mental concentration necessary to carry out such ultra high-speed strikes, a special training method was used called “hitting a standing tree” (tachi ki uchi). Partner exercises were not part of the training. Instead, a branch of a Yusu tree was cut and used as a wooden sword to hit a wooden block diagonally from left to right with a loud kiai. “Hitting a standing tree” became the incentive for master Matsumura to invent the training method “hitting the punching board” (makiwara zuki), which is still widely used in traditional karate. As mentioned above, master Itosu, who had been taught by master Matsumura, practiced this on a regular basis38

Master Nakayama Hiromichi (1869-1958), who was called the “Musashi of the Shōwa period” or the “Last of the Sword Saints”, wrote the following words: “Karate turns the empty hand into a sword. This is not a mere metaphor. The karate fist is definitely a sword.”

In historical plays or movies one can often see the opponents hitting each other fiercely and endlessly. Japanese call this chanbara.39In reality this is only possible if the opponents are wearing head and body protectors like in kendō, hitting each other several times while always keeping the right distance. In case of a real fight, the moment when the sword is drawn is decisive for victory or defeat. The first strike will decide whether one will die or live on. There is no second chance. Even if the first strike does not contain the energy of a Jigen strike, it will be deadly.

The fact that master Matsumura perfectly mastered the Jigen sword technique, the favorite style of the Satsuma samurai, has decisively marked the development of the Shuri-te. These samurai who occupied Okinawa since 1609 were the enemies each native Okinawan had in mind while practicing the hand fighting techniques. There is no doubt that it was master Matsumura who shaped karate according to the basic principle to kill the enemy with the first punch or kick.

The masters of Shuri-te took up the idea of a “deadly first strike”. But there is no such idea in Chinese kempō where the ruling principle is called “searching for the hands and legs” (tanshu tantai), that is first testing the technical abilities of the opponent and studying each other. The opponents begin from higher positions (kamae), reduce the distance step by step and finally adopt lower kamae. After each clash the opponents retreat. Then they approach and fight again so that in this way a rather spectacular and dramatic action develops. But this is only possible because in Chinese kempō the empty hand is not a sword.

On the opposite, karate is a martial art developed to defend oneself against an enemy who could be assumed of being educated in the Jigen style and able to carry out the first strike on the “cloud-of-flames” level. It was a question of survival to correctly evaluate the first strike of the swordsman and at the same time to instantly perform the deadly strike. So it can be said that master Matsumura and master Itosu perfected the Shuri-te under the influence of the Japanese sword techniques, in particular that of the Jigen style.

Drawing a Circle With a Straight Line

In Chinese kempō, the basic movement is the circle. In boxing and kickboxing, too, all kicks and punches are carried out as circular movements. Under the influence of these techniques in the post-war era, the karate movements have become circular, too.

Some time ago a student showed me a book titled The Secrets of Okinawan Karate: Essence and Techniques written by Arakaki Kiyoshi. This author also had edited writings left by my father in the monthly journal Karate Dō as a series titled Karate Sankoku Shi. His book was very interesting to me. He wrote: “The essence of Japanese budō can be described as drawing a circle with a straight line.” I was very impressed by this sentence because it expresses with words what I feel with my whole body. In iaidō40 it can be well observed that the arms are drawing a straight line forward while the sword is carrying out a circle. That means that a straight line describes a circle. It is also true that the Jigen ryū “flame cloud” speed that is reached when the sword hits the target cannot be obtained with a circular movement alone. According to master Arakaki, the maximum energy generated by the circular motion is transferred to the target via a straight line that is the shortest possible distance. This technique of the Japanese budō represents the highest level of body perfection.

Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7

Photos 5 to 7: The execution of a punch. The fist is in the back position close to the hip (hikite) (5). It comes from the hikite position (6), and a thrust is carried out in an absolutely straight line (7).

It is not the hardening of the hands and their transformation into weapons what makes the difference to Chinese kempō. It is the kind and perfection of body control in the moment of thrusting and kicking which mobilizes the whole body. When we observe the thrust movement of the fist, we can see that unlike the curved line in boxing, the thrust is carried out in an absolutely straight line by bringing the fist forward out of its back position (hikite) (see photos 5 to 7). Kicking too, is not carried out in wide curved lines or circles as in Chinese kempō or in kickboxing. The karate kick goes straight into the target. Therefore the energy is generated from a circular movement by bending the leg inwards and swinging it up. Then the circle is drawn with a straight line (see photos 8 to 10).

Photo 8

Photo 9

Photo 10

Photos 8 to 10: Execution of a kick. Taking the basic position or ready stance (kamae) (8). The leg is bent and then swung upwards (9). The kick is carried out in a straight line (10).

It may be surprising, but in the traditional karate kata there is no roundhouse kick (mawashi geri) and no kick in the upper level (jōdan geri). However, there are jumped kicks (tobi geri), but they are only used as final falling or sacrifice techniques (sutemi). Kicking in wide, curved lines causes instability because it opens the own weak points to the enemy. It is too slow when fighting against a swordsman or other armed opponents and does not provide deadly first strike ability. Besides this, kicking may easily become ineffective if the opponent is physically stronger.

Photo 11

Photo 11: Mabuni Kenwa and his son Kenei practicing the exercise “falling tree” (tōboku hō).

There is a special Japanese budō exercise called “falling tree” (tōboku hō) or “falling down” (tōchi hō). In the book cited above The Secrets of Okinawan Karate by master Arakaki there is a photo showing me doing this exercise. The photo has been taken from the book my father published in 1938, Introduction into Attack and Defense Techniques in Karate Kempō. It shows how my father is supporting or catching me, respectively. This exercise gives the experience of a tree falling down to earth using the energy of the free fall. The body does not try to resist gravity. Arakaki considers this exercise, which is peculiar to the Japanese budō, to be the top level of human body control. My understanding of this practice is not that much scientific and I like to use the name used in the Itosu style: “borrowing power from the earth”.

The beginners in the Itosu ryū always start their studies with the kata of the Shuri-te. “Borrowing power from the earth” is one of the exercises of the traditional Okinawa-te, which is the kernel of the Shuri-te. All Shuri-te kata include the principle of the “falling tree”. Whether this principle is integrated into present-day karate is a point I would like to write about later in the context of the development of karate into a kind of competitive sport.

The Emergence of the Naha-te

The Naha-te is said to originate from a village called Kume41. It was founded by Chinese who came to the Ryūkyū islands from the Fukien province in 1393. This was the time of the Ming empire. Many of their offspring were active in the China trade. From their home province they had brought along kempō knowledge that they obviously passed on to the Kume nobility. What they taught was probably not pure Chinese kempō but a style rather influenced by the Shuri-te and adapted to the conditions of the Ryūkyū islands.

Aragaki Seishō (1840-1920) from Kume – he was later given the name “Aragaki the Cat” – is said to have been one of the greatest martial arts masters. My father, Funakoshi Gichin and Miyagi Chōjun were among his disciples. He not only practiced karate but also bō techniques.

Higaonna Kanryō (1853-1916), too, learned karate from master Aragaki. Higaonna came from a Naha-based family of firewood traders. He learned kempō, which was normally taught only to the Kume nobility, from Aragaki. Higaonna seemed to have been blessed with a special fighting talent. At the age of 15 he traveled to the Fukien province, studied the local kempō and after his return created the Naha-te. That is why the Naha-te is younger than the Shuri-te and the Chinese influence is stronger. My father said about master Higaonna and his karate: “Master Higaonna had been to China and had studied the Fukien kempō. His lessons were different from the ones we are used to today.”

Photo 12

Photo 13

Photos 12 and 13: The hanging or laying hand (kake-te). Photo 12 shows the technique kake-te as practiced in the Shuri-te, and photo 13 represents the same technique as practiced in the Naha-te. See next pages.

Typical for the Shuri-te is distance fighting presupposing an opponent armed with a sword. Naha-te, however, is infighting, based on southern Chinese kempō. There are no thrusts and kicks which are typical elements of distance fighting. Of course Naha-te, too, is not pure kempō. It is influenced by the Shuri-te and adapted to the Okinawan conditions. However, techniques that are called in Chinese kempō “explosive energy” (hakkei) or “power of the moment” (sunkei) are particular for this style. In the Naha-te, these techniques were at first practiced by exercising the “three phases kata” (Sanchin) and “turning-the-palms kata” (Tenshō).

A particularity of the Naha-te is also a breathing technique used to contract all muscles of the body. There is no such exercise in the Shuri-te. In the beginning it is practiced by inhaling and exhaling slowly, and at the same time slowly pulling the fist back to the hip (hikite) and thrusting it forward. Of course in a normal situation blocking and thrusting are carried out much faster.

The above-mentioned expression of the “power of the moment” (sunkei), i.e. “explosive power”, describes the harmony of breathing and action in order to accumulate the inner energies and to contract the whole muscular system of the body and then releasing it “explosively”. Normally this is called kime.

Photo 14

Photo 14: Analysis of the kake te in the Shuri-te: The hand blocks and grabs.

In present-day kata the differences between Shuri-te and Naha-te are hardly recognizable. However, the original styles differ significantly from each other. But there are not only differences with regard to the principles of kicking and thrusting but also to single techniques. The blocking technique “laying or hanging hand” (kake-te)may serve as an example (photos 12 to 15). This technique is used in Shuri-te as well as in Naha-te. But it is used in different ways. Because Shuri-te is distance fighting, the thrusting arm of the opponent is caught in a distance. The laying or hanging of the hand is carried out with a grabbing and pulling movement (photos 12 and 14). In the infight-focused Naha-te, the distance is reduced and the laying of the hand is carried out with the palm being raised deviating the attack with the back of the hand (photos 13 and 15).

Photo 15

Photo 15: Analysis of the kake te in the Naha-te: The hand blocks and deviates the attack.

The Origins of the Tomari-te

There are no written records about the early Tomari-te but it is said to have been brought to the Ryūkyū Islands by a monk from the Chinese Shandong province called Anan42. Nothing else is known about it. The modern Tomari-te was founded by Matsumora Kōsaku (1829-1898). He is said to have learned it from Teruya Kise (1804-1868) and Uku Karyū (1800-1850), who both were students of Anan. There are a lot of kata in the Itosu style which were named after master Matsumora. Most of them are close to the Shuri-te, some of them similar to the Naha-te.

The Shitō Style as Heritage of the Okinawa-te

Modern karate on the Japanese main islands comprises four major currents: Shōtōkan ryū, Gōjū ryū, Wadō ryū and Shitō ryū . The Shōtōkan style contains parts of the Shuri-te. The Gōjū style teaches only Naha-te. The Wadō style partly includes Shuri-te but rearranged as jūjutsu. The only school to represent all of the Okinawa-te is the Shitō karate.

On Okinawa today there are three major currents: The Shōrin ryū originating from Shuri-te, the Okinawan Gōjū ryū, created on the basis of the Naha-te, and the Uechi ryū, a style derived from southern Chinese kempō. The Uechi style is even closer to the original patterns of Chinese kempō than the Naha-te. Uechi Kanbun (1877-1948) developed the Uechi style after his studies in the Fukien province.

Photo 16: Uechi Kanbun (1877-1948)

In the early 1920s master Uechi went to mainland Japan and opened a karate club in the Wakayama prefecture where his style was practiced. After my father had come to mainland Japan, he from time to time needed the help of his fellow countrymen in Wakayama and there was a rather intense exchange between my father and master Uechi Kanbun. That is why some of the kata typical for the Uechi style were integrated into the Shitō karate. One is called Shimpā. Because the second half of this kata was missing, I completed it after my father had died.

Uechi Kanei (1911-1991), the son and successor of master Kanbun, lived in Ōsaka close to the Nishinari district where the Okinawa countrymen fellow association had some rooms. I remember that after my arrival in Ōsaka I often visited them in Nishinari; the rooms of the association were also used for regular karate training.