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Gichin Funakoshi |
Funakoshi overcame this prejudice and finally gained formal recognition of karate as one of the Japanese martial arts by 1941.
Needless to say, many karate clubs eventually flourished on mainland Japan. In 1924, karate was introduced in Keio University as the first karate club others include: Chuo, Waseda (1930),
Hosei, Tokyo University (1929) among others. Another club was established in
Shichi-Tokudo, a barracks situated in a corner of the palace grounds.
Funakoshi visited the Shichi-Tokudo every other day to teach. One day, when Ohtsuka was teaching at the
Shichi-Tokudo, a student, Kogura, from Keio University who had a san-dan degree (3rd-degree black belt) in kendo (Japanese fencing) and also a black belt in karate, took a sword and faced
Ohtsuka. All the other students watched to see what would happen. They felt that no one could face the shinken (open blade) held by a kendo expert.
Ohtsuka calmly watched Kogura and the moment he made a move with his sword, Ohtsuka swept him off his feet. As this was unrehearsed, it attested to his skill. It also bore out Funakoshi's philosophy that kata practice was more than sufficient in times of need, and just as importantly to Master Funakoshi's great ability as a teacher and Karate technician.When Funakoshi came to mainland Japan, he taught 16 kata: 5 pinan, 3 naihanchi, kushanku
dai, kushanku sho, seisan, patsai, wanshu, chinto, jutte and jion (original Okinawan names were
later translated to Japanese). He kept his students on the basic ones before they progressed to the more advanced forms. He actually taught at least 40 kata, these were later included in the limited but monumental work by Shigeru Egami
"Karate-do for the Specialist". The repetitious training that he
instituted paid back very well; his students went on to produce
the most precise, exact type of karate taught anywhere
In 1927, three men, Miki, Bo and Hirayama decided that kata practice was not enough and tried to introduce Jiyu kumite (free-fighting). They devised protective clothing and used kendo masks in their matches in order to utilize full contact. Funakoshi heard about these bouts and, when he could not discourage such
attempts, which he considered belittling to the art of karate, he stopped visiting the
Shichi-Tokudo. Neither Funakoshi nor Ohtsuka showed up ever again. It was after this event that Gichin Funakoshi prohibited sports sparring (the first sanctioned competitions did not appear until after his death).
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Jigoro Kano, the founder of modern judo, once invited Funakoshi and a friend, Makoto
Gima, to perform at the Kodokan (then located at Tomisaka). Approximately a hundred people watched the performance.
Gima, who had studied under Yabu Kentsu as a youth in Okinawa, performed the Naihanshi
shodan, and Funakoshi performed the koshokun (kushanku dai).
Kano Sensei watched the performance and asked Funakoshi about the techniques involved. He was greatly impressed. He invited Funakoshi and Gima to a tendon (fish and rice) dinner, during which he sang and made jokes to put Funakoshi at ease.
Irrespective of his sincerity in teaching the art of true karate, Funakoshi was not without his detractors. His critics scorned his insistence on the kata and decried what they called "soft" karate that wasted too much time. Funakoshi insisted on
hito-kata sanen (three years on one kata). In addition, Funakoshi made several changes which were not popular with some of his karate contemporaries. He changed the
"kara" from a word meaning "tang" or "Chinese" (karate evolve from Chinese
martial arts such as kung-fu) to one meaning "empty". He also
had a strong desire to elevate karate from a mere method of
self-defense to a "way". He therefore began referring to his
martial art as "karate-do", or the way of karate
Funakoshi was a humble man. He preached and practiced an essential humility. He did not preach the humility of virtue, but a basic humility of a man who is rooted in the true perspective of things, full of life and awareness. He lived at peace with himself and with his fellow men. |
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Whenever the name of Gichin Funakoshi is mentioned, it brings to mind the parable of "A Man of Tao (Do) and a Little Man". As it is told, a student once asked, "What is the difference between a man of Tao and a little man?" The sensei replies, "It is simple. When the little man receives his first dan (degree or rank), he can hardly wait to run home and shout at the top of his voice to tell everyone that he made his first
dan. Upon receiving his second dan, he will climb to the rooftops and shout to the people. Upon receiving his third
dan, he will jump in his automobile and parade through town with its horn blowing, telling one and all about his third
dan".
The sensei continues, "When the man of Tao receives his first dan, he will bow his head in gratitude. Upon receiving his second
dan, he will bow his head and his shoulders. Upon receiving his third dan, he will bow at the waist and quietly walk alongside the wall so that people will not see him or notice him".
Funakoshi was a man of Tao. He placed no emphasis on competitions, record breaking or championships. He placed emphasis on individual self-perfection. He believed in the common decency and respect that one human being owed another. He was the master of masters.
Funakoshi felt that Karate was karate. He was not really responsible for putting a particular name to his style. Funikoshi's pen name for his poetry was
"Shoto" (Small pine forest). "Shotokan" referred to his dojo (house of
Shoto), while "Shotokai" referred to his association (Shoto's council). Eventually, people began
referring to his style of karate by these names.
He died in 1957 at age 89, after humbly making the largest contribution to the art of Karate-Do.
NOTE: Funakoshi sincerely believed it would take a lifetime to master a handful of kata and that sixteen would be enough. He chose the kata which were best suited for physical stress and self-defense, stubbornly clinging to his belief that karate was an art rather than a sport. To him, kata was karate. Courtesy of our friends in
Chile.
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