Fourth Kyū – Purple Belt

The Origin of Karate

te	手	hand
ti	手	hand
tōde	唐手	China hand
karate	空手	empty hand
jutsu	術	the means
dō	道	the way

What we now know of as karate has a long history dating back to ancient times on the island of Okinawa. The use of the term “martial arts” is itself not truly correct. The Okinawan arts were fighting arts and never arts of war. They date back to times before written history. We see only the shadowy outlines of these ancient skills as fighting techniques that were passed on in traditional Okinawan dance.

Te

The indigenous fighting art of Okinawa was known as te, meaning hand. More correctly, it was ti in the spoken language of Okinawa, which also means hand. The fighting arts of Okinawa included foot and fist techniques, grappling and weapons.

Tōde

The Chinese influence on te began as long ago as 1372. In those days the island of Okinawa was divided into three warring kingdoms. The powerful Ming Dynasty of China offered each of the kingdoms recognition of their kings and protection in return for payments of tribute. The tribute payments were regularly made by caravans crossing the sea to Fuzhou, China, the closest port on the Chinese mainland. In 1429, the three kingdoms were united and were known as the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Officials of the Ryūkyū Kingdom were happy to continue the relationship with China, through which they grew into a great seafaring nation, trading throughout Southeast Asia, Japan and Korea under Chinese auspices. Indeed, this relationship was to continue for 400 years.

The caravans to deliver tribute were occasions of cultural exchange, made by the nobility of the Ryūkyū Kingdom to much fanfare. For her part, the Ming Dynasty sent Chinese diplomats and their families to live in the Ryūkyū Kingdom, offering cultural and governmental guidance to the ruling classes of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The sons of Ryūkyūan nobility were sent to China to study. The martial arts of the Ryūkyū Kingdom were influenced by contact with their many trading partners, but most of all China. Because China was the epitome of all things cultural, including the fighting arts, young masters of te traveled to China to study Chinese chuan’fa, incorporating the techniques into te. Te became known as Tōde, China Hand.

By the 18th century, there were three different types of te: Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te, named after the three areas where they developed. Shuri-te, the oldest, developed around the capital city of Shuri. Naha-te and Tomari-te developed around the port villages of Naha and Tomari.

Karate

tō	唐	China
kara	唐	China
kara	空	empty
karate	空手	empty hand

The Japanese conquered the Ryūkyū Kingdom in 1609, but it wasn’t until 1872 that the Japanese abolished the Ryūkyū Kingdom, bringing the relationship of China and the Ryūkyū Kingdom to an end. In 1879, Okinawa was made a prefecture (somewhat like a state) of Japan. Because of its long association with China Okinawa was still considered somewhat foreign. The Okinawans did not even speak Japanese, having their own dialect that was virtually incomprehensible to the Japanese.

In the early 1900s, Funakoshi Gichin, known as “the father of modern karate,” sought to unite all of Okinawan karate and have it recognized by the government of Japan. During a time of strong anti-Chinese sentiment, an art called “China hand” was not likely to be accepted. Therefore, in an effort to disguise the Chinese nature of Tōde, Funakoshi Gichin changed many kata and technique names from their Chinese pronunciation to Japanese pronunciation – most importantly, Tōde itself. The kanji for tō (唐) also has the Japanese pronunciation of kara. The kanji for empty (空) also the pronunciation of kara. Therefore, China hand was renamed “empty hand,” a fitting name and quite acceptable to the Japanese..

Spirit first; techniques second.

Funakoshi’s Twenty precepts
#5

Musashi tells us to see through the enemy’s spirit. As Westerners, we tend to associate spirit with its religious usage. We may speak of a spirited horse, but we seldom apply the term to people. However, this is more like the Japanese usage of spirit.

Setting Goals

To achieve a goal we need to be able to clearly express the goal, list our assumptions, plan our approach, and devise specific techniques to achieve the goal.

1. The goal
   The desired result of a person’s effort.
2. Doctrine
   A set of generalized beliefs or assumptions from which strategies can be devised.
3. Strategy
   The overall planning and conduct of an operation. The operation can be a political reelection campaign, the opening of a new restaurant, staging a coup d’état, or for winning a combat.

As a strategy for a true fighting situation, Sōke Kaichō Kinjō says to hit the opponent and keep on hitting until he is down and then finish him off with an attack to a vital point.

1. Tactics
   The specific techniques or maneuvers necessary to carry out the strategy.