Martial Arts Training in Japan. David Jones

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СКАЧАТЬ kama) or a lecture on some important point of history or philosophy by the sensei. A good karatedo sensei will have many surprises to ensure that the training does not become stale. One night you may find mixed into the meat of the class a mini-seminar on binding attackers with short lengths of rope, or the use of the headband (hatchimaki) as a selfdefense tool, or specific customs related to sword handling. Sometimes you might find the entire class devoted to sparring or methods of meditation or breathing exercises. There is always a formal beginning and ending to karatedo classes marked by order and expressions of gratitude. The sensei, of course, can change the plan of a class at any time. Time and space belong to the sensei while in the dojo.

      The three main themes in one’s study of karatedo are kihon waza (basic techniques), kata (prescribed practice forms), and kumite (sparring, or literally, “exchange of hands”). The quality of anything one does in karatedo is grounded in basic techniques; a truism for all aspects of life, of course. The basic techniques of karatedo are much more than collections of a style’s fundamental physical techniques. Each technique offers an experience of our common fate: birth, death, remanifestation. Each technique is the first and last thing you do for the rest of your life. Each basic technique is a world in itself, having its own feeling, its own meaning, its own spirit. There is always hope. We are born. We pass away. We live again.

      Kata leads one to focus on the life vehicles we use to get us where we are going. The first kata series in Japanese karatedo is called Heian, “peace.” Kata is about shoulders that carry burdens. It is about going and returning, and being stronger on your return. It carries a similar purport to one of the major scriptures of Zen Buddhism, the Prajna Paramita Sutra, which talks of going and returning. The character for “Way” (Japanese: do) is based on an image of a sailboat, a vehicle that carries one “over” and then returns. Another interpretation of the character for do is that it represents a man standing at a crossroads preparing to make a major life decision (artist and calligrapher Zhou Quangwi favors the later interpretation).

      Finally, kumite is the battlefield where basic techniques as well as the myriad transitions from one technique to another learned in kata training come together in the spontaneous act of sparring, or kumite. Karate dojo can differ quite a lot on the degree to which they emphasize kumite over kata. In some dojo, kumite is a minor component of training, and kata is given great weight. In others, the situation is reversed. The common thread will be kihon waza. This is the heart of any budo.

      Look at kata, kihon waza, and kumite as you would look at a tree. We see it because of light, but we don’t know what we see without the dark that sets off the light. Try looking at the shadows of a tree and not the lighted parts. I think that in karatedo kata is something like that. In kata I see students hurrying from one light point to the next, but the string that holds it all together, the transitional movements, is reacted to almost as a nuisance. A mature student understands that the light’s brightness is directly related to the quality of the surrounding darkness. A technique in any art is only as good as the support brought to bear in the actualizing of the technique’s goal. You must set your hips correctly before your punch or kick has any meaning. It is the spaces that make solid things useful, as the Tao Te Ching shows us. What is a window without an opening? It is what is not there in a cup that makes it useful. Can a doorway be solid? The name karate means the hand is empty in the way that the universe is empty, i.e. full of promise and possibilities.

      Karatedo is one of the most widely adaptable of the Japanese martial arts. Children can train in karatedo tailored for them and gain great benefit. Elderly people would find interesting exercise in a karatedo designed for them. The possibilities of karatedo are great. Just make sure you find a karatedo group that is teaching what you want to learn in the way you wish to learn it.

      Although, as noted, the basic techniques are all fundamentally the same, some stark contrasts exist in attitude and level of intensity in the practice of karatedo. This is true with all closely allied arts. In Chinese t’ai chi ch’uan, for example, though there are a number of family styles (Chen, Li, Yang, Wu), only thirteen basic postures are used. Likewise, all karatedo styles will have punches, strikes, blocks, parries, leg sweeps, snap kicks, round-house kicks, thrusting kicks, jumping kicks, joint techniques, etc.

      Another common theme in many karatedo classes is the spirited chanting of dojokun (precepts of the dojo), at the end of class, with each ryu having its own variation. Sometimes, dojokun are simply posted and are meant to be contemplated by the serious karatedo student. Here are Funakoshi Gichin’s Nijukun (“Twenty Precepts”):

       1. Karate is not only dojo training.

       2. Don’t forget that karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.

       3. In karate, never attack first.

       4. One who practices karate must follow the way of justice.

       5. First you must know yourself. Then you can know others.

       6. Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.

       7. You must release your mind.

       8. Misfortune comes out of laziness.

       9. Karate is lifelong training.

      10. Put karate into everything you do.

      11. Karate is like hot water. If you do not give heat constantly it will again become cold.

      12. Do not think you have to win. Think that you do not have to lose.

      13. Victory depends on your ability to tell vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.

      14. Move according to your opponent.

      15. Consider your opponent’s hands and legs as you would sharp swords.

      16. When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you.

      17. Ready position for beginners and natural position for advanced students.

      18. Kata is one thing. Engaging in a real fight is another.

      19. Do not forget (a) strength and weakness of power; (b) expansion and contraction of the body; (c) slowness and speed of techniques.

      20. Devise at all times [i.e., be creative].

      A more typical and “chantable” dojokun could be rendered in English as:

      Attention! Seek Perfection of Character!

      Attention! Be Faithful!

      Attention! Endeavor!

      Attention! Respect Others!

      Attention! Refrain from Violent Behavior!

      Since Okinawa is considered a cradle of karatedo development, a few of the major styles of Okinawan karatedo will be considered first. The umbrella organization, the Zen Okinawa Karatedo Renmei (All Okinawa Karatedo Federation), has a long and complex history. In April of 1918, Funakoshi Gichin, Oshiro Chodo, Hanashiro Chomo, Chibana Choshin, Mabuni Kenwa, Tokuda Anbun, Gusukuma Shimpan, Tokumura Masumi, and Ishigawa Ryugyo formed the Karate Kenkyu Kai (Karate Preservation Association). Also, in 1924, Miyagi Chojun, Kyoda Juhatsu, Shinzato Jinan, Shiroma Koki, Kyan Chotoku and Motobu Choki met in Naha city to form the Karate Kenkyu Association. In March 1926 the two organizations merged to form the Okinawa Karate Club.

      By 1956 representatives of the four major Okinawan Karatedo styles—Uechi-ryu, Goju-ryu, Shorin-ryu, and Matsubayashi-ryu—met in Naha and formed the Okinawa Karatedo Renmei СКАЧАТЬ