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Chapter One

Philosophy and History

To begin, I will describe the history of karate, from its origins at the Shaolin Temple through to its development in Okinawa and eventual transplantation in Japan. In this chapter, I will also outline the philosophy and theory of the art, which are inseparable from the its physical aspects.

The Shaolin Way

The Shaolin Temple (Shorin-ji in Japanese) stood in a misty, mountainous region in China's Honan Province. The name means "Temple of the Young Trees" and was so-called because of the small trees that surrounded it. Prior to its destruction in 1644 or 1645, an observer could have watched the temple's monks practicing martial arts forms in the early morning light and again at twilight. It was here in this temple that many of the empty-hand fighting arts evolved greatly as they became an extension of Buddhist meditation. The monks began a system of combat training in which they learned how to counter an attack without resistance, conscious thought, or aggression. This was the forerunner of what was later to be called Eighteen Monk Boxing. These techniques were compiled into forms, some of which became popularly known by the Japanese term kata. We are sometimes encouraged to imagine that the empty-hand arts somehow grew from these exercises independent of the rest of Buddhist practice, but if we are to gain any insight into the true value of the empty-hand arts, then a basic understanding of the essential philosophy is required.

Zen is the Japanese translation of the Chinese word Ch'an, which in turn is the Chinese translation of the Indian word dhyana, meaning meditation. According to tradition, its founder and first patriarch, Bodhidharma (Daruma in Japanese), left India and crossed into China, eventually taking up residence in the Shaolin Temple (circa A.D. 528).

The monks practiced seated meditation, living in the moment, and the direct experience of reality. It is said that Bodhidharma often pointed to wild animals or natural beauty to directly convey a teaching without using words. How many of us have not felt a tugging, somewhere deep within, when exposed to an ink drawing of a Zen landscape (or any other art form bearing the hallmark of Zen simplicity)? For many centuries, teachers have used these direct methods to transmit the concepts of Zen, which are always better experienced than discussed. The direct method also reduces the need to engage in endless and often counterproductive intellectual discussion.

What Is Zen (as Related to Karate-do)?

Many people who hear the words Zen meditation have a safe intellectual category for them or assume that they know what meditation is, without even trying it! One common misconception about meditation is that it is sitting down and thinking of nothing. This is completely wrong.

Meditation teaches absolutely focused concentration on one point. The meditator.will swiftly bring the mind back to that point if it wanders. This provides strength and the ability to completely concentrate, born not from struggling, but from letting go, relaxing, and not following casual thoughts. Often an untrained mind lacks discipline in concentration and may retreat into a daydream at an inopportune moment. In fact, the untrained mind will often do anything in order to escape the moment. During our school-days, many of us were reprimanded for lapses in concentration. A standard instruction was "Pay attention!" This is all very well, but for some of us, we might just as well have been told to jump 30 feet into the air. No one ever told us how to pay attention. For some it comes more readily than others, but many of us need to be taught to do it effectively.

To practice Zen is to pay attention. Meditation teaches us to become masters of our thoughts, and not their slaves or victims. During the meditation process, no attempt is made to reject or suppress thoughts. One simply tries to disengage oneself from them, so as not to get caught up in them. Thoughts are simply identified and let go by returning the mind to the point of concentration without punishing oneself.

This is a primary practice of Zen, however, this method still remains subjective, personal, and solitary. The alternative method of Moving Zen, in this case training between pairs, was devised from the brilliant clarity of Zen practice. This practice consisted of 'rolling hands' and 'pushing hands' drills, which are unique forms of contact training. Using these methods, a training partner's movements could be read or felt with the body through arm contact. With the arms acting in the same way as an insect's feelers, the type, direction, and magnitude of a force (be it a push, punch, grab, etc.) could be determined and dealt with instantly and without thinking. In this way, practitioners would be engaged in a kind of two-way meditation.

The Shaolin monks were not intending to fight as such, though their methods were undoubtedly effective. However, their intentions could easily have been misconstrued by lay members of the community, non-Buddhists, or anyone with a wish to fight. To all intents and purposes, this kind of moving meditation between pairs of trainees was never meant to be a way of overcoming anything other than the aspirants' own delusions. Bias, fear, and aggression were left behind as one learned to break free from the trap of self-limitation. By transcending both virtue and vice, one was put in harmony with the great Void.

From the Zen point of view, when aggression and fear arise in the mind and we act upon them, we are being controlled by our emotions and the urge to fight and dominate others will replace the watercourse way. Although Shaolin training began with the programming of prearranged drills, during the more advanced stages of study free practice was used. Experienced monks and nuns must have presented an impressive, even formidable appearance as they neutralized and countered all manner of attacks during their martial arts practice.

In the early Ch'ing dynasty, the empty-hand arts became divorced from their original, underlying philosophy. Shaolin Temple guests, rebels, and refugees from the Manchu armies tried to adapt Shaolin empty-hand arts to mundane utility in warfare. Tales about fighting monks and Buddhist warriors are highly suspicious. A warrior monk, referring to a fighter ordained as a Buddhist cleric, is a contradiction in terms and a violation of office. Any monk bearing arms would be immediately disgracing his vows of ordination and violating the Buddha's noble precepts. Most stories of warrior monks are found in popular Chinese fiction, dealing with the late Ming through the Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911). They are, in general, tales about marauding rebels dressed as monks. This helps to explain why the Manchus found it necessary to burn the Shaolin Temple, a supposed religious place, to the ground. From a military point of view, the confusion of the times left them with no option.

Later still, corrupted versions of the Shaolin fighting arts filtered down to the common people of China through organizations with political purposes, the forerunners of the triads. By that time, they were inexorably linked with fighting and the formal ties with Zen were all but severed as popular ignorance threw away the wheat and kept the chaff. Street peddler kung fu (a Cantonese name for theatrical empty-hand fighting) became popular as crowds were drawn by its display of elaborate kung fu forms and mock combat. These forms even found their way into Chinese opera and touring theatrical groups. Even so, some of the true forms were passed down. A good guide to these original forms is the previously mentioned Zen hallmark of simplicity. The central philosophy behind these forms is still Zen.

During the last three hundred years, other theoretical elements have been attached to the practice of the fighting arts, but these do not constitute the roots of the practice, and are merely a reflection of the practitioners themselves. Any art, be it music, painting, dancing, etc., may reflect the culture in which it is practiced. In the West, where competition and achievement are important elements of that culture, it is not surprising that the fighting arts are practiced competitively. Similarly, in Japan, where the warrior spirit was for centuries central to Japanese culture, we find that modern writers have associated karate with bushido, or the way of the warrior.

It is not my intention to denounce either bushido or martial arts competition, but I do believe that we must recognize these as cultural influences that have been attached to the Shaolin empty-hand arts. They are not central philosophies that govern its practice.

Okinawan Karate History

Our search for the origin of modern karate-do takes us from China to Okinawa, the main island of a group known collectively as the Ryukyu Islands. These islands, which were a tributary state and trading partner of China, are situated some four hundred miles east of the Chinese mainland and three hundred miles south of the Japanese islands. The Okinawans had frequent contact with the Chinese mainland, and Fukien Province in particular. It is through this contact that the Okinawans learned Chinese empty-hand forms.

The three states that originally made up Okinawa were unified by King Sho Hashi in 1492. Soon after taking power, he banned the possession of all weapons. In 1609, Okinawa was invaded by the Satsuma clan from Kagoshima, which continued the weapons ban. After the initial Satsuma occupation, peace was soon restored and the garrison left behind was only a nominal one. Some popular legends claim that karate was devised in order to combat the Japanese warriors, either bare-handed or with primitive weapons, but the Satsuma samurai were well-equipped, well-trained, formidable soldiers, and it is highly unlikely that unarmed techniques could prevail against these armed warriors. These popular legends also fail to account for the Chinese names of kata and the Buddhist names of some of the postures that can still be found in Okinawan karate.

It is much more likely that the Okinawans initially learned the Shaolin empty-hand arts from traveling monks, traders, seafarers, and those fleeing in the wake of the Manchu conquest of China. By blending and synthesizing many styles and techniques, and adding their own ideas, the Okinawans came up with several unique empty-hand schools. These were characterized by three major recorded approaches: Shuri-te, Tomari-te, and Naha-te, each giving rise to their own distinctive ryu, a martial tradition.

Bronze statue of Chinese wrestlers from the Chou dynasty (1122-221 B.C.)

Karate, as such, was practiced in Okinawa but its kata are primarily derived from Chinese forms and its methodology originally included t'ui shou (pushing hands). The various schools of karate each used different selections of kata as the basis for their style. It is not surprising, therefore, that the same forms appear in different styles. There was inevitably some crossover. Some kata have been modified and others have been invented fairly recently, but most were practiced for many years in and around the villages of Shuri, Naha, and Tomari. These three villages are all within a few miles of each other and collectively influenced the development of Okinawan karate.

These three basic approaches to karate were taken to the Japanese mainland during the 1920s. As the worldwide popularity of karate has come about since its transmission to Japan, we will now turn our attention to its development there.

Japanese Karate History

The development of karate in Japan is a fairly recent phenomenon. One of the most prominent and enthusiastic early teachers of karate in Japan was an Okinawan named Gichin Funakoshi. Often called the father of modern karate, Funakoshi began to introduce karate to Japanduring 1922. He was not the first Okinawan to do so. It is recorded that Choki Motobu had moved from Okinawa to Osaka in 1921, and was engaged in teaching karate in that area. However, it is quite clear that Gichin Funakoshi exerted the most influence on the development of karate. He transformed Okinawan karate into a Japanese art by infusing it with concepts taken from Japanese budo (literally, martial ways). Funa koshi further changed the names of the kata for reasons of his own and he reorganized karate terms in conformity with kendo, Japanese fencing.

Gichin Funakoshi

The provincial art of Okinawan karate soon began to undergo a radical revamping. This took place through the teaching of karate in Japanese colleges and universities, and the tireless efforts of leading enthusiasts of the day. At that time, systematic experimentation with various forms of sparring began. Karate (as taught by Gichin Funakoshi) tended to be centered around the group performance of kata, with little training in application, so his students innovated and spearheaded a new approach that included much more prearranged and free sparring. This took karate in a new and popular direction and led to the formation of large, well-organized groups such as the Japan Karate Association. These groups have pioneered the modern tournament systems, borrowing heavily from the methods used in kendo competitions, and karate has in recent years been promoted as a sport. If, however, we wish to understand and fully utilize the benefits of the ancient kata and the intentions of their creators, then a return to the original source is required. This does not amount to an actual rejection of modern ideas, but if you use a wrench to hammer in screws, do not blame the tool or its manufacturer if you hit your hand or produce poor work. The same applies to the proper study of karate, its underlying purposes, and training methods.

Choki Motobu

The Ancient Kata

A kata is a prearranged sequence of movements that can be practiced alone. Kata have been handed down to us by the masters and teachers of the past as messages in movement. While karate has proliferated into an uncountable number of styles, the ancient kata remain. Unfortunately, changes to the ancient kata have appeared, particularly since the transmission of karate to Japan and the rest of the world. No matter how subtle a change may be, over the years it will make a great deal of difference, just as a one degree error in a compass or map reading will take you farther away from your intended destination the more you travel.

Because the earliest recorded teachers of karate in the eighteenth century are so remote and shrouded in legend, and because they have left nothing in writing, the only directions we can follow are the ancient kata themselves. It is easy to see the need for a precise knowledge of the intentions of a kata's creator (i.e., what it is for). If the function has been understood and the skill assimilated, there is no need to change the kata. If we accept that the ancient forms were created by those who knew what they were doing, then they are indeed the bedrock upon which the empty-hand arts rest. If modern interpretations do not match them or make any sense, we should look again to the kata, rather than willfully alter them to suit our purposes! One of the major reasons for the changes to some kata that appear in modern karate systems is the lack of understanding of the original meaning and function of the individual movements and general patterns contained in each form.

Function Dictated Form

True kata were developed by observing and recording how the human body could successfully respond to direct forces: rolling with, rerouting, and turning that force back on the sender. Continuous contact is an important element, and this accounts for the lack of Western-style ducking and weaving. This hands-on aspect of both the Saam Chin and Nai Fuan Chin kata means that an opponent's arms or legs are continuously monitored by contact, then trapped or neutralized. Neither of these kata make any sense at all as a choreographed fight against multiple opponents and should not be considered as such.

Although these kata are performed solo, the information that they contain gives rise to practical formulae that dictate, as simply as possible, the science of unarmed combat. Attempts to apply any kata without prior understanding of its essence (if it is a genuine kata it will have one), produce highly individualized applications that bear little resemblance to the original purpose of the form. These individualistic interpretations are so unlimited in scope that a situation arises in which you cannot see the wood for the trees, and collecting more and more kata will not help. Unless you can penetrate to the essence, the kata will remain a mysterious set of movements that are very difficult to apply in a practical way.

The real skill lies not in the static or mechanical repetition of a kata, or in acquiring a familiarity with an endless number of forms, but in the practitioner's ability to apply the kata with a training partner, and to improvise spontaneously on its given formula or theme.

The kata is the systems manual for all aspects of karate, including fighting, and should not be considered a separate practice. If students spar in ways that do not accurately utilize or even resemble the range of methods illustrated in the kata of their school, then the shortcut sparring methods will prevail, the kata will become superfluous, and the proven way will be lost.