I've got two books in front of me right now. Both of them are very old and are contained at the Honolulu public library system. Which, by the way, has one of the most extensive sections on martial arts that I have ever seen...in both English and Japanese.
The first book is Karate Do - My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi. It was written in 1956 in Japanese for Japanese Karateka by Funakoshi Sensei. The first translation of this book was made available to an English speaking audience in 1975, thirty three years ago. In this book, GF discusses the the origin of karate, his training under the great masters, bringing karate to Japan, the foundation of the Shotokan, and his vision for the art in the future.
The second book is Karate Do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi. This is the second edition of the book. The first edition was written in 1936 by Funakoshi Sensei. The second edition was written before GF's death and was made available in 1958 post humously.
This edition was translated for an English speaking audience in 1972 by Tsutoma Ohshima. In the translator note on the first page of text, one can find the following passage, "Most of the Master's students will see some variations from the kata as they have long been practicing them. Where possible, these variations have been pointed out in translator's notes."
In the description of kata Kwanku, the following passage appears, "Without moving the left food, lower the right foot to the front into a fron stance and rest the digertips of both hands on the floor as shown in figure 69. It is important to look to the front during this movement. This is a stance peculiar to Kwanku, used in a stalemate situation in which each opponent has apparently exhausted his potential. The one now suddenly drops is body to the ground to startle the opponent for an attack."
Many of the other translator notes on changes in the kata and in basics raise eyebrows to the skeptical reader. It should be noted also that the 1972 translation of Karate Do Kyohan includes brief descriptions of locking and throwing techniques in karate kata as well as knowledge of vulnerable points on the body, but these are relegated to the back of the book and are not explained in relation to the kata.
In my opinion, these changes in material show a deviation from the material that Funakoshi Sensei originally taught. In his autobiography, he notes that, "karate was designed to defend against all manner of attacks, striking, pulling or pushing." He further goes on to relate many personal stories where he himself or masters he trained with, used all sorts of means to defeat opponets, including means of subduing or grappling with opponents. On page 14, he shares the following story, "However, when, in the famous encounter, he attacked Azato with an unblunted blade, he was very much surprised to find his attack turned aside by his unarmed adversary, who, with a deft flip of his hand, not only managed to evade the thrust but also brought Kanna to his knees."
Anyone familiar with a simple arm bar technique can see that the technique describe in Kwanku is not a stance used to trick an opponent into attacking. That stance is an arm bar and take down. In fact, Karate Do Kyohan gives the exact name for this technique in the back of the book in a chapter entitled Engagement Matches. On page 228 in sub-section entitled Throwing Techniques, a technique called Byobudaoshi - to topple a folding screen is described. The sequence of moves described in pictures is exactly the same sequence of moves found in kata Kwanku.
Both of these books when read together by karateka who have knowledge of locking and grappling techniques point to a concerted effort that removed all traces of these techniques from the Shotokan curriculum. Why this took place, I cannot say, but the fact that it was done, is undeniable. With that being said, what do you think about this? How does this information affect your practice of karate? Why do you think this happened? If you could change your practice of karate, how would you do it?
In my opinion, all of these questions are important for karateka because the help to recapture the roots of where the art came from. They help the karateka recapture the core self defense principles that the art once contained. Without knowledge of these techniques, gaping holes appear in the karateka's repetoire of responses to violent encounters. These holes are artificial, however. They were created on purpose.
The first book is Karate Do - My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi. It was written in 1956 in Japanese for Japanese Karateka by Funakoshi Sensei. The first translation of this book was made available to an English speaking audience in 1975, thirty three years ago. In this book, GF discusses the the origin of karate, his training under the great masters, bringing karate to Japan, the foundation of the Shotokan, and his vision for the art in the future.
The second book is Karate Do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi. This is the second edition of the book. The first edition was written in 1936 by Funakoshi Sensei. The second edition was written before GF's death and was made available in 1958 post humously.
This edition was translated for an English speaking audience in 1972 by Tsutoma Ohshima. In the translator note on the first page of text, one can find the following passage, "Most of the Master's students will see some variations from the kata as they have long been practicing them. Where possible, these variations have been pointed out in translator's notes."
In the description of kata Kwanku, the following passage appears, "Without moving the left food, lower the right foot to the front into a fron stance and rest the digertips of both hands on the floor as shown in figure 69. It is important to look to the front during this movement. This is a stance peculiar to Kwanku, used in a stalemate situation in which each opponent has apparently exhausted his potential. The one now suddenly drops is body to the ground to startle the opponent for an attack."
Many of the other translator notes on changes in the kata and in basics raise eyebrows to the skeptical reader. It should be noted also that the 1972 translation of Karate Do Kyohan includes brief descriptions of locking and throwing techniques in karate kata as well as knowledge of vulnerable points on the body, but these are relegated to the back of the book and are not explained in relation to the kata.
In my opinion, these changes in material show a deviation from the material that Funakoshi Sensei originally taught. In his autobiography, he notes that, "karate was designed to defend against all manner of attacks, striking, pulling or pushing." He further goes on to relate many personal stories where he himself or masters he trained with, used all sorts of means to defeat opponets, including means of subduing or grappling with opponents. On page 14, he shares the following story, "However, when, in the famous encounter, he attacked Azato with an unblunted blade, he was very much surprised to find his attack turned aside by his unarmed adversary, who, with a deft flip of his hand, not only managed to evade the thrust but also brought Kanna to his knees."
Anyone familiar with a simple arm bar technique can see that the technique describe in Kwanku is not a stance used to trick an opponent into attacking. That stance is an arm bar and take down. In fact, Karate Do Kyohan gives the exact name for this technique in the back of the book in a chapter entitled Engagement Matches. On page 228 in sub-section entitled Throwing Techniques, a technique called Byobudaoshi - to topple a folding screen is described. The sequence of moves described in pictures is exactly the same sequence of moves found in kata Kwanku.
Both of these books when read together by karateka who have knowledge of locking and grappling techniques point to a concerted effort that removed all traces of these techniques from the Shotokan curriculum. Why this took place, I cannot say, but the fact that it was done, is undeniable. With that being said, what do you think about this? How does this information affect your practice of karate? Why do you think this happened? If you could change your practice of karate, how would you do it?
In my opinion, all of these questions are important for karateka because the help to recapture the roots of where the art came from. They help the karateka recapture the core self defense principles that the art once contained. Without knowledge of these techniques, gaping holes appear in the karateka's repetoire of responses to violent encounters. These holes are artificial, however. They were created on purpose.
)... and so here we are, rediscovering, along with Iain Abernethy (Karate's Grappling Methods, Throws for Strikers), maunakamu and others, this crucial component in karate and the karate-based arts....
