Another element that was drawn into the development of the art that Matsumura taught were systems of kung fu imported from China. According to Patrick McCarthy, these systems of kung fu were passed from MatsumuraÂ’s teacher Sakagawa and were taught to Matsumura directly by a Shaolin Boxing Master Iwah when he visited Okinawa. In order to understand what these sources added to karate, we need to turn to our only known written record of these sources, the Bubishi.
The Bubishi is an interesting book, if it can be rightly called a book. It is more a collection of articles, thirty-two in all. No one knows for sure how the book made its way into Okinawa, but there are many theories and most of them surround some direct link with China. The importance of this text cannot be understated. Nearly every karate master on the island of Okinawa hand copied the book from their teacherÂ’s copy. In my lineage, Gichin Funakoshi had a copy of the Bubishi and included some of the articles verbatim in his 1934 edition of Karate Do Kyohan.
There are also many theories about what, exactly, the Bubishi really is. As I said above, it canÂ’t rightly be called a book because of the disparity of its articles and lack of coherent organization. The Bubishi is more of a compilation of articles on Chinese Kung Fu. A popular theory states that the Bubishi is actually a copy of a kung fu studentÂ’s notes that somehow made its way to Okinawa.
One can get a pretty good idea of the contents of this book by looking at the titles of the articles in it. That list is as follows.
1. Origins of White Crane Kung Fu.
2. Master Wang Reveals His Secrets.
3. Advice on Correct Etiquette.
4. Philosophy.
5. Waster WangÂ’s Observations on Monk Fist Boxing.
6. The Four Quan of Monk Fist Boxing.
7. Nepai Quan.
8. Discussions on Seizing and Striking Veins and Tendons Using the Hard Fist Method.
9. Twelve-Hour Vital Points Revealed.
10. Prescriptions and Medicinal Poems.
11. Twelve-Hour Theory Recuperative Herbal Prescriptions.
12. A Physicians Treatment for Twelve-Hour Injuries.
13. The Eight Precepts of Quanfa.
14. The Principles of Ancient Law.
15. Maxims of Sun Zi.
16. Grappling and Escapes.
17. Seven Restricted Locations.
18. Four Incurable Diseases.
19. Effective Twelve-Hour Herbal Prescriptions to Improve Blood Circulation for Shichen Related Injuries.
20. Six Ji Hands of the Shaolin Style.
21. Delayed Death Touch Twelve-Hour Diagrams.
22. Twelve Hour Green Herbal Remedies.
23. Crystal Statue Diagram.
24. Bronze Man Statue.
25. Shaolin Herbal Medicine and Injuries Diagram.
26. The Guardian Deity of Jiu Tian Feng Huo Yuan.
27. Zhengs Twenty-Four Iron Hand Applications and White Monkey Style.
28. Eighteen Scholars White Crane Fist and Black Tiger Style Fifty-Four Step Quan.
29. The Forty-Eight Self Defense Diagrams.
30. Valuable Ointment for Treating Weapon Wounds and Chronic Head Pain.
31. Ointment, Medicines, and Pills.
32. Shaolin Hand and Foot, Muscle, and Bone Training Postures.
All in all, six of the articles are on history and philosophy, ten of the articles regard various healing methods, five of the articles are on vital points, and eleven of the articles are on fighting techniques and strategies. This is an incredible array of topics and they were all originally included in the martial art that became Tang Soo Do. Also, it should be noted that there is no distinction between grappling, striking, and throwing techniques. All of the articles on fighting technique and strategies combine them equally.
Another thing that becomes apparent in the Bubishi is that a number moves in our forms are described in the self -defense diagrams. There are a number of takes downs, throws, and counters to throws and take downs that you can see in the postures of our forms.
The Bubishi is describing a martial art is capable of dealing with all types of violence and with the after effects of this violence. The Bubishi also gives a student of this martial art moral guidance as to when these skills are to be used. A lot of the philosophy we typically associate with karate originates here. For example, the articles on etiquette and philosophy were copied directly by Gichin Funakoshi in his book Karate Do Kyohan.
One last point about the Bubishi. The articles on healing dominate a third of the material in this book. In my opinion, I think that all practitioners of karate need to take a look at just how much information on healing was valued by the old karate masters. This, in my opinion, makes a powerful argument for including basic first aid, CPR training, and perhaps some restorative massage into martial arts training. This would help students deal with training injuries and better understand the workings of their own bodies.