Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957)

Gichin Funakoshi, 'the father of karate.' once said that 'the ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.'

To support this life-long stance and offer guidance to future practitioners, he penned his now legenday twenty principles. While the principles have circulated for years, a translation of the accompanying conmmentary has never found its way into publication-until now.

Master Funakoshi's approach stresses spiritual show more considerations and mental agility over brute strength and technique. Practitioners should not rely on technqiue alone-striking, kicking, blocking-but must nurture the spiritual aspects of their practice as well. Attend to yourself and the rest will follow, was the message he set for posterity over sixty years ago.

As axioms, Funakoshi's principles are open to various interpretations, 'There is no first attack in karate' has occasioned endless discussion about its true meaning. Many of these ambiguities are clarified in the commentary, which is also filled with philosophical musings, fascinating historical episodes, and advice for anyone seeking a better Way.

Translated for the first time into English by John Teramoto, a karate practitioner himself, and accompanied by original calligraphy, this loing-awaited treatise is a provocative read and, for martial arts enthusiasts, a long overdue godsend.

Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) is one of karate's great masters. Born in Okinawa, the birthplace of karate, he began training in the secret martial art as a child. In 1922, at the request of the Japanese government, he demonstrated the still-secret Okinawan art of self-defence on the Japanese mainland, which led to karate's introduction to the rest of Japan and subsequently the rest of the world. Funakoshi devoted the remainder of his life to this traditional sport and wrote several classics on the subject, incuding Karate-do Kyohan and Karate Jutsu, as well as an autobiorgraphy entitled Karate-do: My Way of Life.

Genwa Nakasone (1895-1978), between stints as a schoolteacher and a politician, was an editor and publisher of books on karate and martial arts, among them Karate-do Taikan, a ground-breaking compendium of karate texts and documents. Born in Okinawa, he was an early supporter of Funakoshi and in an ideal position to compile accurate annotations of the master's twenty principles.

John Teramoto was born in Los Angeles, california, and began karate trainng at the age of 13 under Tsutomu Oshima, reaching the rank of godan in 1990. Since 1998, he has served as the president of Shotokan Karate of America's Black Belt Council.

'A thoughtful and steady perusal of Master Funakoshi's axioms will lead us on a much deeper journey than we might initially expect. It is this aspect of the principles that makes them meaningful even to those who do not practice. Unexpectedly, technical points are forsaken for a more profound examination for the broader Way. The spotlight is shone on the mental acumen and spiritual reqirements, and the larger possibilities of the training. Attitude is emphasized over stance, spirit over form.'-from the Introduction.

Contents

Introduction by John Teramoto
Preface
1 Do not forget that karate-do begins and ends with rei
2 There is no first strike in karate
3 Karate stands on the side of justice
4 First know yourself, then know others
5 Mentality over technique
6 The mind must be set free
7 Calamity springs from carelessness
8 Karate goes beyond the dojo
9 Karate is a lifelong pursuit
10 Apply the way of karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty
11 Karate is like boiling water: without heat, it returns to its tepid state
12 Do not think of winning. Think, rather, of not losing
13 Make adjustments according to your opponent
14 The outcome of a battle depends on how one handles emptiness and fullness (weakness and strength)
15 Think of the opponent's hands and feet as swords
16 When o step beond your own gate, you face a million enemies
17 Kamae (ready stance) is for beginners; later, one stands in shizentai (natural stance)
18 Perform kata exactly; actual combat is another matter
19 Do not forget the employment or withdrawal of power, the extension or contraction of the body, the swift or leisurely apllication of technique
20 Be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful in your pursuit of the Way show less

This book has two halves - the historical and parable section, which is interesting if brief, and the technical section, which I skimmed. (I don't get a ton out of looking at still pictures and reading painstaking step-by-step movement descriptions.) It's an interesting read nonetheless, though, if only as an example of what the founder of modern karate considered the bare essentials for a beginner.

Not the expected stories of martial arts. The essence in the title is about mind and body, and how karate-do is a way of life. No enlightened view here, though some good insights.

Karate-Do Nyumon literally means a passage through the gates of the Karate way-in other words, an introduction to the world of Karate. Karate-do Nyumon is the result of Master Funakoshi's wish to clarify Karte thought and practice for those who know nothing about it. It comprises unpublished writings from the years before his death in 1957, together with simplified kata sequences of movements-synthesized by Funakoshi from the traditional Okinawa Karate-do kata, for beginners.

Master Funakoshi show more begins by exploding some of the myths of karate:

'Karate-do is a noble martial art, and the reader can rest assured that those who take pride in breaking boards or smashing tiles, or who boast of being able to perform outlandish feats like strippng flesh or plucking out ribs, really know nothing about karate. They are playing around in the leaves and branches of a great tree, without the slightest concept of the trunk.'

In his description of what Karate is, the Master describes the history of Karate-its origins in the ancient methods of unarmed combat in China, and its growth as a fighting method in Okinawa, a country where arms were banned in a succession of decrees from the Japanese maninland. In order to prevent it being subjected to control, or more importantly, to prevent the Japanese overlords from knowing and using the techniques, the practice of Karate was kept a secret. To preserve this secrecy, the habit persisted until very recent times of keeping no records. Master Funakoshi, however, recognized in this book and others the need to formulate the kata precisely, so as to establish a standard of true Okinawan Karate.

The kata in this book are not traditional kata, but they serve to establish the correct habits of stance, thought and action, and to facililtate the eventual mastery of the true Karate-do kata. All these special kata are clearly explained and illustrated by photos.

Lastly, Master Funakoshi recalls stories of men who were living legends when he was a youth in Okinawa, men whose reputations overcame even the secrecy that clung to Karate until the middle of this century.

Gichin Funakoshi is world famous as one of Karate's great masters. Born in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecure, in 1868, he studied Karate-do from childhood and organized the first public demonstrations.

He was trained in the Confucian classics and was a schoolteacher early in life. After training for decades under the foremost masters in Okinawa he was elected president of the Okinawa Association for the Spirit of Martial Arts.

He was chosen to demonstrate Karate at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo in 1922, which led to the introduction of the ancient martial art ot the rest of Japan and subsequently to the rest of the world.

Master Gichin Funakoshi died in April 1957.

Contents

Foreword
Preface
1 Karate power
2 Origins
3 Karate in the Ryukyus
4 Chinese hands, empty hands
5 Master Azato
6 Master Itosu
7 Training precepts
8 Before practice
9 Fist and foot
10 Stance
11 Ten no Kata
12 Ten no Kata Ura
13 Vignettes of three teachers
Index show less