Essay by Mushinkan Student

This is a VERY rough translation of an essay written by my student
Kubota Atsuyuki, for his Shodan evaluation.

Joe
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Meaning of Okinawa Karate in Present Times
by Kubota Atsuyuki

Karate is an Okinawan martial art hundreds of years old, that was developed based on several different fighting traditions. In the beginning, the upper classes trained in karate techniques in order to protect themselves, their families and those that they served, and it is easy to imagine that the art held great meaning in those days. However, in modern day society, excepting military and law enforecement, the general populace views the martial arts as nothing more than a mere hobby or sport. In this paper, I will try to illustrate what merits there are for modern people to study Okinawa karate, in retort to this general view.

Of course, the first element that comes to mind is karate as a method of self-defense. I believe that there is great value in learning karate as a way to protect oneself, in light of the recent jump in violent crimes in Japan, as well as for those who travel to
dangerous parts of the world. However, many of the techniques in karate are very brutal, and depending upon the situation, the law may look upon its use as excessive use of force, and the defender may end up unwittingly playing the part of the aggressor. It may also be the case that bringing karate into the equation may even
force the aggressor to use a weapon such as a knife that he/she was carrying for intimidation, even though he/she may not originally have had the intention of using same. Based upon these situations, it would seem that the actual techniques of karate do not have much value in modern times. It should at least be clear that one should
not use karate off-handedly. Justice and safety do not always go hand-in-hand. Even if one feels that they are in the "right," physical confrontation should be avoided.

However, there are statistics to show that people who practice some sort of self-defense on a regular basis are able to better sense danger. Taking the example of a typical karate practice session, by vigorous training in kata and applications, the practitioner trains themselves to use the methods of attack and defense in various situations. It is believed that this makes them more "danger-aware."

So one can see that becoming strong and physically defeating an opponent is not the only merit of karate training. Even women and smaller people could actually greatly reduce their chances of being victims of violence by training in karate.

Another important point along with developing these powers of sensing danger, is not to become a target of violence. Most criminals chose easy prey to attack. The way to avoid this is to make sure one is not spacing out as one moves through life, and not
allowing the criminal element to chose one as a target. However, it is really rather difficult for people with low self-confidence to act confident when the heat is on. Therefore, it is important to gain confidence that one can back up with through training in karate. Of course one should never become over-confident, but with
strict and hard training in karate, one will become more confident and thus less suscesptible to panicking over small things.

As seen above, the effectiveness of karate as a method of self-defense is a given. However, another merit of Okinawa karate is the health issue. For modern people, this aspect is probably even more practical. First of all, the unique karate breathing techniques that are not seen in sports. Although there has yet to be a medical study
to prove it, breathing methods like those in Taijiquan and Yoga have been long considered vital to health in the Orient. I look forward to the day this this is finally researched and proved scientifically.

Unlike competitive sports, karate training based in kata can be done at the individual practitioner's own pace, thus making it easily accessible by all, no matter young or old, male or female. It is an important fact to note that the karate people called "masters" all continue their training into their old age and live to a considerable age.

Karate as a method of self-defense and as a way of remaining healthy. It can be said that Okinawa karate is the best method from which one can learn both of these aspects of the art. In sport-karate and full-contact methods that are based on kumite, there is a
limit as to how long one can actively participate, and the goals of these methods can only really be attained while the practitioner is still relatively young. Considering this, it should be clear that Okinawa karate is meaningful even for modern people. One could say that this is obvious given how long it has been studied and passed
down, but it is nonetheless surprising that we can recognize the excellence of the art that never dwindles over the generations.

What I have written here is just a small part of how Okinawan karate can be a part of everyday life. I have not touched upon the, arguably, more important philosophical aspects. I will continue my training in hopes that some day I may come to understand these aspects and be able to discuss them as well.

References:
  HYPERLINK "http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/index2.html" \t "_blank"  http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/023/index2.html
  HYPERLINK "http://www.geocities.com/mushinkan_dojo_tokyo/" \t "_blank"  http://www.geocities.com/mushinkan_dojo_tokyo/
  HYPERLINK "http://higaki.info/index.html" \t "_blank"  http://higaki.info/index.html (The referenced in red no longer work.)
John Wiseman "The SAS Survival Handbook"
Mori Motosada "The Handbook of Self-Defense"
Mori Motosada "The Science of Self-Defense"
Sakugawa Harunori "Okinawa Gojuryu Karate Kata"
Otsuka Tadahiko "Okinawa Den Bubishi"

 

 

Tokyo Branch of Mushikan

The Tokyo Branch of the Mushinkan concentrates its studies on the classical kata of Okinawan Karate, mainly from the Naha-te tradition, as a method of practical self-defense. The core kata of our group is as follows:

​    Sanchin
    Naifanchi
    Saifa
    Seiunchin
    Shisochin
    Seisan
    Tensho
    Seipai
    Sanseiru
    Kururunfa
    Suparinpei

Although the above kata form the basic core of our training, we also study other Kata as adjunct practices, including those of the Shuri  (Matsumura), Tomari (Matsumora), Kume (Arakaki) and Kobudo (weapons).

Head Instructor at the Tokyo branch of Mushikan

 

Joe Swift was born in Van Etten, NY, and began training in Okinawan karate and kobudo at the age of 12.

In 1994, he had an opportunity to study at Kansai Gaidai University of Foreign Studies in Osaka, Japan. At that time, he became fascinated with the "old ways" of Okinawan karate and began a more serious study of the history and classical kata of the Ryukyu Martial Arts. In 1995, he entered the Mushinkan HQ Dojo in Kanazawa, and began studying Okinawa Shoreiryu Karatedo (Naha-te) under Uematsu Yoshiyuki, who also taught him the ancient Japanese arts of Iaijutsu and Jujutsu as well. In 1997, Swift became an assistant instructor (Shidoin), in 1999 he was appointed as the chief assistant instructor (Shihan-dai), and in 2003, he was awarded his full teaching license (Shihan Menjo) from Uematsu. Joe moved to Tokyo in 2001, and opened the Tokyo Branch of the Mushinkan.
 
Joe has received technical instruction or advice from many other instructors such as Arakaki Kiyoshi (Muso-kai), Uezu Angi (Isshinryu),  Hokama Tetsuhiro (Gojuryu),  Murakami Katsumi (Shorinryu & Kobudo),  Kanzaki Shigekazu (Tou'onryu), Patrick McCarthy (Koryu Uchinadi), Yogi Kiyoshi & Kanna Yasunori (Uechiryu and Ryukyu Kobudo), Hayashi Shingo (Kojoryu), Matsuo Kanenori Sakon (Ryukyu Oke Hiden Bujutsu), Ikemiyagi Masaaki (Gojuryu), Kinjo Hiroshi (Kenshu-kai) and many others.

In addition to his study of the technical theories of karate and kobudo, Joe also researches the history and evolution of the Okinawan martial arts, and also translates old and rare texts to English. Publications by Joe Swift are available here.

Born in New York, USA. At the age of 12, he began training in Okinawan karate.


In 1994, he came to Japan to study abroad. At that time, he discovered the charm of Okinawan traditional karate and began to study it more deeply.
In 1995, joined Mushindate General Headquarters. Studied Okinawan karate (Naha-te), Iaijutsu, and Koryu Jujutsu from Director Yoshiyuki Agematsu.

In 1997, he became an instructor at Mushinkan Honbu Dojo.

In 1999, he was named deputy teacher,

He was awarded a master's license in 2003.
In 2001, moved to Tokyo and opened Mushinkan Tokyo branch.
In 2006, he was awarded Renshi.

He was awarded the rank of teacher in 2019.

Mr. Angi Uezu (Okinawa Isshin-ryu), Mr. Tetsuhiro Sotoma (Okinawa Goju-ryu), Mr. Katsumi Murakami (Okinawa Shorin-ryu/Ryukyu Kobujutsu), Mr. Shigekazu Kanzaki (Okinawa Toon-ryu), Mr. Shingo Hayashi (Okinawa Lake Castle) ), Mr. Sakon Matsuo Kanetori (Ryukyu royal family secret martial arts), Mr. Masaaki Ikemiyagi (Okinawa Goju-ryu), Mr. Yutaka Kinjo (Shuri-te), Mr. McCarthy Patrick (Koryu Okinawan-te), Mr. Gikiyo Yo (Uechi-ryu)・Ryukyu Kobudo), Mr. Yasunori Kanna (Uechi-ryu Ryukyu Kobudo), and other teachers, and he receives guidance from them.

In addition to researching techniques, he also conducts research on the history of karate and translates prewar karate-related books into English.