Sunday, November 11, 2018

A closer look at what is often not discussed


 
It is not entirely clear to be exactly what the earlier art(s?) which were re-named karate exactly were used for. But it is very clear by 1870 when Japan took over control of Okinawa, removing the king of Okinawa to Japan, the original purpose of those art(s?) was no longer needed.

 

So the training became more of a preserving our class type of thing. Not changing what was studied, just no longer for an actual function. And they were not studying karate because the people needed self defense?

 

Itosu Anko came up with a new idea. Namely that a version of karate could be taught in the schools because Okinawan youth needed better preparation for eventual service in the Japanese military, not for karate, but to be able to follow orders for training. So something new was tried and it found a place. In time others took the same approach, sharing a bit of their karate with youth.

 

But that a new idea could work gave rise to other new ideas. Not the first, but a focused disporia of karate training to Japan gave rise to another idea. Karate could make a new purpose, to train young men attending university. Various forms of karate shaped into something that could be learned in a 4 year program began to take form. Those graduates of course moved on into many careers, and in turn eventually formed schools  based off of those karate experiences. First focused on developing instructors to run those 4 year programs, then developing those programs for the few who could continue that training.

 

It was a new form of the former Okinawan art, now a Japanese art.

 

But on Okinawa as time passed, new things were happening. Some instructors after teaching children took the Itosu Pinan kata into their programs.

 

Among Karate research groups other simpler forms were created and adopted in some programs. Feedback from the Japanese karate community convinced them that Karate should be renamed Karate to not offend Japanese sensibilities. Other projects were looking into the development of simple karate kata to be used of possible public karate training. (the 10 kata developed are seen in Nagasone’s Karate Do Koyhan.) but they were not formally adopted by Okinawan karate.

 

Then WWII occurred, and many things changed. For one thing almost the senior generation of instructors perished, both on Okinawa and on Japan karate took on new shapes for new reasons in each location.

 

And as karate continued to move into the world more and more changes occurred, even to this day. Each insistent their way is right.

 

And while service is paid to taking the time to read what the earlier instructors of these developing arts wrote, there is literally no real discussion of those writings. Each group goes on continuing to find their way, but I question how deeply they take the time to look at what was shared of the past.?

A brief suggestion of some of what has been written about prior arts and what earlier karate looked like.

 

“The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu”By Kanenori Sakon Matsuo





Itoman Seijin (Morinobu’s) book Toudi-jutsu no Kenkyu translated by Mario McKenna


 

Funakoshi Ginchin: The recent translation of ‘Karate Jutsu’
The translation of the Karate-Do Koyan
Motobu's books: Japanese reproduction and Patrick McCarthy translation
Mabuni Kenwa, translations of his 1933-1934 publications Mario Mckenna
Kobou Jizai Goshin-jutsu Karete Kempo
Seipai no Kenkyu (including the first publication of Bubishi drawings)
Mutsu Mizho’s 1933 ‘Karate Kempo’ reproduction

(Nakasone Genwa’s 1938 ‘Karate Do Taiken’ reproduction and M. McKenna translation


One example of my trying to understand these offerings

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