Personal discoveries reading Itosu Anko

Reading a valuable book becomes most personal.

 

While reading Joe Swift’s “Itosu Anko –Savior of  a Cultural Heritage” I found so many topics discussed that meant so much to my various studies about what earlier Okinawan Arts were like, and blended together with my previous research cause me to rethink many things I formerly believed true. These are not the major sections of the book, often footnotes that drive my thought. Everything in the book is valuable, though in different ways.

 

I am just going to shotgun my observations out.

 

As Joe was discussing possible Chinese origins for Te and Toudi might have been from Chinese Military Training. And the forms that were studied very likely every technique went to a lethal conclusion. Most likely that was modified for the purposes that Okinawa needed in their developing arts. Later for further modification of those arts so that karate training might be more appropriate for the Okinawan schools.

 

I was particularly interested in him mentioning an early newspaper article (Ryukyu Shimpo March 21,1916) which mentioned that kata Bunkai was performed during the exhibition. This was well before Mabuni Kenwa discussed kata bunkai in his books in the 1930s. Apparently the term Bunkai was known connected to karate well before Mabuni used it inn the 1930s and spread that use through Japan.

 

Joe also notes there was no description as to what that Bunkai was. Just the mention that it was performed at a demonstration. That leaves one to wonder what that consisted  of.  I had read in a magazine back in the 1980 that Americans got the term from Japanese karate-ka as that use moved to the US. Then when they went to Okinawa and queried their instructors, received quizzical looks. Finally those instructors (under assumed politeness not wanting not to leave a polite question unanswered) then began to show some kata applications.. ..This adds another piece to the puzzle for me. Not conclusive but nevertheless…..

 

However a much larger issue around previous arts has opened in my mind. Basically it seems incorrect to lump centuries of prior Te and Toudi arts together as they were the same ground that Itosu used to create and rename Toudi as Karate (the Japanese pronouncation.

 

As I understand it prior to about 1870 the arts developed by the Okinawan Bushi clans were done to serve 5 separate functions.

I previously mentioned those traditions in this article.

When thinking of the Toudi that became Karate this exercise may be interesting.

https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2019/07/when-thinking-of-toudi-that-became.html

 

I would think of the training those instructors was geared to prepare them for the eventual roles where their use of  Te/Toudi was but a part of that role. After leaving their instructor and assuming those roles, as they were junior members likely group training filled in more details. Think of the instructor role as base preparation.

 

Then Japan took control of Okinawa and their roles as Bushi groups was ended, Japanese groups took on those role functions that remained. At that point in time their training was for no society useful function. Many of those families suffered when their clan stipend was ended too. Of course some of those who had been trained continued to train others, with their prior arts likely for little purpose but to keep training.

 

So there was phase 1- the original Te/Toudi which served a function, and that was in four different roles.

Then there was phase 2 – the training remained and continued but served no further function.

That where Itosu Anko stepped forth and defined a new function and purpose for his Karate in the schools.

 

This realization yields greater benefit as to what the prior Te/Toudi might have been than considering all of that together.

There is so little documentation from that era it is easy to lump all of it together. That seems to be incorrect and represent a difference in my thinking.

 

This leave the greater part of Joe Swift’s “Itosu Anko –Savior of  a Cultural Heritage” for you to discover.

 

Much detail about the technical changes around the kata, the applications, the timing of movement as well as the method of movement that occurred. Then there is a great deal of Okinawan articles on the developing School karate, as well as many articles on Itosu’s life. Some of has racy connotations suggesting something I have read about other Okinawan karate-ka.

 

Note for Isshinryu:  Shimabuku Tatsuo is referenced also.

 

Now I am looking forward to reading the book a third time and seeing what I discover anew.