Written and translated by Motobu Naoki
* The original article was written in August 2016
This story was told to me by a relative of
mine in Okinawa, the late Motobu Tomokatsu.
Once, Motobu Chōki was ambushed and
attacked at a amusement quarter in Tsuji Town. It was probably someone who had lost
to Motobu Chōki in a real fight. Perhaps thinking he could not win alone, he
called his friends to attack Motobu Chōki with more than one person.
In those days, Tsuji was a labyrinth of
narrow streets with high stone walls surrounding buildings.
(Photo:
Tsuji before World War II)
Where is Sārū?
He's not over here. Is he over there?
The enemies were desperate, as if they knew
they could not let Sārū escape. Splitting up, they frantically searched the
labyrinthine amusement quarters.
Well, what was Motobu Chōki doing? In fact,
he was still hiding in Tsuji. He was still hiding in the shadows, watching the
situation. And when he saw
that the enemies had scattered into pieces, he emerged from the shadows and
defeated them one by one. Thus,
he succeeded in escaping the predicament without difficulty.
What is the lesson of this episode? It is
that karate is heihō (兵法, the
art of war). Heihō means martial arts as we know it today, but its other
major meaning is "military science." Another similar phrase is found
in Motobu Chōki's own words:
"Battle is a strategy."
In the above case, Motobu Chōki first
intentionally ran away, dispersing the enemy's forces and creating a situation
in which he could defeat them one by one.
In the original karate as a martial art, a
fight is not decided simply by the difference in physique, strength, or the
number of opponents. This episode shows us that even if you are inferior to
your opponent, there are ways to win through strategy and tactics.
The original karate as a martial art is not
"modern karate" as a sporting competition regulated by rules. In sport
karate, there is only one opponent, but in karate as a martial art, the
opponent is not always one person.
Motobu Chōki is often thought of as a karate
practitioner who was all about power, but he was also skilled in using his
wisdom in this way. Incidentally, the official name of Motobu-ryu is Nihon
Denryū Heihō Motobu Kenpo (Japan Traditional Tactics Motobu
Kenpō) , which includes the word "heihō."
(Interview with Motobu Tomokatsu, November 18, 2010 )
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