TO HARM or to HEAL?

 

This is my Resolute New Year’s question!

Ron Bishop

 

 

Before this is answered though, more questions need to be addressed. On Okinawa, between 1609 and 1879, Satsuma samurai and foreign nationals were permitted to wear their swords and carry arms in public, right? Yet Okinawan bushi, trained in their te, had to make do with paper umbrellas, fans, tobacco pipes and a lot more than their wits – well, they were want to sneak a knife into their kimono arrangements as well. Yet they had one more ‘hidden secret weapon' up their sleeves and it was not their clenched fists. So what was it?

On Okinawa, the common usage of the clenched fist for striking in street fights came about with the introduction of Chinese te, known as tode. More so was this when tode was abridged and introduced to the prefectural school system on the suggestion of Anko Itosu in the early 20th century, for ‘health and safety’ – the reasoning (not mine) evidently having been that, without the kinetic energy expounded by adults, the fist disperses the effects of the blow, making it less penetrating and safer in children’s brawls. With the inclusion of other empty-hand Chinese boxing methods introduced a little earlier by the likes of Kanryo Higaonna, tode was to develop over the subsequent decades into what we now know as the different karate styles that are typified by kata.

Te did not have kata, neither was it a form of sumo wrestling called ‘shima’, as I have heard some researchers mistakenly speculate. However, it was most certainly as much a weapon system (including Japanese-type bladed weaponry), as it was an empty-hand, striking and grappling method of personal training for health and self-defence. Perhaps the clue to the ‘hidden secret weapon’ then is in early-20th century references to the hands potentially standing in for bladed weapons on the battlefield. For herein lies a major clue – i.e. the adaptive hand-forms of te used for distracting, striking and grappling.

I have already stated that the clenched fist was not an option for Okinawan bushi who relied on te - although admittedly closed fists were used from the early-20th century for basic training of te form. So, the clue lies in the statements about, the hands standing in for bladed weapons. This is because the abridged popularisation process of tode by Anko Itosu, disguised the use of the several variant hand-forms used in the older te (to strike and grapple pressure points, as well as for weapon use), as in atemi and kyusho; not only that though the open-hand strikes seen in karate kata were disguises for the use of the extended thumb used in te grappling and knife work, etc.

I have posted some of these hand-forms in the above photos. They are fairly clear and appear in my book, ‘Okinawan Te {martial Art of Kings & Nobles} Revealed’, so there is no need to explain anything about them any further, other than the best way to train the hands is by learning and doing martial-arts’ related bodywork. What one cannot yet represent in a book though are moving pictures, so I think the next best thing is to post video clips on the internet (as above), for those who have a copy of the book. The first clip demonstrates two warming-up techniques that are used for preparing the wrists by making the sinews stronger and more flexible, to avoid damage when doing partnered exercises. Here, I am working mostly on two main points at the wrists – why not see if you can locate them.

The second video clip is showing some of the pressure points that can be potentially targeted, to various degrees, if one’s life is at stake – notably though, this video is not showing the kinetic dynamics behind the strikes. The clip also shows how some of the hand-forms can be used to target these areas - but is not meant to be illustrative of how to launch the pre-emptive counters. By all means, experiment and discover these points on a partner of equal ability, but please take note that work on any pressure points, with grappling and strikes in such exercises (as depicted), should be measured against the ability of the receiver to be able to ‘take’ them without damage. Also, as in the video, do not focus deeply (i.e. internally) because this can send shock waves into the internal workings of the recipient’s body and subsequently lead to ill health, or worse.

Hopefully, from viewing and experimenting with the above te exercises, the serious martial artist will be able to connect a little more to the interrelationship between bodywork and te. I know this connection seems like a new concept to many martial artists and might be difficult to take on board (or grasp) at first, but the combination is as old as martial arts themselves. The two have always gone hand-in-hand, along with weaponry training. Why not try thinking ‘katsu/judo’, or reasoning why it is no coincidence that Luoyang (home territory of the Shaolin temple) has the highest concentration of bodyworkers on the planet. oh yes, by the way, the difference in technique between striking and bodywork is intent, either to harm or to heal.
So, in this new year of 2018, why not ask this of yourself:
As a martial artist, what would I prefer to do,