Before there was Karate…….

I continue to have a passion of trying to find out more about those earlier Okinawan arts that later became a basis for the development of karate.

For lack of a simpler term I choose to call them Toudi (likely not accurate but that works for me).

In their simplest approximation they were developed by 5 Ryukyu families for service to their country. Most likely, they missions being different, they were different from each other to some extent.

The initial training was done by a senior family member most experienced in the mission they were being prepared for. Also they had the families complete trust because of their own service.

That initial training was to prepare them to enter the family service, where they would receive more training while on the job. How they practiced while on the service, and what new they learned, is just supposition, but likely more experienced family members would take over their ongoing training.

Their family service likely encompassed much more than their martial training.

It should be clear that they did not necessarily just repeat their initial training for life. However I have found no clear record of what that was.

Their initial training in those arts was the basis they shared with other family members, who knew what they were capable of, at least, should the conditions dictate their service with those arts.

When Itosu developed Karate Gymnastics for the Okinawan schools the real purpose was to prepare those boys to be ready for military training at a later date. Then they would receive other training for those roles. The goal was not to practice karate gymnastics for life.

Time moved on and that karate gymnastics moved to Japan by Funakoshi, Mabuni and others, to be taught in the Japanese Universities as clubs. Those students all did not enter the military, though some did, but entered other provessions. They had 4 years of club training. While some did continue to train for like, likely most did not. But each of them spread that karate existed.

Back on Okinawa, in time karate became a more public sharing. Somewhat based in the past, but some developed for a new audience that had no need for everyday use potential. Then slowly training for a lifetime became a new purpose.

While other instructors shared some of their arts in the schools, many instructors began to include those karate gymnastics those students learned in ths schools for a beginning to their own arts. Then for a variety of reasons newer simpler forms were developed to add to the now more public karate that was being taught.

Of course this story is more complex than my brief précis can tell.

Yet I remain most interested in what those earlier arts consisted of.

I have tried to gather what information I could find (please refer to the url links of pieces on my blog at the end).

One of the places which has been most valuable in the Motoburyu blog.

I have been following it for years, with posts in Japanese and other languages. Mopt often English translations of previous Japanese posts.

I have been following it for years. Using Bing Translate to read the Japanese posts. The past year those machine translations have gotten more readable.

But that site just broke into two blogs. One of them for English translations of the older posts. And one of them for their current Japanese posts.

I can translate them in about 15 minutes, a small piece at a time.

The English posts - https://medium.com/@motobu715

The Japanese posts - https://medium.com/@motobu715

Two recent Japanese posts have revealed small slices of the Motobu family arts.

https://note.com/motoburyu/n/n0f12d5e177fd

Motobu Tomoyu's knowledge of practice

He told me to cleanse myself every time I practiced, to wash my clothes clean, and to cleanse myself and change clothes even after the practice was over.

The reason why Motobu Tomoyu said these things is that during rehearsals, an accident could lead to death. In that case, the appearance at that time would be as it was, so to speak, death attire, so to speak, so it was out of consideration to never die an embarrassing death as a samurai.

In other words, Motobu Tomoyu first admonished a 12-year-old boy to "prepare for death and go to practice."

At that time, karate was already being taught in schools, and its character was changing as education and physical education (gymnastics). Some people thought that was the way for karate to survive. However, for Motobu Tomoyu, karate (and later taught as well as handling and weaponry) was still a serious matter of life and death. In other words, karate is not physical education, but a martial art.

Incidentally, Uehara-sensei's training clothes at the time were a running shirt (sleeveless shirt) made of meriyasu and gagged crotch. "Karateki" did not yet exist at that time (Taisho 5).

What is interesting is that Uehara-sensei says that he never practiced shirtless. At that time, it was not uncommon for Kara-te to be shirtless in Kara-te practice. Also, Uehara-sensei had never seen Asayu-sensei naked.

Since Asayu Sensei was a priest (royal), did he mean that "you do not show your nakedness"?

In any case, Uehara's testimony in this video is interesting because it shows the martial arts views of the people of the Goten class in the past.

*** then ***

https://note.com/motoburyu/n/n927a0969c591

Matsumura Soto's words:

Samurai respect divine speed

As opposed to the oft repeated there is no first strike in Karate. That would not be the case in those earlier arts……

“Again, this means that it is better to quickly catch the enemy off guard and settle it in a short period of time, rather than taking the time to prepare and execute a perfect operation.

What does it mean when these things are applied to karate? Isn't it the "Motobu Chōkyō Dictionary" that "the karaoke is the first move" or that "it is not necessary to take the attack of the opponent who lacks immediate strength, but should attack at once"?

In actual combat, waiting for the opponent's actions before moving can be fatal. For example, what should we do if an unscrupulous person attacks the procession of the King of the Ryukyu Kingdom? Should I wait for the opponent to draw and slash before dealing with it?　Rather, it should be slashed at the stage when the opponent is about to approach the king's mikoshi before he pulls out his sword.

Matsumura is said to have served the King of the Ryukyu Islands as an "aide". If this were the case, the King's visit to Futenmangu would have served as a guard.”

IMO together they add some more to think about on karate’s origins.

****

The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu”

By Kanenori Sakon Matsuo

“Ryuku Oke Hiden Bujutsu: Karate, Bukijutsu”

translated by Joe Swift

“ The martial artists (bushi) of the Ryukyu can be divided into five distinct groups.

First of all, the Shuri bushi, who were in charge of protecting Shuri Castle.

Next, the Tomari bushi, who were in charge of domestic law enforcement.
Third ,the Naha bushi, who were in chages of protecting the Chineese envoys (Suppushi) as well as the tribute ships sent from Ryukyu to China.
Next were the Udun bushi, who were involved in the politics of the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Finally, the bushi of Naha’s Kume Village, who were in the service of Chinese imibrants.”

Of course the art(s) they practiced were different from what became karate.

One minor example there were no pynan kata as they had not yet been invented.

To make things clear none of us would have been allowed to receive that training.

They were members (bushi) whose place in Okinawan society was pre-defined in any case.

And having some small understanding of Okinawan society, I bet that responsibility fell on the first son to grow into the family bushi role and in time become the family head too.

So designated to receive the training and that would only be one aspect of how he would be trained. For he was being prepared for a role he would live. Duties to be trained, and martial training would just be one of those roles. In all likelihood not the most important function.

The instructor being one of the bushi himself would recognize that and most likely reinforce that martial training was just part of the bushi’s responsibility, and he had to live up to all those rolls.

I would surmise the martial training, had a definite goal, one so the one being trained could fulfill his assigned duties. And when the individual was trained he would be prepared to perform the martial aspects of his duties.

Then there may have been a martial continual training program, to allow the bushi adept to retain the abilities they would use. I can also imagine fathers working out with sons for that very reason.

If the individual survived and family duties would permit, perhaps they would one day become an instructor.

Having such a defined societal role as those bushi is not one easily imagined these days. That was a very different world.

And exactly what those traditions were in actuality and how much or little they resembled what karate would become, is open for speculation.

Those official roles were dissolved in the 1880’s. Their arts then were not needed by Okinawa.