One can wear many hats during a life of research/study into the origins of karate. If you have followed my blog you can readily understand what I mean.
Starting in the late 1980s and through the remainder of the decade I was probably one of the most prolific commentators of the Bubishi on the net.
I read many versions, noting many similarities and differences. My friend Joe Swift obtained many Japanese works on the Bubish (of course I could not read them but I did look at the pictures. I translated a french version of Roland Habsetzer's Bubishi for Patrick McCarthy, I ever contributed an introduction to his 2nd edition. I have made friends from literally around the world because of my efforts. Many of them made contributions to my efforts.
Some observations.
1. While I never said anything derogatory about any of the authors of those books, just writing on them made individuals not like my efforts, believing I was discounting different authors. I never did that.
2. Eventually I realized each edition of the Bubishi came from different sources. One example were each book had the chapters in different orders.
3. Almost all of the Bubishi editions had different drawings. This of course most likely goes war back in time for the Bubishi was never a book, rather a loose leaf collection of notes. When others were given the right to obtain a copy, in most cases they were not authors and went to local copyists to produce a copy of the Bubishi. Human nature of the copyists may explain how the drawings changed over time. That continued to the modern authors for many of their illustrations are also modern renderings of the older drawings. Over time it is likely those drawings changed slightly each time, showing the drawings doing something different as time passed.
4.The original Bubishi was written in much older Chinese. It is quite unlikely the original Okinawans could not read what was written. That possibility exists even to today. Whichever text was used for the current translation efforts, may not even be the original as the copyists of the years might have made inadvertent changes.
5. In my opinion the Bubishi the was not a text to train beginners. see it likely that it was a collection of notes for a senior student as a was to remember some of the aspects of their training, notes for personal reference. Not with all the details of the training, just enough to jog one's memory of the training for personal use.
6. There is no reason to assume the collection of Bubishi articles came from the same training program, it is just as easy to assume the articles may have been gathered from many sources over the years. Ones having nothing to do with someone's training, more as useful to have. Leaving it an assumption to treat is as an explanation of one training program.
7. We have no clear answer how it came into Okinawan hands. I have seen multiple versions of an answer. We just know that it did. In time trusted senior students were given leave to make their own copies
8. It is possible that the Bubishi actually was primarily a text for a medical practitioner as over 1/2 the book is about how a healer would address a variety of injuries. Use of herbs and a variety of ways to heal an individual. (Personally I would not assume to try to do these suggestions) Even to suggesting certain strikes cause instant death, then in another section suggesting how to cure that death strike.
9. Back when I began my Bubishi studies, a variety of instructors from many systems offered their opinions on how the 48 self defense technique drawings from the Bubishi might be found in their systems kata. One of them a Goju instructor shared his opinion of those techniques found within the Goju kata. Others did the same thing and I shared their opinions on a blog site I formerly used. However as time progressed fewer shared their opinions and even fewer commented on my Bubishi postings. Then one day Ernest Rothrock allowed me to present my research on the Bubishi by giving his Pittsburgh students a clinic. He had not seen the Bubishi prior to that. As he was very heavy in the Chinese systems he studied I was most interested in his opinion.
When I finished that clinic he asked to look at my Bubishi (It was the first McCarthy edition. He thumbed through the 48 self defense techniques then gave me his opinion. What he told me was "These techniques are just basic techniques found in many Chinese systems." Then to prove his point, he gave the book back to me and said randomly select a technique and he would show how it was used. Each time I did so, he instantly showed me that appllication, technique after technique. I was impressed and told him he could give clinics on this. Ernie responded he was not in the business of supporting karate systems. (grin) His demonstration was video's for me and as I left he gave me those videos. However as they were filmed on small cassette VHS tapes and I did not have a player for them, I have never viewed them. I have those tapes in my room to this day.
10. While my research continued for a decade I am unaware of any instructor who actually based their program on the Bubishi. I am aware of several instructors who have taped their own intrepretation of what the Bubishi showed, but I have no idea if they actually based their program on those description.
11. My own opinion is that it is most likely most instructors obtained a Bubishi, looked at the pictures then placed in on their dojo shelves to point to if anyone asked. IMO most of those Bubishi are still sitting on those shelves gathering dust.
12. Every modern author added additional material to their published Bubishi. Often it was nor clearly explained that those chapters were their own opinions of what the Bubushi should mean.
For example almost everyone went on about Chi and into great detain about the Chi striking points. None of which was in the Bubishi itself. Perhaps they were right, and the Chinese author(s) already felt those senior students who read the book were already familiar with that material and thus it was hon in the original.
For myself I am finished with my Bubishi research. I never taught this to my students for I did not feel I added anything to their own studies. Nor did I recommend they should get a Bubishi and study it.
However I would like one day to see an actual copy of the Bubishi. Unencumbered by any other opinions. I do not read Chinese, but I would enjoy seeing it. I always can look at the original drawings.
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