Regarding when the School Board allowed Karate to be taught in the schools.

 

 

 

Reading further into Joe Swift’s book “Itosu Anko” about the cultural changes on Okinawa giving rise to taking toudi into the Okinawan school system, it brought many other  things I have been reading in the past half year from other sources on that same topic. Then this gave rise to some very interesting thoughts.

 

Back in the 1870s Okinawa was subjected to many changes by Japan. They were formally brought into Japan, their king was replaced, the gentry were de-classified as such making their need for te and toudi in their lives irrelevant as new Japanese controlled systems were set up.

 

The important thing to recognize were many of the same things were occurring in Japan, too.

 

The old social order was abandoned; meaning among other things the promotion of social equity meant there were no further need for a samurai class. The military was organized by the institution of training for all soldiers. They very quickly realized many of their citizens were unprepared for military training. A new education system was established and incorporated training ideas from the United State and France. Among them martial gymnastics and sport, in an attempt to indoctrinate the young into current Japanese social belief, to build stronger bodies, etc.

 

This was also done on Okinawa as schools were opened for many who did not have that access before.

 

 To show their patriotism 50 Okinawan’s attempted to enlist in the Japanese Army, however only 10 of them passed the physical. The doctors noticed all of them had trained in the Okinawan martial arts.

 

That might have been part of the reason behind Itosu writing to that school board that Toudi (pronounced in Japanese as Karate), abet with modifications, ought be incorporated into the schools. I also suspect he had more knowledge of what was going on in Japan (of course supposition on my part.).

 

The school board he was writing to was in Japan, as they controlled the content of the Japanese school system.

 

At that time they were considering how/why not include judo and/or karate throughout the new Japanese school system.

 

So that school board likely considered Itosu’s proposal as a way to test if this training would work As Okinawa was regarded pretty much as the back water of Japan, if it didn’t work out, only Okinawa would be affected.

 

No doubt a harsh reasoning as to why the Japanese School Board went along with Itosu’s proposal.

 

And an experiment that worked out and continued to influence the development of Karate in many different ways, both in Japan and on Okinawa.

 

So much so Japan 5 years later eventually included judo and kendo instruction in their own schools.

 

Joe then moves into a more in-depth discussion about the change from Te and Toudi into the Karate of the Schools.

 

 

 

True on Not?

 

 

 

 

Boards can be dried or even baked to make them easier to break. The same can be done with cinder caps. ice often has to be scored to allow a fracture line to form, Ice can even be sawed in half and refrozen with salt on those surfaces. Watching you cannot determine what is real and what has been doctored. Stacks of boards or cinder cap's use the weight of the descending portions of the first break to make the subsequent breaks easier. Similar to the stunts magicians employ. 

 

 

 

While a beginner I remember my seniors training for a demo where they would do breaking. Everything I saw was real at that time.

 

Years later while studying Tang Soo Do I found breaking was a requirement for testing. One board with a different break required for each test. I won a green belt breaking division by performing a front kick through 3 boards and then a back side kick through 2 boards, none of which was fake.

 

One night when a red belt I was asked to come to the front of the class and attempt a cinder cap break with my forehead. I was shown how to cover the cinder cap with a towel, then hold it myself. I then did it and it worked. Of course I had a gigantic headache the next day, swearing to myself I would never let myself be talked into any such thing again. And I kept that promise.

 

I have seen many breaks that were real, I have also seen many breaks of which I was suspicious about. You get what you get.

 

Among the more interesting breaks I have watched where the holder donned thick rubber gloves and then held a full whiskey bottle that when struck by the instructors knife hand broke the neck off of the bottle.

 

I don't know what happened to the remaining contents.

 

Ice Breaks  https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/search?q=ice

 

 

 

 

 

Victor Smith said...

Initial experiences watching karate breaking divisions

When I was a student of Isshinryu breaking boards was not something we did.

 

But often at large tournaments we attended we saw black belt breaking divisions. At times the competitors broke their target,  at times they did not break their target.

 

What I observed is that the more impressive and complex break that was intended, it was also more frequently one that would fail.

 

About a year later I attended a huge tournament run by a Bando school near the Washington DC area and yes they had a number of different breaking divisions.

 

One of them was a brown belt breaking division.

 

There was a competitor brown belt that was going to break 3 cinder caps.

 

He got down on his knees and warmed up by bending over and placing his forehead on the top cinder cap several times.

 

Then he smashed his head down to break them with his forehead.  It did not work the cinder caps remained unbroken.

 

So again he tried the break and again it failed.

 

A third time he tried the break and yet again it failed.

 

He was determined to succeed  and time after time he attempted the break.

 

Each time failing until blood was streaming from his forehead, down across his face.

 

The judges went over to him and made him stop.

 

There is a lesson there.

 

My further adventures in breaking can be found on my blog at 

 https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/search?q=board

 

from THE TECHNIQUE AND INNER TEACHINGS OF MOTOBU UDUNDI.

 

" Mouidi SECRET MARTIAL ART OF THE RYUKYU KINGDOM ROYAL FAMILY

translated by Joe Swift

 

Motobu Udundi Training

 

My training period Between the ages of twelve and twenty-two, I practiced alone with Choyu Sensei. We trained three times a day, morning, afternoon, and evening. The training was unimaginably exacting. Choyu Sensei schooled me not only in bujutsu techniques, but also in the warrior approach to all aspects of everyday life-everything from how to take meals to the proper way to tie my headband. It would be impossible for me to relate to you all of the many, many things I was taught, but I will mention some of the main ones.

 

Walking training

 

I practiced walking quickly forward and backward while up on my toes, placing my weight at the base of my big toes and keeping my knees straight. I had to walk while keeping my chest out and my body upright like a pole, using my hara, or abdomen, as a center around which to move my entire body. I bound pieces of wood to the backs of my knees with strips of cloth to get in the habit of walking with my legs straight.

Striking training

 

I began practicing how to strike by punching at my teacher's stomach with a seiken fist. Striking a makiwara (practice target made of a board wrapped with straw and/or rope) was not permitted, since striking an inanimate objects does not train you to strike at a moving person. In actual combat we use nukite, or spearhand strikes. The spearhand strike we use in Motobu Udundi is slightly unique in that we keep our thumb straight, parallel to the rest of the fingers, rather than bending it. To strengthen my spearhand, I practiced thrusting it into the sand on the beach Eventually it was strong enough to split a three-centimeter-thick plank of cedar.

 

Kicking training

 

To practice kicking I tied a piece of cloth to a bamboo pole at about face-height and kicked at it using the straight-legged kicks characteristic of Motobu Udundi. These kicks involve keeping both the kicking leg and the pivot leg straight, making contact with the toes when extending the kick, and with the heel when withdrawing it. At the next stage, I practiced straight-legged crescent kicks. I held my arms outstretched, parallel to the ground, with rocks wrapped in towels held in both hands. If my upper body wavered in reaction to the kick, the rocks in the towels would also waver and knock against my legs. Thus, I learned to keep my upper body still when kicking. I started with rocks weighing about 600 grams and gradually increased the weight to about 1800 grams. Later I practiced standing and kicking with straight-legged kicks diagonally over my opposite shoulder to split a board positioned there. Then I practiced the same type of movement to split a board positioned behind my head. I also practiced leaping up to kick down small tree branches, and jumping from stone walls and other high places, kicking with one foot and striking with both hands on the way down, then kicking and striking rapidly again when I hit the ground.

 

Leaping training

 

I practiced leaping from a standing position without bending my knees, using only my ankles as springs. I started doing that when I was twelve and by the time I was seventeen I was able to use only the power of my ankles and one arm to hoist myself over stone walls about the height of my raised arm.

Pole-vaulting training

 

As a means of escaping when surrounded by enemies, I practiced using a bamboo pole to jump from one stone wall to another and onto tiled roofs and other high places.

 

 

 

Midwinter training in the sea

 

From the time I was eighteen, about every three days during the mid-winter months, Sensei and I would face each other (he facing the shore, I the water) and walk up to our necks in the sea, wearing nothing but our undergarments, singing loudly together all the while.

 

Training with earthenware jars

 

I practiced lifting unglazed earthenware jars by placing my fingers inside and expanding them outward to keep the jars from slipping off. Each jar was about thirty centimeters high with an opening fifteen centimeters in diameter. As I got stronger, I added weight by filling them with sand. I used the same jars to support my neck and ankles while I held my body straight as a rod above the floor, arms straight at my sides. Later I practiced holding that position while Sensei pressed and shook my abdomen. Eventually I was able to hold the position without flinching or bending, even when he climbed up and stood bouncing on my stomach.

 

Bird-catching training

 

I practiced capturing wild birds using a thin bamboo pole with a glob of very sticky nice paste on the end of it. The instant a bird took off from a branch, I used the sticky paste on the end of the pole to entangle its feet in such a way that I could capture it without harming it or damaging its feathers. I did this to develop a steady hand and so that I would be able to catch the rhythm of an opponent's breathing (kokyu) and attack my chosen target.

 

Equestrian training

 

First I learned how to ride bareback and how to mount a running horse. After that, I practiced using various weapons such as long sword (tachi), spear (yari), glaive (naginata) and so on while riding a horse.

 

 

 

 

Training matches

 

Back then it was essential that I conceal my martial arts training as much as possible in order to avoid the challenges that would come from people hoping to prove their skills. If it was known that I was practicing bujutsu, I might be ambushed or caught up in kakedameshi, which was the practice of picking fights to test one's ability and gain practical fighting experience. Back then many young people still lost their lives through kakedameshi. Choyu Sensei was strictly opposed to such useless conflicts and naturally forbade kakedameshi. However, there were times when I played the role of sparring partner to martial artists who came to learn from Sensei and I also participated in practice matches when I accompanied Sensei to meet other shihans. In practice matches back then, the higher-ranking person would cover their palms with black soot from the bottom of cooking pots, while the lower-ranking person would use wheat flour. The winner of the match would be decided afterwards by the position and number of white and black marks each had managed to put on the other. It was considered a breach of etiquette to soil the clothing of a higher-ranking person with difficult-to-remove soot, so the lower-ranking person used light colored wheat flour instead.

Some Lessons an Instructor Learns the Hard Way

 

 

My senior student was Roy Blackwell. He actually began training along with his two brothers in the church program Charles Murray started in his church. When Charles returned to the USAF the Blackwell brothers kept training with me and when I began my program at the Scranton Boys Club they greatly helped me launch that program.

 

As the years passed  often whey you train siblings as one  pulls ahead of the others in skill, the other brothers turn to something else and only Roy remained training.

 

When he entered his Junior year of training his parents put it to him it was either Football on the School team or dropping karate for that time. Roy chose football and discontinued karate training for that time. At that time Roy was a brown belt and I did understand why his parents made him make that decision.

 

Of course my program continued at the Boys Club, they for an upcoming Parents evening I was asked to provide a karate program for the parents to see.  I proceeded to design a program.

 

Just before that program, Roy’s football year ended and he was very eager to return to the karate training with me.

 

 

 So he got into the training and practicing with the rest of the group for the program.

 

It was just the standard overview of what the kids were studying in our Isshinryu karate program.  Toward the end I was going to perform a simple head board break for all,   Really a simple pop break with my forehead. Then have several of the youth perform a dynamic self defense skit I had originally put together for the Blackwell brothers for a tournament several years before.

 

In actuality, a very simple set of drills for the youth to perform before their parents.

 

The night of the program Roy came up to me with a begging request. He wanted to do the head break. It really was a simple break and I knew he had the body mass to do so. However I also knew it was a bad idea.

 

I really did try and dissuade him from that request. But he pleaded so hard eventually I gave in against my better judgment.

 

Then the demonstration began.

 

You know some group and individual kata performances, several sparring demonstrations. Group basics, etc.

 

As it was winding down I announced Roy Blackwell was next.

 

I decided to have some fun with it. (which as it turned out was a very bad idea).

 

’ I told the group Roy had just returned to karate, choosing to stop to play football for his school team. So for deciding to stop karate training I think it would be reasonable for him to pay for that choice and have him break a board with his forehead.’

 

I stood before Roy, holding the board in my hands.

 

He prepared himself,  then suddenly drove his head forward,  he smashed his head through the board.

 

But as I was holding the board I clearly saw is was not his forehead that broke the board, instead he did a face break.  It was his face I saw breaking the board.

 

I had Roy return to the group and began my explanation of the final self defense demonstration that would conclude the program.

 

But as I was talking I saw Roy had blood streaming from both nostrils. I realized I had to act, and of course it was before everyone there.

 

So as I continued with my explanation I began moving toward Roy. When I reached him I quietly told him he was to leave, enter the locker room and clean his face and place pressure on his nose to stop the bleed.

 

And of course as he was pumped up for the demonstration he wanted nothing to do with that.

 

I had to get insistent before he would leave. He did so.

 

All the time I had to continue talking to the crowd.

 

I selected a replacement from the group. 

 

The demonstration concluded the show.

 

I then went into the locker room to find Roy had stopped his nose from bleeding. I also got an explanation from him as to what happened.

 

It turned out Roy had a new girlfriend in the audience.  He had her come there to show off his karate.

 

I learned a very big lesson that day,  Never,  never…. never let a student suggest you change your planned program for them.

 

Rick Niemira

 

 

 

Rick Niemira was a close friend of Tom Lewis.  I first met him as a new student when I attended Mr. Lewis’s dojo summer party held at a friend of Dennis Lockwood..

 

 

But I remember his best for these two stories.

 

 

When Rick began he trained under Don Nagel down in North Carolina. Nagel Sensei would split is time between a number of dojo. One night they had kumite and Nagel Sensei was there. The result was every member ended up in the hospital from sparring with Nagle Sensei.

 

 

The other story came about at the Bando Summer Camp I attended in 1983. One of the sessions was on how to break, and the beginners were each attempting to break a board. The Isshinryu and Bando Black Belts in attendance were watching the efforts. One of the Bando Black Belts said something, and Rick replied that is not how I do it.

 

He then went out to demonstrate. As my memory remembers it he placed 3 boards atop the two cinder caps to hold them. Then he placed a thin telephone book atop them. He got ready but he did not punch down as everyone else was doing. Instead he slapped the phone book with his palm and the boards shattered.

 

That got all the Bando black belts going out there to try to do the break that way. As I remember it many of them ended up with red hands.

 

I remember Rick explaining it took him a long time to learn to do that.

Bob Maxwell

Rick and I spent many hours on my back deck perfecting that technique.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Victor… Rick Niemira was my father. Bob Maxwell was one of Dad’s very close “Brothers/Friends…

November 2, 2023 at 5:13 PM

A Rose by any other name…..

 

The eternal question of what is real karate. When in a century karate has gone from a practice by what several hundred school boys on Okinawa to something millions practice around the world

 

While there were instructors with serious training backgrounds, most of the instruction provided at the elementary schools were instructors trained at the Teacher College what to teach and how to train the kids.

 

Recognized by the Japanese School board, overseeing all instruction in Japan approved karate as a type of gymnastics.

 

And while some of those practices made their way into many other programs which adopted the name of “Karate” over the long haul their training did not really resemble the school gymnastic karate either.

 

Nor did the teachings that made their way to Japan follow the original Okinawan school karate.  Each with their own root studies .Those instructors changed or did not change what their programs taught.

 

Then over time more and more groups/schools got with the program and called what their school was teaching ‘Karate’, And the die being set, change went on and on and on unto the ends of the earth.

 

But you know Real Karate only needs 3 kata.

But you know Real Karate teaches Sanchin kata.

But you know Real Karate teaches Naifanchi kata.

But you know Real Karate incorporates the makiwara.

Face it the Real Karate list of qualifications goes on and on…..

 

Face it Real Karate is whatever your instructor tells you it is.

 

I have seen programs of all sort which produce incredible individuals because of the training they received from their instructors. And many of those teachings do not follow the above rules either.

 

Programs that in actuality only teach kata with no kinship to those developed on Okinawa.

Programs that do not incorporate Sanchin or Naifanchi.

Programs that do not include makiwara.

 

Let’s take just one to discuss. That topic is makiwara.

 

I was never TOLD makiwara was necessary but my instructor;s school had one, and I remember striking it often before class.

 

Then when I moved and had to change programs to that of Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan, that school had 2 incredible makiwara. And for the most part no one used them. Before and after class I made serious use of them. I know because of that use I began to develop calluses on the palms of my hands from the striking. That continued for two years, until I separated from that program. But the benefits from my use of that makiwara striking practice continued to exist in my striking for decades.

 

When I was able to return to my Isshinryu training, my training took place in the basement of my instructors church. We did not have the availability of a makiwara, but the training took place never the less.

 

I was renting then and did not have the capability ot have a makiwara at home.

 

When I began teaching youth at the Boys Club in Scranton it again was not an option. That remained the case when I relocated my program to the Boys and Girls Club of Derry. I was not an option neither for the youth or the adults I trained.

 

Frankly I do believe proper work with a makiwara is a great training adjunct to a program.

 

But whether intense makiwara, light makiwara or no makiwara one's training can still produce greatly skilled martial artists.

 

 

For all the positive benefits from Makiwawa, there are just as many ways to make karate work even without makiwara. It just requires a separate focus to make it work.

 

Focusing on the correct answer, which may be the correct answer for you, does not mean other answers are less correct for others.

 https://isshin-concentration.blogspot.com/2019/03/and-from-these-roots-modern-karate-was.html

Victor Smith said...

It was my debate coach in college, Dr, Ralph Towne who first made the observation about judges to us,He told us to think of them as fools, and if you won the debate it just meant that a fool thought more of your argument. The idea was not to fear the judge or think too much of his decision. What always mattered most was that you learned from the experience.

I felt it equally applied to debate tournaments and karate tournaments.

April 20, 2021 at 9:24 PM

Kyushojutsu: Basic Theory

http://www.fightingarts.com/content01/kyushojutsu_II.shtml#:~:text=As%20much%20of%20the%20original%20theory%20behind%20kyushojutsu,West%20use%20the%20international%20acu-point%20code%20as%20nomenclature. 

Kyushojutsu: Basic Theory

By Joe Swift (Mushinkan Dojo, Kanazawa, Japan)

In recent years, karataka all over the world have begun to reexamine and study their classical Okinawan kata.

 

Practical applications have been a major focus of much of this research, and one of the key components of practical applications is the science of well-placed blows to vital areas, pressure points or acupuncture points. This study is called kyushojutsu in Japanese.

The first article in this series examined the historical development of this art in Okinawa and Japan. This article continues the examination by focusing on the basic theories behind the art.

Kyushojutsu can be, and often is, explained in terms of two different medical paradigms: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Modern Western Medicine (MWM).

More often than not, the two camps seem to be at odds with each other as to which approach is more valid. However, in this author's opinion, either is fine, and people can probably "pick their poison" so to speak.

What To Call The Vital Points

As much of the original theory behind kyushojutsu lies in the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) paradigm, many proponents in the West use the international acu-point code as nomenclature. Others utilize terminology that is more in line with Modern Western Medicine (MWM), citing nerves and muscles, etc.Still others prefer to use different Asian medical or martial arts terms (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc.) to describe the locations of the points. Adding to the confusion is the fact that while Traditional Chinese Medicine acu-points and Western Medicine's neurological points are often the located on the same body point, other times they are not.

Kyushojutsu Understood
In Terms Of Traditional Chinese Medicine

The TCM paradigm makes use of the principles of acupuncture (qi flow, balance and interrelationships) to describe its methods and effects. Perhaps a short description of the meridians may be in order here.

Centuries ago in China, doctors discovered "passageways" of energy flow, which are called meridians (a geographical term) in English (McCarthy, 1995). There are 12 major bilateral meridians, for various internal organs. They are: Lung, Large Intestine, Stomach, Spleen, Heart, Small Intestine, Bladder, Kidneys, Pericardium, Liver, Gall Bladder, and the Triple Warmer.

In addition, there are other important meridians not associated with organs (often called Extra Meridians, or Extraordinary Vessels), two of which run vertically along the frontal and posterior center-line, the Conception Vessel (or meridian) and the Governing Vessel (or meridian), respectively.Along these meridians are numerous points or "holes" (Sato, 1996) through which energy can be transferred, or the flow of energy can be modified, through needles, fingertips, or heat in medical application, or though trauma in defensive application. These meridians can be broken down into either yin (negative) or yang (positive).

In TCM for health to be maintained, yin energy and yang energy must be balanced within the body (Sato, 1996). The medical arts such as acupuncture, shiatsu, and kikoo (qi gong in Chinese) seek to restore this balance. In contrast, kyushojutsu, in simple terms, can be viewed as attacking this balance, or the flow of energy, within the body to cause bodily damage to the opponent.

One method of using vital point or acu-point strikes employs The Five Element Theory. Some schools of TCM categorize the body's organ meridians into five separate but interrelated elements, namely Fire, Water, Earth, Metal and Wood (Sato, 1996). This is known as the Five Element Theory (FET) which is used to understand how energies related to these elements, which are associated with organs, interrelate, balance, nurture or regulate each other.

The simplistic method of utilizing the FET in kyushojutsu is to follow what is known as the Destructive Cycle. This,is done by attacking the meridians in a specific order to inflict damage upon the opponent by disrupting the flow of energy that regulates (destroys or absorbs) the succeeding or related meridian in the cycle. The Destructive Cycle can be easily remembered by the following formula: Metal cuts Wood; Wood drains nutrition from Earth; Earth absorbs Water; Water puts out Fire; and Fire melts Metal (Sato, 1996; Nakayama, 1998).

Yet another way to apply the kyushojutsu is to attack the meridians during specific time frames, known as shichen in Chinese (McCarthy,1995). This theory states that the energy and blood flow through the meridians is strongest during a specific time of day, corresponding the 12 meridians with 12 two hour periods of the old Chinese clock (McCarthy, 1995; Sato, 1996; Nakayama, 1998). The shichen are broken down into the hours of the Rat, Bull, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Bird, Dog, and Boar, respectively (McCarthy, 1995; Sato, 1996; Nakayama, 1998).

Tradtional Chinese Medicine Versus Modern Western Medicine

Theories of applying kyushojitsu through understanding Traditional Chinese Medicine are not without their detractors, most notably groups of practitioners who research kyushojutsu through Modern Western Medicine (MWM). The MWM approach is useful in providing specific, concrete, scientific examples as to why kyushojutsu works, referring to nerve plexi, tendons, muscles, etc.

Proponents of the MWM approach state that the body's neurological and other systems are well understood and verified scientifically. They point out that meridians have never been scientifically verified (to their satisfaction) and that the whole concept of qi (or chi in Chinese) flies in the face of MWM biochemical concept of the body and its systems. Furthermore, since most acu-points are the same or closely located to neurological points, MWM adherents suggest that a MWM approach makes more sense.

On the other hand, Traditional Chinese medicine appears to be more "descriptive" (for lack of a better word) in its application, preferring to cite "natural" phenomenon such as the Yin-Yang and Five Element Theory. Supporters also point out that recent scientific investigation of acupuncture has confirmed that stimulation of certain acu-points has produced certain organ and brain reactions that can not be explained in terms of Modern Western Medicine.

Even in Asian circles, however, some disagreement exists about some of the TCM theories and principles. In Japan, for example, the Yin-Yang theory has been accepted in the Eastern medical circles, but there seems to be some apprehension about the Five Element Theory. As far back as the Edo period (1603-1867), the scholar Kaihara said that the Five Element Theoryjust makes things "too complicated" (Sato, 1996).

In China, the quanfa master He Yushan stated that the striking of vital areas in terms of the shichen (12 two hour time periods) is preposterous, and later research showed that the blood flow cannot be broken down into 12 equal time periods through the 12 meridians (Jin, 1928).

Rather than bickering about which medical paradigm is more correct, however, some suggest that a better approach might be to combine the two and come up with a concise yet comprehensive explanation (Rench, 1999).

Numerology and Kyushojutsu

If things weren't confusing enough, another aspect of the study of kata and its relation to kyushojutsu is the seeming fascination with numerology. Many tradtional kata (as Gojushiho meaning 54 steps,Nijushiho or 24 steps,Seipai or 18 hands and Senseryu or 36 hands) are named after numbers.

While many seem to think this might be a Chinese phenomenon, it may have actually been imported from India (Zarrilli, 1992). While they are not the only numbers associated with the fighting traditions, some of the more prominent ones are 18, 36, 54, 72, and 108. These numbers can be seen in Indian, Chinese, and Japanese martial arts literature (Jin, 1928; Zarrilli, 1992; McCarthy, 1995; Sato, 1996) and within the names of kata.

One of the most common explanation of the use of these numbers is that there are 108 effective vital points on the human body (used in the martial arts), 36 of which are fatal (Jin, 1928). Another school of thought is that there are 36 vital points, and 72 variations in attacking methodology, making a total of 108 (McCarthy, 1995). Yet another theory lists 36 fatal vital points and 18 non-fatal points (Sato, 1996).

While the exact mechanism of the numerological aspects of the fighting traditions may be lost to antiquity, we are left with several reminders of this ancient heritage in the form of kata names and the number of effective vital points.

---

About The Author:

Joe Swift, native of New York State (USA) has lived in Japan since 1994. He holds a dan-rank in Isshinryu Karatedo, and also currently acts as assistant instructor at the Mushinkan Shoreiryu Karate Kobudo Dojo in Kanazawa, Japan. He is also a member of the International Ryukyu Karate Research Society and the Okinawa Isshinryu Karate Kobudo Association. He currently works as a translator/interpreter for the Ishikawa International Cooperation Research Centre in Kanazawa. He is also on the Board of Advisors for FightingArts.com.

References:

1.Jin Yiming (1928). Secrets of Wudang Boxing. Translation of section on Vital Points, tr. P. and Y. McCarthy, 1994).

2. McCarthy, P. (1995) Bubishi: The Bible of Karate. Tokyo: C.E.
Tuttle.

3. Nakayama T. (1998). Kassatsu Jizai ni Naru (To Heal or Harm at Will). Tokyo: BAB Japan Inc.

4. Rench, A. (1999). Classical Okinawan/Japanese Pressure Points. Unpublished Document.

5. Sato K. (1996). Seiden Jissen Tenketsu-jutsu. (Orthodox Dim Xue for Real Fighting) Tokyo: Baseball Magazine.

6. Zarrilli, P. (1992) "To heal and/or harm: The vital spots
(marmmam/varmam) in two south Indian martial traditions." Journal of Asian Martial Arts. Vol. 1:1 and 1:2.

Originally Published on FightArts.com  publisher Christopher Caille