Saturday, July 16, 2005

Karate History
Most Western students of Asian martial arts, if they have done any research on the subject at all, will surely have come across references to Bodhidharma. He is known as "Daruma" in Japan and as often as not, this Indian Buddhist monk is cited as the prime source for all martial arts styles or at the very least, for any style which traces its roots back to the fabled Shaolin Temple. However, the question of his contributions to the martial arts and to Zen Buddhism and even of his very existence has been a matter of controversy among historians and martial arts scholars for many years (Spiessbach,1992). As legend has it, the evolution of karate began over a thousand years ago, possibly as early as the fifth century BC when Bodhidharma arrived in Shaolin-si (small forest temple), China from India and taught Zen Buddhism. He also introduced a systematized set of exercises designed to strengthen the mind and body, exercises which allegedly marked the beginning of the Shaolin style of temple boxing. Bodhidharma's teachings later became the basis for the majority of Chinese martial arts. In truth, the origins of karate appear to be somewhat obscure and little is known about the early development of karate until it appeared in Okinawa. Okinawa is a small island of the group that comprises modern day Japan. It is the main island in the chain of Ryuku Islands which spans from Japan to Taiwan. Surrounded by coral, Okinawa is approximately 10 km (6 mi) wide and only about 110 km (less than 70 mi) long. It is situated 740 km (400 nautical mi) east of mainland China, 550 km (300 nautical miles) south of mainland Japan and an equal distance north of Taiwan. Being at the crossroads of major trading routes, its significance as a "resting spot" was first discovered by the Japanese. It later developed as a trade center for southeastern Asia, trading with Japan, China, Indo China, Thailand, Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. In its earliest stages, the martial art known as "karate" was an indigenous form of closed fist fighting which was developed in Okinawa and called Te, or 'hand'. Weapons bans, imposed on the Okinawans at various points in their history, encouraged the refinement of empty-hand techniques and, for this reason, was trained in secret until modern times. Further refinement came with the influence of other martial arts brought by nobles and trade merchants to the island. Te continued to develop over the years, primarily in three Okinawan cities: Shuri, Naha and Tomari. Each of these towns was a center to a different sect of society: kings and nobles, merchants and business people, and farmers and fishermen, respectively. For this reason, different forms of self-defense developed within each city and subsequently became known as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te. Collectively they were called Okinawa-Te or Tode, 'Chinese hand'. Gradually, karate was divided into two main groups: Shorin-ryu which developed around Shuri and Tomari and Shorei-ryu which came from the Naha area. "It is important to note, however, that the towns of Shuri, Tomari, Naha are only a few miles apart, and that the differences between their arts were essentially ones of emphasis, not of kind. Beneath these surface differences, both the methods and aims of all Okinawan karate are one in the same" (Howard, 1991). Gichin Funakoshi goes further to suggest that these two styles were developed based on different physical requirements Funakoshi, 1935). Shorin-ryu was quick and linear with natural breathing while Shorei-ryu emphasized steady, rooted movements with breathing in synchrony with each movement. Interestingly, this concept of two basic styles also exist in kung-fu with a similar division of characteristics (Wong, 1978). The Chinese character used to write Tode could also be pronounced 'kara' thus the name Te was replaced with kara te - jutsu or 'Chinese hand art' by the Okinawan Masters. This was later changed to karate-do by Gichin Funakoshi who adopted an alternate meaning for the Chinese character for kara, 'empty'. From this point on the term karate came to mean 'empty hand'. The Do in karate-do means 'way' or 'path', and is indicative of the discipline and philosophy of karate with moral and spiritual connotations. The concept of Do has been prevalent since at least the days of the Okinawan Scholar Teijunsoku born in 1663, as this passage from a poem he wrote suggests: No matter how you may excel in the art of te, And in your scholastic endevours, Nothing is more important than your behavior And your humanity as observed in daily life. (Nagamine,1976) The first public demonstration of karate in Japan was in 1917 by Gichin Funakoshi, at the Butoku-den in Kyoto (Hassell 1984). This, and subsequent demonstrations, greatly impressed many Japanese, including the Crown-Prince Hirohito, who was very enthusiastic about the Okinawan art. In 1922, Dr. Jano Kano, founder of the Japanese art of Judo, invited Funakoshi to demonstrate at the famous Kodokan Dojo and to remain in Japan to teach karate. This sponsorship was instrumental in establishing a base for karate in Japan. As an Okinawan "peasant art," karate would have been scorned by the Japanese without the backing of so formidable a martial arts master (Maliszewski, 1992). Today there are four main styles of karate-do in Japan: Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Shotokan, and Wado-ryu: Goju-ryu developed out of Naha-te, its popularity primarily due to the success of Kanryo Higaonna (1853-1915). Higaonna opened a dojo in Naha using eight forms brought from China. His best student, Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953) later founded Goju-ryu, 'hard soft way' in 1930. In Goju-ryu much emphasis is placed on combining soft circular blocking techniques with quick strong counter attacks delivered in rapid succession. Shito-ryu was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952) in 1928 and was influenced directly by both Naha-te and Shuri-te. The name Shito is constructively derived from the combination of the Japanese characters of Mabuni's teachers' names - Ankoh Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna. Shito-ryu schools use a large number of kata, about fifty, and is characterized by an emphasis on power in the execution of techniques. Shotokan was founded by Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) in Tokyo in 1938. Funakoshi is considered to be the founder of modern karate. Born in Okinawa, he began to study karate with Yasutsune Azato, one of Okinawa's greatest experts in the art. In 1921 Funakoshi first introduced Karate to Tokyo. In 1936, at nearly 70 years of age, he opened his own training hall. The dojo was called Shotokan after the pen name used by Funakoshi to sign poems written in his youth. Shotokan Karate is characterized by powerful linear techniques and deep strong stances. Wado-ryu, 'way of harmony', founded in 1939 is a system of karate developed from jujitsu and karate by Hienori Otsuka as taught by one of his instructors, Gichin Funakoshi. This style of karate combines basic movements of jujitsu with techniques of evasion, putting a strong emphasis on softness and the way of harmony or spiritual discipline.
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The Invaders
The Great wall, and China's army, was mostly successful in repelling invaders, but around mid 17th century, invaders from Manchurian, lead by the Ching Family, ended China's Golden area, and the Ming Dynasties reign. They slowly but surely and brutally took control of China and systematically eradicated all resistance. Many Chinese nobles, warriors and commoners were forced underground where they sought to oust the invaders and reinstate the prosperous Ming Dynasty. There were a significant number of factions among the Chinese who aided the Manchu's against Ming loyalists, in large part because the Manchu's held to the same ideology, governmental patterns, and social organization as the Ming. By the early 1600's the Ming dynasty was significantly weakened. It was unable to cope with both its own internal tensions and the militarily strong 50's to the northeast. An internal rebellion was the direct cause of the downfall of this dynasty ( Chinese rebel Li Tzu-ch'eng seized Peking in 1644 ). That the Dutchmen were able to capitalize on this by being invited to put down the rebellion by a frontier general is largely coincidental. The Great Wall was hardly so impregnable that they would not have been able to invade and conquer the area in its weakened state. Thus the Manchu's found the entrance to China and slowly but steadily conquered China. Those that did not wish to conform had to either migrate or go underground, some also sought refuge in the Shaolin temples. Shaolin initially only offered passive resistance against the invaders, seeking to remain above the political matters. It helped anyone who sought refuge and thus involuntarily became a safe haven for refugees and resistance fighters. The Manchu's also had 5 classes of people clearly defined; The Manchu Ruler and his family The Manchu Nobles and their families Manchurians in general Northern Chinese Southern Chinese Many loyal Ming soldiers and nobles sought refuge and help in Shaolin. Shaolin, although themselves passive, became a center of resistance. This was a thorn in the invaders side and needed to be dealt with, drastically, but -
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5 Animal Styles
A martial art expert named Zhue Yuen joined the Shaolin. He noticed that the Kung Fu practiced in Shaolin was unbalanced, tending strongly to the hard external style. Zhue Yuen travelled China in search of other martial art styles and found many which he learned and evaluated. But it wasn't until he reached the town of Lan Zhau and met Li Sou that anything significant happened. Li Sou introduced Zhue Yuen to Bai Yu Feng, who was another famous martial arts practitioner. Zhue Yuen was able to convince both to come back with him to Shaolin to develop Kung Fu. Together they redeveloped Shaolin Kung Fu to the 5 animal style ( Tiger, Snake, Dragon, Leopard and Crane ). Although originally just exercise and Kung Fu styles, over the next few hundred years the Shaolin were able to discover and develop the 5 Animal Style system to be metaphors for human situation handling, interaction, problem solving, planning and much more ( much of this was lost with the second burning of Shaolin and only the external Kung Fu aspect was cultivated and maintained; but more on that later ).
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The 13 Champions
In 698 AD, Emperor T'ai Tsung, of the Tang dynasty, called upon the fighting monks of Shaolin to aid him in his war against General Wang-Shih-Chung, who had gathered a large army in an attempt to oust the Tang emperor from the Imperial throne. Li Shimini, the Emperors son, was leading the army against Tang. Tang managed to capture the Emperors son and was inflicting great damage to tangs army. Tang sent a message to the Shaolin temple asking for help to save his son. 13 monks were sent to answer their emperor's plea, although in fact it may have been a much larger force (113 monks or so). Even though the number of Shaolin monks sent was small ( the enemy's army numbered 10,000 men ) the Shaolin were victorious, the enemy was beaten back and decimated and the Emperors son was saved. In recognition of their great action T'ai Tsung awarded the monks land, and bestowed upon the temple the title, 'Number One" temple in China. Later that same saved son, Li Shimini, succeeded his father and a very strong bond was forged between the Imperial court and Shaolin. Regular interchange and training between high ranking soldiers and graduate Shaolin Warrior Monks saw further development of Shaolin Kung Fu and the integration of the secret Imperial ( Eagle ) Kung Fu into Shaolin knowledge and skills.
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Shaolin Kung Fu
Many of the Shaolin priests were retired soldiers and generals, thus, Ta Mo's teachings were enriched and refined by these martial art masters and it slowly developed in to a martial art of the hands also known as Shaolin Ch'uan [ Shaolin Fist ] or Shaolin Ch'uan Fa [ Way of the Shaolin Fist ]. Shaolin was not a poor temple by this time and was regularly attacked by peasant armies ( since individuals had no chance to penetrate Shaolin defences and walls ). Often, to enrich it's knowledge, Shaolin would invite wandering healers, scholars and now also martial art masters into it's walls to learn from these by sharing knowledge and skills. Shaolin became very apt at Kung Fu and in repelling the attacking bandits. Slowly but surly the Shaolin became renown for their martial arts prowess and fighting ability. It is to be noted that not all Shaolin Monks were warrior monks, often they chose to specialise in areas of expertise, much like university professors. Although at this time all practiced Kung Fu, not all were totally focused on the practical aspect of the art, only the Warrior Monks. It is also interesting to note that Shaolin preferred not to hurt their assailants as this would have ramifications for their spirituality in this life and the next! A mere 30 years later, Shaolin was closed and forbidden, it took some 30 more years, around 600AD, before it was reopened.
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The Establishment of Shaoling
The Establishment of Shaolin Towards the end of the 5th Century AD an Indian Buddhist monk by name of Ba Tuo was travelling through China teaching Buddhism, helping and guiding those he met. His great wisdom and kindness came to the ears of the Emperor who summoned Ba Tuo to come to him. Exact details of what happened at this meeting are not entirely clear but is seems that Ba Tuo was offered riches, a place in the palace and encouraged to continue his teachings. Ba Tao kindly declined this offer and asked for a piece of land far away from any 'civilised' place in the province of Henan, on the side of the Song sang Mountain. There he was given a large piece of land and the resources to build a monastery in an area called 'Wooded Hill' or 'Small Forest', which translates to Shaolin in Mandarin or Sil-Lum in Cantonese.
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Today I found out that I won't be able to play for at least one month.
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