Gichin Funakoshi's Twenty Precepts (Part 2)

In my previous post I detailed the first 10 of Gichin Funakoshi's Precepts.

Here are the last 10!

十一

空手は湯の如し絶えず熱度を与えざれば元の水に還る

Karate Wa Yu No Gotoku Taezu Netsu O Atae Zareba Motono Mizuni Kaeru

11. Karate is like boiling water: without heat, it returns to its tepid state.

This is straightforward, but a good analogy.
With a certain amount of heat you can make the water boil. With only a little heat it will not boil and just sit at a lower temperature. Apply no heat and it will cool to room temperature. With a lot of heat it will gain enough energy to completely vaporise.

Another analogy for the same thing, is 'swimming upstream'. 
In order to successfully swim against the current, you need to put in a certain amount of effort. With 'some' effort you might only just match the speed of the current and not actually get anywhere. With no effort, you will undo any progress and go back downstream with the current.



十二

勝つ考は持つな負けぬ考は必要

Katsu kangae wa motsuna; makenu kangae wa hitsuyo

12. Do not think of winning; think, rather, of not losing.

There is a big difference between 'winning' and 'not losing'. There seems to be a mindset in people, especially in today's society, where 'winning' is the goal. People think that in order to be successful and happy in life you must be a winner. Realistically the idea of 'winning' is subjective, it's not as absolute as it appears.

When being focused on winning, you're only looking for one outcome to any situation, so most of the time, setting yourself up for disappointment.
Rather than thinking of only one outcome, be open to many possible outcomes as long as it's not negative. If you're focused on 'not losing', you're more open to different possibilities, as long as you ensure that what ever the situation is, turns out well.

In a self-defence situation, it's best to have a mindset of 'not losing'. Winning only involves 'beating' the opponent. Not losing involves any thing from beating the opponent to 'dropping it and walking away'. If you're not worried about winning, you are able to "make adjustments according to your opponent" and choose the best outcome based on virtue, not ego.



十三

敵に因って轉化せよ

Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo

13. Make adjustments according to your opponent.

In his movie Enter the Dragon, Bruce Lee's character says: "When the opponent expand, I contract. When he contracts, I expand. And, when there is an opportunity, I do not hit - it hits all by itself."

You must be able to react and change according to your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. The idea is to have enough skill to be able to react with effective technique that suits the situation, to be fluid and not rigid.

If you're rigid with your techniques, you will be predictable. The opponent might have skills that might out-match yours. If you can adapt and change in the moment you will be more difficult to defeat.

The same is true of your opinions and mindset. A true warrior is open-minded and willing to see different points of view. To make adjustments in your mindset and attitude according to the information you are presented with.



十四

戦は虚実の操縦如何に在り

Tattakai wa kyo-jitsu no soju ikan ni ari

14. The outcome of a battle depends on how one handles emptiness and fullness (weakness and strength).

In the Art of War it says:
"If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected ."


The main point here is 'adaptability'. We should be able to observe the opponent and situation then adapt to it, taking advantage of their strengths or weaknesses by utilising our strengths or weaknesses.

There is not just 'one way' that will work in all situations. Our actions and decisions must be tailored to the situation and the opponent.
How you handle your, the opponent's or the situation's emptiness and fullness determines the outcome

In a previous post I discussed the concept of The Emptiness Concept You should read that when you have finished this one :)



十五

人の手足を剣と思へ

Hi to no te-ashi wa ken to omoe

15. Think of hands and feet as swords.

The word 'Karate' directly translates as 'Empty Hands', this doesn't mean that a Karateka is weaponless.
As Funakoshi Sensei says, your hands and feet should be thought of as weapons. This doesn't just refer to their use in combat. It's obvious that if there aren't weapons available and you must defend yourself, then parts of your body need to be used or you will face defeat. 
This precept also refers to how you look after your weapons and how you develop them into stronger, more reliable weapons.

We learn how to do the techniques correctly, in effect teaching us how to make/use the weapon. Examples of this are: straight wrist and elbow, strike with 'Seiken Knuckles', pull the toes back, strike with the ball of the foot, all the little technical things about the techniques.
We can also make the weapons stronger with constant practice and Hojo Undo training. Hojo Undo (meaning Supplementary Training) is a traditional Okinawan method of training designed to strengthen and harden your weapons to increase their effectiveness.

We should also think of the opponent's hands and feet as swords too. Either when training or in actual combat, always be aware of the position and direction of the opponent's 'weapons'.

十六

男子門を出づれば百万の敵あり

Danshi mon o izureba hyakuman no teki ari

16. When you step beyond your own gate, you face a million enemies.

This is about awareness and being prepared. Whenever you're "beyond your own gate", at all times, keep your head up and be aware of the people around you, whether you are in a crowded place or on your own.

If someone (or a group of people) looks dodgy, you should know, firstly, that they are there, then keep an eye on them. Don’t be taken by surprise, all the training in the world won’t help if you’re struck down before you even know what happened.



十七

構は初心者に後は自然体

Kamae wa shoshinsha ni atowa shizentai

17. Kamae (ready stance) for beginners; later one stands in shizentai (natural stance).

This precept is quite often forgotten in modern martial arts. People train for years and years doing "traditional stances" like Zenkutsu Dachi but fail to realise the message that Funakoshi Sensei was teaching.

In general, beginners lack the strength and understanding of their own bodies to do techniques with any speed or power, so need to practice in the exaggerated stances to make their body gain strength and to build more 'body awareness' so to have control over every part of their body. 

Advanced Karateka have the strength and a higher level of body awareness, doing the "traditional stances" later is more or less superfluous. In reality, constantly training in stance's like Zenkutsu Dachi for a long period of time (in some cases 3, 4 or 5 decades), can actually be damaging to things like knees and back. 



十八

形は正しく実戦は別物

Kata wa tadashiku, jisen wa betsumono

18. Perform Kata exactly; actual combat is another matter.

This is basically a combination of  the precepts 13, 14 and 17.
Just as precept 17 talks about with stances, we learn Kata with exaggerated movements in order to build speed, power and accuracy together with 'body awareness' so we can execute the techniques more effectively.

What Funakoshi is saying when he says "actual combat is another matter"  is the same message as he says in precepts 13 and 14, in real life situations, what is correct or incorrect is more fluid than in Kata. Kata must be exact so we can build skill and hone technique, but in real combat there are no rules and those that try to follow the rules will probably be defeated.

We need to take the skills we have built in Kata training and learn to adapt them to the situation and the opponent. The ability to improvise on the fly is vitally important, kata practice on its own will not provide this.



十九

力の強弱体の伸縮技の緩急を忘るな

Chikara no kyojaku tai no shinshuku waza no kankyu

19. Do not forget the employment or withdrawal of power, the extension or contraction of the body, the swift or leisurely application of technique.

All of these motions of the body are found throughout the Kata. To truly be a proficient Karateka you must understand when and how these should be employed.

Funakoshi Sensei is referring to the many different complex things your body is doing at any one time, in any particular technique.
Even for a relatively straightforward technique, like a simple punch, there are many different muscles doing many different things in order to achieve the effective completion of that technique.
Your body does most of these things automatically, but if you are consciously aware of what each part of your body does in order to produce a certain outcome, you have the understanding to perform techniques with great effectiveness and reduced effort and energy you put into those techniques.

This higher level of understanding of each technique isn't easy. It takes years of training to gain this type of knowledge. For the understanding of the dozens and dozens of different things your body does in any one technique, you must practice that technique over and over thousands of times.



二十

常に思念工夫せよ

Tsune ni shinen ku fu seyo

20. Be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful in your pursuit of the Way.

This last precept is both straightforward and complex at the same time. Books can be written about this. My interpretation of it is best described with the following words:
Focus
Dedication
Commitment
Mindfulness
Astute
Determination
Vigilant
Conviction
Honesty
Persistence
Subtle
Tenacity
Wisdom
Faithfulness
Observant
Perseverance
Development
Willpower
Respectful

These are just words, but to a dedicated Budoka, it is what it's all about.
I'll leave you to reflect on why each of the above terms are necessary in 'your pursuit of the Way.'






Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have.

Thanks for reading.
Derm

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