"Shu" 守 - The First Step Towards Mastery

守破離
SHU-HA-RI
This is a Japanese term directly meaning “Obey - Digress - Separate” , but (as I described in this post) within the context of Budo it more appropriately means “Follow the rules - Break the rules - Make the rules”, or also could be interpreted to mean “First learn - then detach - then transcend.”

Understanding SHU-HA-RI is understanding the process of mastery.

Today's post is about the first level 'SHU', the stages involved that lead towards the next level 'HA' and how to identify the characteristics of a practitioner in this level.



The Importance of SHU
SHU is by far the most important level. It sets up the foundations of all Budo.
Without going through the stages involved in this level, your Budo will be at least missing something vital and at most pointless and ineffectual.
Many practitioners underestimate the importance of SHU and think that it's ok to skip part or all of it, this never works very effectively.
SHU is easily categorised by having the exact techniques and strict rules to follow, in other words what we generally call "the Style".
In general, a person moves onto the next level (HA) when they begin to question these rules and attempt to understand the reasons for those rules.
A problem can arise when practitioners question the system and they start think that the system and rules aren't necessary. They even think that the system holds people back, so they mistakenly abandon the system/rules and teach beginners with the mindset and attitudes of 'HA', encouraging them to find their own way and not using structured forms. Bruce Lee is a good example of someone who has done this.
The mistake is assuming that the rules hold everyone back. Sticking to the rules only holds back those who have developed beyond the need for them.
Everyone (at the beginning) needs the rules and system in place in order to learn what Budo involves. How can you question the rules if you never learn what those rules are?



The Point is to STUDY & LEARN
It's a part of human nature to 'take the path of least resistance' so therefore be lazy and expect all of the answers will just come automatically.
In reality a practitioner in SHU should be putting effort into learning all the time. Learning is a difficult process and people tend to be naturally resistant to it.
A big step involved in SHU is overcoming this resistance to learning and become adept at open-mindedness with adsorbing new ideas, concepts and techniques.
A good student is practiced at analysing things, thinking things over and over. It becomes second nature to study something (a kata for example), rather than simply having superficial basic knowledge about it.



Stages of SHU

• Beginner - Knows nothing, the very beginning. 
• Novice - Only has basic knowledge of the system.
• Intermediate - Has sound knowledge of most of the system.
• Advanced - Knows the whole system, some of it very well.
• Expert - Knows the entire system like the back of their hand (this is the equivalent to somewhere between Shodan and Yondan grade levels).

Once a student is an "expert" and they have sufficient knowledge and experience, they are ready for transition into the 'HA' level. This student is now in a position question their system and begin seeking their 'own way'.

12 signs that you are in (and therefore still need) SHU
Sometimes it can be difficult to judge ourselves in an unbiased way. So it's easy to think we might be at a different stage in our development than we actually are.
The most common misjudgement is believing you've moved on to HA when you're still in (and therefore still need) SHU.
Here's 12 signs of a person in SHU:

1. Require an instructor - If you require someone to teach or coach you in order to develop and grow.
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2. Still learning Kihon - If there are fundamental techniques that you still need to learn or correct.
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3. Don't Know The Whole System - There are still Kata, exercises and patterns within the syllabus of your style that you are still yet to learn.
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4. 'Punches' and 'kicks' - People in SHU commonly refer Karate a 'striking art'. With time and experience we realise that there is a lot more depth regarding the variety of technique applications (any idiot can just punch another person).
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5. Strict Rules - The rules are there to ensure students learn correctly and build strong foundations. A person in SHU needs the rules and should follow them in order to not make silly avoidable mistakes. The rules are there as a framework to follow.
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6. Require Embusen - Similar to the above point about rules. Kata is set up in a specific pattern (embusen) in order to make it easier to remember and also as a structured learning model for those particular techniques.
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7. Putting Value In The Wong Place - The average person in the early years of their Budo career generally places value on the wrong things.
   For example; Tournament medals, grade certificates, fancy belts, fancy uniforms, fancy training locations, looking good in front of others and trying to impress 'Sensei'.
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8. Assuming SHU Is The Whole Journey - Many Budoka would look at the stages listed above (Beginner, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert) as the whole picture. They fail to realise that this is only the beginning and that HA & Ri make up the majority of the journey. These are the sort of people that quit after grading to black belt, unfortunately many of them will never develop beyond SHU.
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9. Ignorance - Lack of knowledge in general. When there is still much to learn regarding the basic concepts.
   This might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many Budoka consider themselves 'advanced' but are truly ignorant, even with basic concepts.
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10. Optional Bunkai - Only a person in SHU isn't absolutely required to know the Bunkai.
    The focus of certain stages within SHU quite often aren't centred around "how to make it work practically", they are more about building strength or learning fundamentals. This isn't the case in every other stage in HA and RI - True Budo is primarily about the Bunkai all the time.
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11. Training or Practical? - Not knowing the distinction between techniques that are designed for a practical purpose and techniques that are designed just for training purposes. You see this when someone attempts to explain a practical application for something that is clearly just a training exercise.
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12. Frustrations - Only a person in SHU should get frustrated with the journey.
    Most of the time frustrations are born of the above mentioned ignorance. A person who still needs to learn the point of Budo training will make the common human mistake of placing blame on others and will act like they're journey is somehow unfair.
    They get upset that 'Sensei' didn't grade them yet - they get upset because 'Sensei' graded someone else - they get upset because they haven't progressed at the rate they expected - they get upset because they're having trouble correcting certain technique - they get upset for not performing well in a tournament - they get upset because their own ignorance is causing them confusion (saying things like "why don't I know that yet?"). All of these frustrations are just immaturity and eventually, when we grow beyond the SHU level, we learn that these trivial concerns are silly and don't have much to do with the overall way of Budo. 

12 signs that you're stuck in SHU
A person might have the knowledge and experience enough begin questioning things and move onto HA, but they choose not to. They seem to be stuck in SHU for some reason. Here's 12 signs that you are stuck in SHU and need to get past before you can truly move to the next level.

1. Unable To Consider Anything Other Than The System - The belief that other styles and system are incorrect or wrong. Unwilling to be open-minded enough to seek other opinions or options.
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2. Executing Known Kihon In Stages - As a beginner, many of the techniques are taught to us in separate stages so we ensure we're doing them correctly. A person stuck in SHU had be executing their kihon like this for years, they fail to stat making the techniques more natural and practical.
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3. Short-term Mindset - Training for grades, tournament results and other superficial goals.
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4. Sensei Is Always Right - Taking lessons from seniors as absolute truth. When someone is unwilling to be open-minded and seek other opinions or options, they tend to put too much importance on the words of just one person, they don't really think for themselves. "I do it like this because that's what Sensei told me to do, anything else must be wrong."
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5. Questioning is taboo - A Person that is unwilling to move from SHU to HA has come to rely too much on their style and their Sensei. They don't want to know that what they do may not be 'the best style'. They don't want to face the fact the all systems have some inherent flaws and no instructor is perfect. They'd rather not think for themselves and possibly face that. So they're unwilling to question things. It get's the point where questioning things is seen as 'disrespectful' - this is of course stupid.
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6. Animosity towards those who do Question - The sort of person who is unwilling to question things will also try to force this mindset on others (especially lower grades). As time goes on, a culture develops within the class (or even the whole club) of staying ignorant.
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7. Missing the point of SHU - The point of SHU is to provide a foundation for your Budo. SHU is meant to set you up for the HA level. If you're not willing to move onto that level, many of the concepts within SHU have been misunderstood.
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8. Etiquette and Traditions - The majority of traditions are part of the 'rules' of the system and therefore are required for SHU. Those who are stuck in SHU are the type of people that are unwilling to put any thought into the reasons for certain traditions.
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9. Fear of (and a resistance to) Change - New ideas and new ways of looking at things are an essential part of the transition into 'HA'. A person who is unwilling to change their point of view is too reliant on the 'rules' and has trouble dealing with any changes or adaptations to things.
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10. Fear of Responsibility - A key feature of SHU is that a student has a 'safety net' inherent in the system, they can rely on the system to follow and clearly see what is the right and wrong thing to do. Once moving beyond the SHU level a student doesn't have that 'safety net' to rely on, the clear defined rules become 'fuzzy'. They must take responsibility for their Budo. They have to start making their own decisions and find their own way. A person with no confidence in their own abilities will never take the responsibility for their Budo away from the system and will happily stay stuck in SHU.
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11. Complacency - To be happy with their current level of ability and have no need to put any additional effort into further development. This is worse than simply staying within the SHU level, as it also doesn't actually work. You can't just stop developing and stay there if you don't put effort in, you'll go backwards. As Gichin Funakoshi says: "Karate is like boiling water, without heat, it returns to its tepid state."
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12. Oversimplifying Bunkai - I mentioned above that those in SHU think of Karate as a 'striking art'. The person who oversimplifies bunkai is the extension of this mindset and is therefore stuck in SHU. This person only conceives one bunkai for any section of kata. They only think of simple parries and strikes. While we should be careful not to over-complicate the Bunkai, if your bunkai is unimaginative and unrealistic for real life applications it's simply useless. Watch this video and pay attention to both their distancing and the way the attacker uses very rigid attacks and basically gives himself over to be 'defended against'.

In this video's defence it does say that it's "Basic Bunkai", so they're not really saying that an advanced Budoka would use this. The problem is, in my opinion, that these Bunkai don't actually help anything. It's too simple, so much so that nothing in this video has a very high chance of working against a real attack. If anything they give the practitioner a false since of security, assuming they could use this to defend themselves.



This is the first in a series of posts I'm doing regarding SHU-HA-RI. The next post will be all about the next level 'HA' and making your Budo your own.
So stay tuned.

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

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

"Ha" 破 - Make It Your Own

Today's post is part 2 after last week's post. If you haven't read that yet, please click here.


守破離
SHU-HA-RI
This is a Japanese term. A similar concept exists within in Chinese culture, called DI-REN-TIAN 地人天.
This literally means 'Earth - Human - Heavens'.

The Earth with a Human standing on it under the Heavens

This concept exists within Chinese martial arts. So it's probable that one concept has given rise to (or inspired) the other.

Today's post is about the major part of real Budo training, 'HA', the stages involved that might lead towards the next level (RI) and how to identify the characteristics of a practitioner in the HA level.



Stages of HA
It's important to understand that the stages involved in HA are not a simple linear progression as they are in SHU.

• New Horizons - Not actually a stage, but a moment. It is that point of crossing the threshold from SHU into HA. That point when you realise that there is A LOT more too it than what you've been doing before now. The funny thing is that this might happen several time while in HA.
• Questioning - Taking everything you know and question it. Every little assumption, every rule, all techniques, everything! Seek to understand why it is the way it is, think about why different people do it differently. The aim is to deepen your understanding of all things related to your Budo.
• Searching - Seeking information to broaden your knowledge, skills and abilities, this is different to the previous level. When in SHU it's all handed to you. In HA you need to find new knowledge yourself.
• Innovate & Create - Take the framework you built in SHU and slowly add and remove different aspects and techniques so that it works better for you.
• Lost In Ha - With no clear rules as a guide and so much more information and options, it's easy to "get lost". It is a requirement to get a little bit lost within HA in order to find your own way, but you must be careful not to get completely lost. Getting lost completely among all the different ways and opinions could take your budo somewhere you don't want it to go.
• Repeat - As I mentioned, this is not a linear progression. You may come into these stages in almost any order and it's possible to be in a couple of stages at the same time for different aspects of your budo. You won't be able to just tick a box and say "I've done that now, time to move on" It doesn't work that way. You will find you'll need to go over things again and again.

In a previous post (this post), I explained that the whole process is complex and different depending on the skill you're trying to master. So the path that your journey takes will be structured differently for different skills and mindsets, compared to other people's. In reality, it looks less like the linear journey depicted below on the first picture and more the second picture:

Make it your own
When you're in SHU, you're following someone else's way. For example, everyone that trains in the Shotokan style are following Funakoshi's way.
Where the point of SHU was to "follow the rules", the point of HA is to "break the rules". In other words, you no longer follow someone else's way, you need to use the knowledge you have to find YOUR OWN WAY.



12 Signs that you're in HA

1. Questioning Everything - Take nothing for granted. Double check and question everything.
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2. Value of Teaching Others -A person who has to explain it others develops a deeper understanding for themselves. As the saying goes "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." - Albert Einstein (apparently)
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3. Multiple Bunkai - With practice experience we eventually realise that every section of every kata can have more than one application. It's probable that the person who originally devised the technique only had one Bunkai in mind, but a wise budoka realises that almost any technique can be applied in almost any situation.
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4. Beyond Pettiness - A person who has truly progressed past the SHU level, knows that all the immature things (that I mentioned in point 12 in last weeks post) are only going to hold back future development. Budo should be for 'Character Development', and a person with a 'developed character' is a mature person.
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5. Beyond Styles - A person who has truly progressed past the SHU level, knows that all the styles and all the variations don't really matter. What matters is what you are learning and who you become. The style you do this in doesn't really change anything. A person who has truly progressed to the HA level should be seeking different opinions and looking outside their style anyway.
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6. Optional Embusen - They say that Chojun Miyagi coined the term: "Do not be fooled by the rule of embusen." The embusen of a kata is there for those in SHU, in order to learn and remember the kata. A person in HA knows that the patterns that the kata follow doesn't have any bearing on how the Bunkai could be executed.
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7. Critical Thinking - Not everyone is naturally used to using critical thinking automatically all the time. But a true Budoka must develop the skills to objectively analyse as much as possible. They must know to think for themselves and not always rely on the judgments of others.
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8. Making No Assumptions - When thinking and analysing, it's easy to draw certain conclusions and not bother to double check or find some sort of evidence.
   If you draw a conclusion without putting extra effort into making sure that it's correct, then you've made an assumption. A smart person doesn't let assumptions influence their opinions.
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9. Open Mindedness - While a true Budoka don't need to rely on the judgments of others, they should be open to other ideas and opinions. Especially if it's not in line with their current views and ideas.
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10. Who You Are, Not What You Do - The realisation that Budo training is about the person you become rather than the fact that you "train in martial arts". It's less about appearances and more about who you are in the inside.
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11. More Than Fighting - As I explained in this post, traditional Budo is a fusion of fighting skill and learning to be a virtuous person.
    A person who has reached the HA level starts to understand how much effort is required in the 'virtue' side of Budo training.
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12. Understanding the 'Way' - A big step on the journey is actually realising what "the way" is. It's a tricky thing to figure out for some, but an important stage in your understanding.

12 Signs that you're lost in HA
The majority of Budoka don't progress into the final level (RI). Many stay in HA. The main reason is that there is no clear direction to follow when you're making it your own. Without a map or compass, it's easy to get lost if you're not careful.
Here's 12 signs that you're lost in HA:

1. Confusion - If you lack a clear idea of your Budo's direction of development.
   In the transition from SHU to HA, the options and decisions to be made drastically increases . It's easy to become overwhelmed by everything.
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2. Boredom - If you find you have lost your momentum and motivation for Budo. This can also be a result of becoming overwhelmed by everything.
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3. Over-Complicating Bunkai - In last week's post I mentioned that people stuck in SHU can sometimes over-simplify bunkai. The opposite can also be a problem. Budoka sometimes tend to think up overly complex applications for kata. The thought is that is that if they can come up with an incredibly complex and convoluted bunkai, then they're obviously a better (smarter) martial artist. This is not true. The more complex a bunkai, the less chance is that you'll be able to make it work when you need it to. It's about keeping it simple, but of course not so simple that it's ineffective.
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4. Completely Change Everything - The idea of HA is 'making it your own', but sometimes a person will go too far and change too much too quickly. When in SHU we learn what Budo is about, if we completely throw all that away, then what we come up with when 'making it our own' will most likely be ineffective and probably nonsensical.
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5. Forget Practicality - To just focus on the 'art form' and forget the purpose of those techniques. The physical aspect of Budo training is always about being able to defend ourselves. If you don't have that, irrespective of how nice the kata looks, you're not really a budoka.
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6. Too Busy Teaching - Many people in the HA level make their priority about teaching, rather than their own training. Remember, a good instructor still does their own training more than they teach others.
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7. Learning Lessons But Not Learning From Lessons - With the transition into HA brings new insights and knowledge. We learn many new ideas and concepts. The problem is that with many people (not just martial artists) learn something or gain a new insight in life, but they fail to actually apply it to their practices and/or way of living. So will become frustrated in something that has become more and more an obvious truth, but they still haven't learnt from it. "Sometimes in life, your situation will keep repeating itself, until you learn your lesson." - Brigitte Nicole
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8. Arrogance - With the realisation that you are no longer required to 'follow the rules' sometimes comes an attitude of "I'm pretty awesome, look how far I've come!"
   Letting your progress go to your head is not the way and an indication that you fail to realise how much more there is yet to still learn.
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9. Failure To See Other Points Of View - As I mentioned above, When 'finding your own way' it's easy to only rely on your own opinion. Of course a good Budoka finds their way, but still be open to the lessons and ideas of other Budoka.
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10. No longer "Budo" - When you've changed things so much that what you're doing is no longer martial arts. It resembles sport and nothing else. This is a very unfortunate thing to happen and perpetuates the type of schools many know as the "McDojo".
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11. Not RI - A person lost in HA will be unable to find their way to the RI level. Next weeks post will have details about what the RI level is, but if you're lost in HA (for whatever reason) you will not reach the understanding and natural skill required to
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12. Stopped Learning - In my mind, the saddest thing to happen to a Budoka (and budo as a whole) is if the Budoka stops learning. This is most common in certain people who achieve the higher grades and special titles like "Hanchi" and "Shihan". Many of these people and their students wouldn't like to admit it, but you can see it with older instructors, especially the ones that run certain clubs. Some have been training in the way of Budo for 40, 50 or even 60 years but have now stopped learning (in some cases even stopped training). This is the extreme of the above point about being "too busy teaching". These people have amassed extensive knowledge and wisdom over the years, but then just stop. Their own budo stagnates.
    No one person can 'know it all' but these people have forgotten that there is always more to learn. To put it bluntly, they're so wrapped up in being the 'head-honcho' that they miss out on truly reaching the RI level. You might say, maybe they have already reached the RI level, but if that were true then their budo wouldn't have stagnated. They would still train (regardless of age) and they would still be seeking new insight and abilities.

This is the second in a series of posts I'm doing regarding SHU-HA-RI. The next post will be all about the next level 'RI' and the ultimate aim of the most advanced Budoka.
So stay tuned.

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

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

8 things you know will enahnce your Budo but you don't do

Lets be honest, we all have things that we could be doing that will enhance our Budo, but we're still not doing it. Here's a handful of things that fall into that category:

一 Do something every day
Don't just wait until the next time you're back at the Dojo before you do anymore training. The best way to enhance your budo and make it a part of you is to be doing it regularly, the more regular the better.
Do something everyday!
The average person with a full time job and a family doesn't really have the time to spend 2 or 3 hours a day in the backyard, but it's very easy to use this as an excuse to not bother with any training in our own time.
The average kata takes about 1 to 2 minutes to execute. Imagine how much better you'd be if you spent just 15 minutes each day and did the kata that you're currently working on 10 times with everything you've got. 
A set of 20 to 40 push-ups takes only 1 to 2 minutes. How much stronger would you be if you were doing 120 push-ups (in 2 or 3 separate sets) throughout every day? That would only take an extra 10 minutes from your day, only a couple of minutes at a time.
We all have the capability and time to do just a little extra each day. A little extra makes a big difference.



二 Regular Hojo Undo
The average Karateka might have done some occasional Hojo Undo, but the majority aren't doing it regularly.
Hojo Undo literally means 'supplementary training'
Correct regular Hojo Undo training can benefit your Budo immensely.
Be sure that the exercises you're doing are correct though. If you regularly do incorrect Hojo Undo exercises, it could cause lasting damage and injuries. Always make sure to ask your instructor which exercises would be of benefit.



三 Video Yourself
You can learn a lot from watching yourself on video, you are your best instructor.
A video is honest and tells you the whole story.
Don't just wait until a tournament or grading day before you have the opportunity to see your Budo technique on Video. Almost everyone has a camera on their phone, use it to work on your skill.
Video yourself (executing a kata or some simple drill) then appraise your technique and find things you should be fixing.



四 Reflecting on Your Art Form
Use your head. Think through your art form. Reflect on the effectiveness of the technique.
Are you able to use the technique at it's best?
What should you do to become better?
What is any particular technique (or entire section of a kata) aiming to achieve?
Someone came up it, is that what the original intention was? 
It's all about seeking to gain understanding of what you're doing. Don't just take things a face value. Too many people simply just do as the instructor tells them and never give things a second thought.

How did the wise men become wise?
(I'm sure lots of deep thought was probably involved)



五 Assume nothing
There are many assumptions in Budo practice.
One example is the assumption that exaggerated stances will automatically make your Budo more effective. The long low 'traditional stances' will make your legs stronger, but unless you consciously know to how to use that strength and when to apply it, that strength gained will only be useful in practice.

Another assumption is that the order of kata in a particular style's syllabus is an order of increasing complexity. While kata like Taikyoku and Sanchin are indeed less complex than other kata, it doesn't absolutely mean that this is the case with all kata in the order you find them in your style. Especially when you compare that kata that many consider to be 'Dan Grade' level, you're making a mistake to assume that any are better than others, as different kata are better for different people.

Another assumption is thinking the term 'correct technique' is an absolute term. What you consider to be 'correct technique' is relevant only to you at this time. As you learn and understand more, your idea of 'correct technique' will change. So no one can look at others (especially those form other clubs and styles) and judge their different technique as 'incorrect'.

Another assumption is that progression is linear and the same for all students. Why do people seem to think that their development and therefore progress through the grades will follow a straight path? No one's journey is a linear progression. There are slow periods and times of great advancement. Sometimes we learn much and sometimes we plateau and struggle. This is the true way of things and the expectation that you should be of a certain level (or that you will grade soon) is not only silly, it is a recipe for great frustration. Also, with the understanding that everyone's progress varies greatly, comes the understanding that comparing your progress to others it just stupid.

There are many more assumptions that I could list, the point being is that your preconceived ideas should stay as simple ideas, don't let them become assumptions and change your perception of things. Stay open-minded and understand that your current knowledge is not absolute.



六 Use Your Budo In Everything
Jesse Enkamp (of www.karatebyjesse.com) recently shared this on social media:

This is a great point. Many people identify as a 'Karateka' but really spent a tiny fraction of their time actually doing it. The point of this is, of course, don't make excuses just go and train. You should train more in the Dojo, but also training in your own time. As I mentioned above, the average person with a full time job and a family doesn't really have the time to spend 2 or 3 hours a day in the backyard, but you can still do a little bit of training here and there.
Gichin Funakoshi said: "Apply the way of karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty."
You can apply the lessons you learn in your training to almost everything you do in your daily life. For example, opening a door. Rather than just pushing from your shoulder or leaning your weight on the door, you can use 'Gamaku', keep your elbows in a apply force to the door the same way you would any Budo technique.
This is the same with almost all daily tasks. You can use and work on technique with the correct posture all the time - so effectively you can be 'training' all the time.



七 Question Things (respectfully)
There seems to be an attitude in many 'traditional' Budo styles (particularly styles from Japan), that things shouldn't be questioned. I've heard instructors say things like "Sensei is always right" and "Don't worry about that, just do as I've said".
Some places have a culture that treats questioning things as taboo or even disrespectful. As far as I can see it, an instructor that doesn't want to be questioned is an instructor that is too arrogant to face the fact that they might be mistaken, or they have no confidence in their own knowledge (and should not be teaching).
In any endeavour when trying to learn and understand something, we should always seek clarification and ask about things.
In some cases it's possible that the full answer is beyond the current level of understanding of the student, but in this case the instructor should be knowledgeable enough to provide guidance without being confusing.
Always remember to be respectful when questioning things though. Never act like you know better than the instructor and don't be rude. If you're disrespectful in your approach when asking about something, don't expect a very comprehensive answer.



八 Look Into Different Styles Variations
Everyone has different opinions and points of view regarding the application of techniques and bunkai. This is the reason why different styles exist. If there was 'one correct way', there would only be one style and we'd all be doing the same thing.
With the execution of kata, for example. It is best to avoid the mindset of being closed to all methods other than just the one style. You might train in one specific club and with just the one instructor, but don't be ignorant to other ideas and other versions of the same kata. If you only see one persons point of view how can you be truly informed? It's best to seek to understand many different interpretations. Look up how others do that specific kata and see if it leads to the same bunkai or maybe a different application. If there's a different application, would that be more effective? Can that application apply to your version? What possible reason is there for the difference?
To really study your art form is to seek as much knowledge about it as possible, analyse that knowledge and apply what you perceive as applicable for you.
It is a mistake to be close-minded about any knowledge, especially if it's different to your current way of understanding.



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

Thanks for reading.
Derm

Ͼ

Tao of Karate - An Essay by Chojun Miyagi

This essay was originally written by Chojun Miyagi and presented at the Meiji Shoten in Sakaisuji, Osaka on January 28th 1936.
The original title is "Ryukyu Kenpo Karatedo Enkaku Gaiyo" .

Below is a translation of the essay. This is one of the few writings of Chojun Miyagi that survied the war.


Chojun Miyagi

1. Preface
What is karate? It is the art we exercise mind and body for health promotion in daily life, but in case of emergency it is the art of self-defence without any weapon. In most cases we fight with our bodies - hands, feet, elbows etc - to defeat opponents. However, in some cases, in accordance with circumstances, we may also use weapons (such as Bo, Sai, Nunchaku, Tonfa, Weeku, Kama etc).
People often misunderstand karate. When they see someone breaking five wooden board or a few pieces of roof tile by his or her fist, they think it is a main part of karate. Of course, it is not a main part of karate but a trivial part of karate.
Like other fighting arts, the truth of karate or Tao of karate can be understood and mastered at the ultimate goal which is beyond teachings and impossible to describe by words.

2. How the martial arts was introduced to Ryukyu (Okinawa)?
The name "karate" is a special term in Ryukyu.
Karate originated from Chinese kungfu. We have few books on origin of Chinese kungfu, so we cannot conclude immediately, but according to a theory, the martial arts originated in central Asia and the area around Turkey when the ancient civilization was developed. And then it was introduced to China gradually.
However, we still another theory. It says that about 5,000 years ago Chinese kungfu originated at the age of Yellow Emperor (Emperor Huang) who built the brilliant culture at the Yellow River basin. Anyway, it is not difficult to imagine that the prototype of martial arts was born by fighting spirit for struggle which human being possess by nature. For example, most styles of Chinese kungfu were created by mimicking fights of animals or birds. You can see it from the styles' names such as Tiger Style, Lion Style, Monkey Style, Dog Style, Crane Style and so on. In the age a little later, Chinese kungfu split into Southern school and Northern school. Moreover, each school split into Neijia and Waijia.
The characteristic of Neijia is mainly softness, and it is a defensive fighting arts. Wudang kungfu ( Taichi for example) is typical of Neijia. The characteristic of Waijia is mainly hardness, and it is an aggressive fighting arts. Shaolin kungfu is typical of Waijia, which was created at Shaolin Temple in Songshang Mountaion, Henan province.
And later, in the ages of Tang dynasty and Song dynasty, we can find many kungfu warriors at the height of their success.
When we consider how karate was introduced to Ryukyu (Okinawa), we have various opinions without any historical evidence. We have not yet come to a correct conclusion on this matter. There are three main opinions, namely "Thirty-six Chinese Immigrants", "Oshima Notes" and "Importation in Keicho Period". Simple explanation of each opinion are as follows.

1 - Thirty-six Chinese Immigrants In 1392 (Ming dynasty in China), thirty-six Chinese immigrants came to Ryukyu from Fujian province.
At that time karate was introduced to Ryukyu by Chinese immigrants from Fujian province.

2 - Oshima Notes In 1762, the merchant ship of the Ryukyu Kingdom was caught in a heavy storm on the way to Satsuma ( Kagoshima prefecture now), and cast ashore on the coast of Oshima, Tosa ( Kochi prefecture now).
Shiohira Pechin, a high rank official of the ship, was an intelligent person. He was helped by Choki Tobe, an intellectual who lived in Oshima. Tobe wrote down Shiohira's interesting stories about the Ryukyu Kingdom. His notes was called "Oshima Notes".
The 3rd volume of "Oshima Notes" says "Koshankun, a kungfu warrior, came from China to Ryukyu ( Okinawa) bringing his disciples with him." According to the Notes, at that time people called the martial arts "Kumiaijutsu" instead of karate. This notes is the most reliable literature on karate.

3 - Importation in Keicho Period In 1609 (14th year of Keicho period), the Shimazu clan of Satsuma ( Kagoshima prefecture now) invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom, and they prohibited possessing weapons by people of Ryukyu.
Some believe that karate was created spontaneously due to the cruel oppression by Satsuma. The others insist that karate was not a domestic creation but what was imported from China.
I think it is reasonable to consider that karate was a fusion of a martial arts from China and "Te" a native martial arts which had already existed, so karate was developed remarkably and even today it is still improved rationally and developed. We have a few different opinions on origin of karate, but they are popular misconceptions and not worth listening.

As mentioned above, so far we do not have any definite and convincing opinion yet. Anyway, karate has been developed, modified and improved for so many years.

3. Karate circles in the past
We also do not know origin of the name "karate", but it is true that the name "karate" was made recently. In the old days it was called "Te". At that time people used to practice karate secretly, and a masters taught a few advanced Kata out of all the Kata only to his best disciple.
If he had no suitable disciple, he never taught them anyone, and eventually such Kata have completely died out. As a result, there are many Kata which were not handed down.
In about middle of Meiji period (1868-1912), prominent karate masters abolished the old way of secrecy. Karate was opened to the public, so it was soon recognized by society.
It was dawn in the development of karate. In accordance with the rapidly progressing culture, karate was also recognized as physical education, and it was adopted as one of the teaching subjects at school. Therefore, at last karate has won the social approval.

4. How we teach karate at present.
According to oral history, in the old days, the teaching policy of karate put emphasis on self-defence techniques. With just a motto of "no first attack in karate", teachers showed their students the moral aspects. However, I heard that in reality they tended to neglect such moral principles. So gradually the teaching policy was improved with the change of the times.

Now we discontinued and abolished the wrong tradition of so-called "body first, and mind second", and we made our way toward Tao of fighting arts or the truth of karate. Eventually we have obtained the correct motto "mind first, and body second" which means karate and Zen are the same.

 

Those who are engaged in teaching karate in Okinawa prefecture and outside Okinawa prefecture at present are as follows. (in random order) 

In Okinawa prefecture: Kentsu Yabu, Chomo Hanashiro, Chotoku Kyan, Anbun Tokuda, Juhatsu Kyoda, Choshin Chibana, Jinsei Kamiya, Shinpan Gusukuma, Seiko Higa, Kamado Nakasone, Jin-an Shinzato, Chojun Miyagi.

Outside Okinawa prefecture: Gichin Funakoshi, Choki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni, Masaru Sawayama, Sanyu Sakai, Moden Yabiku, Jizaburo Miki, Yasuhiro Konishi, Shinji Sato, Mizuho Mutsu, Kamesuke Higaonna, Shinjun Otsuka, Shin Taira, Koki Shiroma, Kanbun Uechi.

5. About karate styles or Ryu
There are various opinions about Ryu or styles of karate in Ryukyu ( Okinawa), but they are just guess without any definite research or evidence. With regard to this matter, we feel as if we are groping in the dark.

According to a popular opinion out of them, we can categorize karate into two styles; Shorin-Ryu and Shorei-Ryu. They insist that the former is fit for a stout person, while the latter for a slim person. However, such an opinion proved to be false by many studies.

In the meantime, there is the only opinion we can trust. It is as follows: In 1828 (Qing or Ching dynasty in China), our ancestors inherited a kungfu style of Fujian province in China. They continued their studies and formed Goju-Ryu karate. Even today, there still exists an orthodox group which inherited genuine and authentic Goju-Ryu karate.

6. The feature of karate
Some good points of karate are as follows:  

1. A large place or a spacious area is not required for practicing karate.
2. You can practice karate by yourself. You can also do it together with other karate members by forming a group.
3. You don't have to spend many hours in practicing karate.
4. You can choose Kata suitable for your physical strength and practice it regardless of age and gender.
5. Without spending much money, you can practice karate with simple equipment (such as Makiwara) or without it.
6. Karate is very effective as a means of health promotion. There are many karateka who are healthy and live long.
7. As a result of training in mind and body, you can cultivate your character and acquire indomitable spirit.

7. The future of karate-do

The days when karate was taught secretly was over, and has come the new age in which we practice and study karate publicly and officially. Therefore, the future of karate-do is bright. Taking this opportunity, we should stop advertising karate as if it was a mysterious and magical fighting arts in a small island called Ryukyu. We should open karate to the public and receive criticism, opinions and studies from the other prominent fighting artists. In the future, we should invent complete protectors for a safety karate tournament like other fighting arts, so that karate become one of Japanese fighting arts. Nowadays karate-do has become popular all over Japan, where many people study karate-do very hard. Even outside Japan, karate-do is popular. There is a man who graduated from university in Tokyo. He is now propagating and studying karate-do in Europe. In May 1934, I was invited to propagate and teach karate-do in Hawaii, U.S.A. by Okinawans there and a newspaper company. Karate clubs have been established in Hawaii since then. As mentioned above, now karate-do has become not only a Japanese martial arts but also an international martial arts.

8. The teaching method of karate
As each person has his or her distinctive character, the muscle development is different depending on his or her muscle use. Therefore, at first, we do "Preparatory Exercise" to develop our muscles so that we can practice karate exercises easier, and then "Fundamental Kata", "Supplementary Exercise", "Kaishu Kata" and "Kumite Training". We teach karate in this way. Each outline is as follows.

 

 

1. Preparatory Exercise We exercise each muscle of our body in order to enhance its flexibility, strength and endurance, and then we practice the fundamental Kata, namely Sanchin, Tensho and Naifanchi. We do again this preparatory exercise after practice of Kata to relax our muscles. And we take a breathing exercise and take a rest quietly.
    
2. Fundamental Kata Sanchin, Tensho and Naifanchi are the fundamental Kata. Through practicing them, we can take a correct posture. We can inhale and exhale correctly. We can adjust increasing or decreasing our power harmoniously. We can develop a powerful physique and a strong will of warrior.
    
3. Supplementary Exercise This exercise enable us to learn and perform Kaishu Kata well. We exercise each part of our body with a particular movement. We also practice with various equipments to enhance our outer whole strength and particular part strength.
    
4. Kaishu Kata ( Kata except Fundamental Kata) Nowadays we have about twenty or thirty kinds of Kata, and their names are various depending on their creators. Kata has techniques of defense and offense which are connected appropriately. It has various directions of the movements and it is something like gymnastics. We should perform Kata by using power of mind and body in accordance with its technical purpose so that we can learn the principle of untying and tying.
    
5. Kumite Training We untie Kaishu Kata which we already learned, and we study techniques of defense and offense in Kaishu Kata. Understanding its technical purpose, we practice the techniques of attack and defense with fighting spirit like a real situation. 

I summarize as follows. We induce the interaction of mind and body from the fundamental Kata, Sanchin, Tensho and Naifanchi. We develop the spirit of martial arts by acquiring fighting techniques through practicing Kaishu Kata and Kumite training correctly.

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

Thanks for reading.
Derm

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Translated to English by Kiyotaka Yamada

Source:
https://www.facebook.com/MiyagiGojuRyuKarate