 |
| This is apparently Chatan Yara. |
Chatan Yara's legacy is preserved today in the Karate Kata 'Chatanyara Kusanku', the Sai Kata Chatanyara-No-Sai and also in some less known Kata Chatanyara-No-Kun and Chatanyara-No-Tonfa.
The following is a recount of in incident between Chatan Yara and a Satsuma Samurai, as told by Richard Kim in his book 'The Weaponless Warriors':
During the rare moments when Yara had spare time, he would walk along the many beaches and over near the village. One day while he was occupied with one of these pleasant sojourns, he heard a high-pitched hysterical cry for help.
He stopped in his tracks and listened intently. His ears disregarded the constant blowing of the sea breeze and the rhythmic pounding of the surf, and he held his breath. The screams made their way to his ears again, and in a flash, Yara was sprinting toward the distressful sounds.
As he shot over a sand dune, he was astonished to see a samurai struggling with a young girl. The samurai looked upon him, still holding the girl, as Yara strode downhill toward them. "Why don't you leave the girl alone?" shouted Yara over the sounds of the surf and wind. "If you want a girl, there are plenty in the Aka-sen in Naha."
Yara continued to approach the samurai as he spoke, showing no expression on his face. When he came face to face with the ruffian, he added, "You ought to be ashamed of yourself—a samurai attacking a helpless girl." The samurai blinked at what he thought was impudence from this stranger. He let go of the girl and turned his body to face Yara, saying, "If you know what is good for you, you will stay out of matters that do not concern you."
The girl, suddenly free from the grasp of her attacker, fled to a nearby dune and turned to watch the two men from a distance. Yara calmly gazed at the samurai, noticing the crest of Satsuma on his kimono. He let his eyes wander to the weapon and noticed the sword was of good quality. The glance was not lost on the samurai, who grasped the sword by the hilt and shifted his body.
Yara instinctively moved back one step and let his hands dangle loosely at his sides. He only realized the delicacy of his weaponless situation when the samurai suddenly drew his sword and advanced. Yara waited. For the first time in his life, at the age of 32, Yara found himself in a life or death situation.
His training period was over now. It was the real thing. He began to tense as he watched the samurai's cautious approach, and the words of his teacher came back to him: "Unless the mind is calm, it cannot concentrate." He took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. He stepped backward one more time and exhaled, allowing his feelings drop down to his lower abdomen.
All of the nervousness was gone now. He was ready to take on the matter at hand. The samurai slowly moved his sword to a lasso position and stopped. Time stood still for a flicker of a second and the samurai struck. The sword swung sideways in a classical do cut, but Yara leapt two strides backward, avoided the cut, and circled around until he stood knee-deep in the surf.
The angered samurai raced after him, wading clumsily through the salty brine with his sword held high above his head. Yara chose his time carefully, and at the right moment, he retraced his steps back to the beach, further angering the samurai in hot pursuit.
The girl watched Yara come near her with the samurai behind him, and felt helpless. She glanced quickly around her and caught sight of a small boat only a few yards away. Running frantically to the small craft, she grabbed an oar and quickly tossed it to Yara, who was now only a short distance away.
In a split second, Yara had the oar firmly gripped and spun around to face his enemy. The samurai, cursing to himself over having lost his tremendous advantage, stopped and assumed a jo-dan kamai. Yara countered this ploy by holding his oar in a dragon tail kamai, and for what appeared to be an eternity to the female spectator, the two men faced each other like statues.
Only the sound of their throats and chests heaving for air disturbed the eery musical harmony of the wind and the surf. Suddenly, the samurai struck.
Yara's reaction was instantaneous, striking the sword at the hilt with his oar. The blow was perfectly executed, sending the sword skyward, but at the moment of contact, Yara inexplicably jumped upward as though he had anticipated the samurai's next move. This was a dangerous gambit, but it worked. As soon as the Satsuma henchman felt his grip loosen on the hilt of his sword, he immediately squatted to one knee and pulled his short sword. Yara was in perfect position and took instinctive advantage, unleashing a frighteningly powerful side kick which connected with a sickening thud to the samurai's head. The kick sent him sprawling back-ward, at the very feet of the girl he had been molesting.
Desperately, he tried to raise himself off the ground, but Yara was upon him in an instant, slashing his oar downward and crushing the samurai's skull. He died without a gasp. The girl looked around nervously to see if anyone had seen the battle. When she was satisfied that they were alone, she said, "Help me bury him. Don't ask any questions now. You are new here and I will explain later." Heeding her advice, Yara grasped the still-warm carcass and both of them dragged the body away from the beach and buried it in a clump of bushes.
 |
| http://nateenglandart.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/chatan-yara-defeats-samurai.html |
The girl looked quizzically at Yara, thinking, "No wonder he is a skilled martial artist. He can probably hold his own against any samurai." This prompted her to compliment him: "You must have trained in the martial arts for a long time. No one I know can match a samurai, no less defeat him in the manner which you have just demonstrated." "I trained for 20 years in China," answered Yara, "but I did not train for this. I must admit to you, however, that philosophy is not an antidote against the behavior displayed by that samurai."
The girl could no longer contain herself and spoke to Yara in a tone which was somewhere between commanding and beseeching. "Will you teach your art to our people?" she asked. "These are troubled times and we need to learn how to defend ourselves against outsiders." Yara, struck by the urgency in her voice, said he would think about it, then led her away from the hasty grave. In 15 minutes, they had come upon a small fishing village. "This is it," she said. "This is my village. We would be honored by your presence if you should pass this way again. I live at the village headmaster's home." With that, she ran off and left Yara standing alone.
Comment below to share any thoughts or opinions you might have. :)
Thanks for reading.
Derm
Ͼ
Information Sources:
Book:
Book:
"The Weaponless Warrior" by Richard Kim
No comments:
Post a Comment