Funakoshi Gichin

Upon re-visiting Funakoshi Gichin’s autobiography ‘karatedo my way of life’ I noticed something which I’d not paid much attention to before.

Funakoshi Sensei writes about how he learned his karate mainly from Itosu and Asato, but he also goes on to say that he learned from many other teachers, including ‘To’onno from Naha, one of the islands best-known Confucian scholars’.

Now this is interesting.  Could To’onno be a different pronounciation of To’onna, better known as Kanryo Higaonna?

If this is the case then a number of questions arise.  Firstly what did Funakoshi Sensei learn from Kanryo Sensei?  We know that modern day Shotokan does not share any of its kata with that of the Goju Ryu, with the exception of Seisan which appears in its Shorin derived form under the name Hangetsu.  However it is worth considering that one of the men responsible for Kanryo Sensei’s early training was Aragaki Seisho.  Aragaki Sensei is said to have taught the kata Sochin, Seisan and Unshu which do in fact appear in the Shotokan system.  Pure speculation and really just thinking aloud for fun but, could these kata have been passed on to Funakoshi Sensei through Higaonna Sensei?

There is no sanchin or hojo undo in the shotokan system, and from oral testimony this appears to have been the main bulk of Higaonna Kanryo Sensei’s lessons.  This would lead me to think that Funakoshi would have been actually exposed to very little of Kanryo Sensei’s teachings.  Either that, or Funakoshi maybe didn’t care too much for Kanryo Sensei’s approach and chose not to incorperate it into his own system.

Anyway I’m digressing, the point is that in the days before individual styles in Ryukyu, when karate was just Te, it seems to have been common place to learn from many different teachers.  In fact this appears to have been actively encouraged by the teachers of that era. 

The other thing that jumps out from Funakoshi Sensei’s referal to To’onno is that he calls him ‘one of the islands best-known Confucian scholars’.  Again, if this is indeed a reference to Higaonna Kanryo Sensei then whatever happened to Kanryo being illitterate?  Various sources disagree about this point with some saying that Kanryo sensei was unable to read or write, and others stating quite the opposite.  What’s interesting here is that Funakoshi Sensei, a school teacher by profession was a very well educated man, especially in regard to the Confucian classics which he says all boys from a shizoku background had an obligation to study. 

For Funakoshi to refer to Kanryo sensei in this manner is quite interesting and provides a different side to Kanryo Sensei’s character.

A fleeting moment…

Standing before the morning sun as it slowly rises over the horizon of the ocean I bring both palms to meet in front of my tanden. Left hand over right I blend go and ju, sealing the movement with the breath. As I do this the void of the wu-ji suddenly gives way to life and movement in the form of light and dark, hard and soft, the ever changing duality from which all matter is born.

With my tanden engaged, I feel the whole universe revolving around one point. My eyes widen with the unification of the mind, body and breath, taking in as much of the horizon as possible. Focusing on nothing but seeing everything.

As my weight lowers and transfers into my toes I inhale, drawing on the natural energy of my surroundings, nourishing my internal organs and powering my limbs, extending and growing into sanchin kamae.

With my head suspended from the heavens as though by a length of string I sink my breath and feel my weight being drawn down into the sand as I exhale, sending my breath toward the horizon.

Grasping the first wave with the empty hands, I am the person standing between heaven and earth..

Combining breath with movement, blending hard with soft, and observing the natural laws of duality, I perform a ritual which has been passed on from generation to generation.

The ritual belongs to nobody, it is transient and elusive in its very nature. It exists for a brief moment in time before quietly fading away, back into the void. Like an ocean wave it has no discernable beginning, nor an end. It emerges silently from nothingness, exists momentarily and then returns to where it originated.

In this case the only evidence that the moment ever existed at all lies in the form of crescent shaped footprints carved into the sand, although these too will soon fade back into the void with the changing of the tide.

As the sun slowly continues to rise from the east I wonder how many others had stood in front of it on this morning and performed the very same ritual, and as the dawn continues toward the west I think about how many more practitioners might also use this opportunity to allow the kata to live through them for a fleeting moment?

Seiunchin

Here’s the second video shot on the beach in the Maldives, this time of Seiunchin kata. 

Still on the subject of how different terrain may affect the tactics, footwork or stances used in a situation, the shiko dachi so prevalent in Seiunchin lends itself perfectly for use on uneven terrain and loose surfaces such as sand.  It’s quite easy with this stance to really dig your feet into the sand and get that feeling of a strong root in your stance.  The other benefit is that by digging in your feet in this manner, sand will inevitably fall over your toes which can then be used to throw into the opponents eyes as a distraction (sunakake).

Suparinpei

I’m now back in the UK after my holiday in the Maldives.  Managed to get a fair bit of training done in the beautiful natural surroundings of the island.

I find it quite useful to vary the area where you train.  If you are fortunate enough to have access to a dojo with a roof over your head and a nice level floor, it is easy to forget how different the natural environment actually is.  Varying types of terrain, glare from the sun, poor lighting, obstacles in your path – all these things might have an impact upon the tactics which you employ.

When performing kata on a beach for example it is easy to see how certain types of footwork are better suited to that particular terrain, whilst others might leave you stumbling!

I’ve included a video of Suparinpei on the beach which shows in places some of the problems created by a different type of terrain then I was used to !