Nippon Kempo Japanese Martial Arts Master Photo Illustration Introduction Book

Gichin Funakoshi
(1868-1957)

Gichin Funakoshi was born in Shuri, Okinawa in 1868. As a boy, he was trained by two famous masters of that fourth dimension. Each trained him in a unlike Okinawan martial fine art. From Yasutsune Azato he learned Shuri-te. From Yasutsune Itosu, he learned Naha-te. Information technology would be the melding of these ii styles that would one day become Shotokan karate. Funakoshi-sensei is the man who introduced karate to Japan. In 1917 he was asked to perform his martial art at a physical teaching exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. He was asked back over again in 1922 for another exhibition. He was asked back a tertiary time, only this was a special operation. He demonstrated his art for the emporer and the purple family! Afer this, Funakoshi-sensei decided to remain in Nihon and teach and promote his fine art.

Gichin Funakoshi passed abroad in 1957 at the age of 88. Aside from creating Shotokan karate and introducing it to Nippon and the world, he also wrote the very book on the subject area of karate, "Ryukyu Kempo: Karate-practise". He also wrote "Karate-Exercise Kyohan" - The Chief Text, the "handbook" of Shotokan and he wrote his autobiography, "Karate-Do: My Fashion of Life". These books and his art are a plumbing fixtures legacy for this unassuming and gentle human being.

IF In that location IS I MAN WHO COULD Exist CREDITED with placing karate in the position it enjoys on the Japanese mainland today, it is Gichin Funakoshi. This meijin (principal) was born in Shuri, Okinawa, and didn't even begin his second life equally harbinger of official recognition for karate on the mainland until he was 50-three years former.

Funakoshi's story is very like to that of many greats in karate. He began as a weakling, sickly and in poor health, whose parents brought him to Itosu for his karte training. Between his doctor , Tokashiki, who prescribed certain herbs that would strengthen him, and Itosu's skilful educational activity, Funakoshi soon blossomed. He became a good educatee, and with Asato, Arakaki and Matsumura equally his other teachers, expertise and his highly disciplined heed.

When he finally came to Japan from Okinawa in 1922, he stayed among his own people at the prefectural students's dormitory at Suidobata, Tokyo. He lived in a small room aslope the archway and would clean the dormitouy during the twenty-four hour period when the students were in their classes. At dark, he would teach them karate.

After a short fourth dimension, he had earned sufficient means to open up his first school in Meishojuku. Following this, his shotokan in Mejiro was opened and he finally had a identify from which he sent along a variety of outstanding students, such as Takagi and Nakayama of Nippon Karate Kyokai, Yoshida of Takudai, Obata of Keio, Noguchi of Waseda, and Otsuka, the founder of Wado-Ryu karate. It is said that in his travels in and around Japan, while giving demonstrations and lectures, Funakoshi always had Otsuka accompany him.

The martial arts world in Japan, peculiarly in the early Twenties and up to the early Fourties, enjoyed ultra-nationalists were riding high, and they looked down their noses at any fine art that was non purely called it a pagan and brutal art.  Funakoshi overcame this prejudice and finally gained formal recognition of karate as 1 of the Japanese martial arts by 1941.

Needless to say, many karate clubs flourished on mainland Japan. In 1926, karate was instirudes in Tokyo University. Iii years later, karate was formally organized on a club level past 3 students: Matsuda Katsuichi, Himotsu Kazumi and Nakachi Grand.,Funakoshi was their teacher. He also organized karate clubs in Keio University and in the Shichi-Tokudo, a barracks situated in a corner of the palace grounds.

Funkoshi visited the Shichi-Tokudo every other mean solar day to teach and was always accompained past Otsuka, reputed to be one of the nigh vivid of his students in Nihon proper. Otsuka'south favorite kata was the Naihanchi, which he performed earlier the royalty of Japan with another outstanding atudent named Oshima, who performed the Pinan kata (Heian).

Ane day, when Otsuka was teaching at the Shichi-Tokudo, a student, Kogura, from Keio University who had a san-dan caste (tertiary-caste blackness chugalug) in kendo (Japanese fencing) and also a black chugalug in karate, took a sword and faced Otsuka. All the other students watched to see what would happen. They felt that no ane could face the shinken (open blade) held by a kendo expert.

Otsuka calmly watched Kogura and the moment he made a motility with his sword, Otsuka swept him off his feet. Equally this was unrehearsed, ot attested to the skill of Otsuka. It too bore out Funakoshi's philosophy that kata exercise was more tah sufficient in times of need.

In 1927, three men, Miki, Bo and Hirayama decided that kata practice was not enough and tried to introduce jiyukumite (free-fighting). They devised protective clothig and used kendo masks in their matches in order to utilize full contact. Funakoshi heard about these bouts and, when he could not discourage such attempts at what he consedered belittling to the fine art of karate, he stopped coming to the Shichi-Tokudo. Both Funakoshi and his elevation student, Otsuka, never showed their faces there once again.

When Funakoshi came to mainland Japan, he brought 16 kata with him: 5 pinam, 3 naihanchi, kushanku dai, kushanku sho, seisan, patsai, wanshu, chinto, jutte and jion. He kept his students on the before they progressed to the more advanced forms. The repetitious training that he instituted paid divedends; his students went on to produce the most precise, exact blazon of karate taught anywhere.

Jigoro Kano, the founder of modern judo, one invited Funakoshi and a friend, Makoto Gima, to perform at the Kodokan (then located at Tomisaka). Approximately a hundred people watched the performance. Gim, who had studied under Yabu Kentsu as a youth in Okinawa, performed the naihanshi shodan, and Fuankoshi performed the koshokun (kushanku dai).

Kanso sensei watched the performance and asked Funakoshi about the techniques involved. He was greatly impressed. He invited Funakoshi and Gima to a tendon (fish and rice) dinner, during which he sang and fabricated jokes to put Funakoshi at ease.

Irrespective of his sincerity in teaching the art of true karate, Funakoshi was not without his detractors. His critics scorned his insistence on the kata and dectied what they called "soft" karate that wasted too much time. Funakoshi insisted on hito-kata sanen (three years on one kata).

Funakoshi was a humble man. He preached and practiced an essential humility. He did not preach the is rooted in the truthful perspective of things, full of life and awareness. He lived at peace with himself and with his fellow men.

Whenever the proper name of Gichin Funakoshi is mentioned, information technology brings to heed the parble of "A Man of Tao (Do) and a Petty Man". As it is told, a student in one case asked, "What is the departure between a man of Tao and a little human?" The sensei replies, "It is simple. When the little man receives his starting time dan (degree or rank), he tin inappreciably wait to run home and shout at the top of his voice to tell anybody that he fabricated his offset dan. Upon receiving his 2d dan, he will climb to the rooftops and shout to the people. Upon receiving his 3rd dan, he will spring in his automobile and parade through town with horns blowing, telling one and all about his third dan".

The sensei continues, "When the human of Tao receives his beginning dan, he will bow his head in gratitude. Upon receiving his second dan, he volition bow his head and his shoulders. Upon receiving his third dan, he will bow to the waist and quietly walk aslope the wall so that people will not see him or notice him".

Funakoshi was a man of Tao. He placed no emphasis on competitions, record breaking or championships. He placed emphasis on private selfperfection. He believe in the common decency and respect that one man being owed to another. He was the principal of masters.

Note: Funakoshi sincerely believed it would take a lifetime to master a handful of kata and that sixteen would be enough. He chose the kata which were best suited for concrete stress and self-defence force, stubbornly clinging to his conventionalities that karate was an art rather than a sport. To him, kata was karate.

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