What is Karate
by Master Gichin Funakoshi. From Karate-do Kyohan.
In Okinawa, a miraculous and mysterious martial art has come down to us from the past. It is said that one who masters its techniques can defend himself readily without resort to weapons and can perform remarkable feats: the breaking of several thick boards with his fist or ceiling panels of a room with a kick. With his shuto (“sword hand”) he can kill a bull with a single stroke; he can pierce the flank of a horse with his open hand; he can cross a room grasping the beams of the ceiling with his fingers, crush a green bamboo stalk with his bare hand, shear a hemp rope with a twist, or gouge soft rock with his hands.
Some consider these aspects of this miraculous and mysterious martial art to be the essence of Karate-do. But such feats are a small part of karate, playing a role analogous to the straw-cutting test of kendo [Japanese fencing], and it is erroneous to think that there is no more to Karate-do than this. In fact, true Karate-do places weight upon spiritual rather than physical matters, as we shall discuss. True Karate-do is this: that in daily life, one’s mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility; and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
KARA
Karate-do is a martial art peculiar to Okinawa in its origins. Although it has in the past tended to be confused with Chinese boxing because of the use of the chinese “kara” character in its earlier name, in fact for the past thousand years, the study and practice of masters and experts, through which it was nurtured and perfected and formed into the unified martial art that it is today, took place in Okinawa. It is, therefore, not a distortion to represent it as an Okinawan martial art.
One may ask why the chinese “kara” character has been retained for so long. As I discuss in the section “The Development of Karate-do,” I believe that at the time the influence of Chinese culture was at its peak in Japan, many experts in the martial arts traveled to China to practice Chinese boxing. With their new knowledge, they altered the existing martial art, called Okinawa-te, weeding out its bad points and adding good points to it, thus working it into an elegant art. It may be speculated that they considered “kara” (with the chinese character) an appropriate new name. Since, even in contemporary Japan, there are many people who are impressed by anything that is foreign, it is not difficult to imagine the high regard for anything Chinese that prevailed during that period in Okinawa. Even at the time of the present writer’s youth, lack of a full set of Chinese furniture and furnishings in one’s home was a serious impediment to the social influence of any leading family.
With this background, the reason for the choice of the chinese “kara” character, meaning “Chinese,” as a simple case of exoticism is apparent.
Following tradition, the writer has in the past continued to use the chinese character. However, because of the frequent confusion with Chinese boxing, and the fact that the Okinawan martial art may now be considered a Japanese martial art, it is inappropriate, and in a sense degrading, to continue use of the old “kara” in the name. For this reason, in spite of many protests, we have abandoned the use of it to replace it with the new character KARA.
THE MEANING OF KARA
The first connotation of kara indicates that karate is a technique that permits one to defend himself with his bare hands and fists without weapons.
Second, just as it is the clear mirror that reflects without distortion, or the quiet valley that echoes a sound, so must one who would study Karate-do purge himself of selfish and evil thoughts, for only with a clear mind and conscience can he understand that which he receives. This is another meaning of the element kara in Karate-do.
Next, he who would study Karate-do must always strive to be inwardly humble and outwardly gentle. However, once he has decided to stand up for the cause of justice, then he must have the courage expressed in the saying, “Even if it must be ten million foes, I go!” Thus, he is like the green bamboo stalk: hollow (kara) inside, straight, and with knots, that is, unselfish, gentle, and moderate. This meaning is also contained in the element kara of Karate-do.
Finally, in a fundamental way, the form of the universe is emptiness (kara), and, thus, emptiness is form itself. There are many kinds of martial arts, judo, kendo, sojitsu (“spear techniques”), bojitsu (“stick techniques”), and others, but at a fundamental level all these arts rest on the same basis as Karate-do. It is no exaggeration to say that the original sense of Karate-do is at one with the basis of all martial arts. Form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. The kara of Karate-do has this meaning.
Kyokushinkai Kan
by Masutatsu Oyama
Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of the largest Karate organization started and established Bare-knuckle, Full-contact tournament system one of the top authoritative and influential figures in the world of Martial Arts history one of the pioneers in spreading the Asian Martial Arts to the West and to all over the world ever pursuing, ever a practitioner, he is recognized to be reached to the level of the true Mastery.
Sosai Masutatsu Oyama (1923 – 1994)
Kyoku = Ultimate, utmost
Shin = Truth, truthfulness
Kai = Organization
Kan = Building, School
KyokushinkaiThe kanji (Japanese characters) calligraphy, worn universally on the front of the gi, simply means “Kyokushinkai”, which is the name given by Sosai Mas Oyama to the karate style he created. It is composed of three characters:
Kyoku Kyoku meaning “Ultimate”.
Shin Shin meaning “Truth” or “Reality”.
Kai Kai meaning “Society” or “Association”.
KANKU
KankuThe symbol of Kyokushin Karate is the Kanku, which is derived from Kanku Kata, the Sky Gazing Form. In this kata, the hands are raised and the fingers meet to form an opening through which the sky is viewed. The top and bottom points of the Kanku represent the first fingers of each hand touching at the top and the thumbs touching at the bottom, symbolizing the peaks or ultimate points. The thick sections at the sides represent the wrists, symbolizing power. The center circle represents the opening between the hands through which the sky is viewed, symbolizing infinite depth. The whole Kanku is enclosed by a circle, symbolizing continuity and circular action.
MASUTATSU OYAMA
Masutatsu Oyama, the founder of Kyokushin Karate was born on July 12, 1923 in Korea. He lived on his sister’s farm in Manchuria from infancy until age 12, during this time he studied Kung-Fu. Returning to Korea, he continued his martial arts training, then travelled to Japan in 1938. He trained in various martial arts disciplines in Japan earning his second degree (nidan) black belt in karate at age 17, and fourth degree (yondan) at age 20. The progress he made in his studies of Judo were equally astounding, achieving the rank of yondan in less than four years.
One of Mas Oyama’s instructors in Karate, So Nei Chu, was to have a profound influence on Mas Oyama, when he advised him to make a firm commitment to dedicate his lifeto the martial way. Heeding his words to “seek solace in nature”, Mas Oyama subjected himself to the rigours of daily training in the mountains of Chiba prefecture in order to strength his own body and spirit. He was accompanied by one of his own students, but after six months of isolation, the student secretly fled, leaving Mas Oyama to continue his vigourous training alone. Returning to civilization after one year of solitude, he tested his abilities in the karate division of the first national martial arts championships, and won.
Mas Oyama then imposed on himself a further period of solitary training, again in the mountains, and upon his return, demonstrated his remarkable ability by fighting bulls. He fought a total of 52 bulls, killing three and breaking the horns off 49 others.
His fame as a karateka spread rapidly as his feats were unparalled and in 1954 he opened his first dojo in Tokyo, Japan. This dojo was the beginning of the Kyokushin KaiKan. In 1964, the Tokyo Honbu (headquarters) was officially opened and the International Karate Organization (IKO) was established. Today, the IKO, headed by Kancho Shokei Matsui, is the largest karate organization in the world with over twelve million members in 135 countries
