History of the “36 family” village in Okinawa: a history lesson

History of the “36 family” village in Okinawa


I was asked by one of our members to quickly review the cultural exchange done at the Kumemura village with the “36 families” and the Okinawan people. First let me say that it is a bit overstated in some cases that the cultural exchange was the most important point in Karate’s development. One has to realize that there were multiple sources of information that was brought in to Okainwa to create what we now know as Karate. However, the Kumemura area was very lively with cultural exchanges and at the time the Okinawan culture was a bit of a hybrid of Chinese, Japanese and native cultures. The people of Okinawa were in a kind of cultural schizophrenia and often would mix cultural norms to create the hybrids that they came to see as acceptable to both larger countries.

Under pressure from China and the Chinese court to be a way station of sorts for Chinese exchanges and also under pressure from the Japanese to be a port for them to use in both military and exchange missions, the Okinawans were in the middle of two of the most powerful countries in the region at the time, and two powers that did not like each other very much.

Okinawa was faced with being pressured by a Japanese military that was bent on ruling the region through raids and putting puppet governments into areas they took as well as supporting rulers that bowed to their emperor and more importantly the Shogun. The other force that they were being pressured by was the Ming Imperial government from China, a very orderly and ritualistically ridged government that had a large army and would also send them into areas that they wished to rule and who would not “play ball” with them. The Okinawan government and people did their best to appease both groups and play off each group to not only prosper but to keep the larger two nations from swallowing them up.



So, what was the Kumemura? The Kumemura was a village outside of the ancient Okinawan port of Naha. Naha was once a port city that had deep water docs for ships that were traveling from major ports in China and Japan to other countries and had many warehouses for the goods that were brought to the port. Often the port city acted as an informal trade post for the major powers who “officially” did not want to have any relations with the other.

The Chinese government was engaging in further trading with the Ryukyuan government once the three kingdoms were united under King Sho and as such many of the Chinese businessmen that had visited Okinawa now had a more stable government to trade with and to set up commerce with. For the most part it is suggested that this was nothing really new for China and governments in the Ryukyu island chain but now that they had one over all government to deal with the relationship was cemented.

Soon after the Ming court established a set relationship with the Sho Kingdome (read they intimidated by intimating they may invade and just scoop them up if they did not behave and play nice) the diplomats brought with them scholars who were sent to study and learn to communicate with the Okinawan people. They brought with them an attitude of superiority that was encouraged by the Ming Court and set up in Tax free lands by the Okinawan court…probably not a suggestion that the Sho Court Came to on their own if you know what I mean. Further they were given food and a rice stipend, which at the time was seen as giving them funds simply for the act of culturally invading the country.

Okinawa was swiftly set up as a tributary state for China and seen as a “Lesser nation” by the Chinese and were expected to carry themselves as such. Now the settlement was set up before the unification and to some extend the Kumemura group enjoyed diplomatic and trade with all three kindoms to some extent before they were united into the single governing group. Once the Okinawan kingdom was untied as one the Kumemura settlement began to share even more with the Okinawans; teaching them to read Chinese, navigation, geomancy, shipbuilding and how to make specific and very important textiles and equipment. The relationship was seen as beneficial to both parties, even if by force.

Most historical notes say that the first of the Kumemura people were scholars, but most likely, and based on research I read, the Kumemura people were originally Ship guilders sent to China by the Ming Courts to help repair the Chinese trade ships that were often docked in Naha waters. They would send workers to live on the island and do work to keep the trade ships sailing and money changing hands. After the obvious advantage of “Owning” a country that was on their shipping lines came to be seen the Ming courts then sent administrators to “take” the spot of administration away from the lower cast country. After the administrators came other culturally important people like scholars, religious monks and finally artists of all sorts.

By the middle 15th century not only were Chinese officials living in the now protected and enclosed village, but so were Korean diplomats and officials from other countries in the region. This secluded village housed many cultures and many cultural dignitaries that had official business with the Ryukyu kingdom.



The term “36 families” is a misnomer really. First off their were probably many more than 30 families in Kumemura, but the term was probably more a illustration than a accurate depiction of the number of people in Okinawa. Also, it probably would have been rare for a government official or business man establishing trade in Okainawa to bring their families with them. The truth is many of the people sent to Okinawa would have been lower class Chinese and single men sent by the government and other business interests in China to establish a connection then to take on the task of influencing the Okinawans. The Island nation played the middle man between Korea and China as well as any other nation in the region that traded with each other.



The Chinese government sent reams of envoys, bureaucrats, diplomats and scholars over the years and many of them were sent without family, but the group became known as the 30 families for the mass and size of the group that came to settle outside Naha port. Now a distinction has to be drawn here that many people don’t do…the people that came from China and Korea more than likely knew NOTHING of martial arts. The business envoy from shipping companies and the government officials and scholars were more than likely educated men that may not have been high level government officials but they were not interested in fighting or the fighting arts.

So, where did the Chinese martial arts come from….well every envoy and official that was sent from China brought with them a staff, and on the staff they brought would have been soldiers, body guards and basic security experts who were more than likely trained in hand to hand and weapon fighting. As the majority of the security that were hired by the business men were local to Fujian the majority of the fighters that they brought with them were trained in the prevalent styles of the area. Fujian white crane was the style practiced by the majority of the fighters. However there were many other styles of fighting that were taught in that region.

Chun fa fighting in China (kung fu or any other term associated with the fighting arts) is a mish mash of training arts. In a single region of China the size of London the pleather of styles available for one to study was probably in the number of 70 schools with styles as vast as the academies were. It therefore stands to reason that the men that came over as body guards were schooled in a multitude of arts.

Also the diplomats did not have to hire men to protect them, they had the Ming military to back them up, as well as private hired men. This means that skilled fighters from many Chinese schools of fighting came to Okinawa and along with the men they worked for teaching their culture and scholarly wares, some of the fighters passed on their arts to the Okinawan people.



The importance of this exchange of martial skills is vastly overstated by most to be the start of Karate on the island of Okinawa. My thoughts are that it is simply a cog in the machine that soon became known as Karate.

We have people like Uechi, Higaonna and others traveling to China to study and bring back the art, we have people who came to Okinawan on their own for other reasons unrelated to the Kumemura location or for business/political reasons and lets face it, almost all cultures have their own indigenous arts that existed from day one.



The Kumemura village faded into the Naha Township and finally the Shuri Capital took all of the area under its own walls. The main reason that the Kumemura village did not last however was probably directly related to who was living in the village when the Satsuma clan took Okinawa for the Japanese.

For many years the Okinawan or Lewchewan people played interference between the Chinese dignitaries and the Japanese Samurai that inhabited the different areas of Okinawa. While the Chinese ran their interests from Kumemura, the Japansese held a seat of power in the capital. This delicate balance of letting each group think they were in control was difficult to maintain and often the Okinawans had to lie to both groups and work them with deceptions to keep the peace. The Chinese had been a powerful influence in Okinawa since 1392 and the Lewchewan people had rapidly integrated many of the cultural elements of Chinese life, including clothing and many rituals, into their own culture and the royal family had also “converted” their lives to be more Chinese.

In 1609 however the Shimazu clan invaded Okinawa and sacked the island. The Satsuma Samurai of the Shimazu clan banned the people of Okinawa from wearing weapons and also started to influence the Okinawan culture and ban the clothing that the Chinese had brought to the culture a few centuries earlier. The art of Karate is said to have come out of necessity because of this banning, but we have to get again some perspective here. The people learning Karate were called Commoners, but that meant all Lewchewan people, including the royal guard, retainers and those that were of Samurai status but Okinawan decent! So, it was not the farmers and shop keepers learning Karate by moon light as some of us have been lead to believe but the military who were basically unarmed by the Japanese…the dignitaries that also guarded the king who also were unable to use weapons or even keep them.

Soon after the Japanese took the island by force the Okinawans began doing what they did best…absorbing the new rules culture and hoping for peace through assimilation. This meant that the circular self-defense they had learned from the Chinese was not being influenced by the more direct and linear Japanese sword based fighting skills.

The situation was a strained and strange position for the Okinawans to be put in. They still had tight ties with China and still paid their “tax” to the Chinese, but they were not directly ruled by the Japanese. To counter this they began meshing the Japanese culture into the Okinawan/Chinese culture. Clothing changed as did the language and traditions, all of this happened in a very rapid time frame. Most of the young men that had been sent to Fujian province and even Bejing to study at the Royal Chinese academy were not sent to Japan for higher learning and many suggest that Azato Sensei was one of these men, and he came back with Japanese influenced Kenjutsu over the Chinese influenced Chun Fa fighting his predecessors would have learned when attending school off island.

By the Meijin era most of the Chinese influence was “garnish” and not relevant to then modern Okinawan society. They had bent to the will of the new masters culturally, or as I like to see it, assimilated out of self-preservation. The culture had become more Japanese and the fighting arts followed suit, adopting much of the hand to hand defensive techniques from an amalgam of Ju jitsu styles, Kenjutsu styles and traditional Okinawan fighting systems that had adopted the previously learned Chinese styles. What we end up with is a much more linear system of fighting that still has more robust movements in striking that the Ju jitsu counterparts and a culture that is heavily influenced by the Japanese, but with direct undertones of Chinese society and traditional Okinawan ideals of assimilation and adaptability.

One of my friends said to me that the best part about the Okinawans is that they are pliable people. You can see it in the fact that first they were a small nation that needed to change and become one single kingdom and soon after the wars to unite they acted as if they were always one people. Then the Chinese came in and they quickly became entrenched as a off shoot of Chinese society…the Japanese came and they became somewhat more Japanese than the Japanese for a while. And after the war they were the most flexible and quickest to adapt to western ways. They are seen to be traditional in many ways and staunch traditionalists, but when they do change, the change is almost like it was always that way.



The Village of Kumemura is simply one root to the tree that is Karate and while a major influence, not THE influence that created Karate or even the only source for Chinese martial arts on the islands.

Malcontents in Karate…they are everywhere! Don’t be one!!

I have been around Karate for a long time now, almost as long as I have been alive, and I have seen all kinds of people who take up Karate….train hard for 4-10 years and then leave…some stick about a bit longer and make a bit more of a ruckes but the majority of students only dip their toes in for a few years and leave because of family, work, school, change of location or other life things that come up.

Most students come in and train every class, bow and scrape and lose themselves in the etiquette of training. They never dream of having a leadership roll in the whole thing and they are very happy to not have this burden on them. They show up, train and work hard in class, change and zip home to their families never to have to worry about the club or the organizations till the next time they show up for class.

The truth is most of these students are having way more fun than those in the leadership are having on a daily basis. They don’t have to worry about rent (of the club), membership, paperwork or anything that we have to worry about. Now I am not complaining, I do what I do so that I have a Dojo to go to and train at and to be honest I kind of like the interaction that it gives me on a daily basis with my instructor and other students…but its a lot of work, and other administrators will tell you the same thing.

I am a bit of an odd ball in that I have been the longest running administrator in our organization, going on a decade and a half of doing paperwork and running the “behind the scenes stuff” for my instructor and I will continue to do this till he retires…or I die of stress! I am also a instructor and teach way more than I get to train, and again it’s an honor to do so, but I really feel I get a different kind of feeling when I do get to just train, like when our National instructor comes out and I can just shut up and train…pure JOY!

One of the things I pride myself on is having the mindset that while my instructor is alive the training and hard work is for him. I really respect all he has done for me and will keep on working for him till the day he stops training…and even then I will work for him. My mind set when he is done working with the organization by teaching is that the clubs and organization will MORPH into a “by the students…for the students” mentality and we will all work together to promote an organization that really tries to bring Karate to the students and not for an instructor or individual but for all of us.

I can count on my hand the number of people that I think will be or are the same minded in our organization. Most will say they are, but once the rank catches up to them they seem to want a piece of the pie to take home….and most don’t want to work anymore…they want others to work for them! And that does not “work” for me! When you take up Karate you have to do two things…give into the fact that someone else is running your work outs and “In charge” of you while you are training, which includes not being a parent to your kids while you train…just being a student, and the second thing you need to do is become a member of the organization and take pride in your participation in that organization.

I think that you simply need to review the same things when you get a black belt or higher ranking. You are now there for OTHERS and you are there to SERVE as a senior of the organization, be it as a fund raising member, an administrator or assisting and administrator, planning things with others or simply helping an instructor out. Granted most instructors take an income from teaching (trust me they are not fortune 500 members because they run a club) and they have the right to tell you what to do…but it’s more of a burden than special prize in some ways.

Again, most students will enjoy training and will not transition to the other side of the coin, and if they do…sometimes it’s the reason they leave. The burden of doing what other people SHOULD be doing is just to great and they get resentful that they have more work to do at the end of the day than the instructor seems to. And that’s true, which is why I tend to a lot small portions to people so the “company” we run is not done by any “one person”. Most of the students in our group don’t want to have all the power and praise, and when they do get praised they are embarrassed and kind of shy away from it.



There is a second kind of “student of the art”! They come in and buddy up with the instructors and seek to be “besties” with the “top brass” in a Dojo. They kiss butt so much I think they should be kissing babies and running for office!....They do know instructors are trained and developed…not elected right? They train for a few years, growing closer to the instructors and seniors and even take on tasks that they can handle that will be “lime light” kind of positions, like running tournaments or organizing events that they can speak at, and they speak at EVERYTHING! They try and become the face of Karate for their Dojo or even organization by being THE PERSON to talk at every event!

Shortly after they get their black belt things begin to change a bit however! They are still the face of the Dojo/Organization but now they begin to take ownership of things when talking. No longer is it the “thanks you Sensei for all you do for us, and we are just humble students” to “well its been a tough year, but with your help WE have accomplished a lot” and the changes begin to show in the Dojo to as a “Assistant” instructor is a “co instructor” or someone that taught sporadically begins to act like they were the “other instructor” all along.

I know of one guy that joined up in a Dojo I was a member of who tried to take over completely and then left when the instructor asserted himself. The guy joined as a white belt and knew the instructor fairly well, he was loud and very extroverted and began slowly moving up the ranks as he started to take on some jobs around the Dojo here and there, slowly working his way up to brown belt and taking on a role as a administrator from the instructor. Then he got his black belt and the real issues began to occur. His attitude changed from “let me help you because I have spare time” to “ I am going to help but I run this show” and his attitude spread to the down town club. I left the club he was at but we all saw his attitude and issues as he showed up high and mighty to train at the headquarters like he was more important than others.

Eventually the issues of personality got out of hand and the instructor had to let him go from the club. It was nasty and the guy made big issues for that instructor as he felt he was part owner of the club. It was a horror show, and when the guy was finally kicked out he made a big stink and tried to drag “His students” with him and when that did not work he walked away in a huff and quit Karate.



Another guy I know of, whom I only trained with once, Worked out at a Canadian Dojo and traveled to Japan. He trained for a long time and worked very hard in the instructor class, but before he graduated he was given the boot for fighting with a instructor in the Dojo…a real fight from what I was told. Anyways he was 1 or 2 weeks out from graduation and a lot of people saw his 2 years of dedicated training and helping others as a sign that he had kinda graduated anyways. Truth is he is now very bitter because he has moved on and started his own club and organization…hell his own style of Shotokan that he teaches.

Now the guy is smart, and his Karate is good , so I am not going to bash him for that…but his teaching stinks because he is a malcontent! His classes that he taught us was a “Bash Canadians almost as bad as I want to Bash the Japanese” kind of event. The whole thing was “…IN Japan we would…..”kind of living in the past crap that does not help me right now. Or “those Japanse….(add bash)” and did not again help me at all when I was standing in front of him.

I went on his blog once, as I do read a lot of other peoples blogs, and their he was….and one of his new students…complaining that he was not on the main web site of the group HE USED TO BELONG TO! Why in the world would they include his name on the web site and give this sour soul free marketing? You don’t advertise for your former employees as past employees…especially when you essentially fired them! He is just bitter that all his hard work was compromised by a momentary choice to be a D-Bag!



A third Malcontent that I know of is a really sad story! Really sad actually, the guy was a artist and also a school teacher, and while his form of art was not my thing, he was relatively known in the indy scene as far as I was told. Anyways, before he went into education he took up Karate and started off in the organization. My instructor used to advertise for him and sent people to support his art whenever he was told the guy had a function. He even did his stuff at our camps to promote his skills and was encouraged by my instructor to do so.

So, he goes to school for an education degree and even though he is an adult, my instructor lets him pay the student rate, that is intended for young adults who are in school after high school as a continuation of the youth rate. He gets a HELL of a deal on classes and graduates from university, gets a job and is making good money…and still paying the old rate. I have a memo in my pay book at one time when I was doing the payments that he was to pay the regular amount, and when he did pay…he paid the student rate again. But I lost touch with this as I no longer collected money for my instructor and a year or so go by.

He was asked to teach a few classes when my 70 year old instructor was having car troubles and a few times when he was sick. Now the student was now a JKA Black belt and capable of leading classes, even if his understanding of Karate was still fairly new and he was not skilled in teaching Karate.

This went on for a few years while the little club my instructor taught at slowly lost members. My instructors main club was growing and developing and the smaller group was seen as barely paying the rent in the spot he was in and we were intending on closing it for a year or so. Finally the administrator came to me and said that this student had not paid his dues in months and they were getting either no communications with him or push back from him and at the end of the day we closed the small club as we intended to and move any student that wanted to train to the new club.

I found out he was training with another one of our clubs by accident when I showed up to teach and he was on the floor. He was not paying his instructor for the monthly dues but he was training for free with another instructor telling him he was in good standing….basically lying to the other instructor. After my instructor asked me to bridge this issue because he was not getting anywhere with the communications he was trying to establish I was told by the student he felt slighted by the whole situation and was upset.

And here is where he became a malcontent! After approaching him and watching him become very angry about the deal that my instructor was trying to cut with him to get him on the good books again (basically excusing all former payments and asking for only three months’ worth of payments) he went off on a tirade about how he taught for months and months for my instructor and was never paid for it his time…..which was a lie as I taught a handful of times and did all the scheduling for my instructor, he taught a handful of times only! Then he went off on how he should have been paid for his time…..No one gets paid to help out in the club, if anything they get a break on dues…which he had been basically steeling for several years by not paying and adult rate!

After that he suggested that because he was a school teacher he was more qualified because of his degree to teach than others and as such should have been paid for his time….which in my mind this malcontent should have requested before accepting the gig to step in and teach the odd class for my instructor…we would have simply cancelled! I was in shock and I did not even know what to say, so I passed on his issues to my instructor who was VERY upset about the whole thing. Not because the student was acting like a self-important horses ASS but because he put so much time in to this guy and that is what you get at the end of the day. He was also sad that this guy turned out like this as he liked the guy and did a lot of one on one classes with him when class time was small and instead of feeling in Senseis debt…he felt like he was owed something.

After all of this this embarrassment of a student even went the length of emailing several people and giving “his side” of the story or rather saying “yah, I was slighted by them and left as I was insulted” with no information given and just assertions he was owed something or hurt in some way. The grown up thing to do was not stamp your feet and try the pity party approach, but to man up and have a friggin’ meeting with the instructor to work things out. But instead he will spew his issues with whomever listens…the sad thing is my instructor would still take him back and work with him to help him in Karate and probably would still entertain the forgive and forget attitude!



My instructor has brought a lot of Black Belts up through the ranks and has piloted their higher belt rankings as well. He has trained people that hold fifth and sixth Dans ….but not in our organization. It seems that at Shodan there is a issue that comes up with students about entitlement and authority and then it happens again at Sandan/Yondan were people forget they are still students and start thinking of themselves as INSTRUCTORS only. They forget that they have a job to do in the organization and those working WITH them need to be recognized for the hard work they do and not focus so much on “what I did back in 1982” or whatever!

Having been around since the early 80’s…well late 70’s really, I have see a big group of students start Karate…train and then leave trying to find greener pastures were they can rule the roost! Or get “evicted” from the island for acting like an ass! The thing is they are not bad people….they just don’t get it! We are here to promote Karate not ourselves! We are here to push our students, peer and even our instructors to be better! Not to self-promote, feel entitled to a chunk of the organization and try to dance our way into the lime light as often as we can! Far too often in the past I have seen instructors that leave and take students with them and blame the organization when in fact it was their own fault for not being members of the group anymore. We are all human and we all want to be important, but the truth is our votes often don’t count! But it’s the act of making your point and then sticking with the consensus that makes us a stronger group! I may not agree with you on a particular situation and my ideas for a better outcome, but I am willing to state my case and then listen to yours, we all vote and then whatever happens happens! Leaving to get a better power grip on the situation does not help anyone. And then complaining about it just shows your weakness of conviction to Karate.



I tend to turn most of my issues in Karate to the Niju and Dojo Kun. If I have a political issue or if I have a issue with a student or instructor I look to the tenants laid down by much more wise men than me! The five tenants of the Dojo kun teach us how to behave and form our character in Karate. Like the anvil and hammer of Karate training we forge our characters and if used properly the Dojo Kun can help us avoid the issues we see with students.

“Seek perfection of character” is a major part of avoiding the pit falls of this kind of behavior. First off if you feel that you have ownership over something make sure you are not taking away from others. If you need to own something…make it yourself! And do so with grace and class! These people that try to steel students or lie about rank and take issue with those above them “holding them down” probably need to remember that Karate is a activity to build up your physical ability as much as it is to forge your character…not a way of making money or gaining power over others.



“Be faithful” This means to your instructors, students and yourself. Trying to wrestle the club away from others, charging your instructor for teaching the odd class for him or helping to run events. The whole point of being a group in Karate is allowing us to work as a unit to provide options for training, for the students, instructors and our peers in Karate. Its about being loyal to each other and not leaving because you are going to throw a hissy fit and take your ball and go play by yourself!



“Endeavor to excel” When you stop being a student its time to walk away! Even my instructor watches me teach and tries to figure out what life experiences I can bring to the table that he may not have had. Its about pushing yourself to learn and not asking for much in return other than loyalty and equal amounts of hard work.



“Respect others” BIG one here. If you don’t agree with something we say or if your vote is shot down, don’t just leave…and If you do leave respect the past work that was done for you and the work you did. By acting high and mighty and entitled you spit on the work that was don’t to get you to where you are! Respecting someone does not mean you stay with them forever, you are just mature enough to not bad mouth them and to not make public pity parties part of who you are.



“Refrain from violent behavior” , To me acting like an arse and trying to steel students or sour others training experience is violent non-physical actions to prove a point that does not need to be proven. Your time should be spend learning and experiencing, not plotting and trying to get ahead!



To end this not so brief rant….I know of a lot of students that train for the right reasons and represent the true spirit of Karate, but others just don’t get it. They make themselves bitter by acting inappropriately in their Karate training and Karate dealings. And they sour the true spirit of Karate in doing so. Be happy in your training or move along quickly to something that does make you happy. Live in the moment in the Dojo and make every practice a experience separate from others and be the kind of student that honors the instructor in their actions.

Two Buddhist Monks go walking

Recently I have been watching how people carry baggage…..not the kind that has your underwear in it but personal baggage and really feel bad for some people. I see people at work carry on about things for days on end, people at Karate that hold grudges and are bitter about things that should not really matter and I have friends that can not let go of issues that come up that seem easy to dismiss from my point of view and it is sad!

I have a rule that if something bothers me for more than one day ….I do something about it. If it bugs me for only one day, then its not that bad and I can just let it go! But if something were to bother me to much that it occupies my time and mind for more than the time it takes me to sleep and wake up…then it warrants action and not preoccupation. My wife is a great example of this and why we get along so well. Like all couples we argue about things, and normally she is right and I am a pig headed Welshman that does not know how to just shut up and agree….but on those odd occurrences when something sits on my mind for a day or so…I go back and discuss it further or simply do something about it. She knows if I revisit an issues the very next day…I was probably right to do so and she listens to me…before saying I am wrong again.

There are few things I resign myself to being right about all the time, I am a human after all and we are not right in most things…like airplanes navigating across the sky we tend to be off our heading more than on our headings…but we work our way to the correct destination after some time.

What bothers me however is when people tend to hold onto baggage and wont relax to find answers. They are bull headed and not open to hearing other peoples side of things. The opposite is also not a great way to walk through life…kind of taking it as it is given to you and not taking a stand ever…but being a baggage handler in life is no help at all to your mental wellbeing…or maybe it’s a reflection of said mental health!

One of my friends has major issues with relationships….be it their love life or family and it all boils down to the fact that they cannot let go of the past. They look at each relationship as having the same outcome, they date the same kinds of people and they hold onto the “FACT” that they know the relationship will fail eventually. Even when they find a good relationship that may in fact continue on for a long time and be very happy, they set it up for a fall and on a few occasions left the relationship for “something better” that turned out to be something “the same or worse”.

This friend of mind is a super nice person and when they meet people in general they tend to see them for what they are, be it good or not so good…but put the idea of a relationship in there and this friend of mine becomes blinded by their baggage. They tend to then start the relationship like two puppy dogs in love! Makes me sick for a few weeks with the “oh, they are the one” and “My life is complete” and that kind of drivel.

The relationship then progresses and the baggage on hand then starts to creep up an the next thing you know the whole thing is one more drama-fest that tumbles out of control because they cannot let go of the baggage and remember that this relationship is DIFFERENT than any other. And the worst part is they then choose to run away from the issues and end up falling into bed with the same kind of person and the whole thing starts over again!

Then there is a person at my work that simply MUST be in control of every situation and buts their nose into everything. Give them a bone to go with and they are happy as a guard dog. The other thing is this person will obsess about things and focus on them even after the issue is settled. Like a steel trap she will grab and issue and until THEY are done with it…it does not become a dropped issue.

This person once approached me after a long week end and brought up an issue I was dealing with on the Thursday to try and assert their thoughts on the issue…which was dealt with long ago! This kind of obsessive behavior may be a trait that some managers like to see, but for me its kind of scary that their whole life revolves around an issue at work. And I just know that the whole week end they were sitting on this baggage at their cottage and unable to really enjoy the week end. They thought about it from sun up to sun down for three whole days and chomped at the bit to get back to work and dive back into the situation.

The end result was they were told its handled…and that was till not good enough for them, they had to go and dig deeper into the situation and draw others into the matter, and the manager taking control of this situation really did not like then or their tactics and let them know that it was not appreciated at all. But the Blood hound still did not drop the baggage!

This kind of obsessive behavior can affect you negatively not just with your mental health but also with relationships at home, at work and friendships as well. Learn to drop it when told or when its suggested that it does not matter in the greater flow of life!

I have also seen people hold a grudge for a very long time. I have to admit that there are people I don’t really like but I try to not hold a grudge for too long. If I feel that someone has done wrong by me and it lasts more than a few days…I try to tell them and get it done with. I know that there are some people I will never get along with for various reasons, but most of them I avoid and don’t have to see or when I do I am just “nice” to them and don’t really care much for their presence.

However, I know of a few people through Karate that cannot put down grudges and often strive for the Drama that comes with speaking ill of others, something I am trying to limit in my life now. One person I know has left Karate and says it’s because of the drama and issues that they witnessed, but I know better. They left because it caused the all mighty DRAMA that they so need in their lives. They cannot live without having something to blame and to complain about and they saw the act of leaving Karate as a way of keeping the Drama going in their life. The ironic part is that this person has left, said they left to avoid the drama and horrible politics that was Karate in their eyes….but they won’t shut up about it and insist on making everyone uncomfortable in the process.

Others that I know also have axes to grind with individuals and won’t let the issues between them go, they insist they are guilt free and will not let it go! But the truth is by them not letting go of the issues and realizing that the bigger picture is more important and that by not being honest and saying they need to “WIN” the argument or situation and or need to be seen as the victim and how important that is to them…well without it they don’t feel whole in this case. When two people have an argument the truth is that there is rarely a situation that one person is without blame in anyway shape or form! Usually the argument occurs when one person does something and the person that then begins the argument simply cannot let the situation alone! Sometimes for good reason, but most of the times its just that someone has an axe to grind or is a nosy person and needs to feel important……or is scared they will be held accountable for the others persons actions.

I now see these situations as just extensions of the Drama tree! Shake it and idiots fall out!

One of my favorite stories was about a guy that had a double amputation and was told he would never run again because he lost his legs from the knee down….he said, “no, I will never run again…except in the Olympics and every track meet I can get myself to”. Sometimes people use illness or handicaps (mental and physical) or situations as crutches. They pile on baggage and feel horrible for themselves and let their particular situation dictate the rest of their lives.

Since my daughter was born my opinion of disabilities and handicaps has changed A LOT! I see them now as being challenges not walls you cannot go over or around. And I see them in shades of Grey a lot more than I used to. I have a few friends that suffer from Depression…not the kind that leads to a country song but the kind that is physically and mentally draining. The kind that affects the way you think and the way you see things.

One of my friends treats this as a challenge! The gets the right meds, goes to his doctor and monitors things, he works on building up his attitude and uses Karate to better his mental outlook, and to be frank…while only knowing him for a few years, he has proven to me that you can do it and I see a lot of pride he takes in handling his condition and he fought back from darker times, he inspires me and he is one of my favorite people to deal with personally.

Another person I know suffers from the same illness and does not manage it properly, in fact it manages them. It affects every relationship they have and sours many people on them. They are moody and they don’t seek the right kinds of help, they lean on the illness like it’s a crutch and use it as an excuse for everything. They have left it for so long and allowed it to affect every relationship they have with others and truthfully not many people can stand being around them. When someone tries to help they recoil like they need the illness to help them live and they allow the drama that comes with this illness to take over their very lives and become addictive to them. They are paranoid and starting to focus on the illness and relationships as being healthy in some ways, they don’t take the right medications and choose to self-destruct in the long run. The amount of things they have lost in their lives, relationships, family, business and the like, because of the illness is shocking! And what’s more shocking is they don’t see it!

The saddest part is that they are a true artist in many ways and if they let go of the baggage and did not allow the illness to run them they would be so much better off. They need to not look at this illness as a crutch or excuse for what is happening and they need to change their outlook to help them cope with life. Getting older and moving forwards in life is a rite of passage and something people need to accept not recoil from and taking care of an illness should not be something one recoils from for fear of losing a crutch!

On a less “life” affecting level I see the baggage that people care in the Dojo every class I teach or attend! Be it the inability to let go of ideas they once learned for new ideas or the inability to let go of mistakes they make…they sink in quicksand made by their wellness to care the baggage that pushes them deeper into the mistake than they need to be!

Our trip through Karate is one of exploration, not placation and assumption of finding an end to the journey. If you are training right, one answer will lead to five more questions and your research and creativity will make your Karate bloom like a flower not be bogged down by dogma and mystical irrelevance. The truth is that Karate and its practice is one of human research and development. Students should be encouraged to study the physical and mental and even delve into the hatted Spiritual side of Karate. We encourage discipline as juniors and forget to release the chains when they become seniors and have mastered the personal basics to the best of their physical ability.

We bog down students with baggage about what one master said was truth and don’t let them explore and find their own truths. We even fall into this hole ourselves and assume that everything on instructor says is truth while others is vile waste that has to be shucked off like a dirty lie! The truth is that one’s perception of a given subject can be viewed from many angles and the true master’s view the subject form as many as they can and present only what the student is ready to digest.

We have to remember to drop our baggage at the door and enter the Dojo light and ready to learn from our instructors, our peers and even our juniors. I watch the white belts for answers as much as I do my instructor because the truth of a single movement may be cast so quickly that only an open mind catches it and I have learned as much from a juniors question as I have from the instructors answers!

The act of making a mistake in Karate is natural, starting a Kata with the wrong techniques, or even saying one Katas name and starting with a different one. Also, making a mistake during drills is very common as well. The key is to not let the mistake weigh you down and force you to make more mistakes or freeze up. The fact is we will all hit that point that we make a boo boo and have to start over again at something, be it a drill or other Karate practice. The key is in dropping the baggage right then and their, take a deep breath and walk away from the baggage that can lead to more mistakes. Its actually a great metaphor for life!

The person that dwells on the mistake will make it again and again, or other mistakes that could have been avoided had they simply put down the mistake like a piece of baggage and just moved on. If you let it affect your whole training or even past the point of “Damn that was wrong” then you are letting a mistake so minor that no one will worry about it take control of the situation! Just let it go and move on, you cannot go back and change it and it will only make things worse if you don’t let it go completely.

My whole blog is something I learned from a Buddhist story about two monks that illustrate this situation completely:

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. As their was not boatman to help the young lady cross the river in her fine clothing the young woman asked if they could help her.

The senior monk picked up the young lady and sat her on his shoulders to cross the river, her light traveling gown the only barrier between her and the monk. The older monk carried this woman on his shoulder, forded the river and let her down on the other bank. The junior monk was very upset, but said nothing.

They both were walking along distance, through vallys filled with fruit trees and up hills that has views of beautiful country. They walked for some time in silence while the senior monk took in all the beauty of the country and he enjoyed the views that the most beautiful parts of the country had to offer. Finally the senior monk noticed that his junior was deathly silent and enquired “Is something the matter, you seem very upset?”

The junior monk replied, “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”

The senior monk replied, “I left the woman a long time ago at the bank, however, you seem to be carrying her still.”


In the story not only did the junior monk not let go of the baggage that had captivated him for so long, he also missed out on the beauty of the scenery for the whole trip! He learned nothing past his anger and thoughts that the senior had done something wrong and could not see past that.

I am not perfect, I have my own obsessions but when something bugs me I wait and see if the next day I am able to put down that baggage and move on, if not I deal with it as best I can and still try to move past it.

Just a suggestion…but baggage should be for travelling only! Drop yours and move on!

Part 2: most influential people to martial arts

In my first blog I outlined some of the more famous and important people who influenced martial arts and their popularity. I also gave a quick back ground and told some truths that were a bit off from the traditional Dogma created to sell the person.  The truth is there are probably hundreds of people that I could list, but the facts are most are self sold salesmen of martial arts and some that were on the original list I reviewed made impacts on smaller scales than would warrant their inclusion into a top ten or even twenty list.

People like Morihei Ueshiba were very important to Aikido development, but outside of that he did not create a huge wave in the martial arts that could be said to have brought it to the fore front of modern society. He had great influence over men like Mabuni and others who were Karate guys and he created a style of martial art that is very large, but not that big in the west or even Asia.  He is very important…but does not make my list of top 20 because his influence was limited to basically some interactions and then his own style of martial art.

My list will continue with those that most influenced modern martial arts in the world. My top ten will be unique and some commonly used names, but I have different reasons for some of them….and my number one is going to be unique!

            Some others like Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi came along with others (Gichin Funakoshi) and made huge changes that helped spread the martial arts around the world, but with out the founders and innovators their works would never have happened.

            Here are the top ten people who have influenced the martial arts in modern history…and they are in no particular order…but maybe in my mind…the best of the best!

10. John Chambers:  Who was John Chambers you may ask! Well, John Chambers is the unsung hero of modern combat sports. With out Good old John graham Chambers we would probably not have a lot of the modern martial arts!  John Chambers was born in Wales and he was a true Welsh sportsman. He rowed at Cambridge, founded inter-varsity sports couched Boat race crews, staged the thames Regatta, instituted billiards, cycleing, wrestling and athletic championships…….and more importantly than any of that….he devised the Queensberry Rules for BOXING!

                After boxing amature for many years he sat down and codified the “Marquess of Queensberry rules upon which modern boxing rules are based. In 1867 he established the rules which included, for the first time, rules that dictated boxing gloves have to be worn, the ten count for knock downs and that the rounds should be three minutes each.

                With out John Chambers, boxing would have remained bare knuckles and not seen as an acceptable pass time for the rich and wealthy to watch, the spectators would remain the poorer classes in poor areas and the fights illegal.  Because of John Chambers, fighting became more acceptable in modern days, which opened the door for other combat sports and martial arts to be accepted in society as a whole.

9. Carlos Gracie Sr: In the world of BJJ Helio Graice is GOD!  The reason that the little brother of Carlos is a god is two fold, one he has a son, Rorion, that brought the style of BJJ to north America and marketed it to the masses with the UFC. Rorion brought the style to the US and that is why we know about it, and the use of new age marketing, establishing the UFC and making BJJ the latest “big thing”…..So Helio is often the biggest name associated with BJJ…but in my books he played an average part in the expansion of BJJ to the world as well as brining people to the Dojos.

                Carlos on the other hand was THE guy who created Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Carlos was born in 1902 and began studying Judo with Misuyo Maeda and some people say he was a third day, but that does not make sense because Maeda was only a 4^th Dan at the time and he also did not train with him very long by all accounts. 

                Carlos set about changing the Judo that he learned to make it more accessible to others and he also changed it for smaller people with a focus on the ground grappling component called Newaza! Carlos is best known as the older brother of Oswaldo, Gastao jr., Jorge and Helio, but his commitment to his new style of Judo made BJJ famous in Brazil and thanks to his teaching Helio and his sons became the biggest name in the USA in the last 15 years with the advent of the UFC, but with out Carlos…their would be no Gracie Jiu Jitsu nor any UFC, and with out the UFC…well we would still be waiting for the next big boom in Martial arts!

8. Matsumura Sokon: Matsumura was one of the original Karate masters from Okinawa and was born in the early 1800’s and died in the late 1800’s, the dates are really mostly guesses! He studied under master Sakukawa Kanga, the founder of the original style of Karate called Shuri te by many. 

                Matsumura was born in Yamagawa Village, Shuri Okinawa and known as a troublemaker.  Sakukawa actually did not want to teach the young Matsumrua but he was approached by Matsumuras father Sofuku.  Matsumura studied daily for five years with Sakukawa, who was already an old man at the time. 

                Matsumura was recruited to serve the royal family because of his relationship to Sakukawa, he received the title of Chikudun Peichin Shikudon, a gentry rank that told others he was in the employ of the royals and not to be questioned. Because of his position and expertise in Martial arts he was allowed to travel to Fuzhou China and Satsuma Japan. In China he studied Chuan Fa (Chinese martial arts….Kung fu or Wushu) and in Okinawa he studied Jigen Ryu sword fighting.

                Matsumura used his studies to add to the training of Sakukawa and formed the frame work of Shuri Te with major refinements.   With out Matsumura brining Karate to his students, they would not have taught Funakoshi and his peers, who in turned created Shotokan and other arts.

                Matsumura also created many Katas of Shorin ryu Karate…including Naihanchi (tekki), Passai (Bassai), Seisan (Hangetsu), Chinto (Gankaku), Gojushiho and Kusanku (Kanku dai). He also put his spin on other Kata as well and really changed what he learned from Sakukawa.  Matsumura also used lots of the traditional Chinese conditioning exercises known as Hojo undo to forge his body. This practice is still done a lot in Okinawan based Karate, even if it has been eliminated by lots of the Japanese styles.

7. Dana White and Rorion Gracie:1993 was a special year for Martial arts in general.  We had come out of the Karate and kung fu boom of the 70’s, we suffered through the Ninja boom in the 80’s and the short lived TKD and Aikido boom lasted a blink of an eye.  The Dojos were starting to empty and traditional martial arts were starting to suffer as more traditional activities like Hockey and baseball…and a myriad of other arts.  But in 1993 the martial arts were going to be put front and centre again…and for some good and bad reasons.

                A Brazilian businessman and the oldest son of Helio Gracie had moved to the US to ply his trade and also to put his law degree to work in California.  Rorion was given a 9^th Dan in BJJ by his father for being a good instructor, but more so for being a great business man.  Rorion sold the idea of “ the Gracie Challenge” to a group of business men and the UFC was born.  He also made the choice of putting his smaller and younger brother Royce into the UFC and not his other brother Rickson, who was known as the hero of the family.  This brought Gracie Jui Jitsu to the masses, and made people care about the martial arts again.  Whitle it did not really make Karate shine or any one style…actually it kind of gave a false sense that other martial arts were not functional…a myth that was later proven false.

                Born in Connecticut and raised in Las Vegas, Dana White grew up in love with Boxing.  He even opened a inner city youth boxing program that took off.  A aerobics instructor in Vegas he met and began managing Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell, both MMA fighters fighting for Semaphore entertainment owned UFC.  The UFC was suffering however.  Seen as a blood sport and banned all over the USA, the company was about to close its doors….but Dana White had other ideas.

                Before White got the idea to take over the UFC it was still a fringe company and a fringe activity seen as to violent with little rules and several states even made attempts to shut it down.  Dana approached Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, the owners of Station Casinos in Vegas and bought the company with a 9% interest for himself. He then set out to grow the company and did not look back. After TV deals and a huge expansion program White brought the UFC back to life and made it the single most important company in modern martial arts combat sports! With the success of the UFC came fighters with all kinds of back grounds and the popularity of training styles like boxing, wrestling, BJJ, Karate, Kick boxing and many others suddenly became mainstream and everyone was training in clubs, Dojos and training halls again. 

                The UFC formed by Rorion Gracie and partners and then taken over by White and his partners brought martial arts out of a down ward fall and into the light again.  More young people know the MMA world as UFC than NHB or MMA and the company can be credited for the biggest growth in martial arts awareness in decades or even centuries.

           

6. Sakukawa Kang: Born in 1733 to a upper class family and known as Sakugawa Satunushi or Tode Sakugawa as well as Sakukawa Kanga, Sakukawa began training in Karate in 1750 under a monk named Peichin takahara. The style that Takahara taught was more like Chinese kung fu as he learned it from a Chuan Fa master Kwang fu.

                In 1762 he began spreading what he learned all over Okinawa and at a more mature age began teaching a young man named Matsumura Sokon, who developed the art called Shuri Te and then later shorin Ryu Karate.  By all accounts Sakukawa did not vary the Chinese style he learned from Peichin Takahara and taught everyone the same style he learned from the monk. Peichin Takahara also learned his style from Chatan Yara and Matsu Higa, both famous Okinawan Chuan Fa masters.

                Why is Sakukawa more important in the history of Karate than his masters….its who he selected as students and who they taught.  Higa, Yara and Takahara all taught dozens of students, but most were just military and did not continue teaching the styles to others, but Sakukawa brought his version of Chuan Fa training to Matsumura who then changed it and brought it to his students…thus creating the style of Karate we all training in and allowing other styles to influence his teachings.

5. Masatoshi Nakayama: the total genius who, with the financial assistance of his seniors, established the JKA and built a huge organization that was dedicated to teaching his masters art form of Shotokan Karate.

                Nakayama was born in Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan and was the descendent of the Sanada clan’s Kenjutsu instructors who were originally from the Nagano region of Japan. Nakayama Sensei entered the Takushoku University to study Chinese and while looking for the Kendo class stumbled into a Karate work out and got hooked right away.  He became the student of both Gichin and Yoshitaka Funakoshi and studied diligently till he had to move to China to work for the government.  He earned a Nidan before leaving for his work on china.

                In 1949, Nakayama, Isao Obata and others formed the JKA and began teaching a slightly modified version of what Funakoshi Sensei and his son had taught.  They also included Kumite in the curriculum, something that was new to Karate training.  One of the major contributions that Nakayama had to modern Karate and spreading the art to the world was his advent of the instructor training program with the JKA.  The program taught people to teach Karate and more importantly sent JKA instructors out to other countries to help build the art and organization to be one of the biggest groups in the world that taught Karate.

                While other styles grew by letting foreign students open clubs overseas after a short time visiting the instructors in Japan or Okinawa the JKA sent out professional instructors and the outcome was a very different growth and style that than other martial arts had. The training was all standarized and each student in the JKA is sure to learn the same style of Karate if they lived in Italy or Iceland!  Other styles broke to pieces and new organizations and even new styles were created because of this.

                The JKA has split over time but the Shotokan Style remains the style taught at different organizations and no major changes were made to the core training principles laid out by Nakayama Sensei based on his instructors teachings and his alterations.

           

4. Evangelos and Konstantios Zappas: One of the major influences in modern martial arts and combat sports happens to be the modern Olympics.  Tae Kwon Do, Judo, Boxing, several styles of Wrestling have all been mainstays in the Olympics for some time, Tae Kwon Do still being rather fresh and new.  And the development and popularity of these sports world wide have grown MASSIVLY because of the Olympics…so who were the Zappas cousins and why are the important to the growth of Olympics?

                The first Olympics of the modern era were held in 1896 in Greece after the fall of the Ottoman empire.  This and the formation of the IOC would not have been possible with out Evangelos Zappas brought the idea of brining back the Olympics to the world and both he and his cousin Konstantios left a fund for the Olympics to be held.  Both Zappas cousins were entrepreneurs and rich benefactors in their country and left their entire fortunes to the IOC for the development and spreading of the modern Olympics. 

                With this donation and a lot of passion on the part of Evangelos we now get to see many combat sports/martial arts in the Olympic lime light every four years.  These two Greek men probably have done more for arts like wrestling, boxing and Judo than even their founders had! And they also left the door open for other arts like Sambo, Karate and others to get a piece of the lime light to build their popularity.

                The Olympics have brought us famous boxers like Muhammid Ali, Evander Hollyfeild, Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Frazier and Suger Ray Leonard, wrestlers like Randy couture and others who have continued to bring martial arts to the masses.

            Other sport events like the summer games (pan ams) and regional games were inspired by the Olympics and do have things like Sambo and Karate, so the hard work, dedication and passion of two Greek Entrepreneurs have lead to the growth of the sport aspect of many arts in the realm of Combat sports

3. Gichin Funakoshi: Born the son of a lower class noble family who had been traditional teachers of the governers family in his village, Funakoshi was actually born into  a family in ruin.  His father was a drunk and had spent all the family stipend on alcohole and failed to continue the teaching tradition of his family.

                Funakoshi had the luck of being placed in the same class as Anko Asatos son and through him began training with Anko Itosu  in Karate.  Funakoshi was sent to train with many of Itosu’s other students and peers and also trained with Azato Anko. He was awarded a 5^th Dan in the end and brought Karate to the Japanese people after he retired from teaching.

                Funakoshi was not the most physically gifted people and was in fact bested by some of his peers in matches over the years. He also did not have the best technique of all his peers nor did he have the best memory for Kata and he did not learn the most Kata, Mabuni….a junior of Funakoshis ended up teaching many of the JKA students Kata that Funakoshi either never learned or forgot. 

                So, why was Funakoshi so important to the growth of modern Martial arts?  Three things.  First off he was the first person to go to Japan and bring his islands natural style of fighting to the Japanese students. This alone should have been enough to spread Karate and make it a no brainier for him to be on the list.  He also met and befriended Jigaro Kano…a man that would both influence and learn from the elder statesman from Okinawa.

                Funakoshi also had one last thing that made him invaluable to the growth of martial arts, something he shared with Jigaro Kano….He was a professional teacher and understood the mind of students better than most laymen. Funakoshi was well read, articulate and could read and speak Chinese, Okinawan (Kunigami) and Japanese.  Most of the Okinawan masters that came after or just before Funakoshi failed to bring their style of Karate to the mainland or were not as successful in the attempts to spread Karate because they only spoke Kunigami.

                Funakoshi was also very passionate and left his home, his wife and his retirement funds to his family when he left Okinawa to move and teach in Japan.  Funakoshi was not the most gifted but he was highly intelligent and had skills that helped him spread Karate to people that spoke different languages.

2. Jigaro Kano: If you see Funakoshi as a smart man, you have to say that Kano was a genius and a innovator of martial arts and teaching. He was born in 1860 in Hyogo Prefecture Japan. He was born to a Sake brewing family in Mikage Japan and because his father was a great believer in education, Kano went to the best schools and learned Chinese, English and German. He was a small man and only about 5’2” and he wanted to be stronger.  Through a family friend, Nakai Baisei he learned about Jujutsu as a form of physical training.

                Kano entered the Tokyo Imperial University and began studying but also began looking for Jujutsu schools to study with. He studied Tenjin Shinyo ryu Jujutsu, Yoshin Ryu and Shindo ryu. His instructor taught him the importance of technique over brut strength.  Kano also began training and studying in Sumo and western wrestling to add to his system of fighting.

                Kano was also very smart about marketing his style the outside world. He demonstrated his style to Ulysses S Grant, the former US president.  After his original Jujutsu instructor died, Kano began forming his style of Judo and combining the most effective and intelligent aspects from several styles of Jujutsu. He then opened the Kodokan Judo school and began teaching judo.

                Some of the things he had to deal with and changed would be the issue of ranks/licences and what the fighters would wear during training.  Ranks were originally given by a master passing on a Menkyo to his students, basically a licence that established the teaching credentials for a specific person. The problem was that their was nothing for students to identify rank when training.  The other issue was what to wear….many of the students wore what they wore everyday….like training in street clothing.  Kano designed the Keikogi from the canvas work clothing that the Japanese fire crews wore when fighting fires.

                Kano met the elder statesman Gichin Funakoshi and made fast friends. They shared ideas and because bother were school teachers they had a lot of respect for each other.  Kano gave Funakoshi the Dan/Kyu ranking idea and the idea to have a special training uniform, Funakoshi brought Kano some ideas for teaching and also some throws from his okinawan Tagumi grappling style. 

                Kano’ students went on to bring Judo to the world. Brazilian Jui Jitsu and other styles all were developed as Judo moved out to the world, Sambo used Judo as a frame work for its development and millions of people got involved with Judo…and it became an Olympic sport.  All this helped contribute to the popularity and spreading of Judo and martial arts to the world.

1. Jean Claude Van Damme/ Stephen Segal/Jackie Chan:  From the Muscles from Brusles, to the Hong Kong Crazy man!  A Jewish/Italian Aikido instructor, A American Tang So Do fighter! People like Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Stephen Segal, JCVD, Donnie Yen, Bryan geneses, Sho Kosugi, Phillip rhee, Jeff Speakman, Sammo Hung, Daniel Bernhardt, Jerry Trimble, Jason Scott Lee,Jason David Frank, Simon Rhee, Richard Norton, Sonny Chiba, Olivier Gruner, Joe Lewis,  Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Gary Daniels, Mark Dacascos, Michael Dudikoff, Don “the Dragon” Wilson, Brandon Lee, David Carradine, Westley Snipes and many many others.

                The list of people, and those that I have missed, are all martial arts actors. They bring the real people to the Dojos.  While many of them may be seen as fakes or “Actors only” most of them are black belts in Karate, Brazilian Jiu jitsu, Judo, or other martial arts like Kung fu, Sambo, Ninjitsu (as much as I cringe saying that) and are all Legitimate martial arts students as well as talented actors and action Icons at one point or another.

                The relationship between Karate black belts in movies and the number of students in Dojos is direct and measurable.  Like I pointed out already , each boom in membership was normally brought on by a movie or trend that hit the theatres or the mind set of society around that time.  When Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris put out movies I saw members join, because that is when I joined. I then saw Aikido’s Segal hit the theatres and we got more members….Van Damme was big and we got members, the Ninja craze, movies like Best of the Best and so many others brought people to our Dojos and also helped bring martial arts to the masses.

                The martial art movie is both a reflection of our interest in martial arts and also generates more interest in martial arts.  With out the Lees, Norris, Wilsons and the rest many of the fans of MMA would not be able to see that sport, Judo players would be limited and Karate clubs would be much smaller.  You can actually measure the types of movies that we were interested in and when.  The themes of the movies will all match up over time and create a boom or craze and will bring in students based on those booms.

                While we are with out a boom or craze right now that can define a boom that is about to break we see lots of martial arts movies still being made, just more about MMA, Chinese Kung fu and a variety of themes.  This unfocused time may actually be more of a boom unto itself.  My hope is that we get to see a return to Karate movies that will bring in more students to the Dojos in the next while. But you can not discount the actors that have brought in the students. They may be acting and not really creating any martial art, but they all deserve a tip of the hat for their efforts and the benefits we have all seen because of their hard work.

            That’s my list.  I kind of hope that you all think a bit and learn a bit!  Karate and martial arts in general benefit by individual efforts and by the efforts of a whole bunch of people and with out the efforts of everyone in our organization, our group will just stay as it is.  But with the efforts of everyone in the organization and the continued training and push…we will all make an impact in the world of Karate and martial arts in general. 

top 20 most important people in martial arts history part one

One of my juniors sent me a post that was supposed to be the top ten most influential martial artists of all time.  I did not agree with the post 100% and I also did not think that most of the “notes” on why the guy picked the people were accurate or in some cases even true. 

I felt it was a great idea for a blog…so thank you Greg!  Also I thought I could put my spin on the whole thing and really introduce a few people that were influences to martial arts in my mind. But of course I had to pick the top 20.  Here are the first 10, and they are in no particular order of importance at this level!

20.Stephen K Hayes.  Before we could ever learn about Masaaki Hatsumi of Ninja fame, his student Steven Hayes would have to introduce us to both Ninjitsu and Hatsumi.  Born in the US, Hayes was introduced to the martial arts when he started training in Korean Tang Soo Do after looking for a judo club.  He studied Speech and Theatre in Miami, which helped him when he was looking to spread his new style of martial art to the west…well old style that had been recreated.

            Hays traveled to Japan to seek out authentic ninja masters after the had read about them.  He met his master Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi in 1975 and studied under him in Togakure Ryu Ninjitsu.  Five years later he returned to the states and began teaching Ninjutsu and writing some very famous books.  In 1985 he printed several books and was in the media at every chance.  He single handily brought the art of the Ninja to the media and the people of the states and created the Ninja boom that brought people into Karate, Kung fu, Tae Kwon Do and other Dojo’s across the west as well as helping to create Ninja movies and bring the martial arts back to the fore front of many peoples minds.

19. Imrich Lichtenfeld: born in 1910 in Budapest and growing up in Pozsony Slovakia, Imrich or Imi grew up boxing, doing gymnastics and wrestling and in 1928  won the Slovakian youth wrestling championship. He grew up when anti Semitic views were starting to move across Europe. He began to teach his fighting styles to the Jewish people to protect Jewish neighbourhoods from the growing numbers of fascist thugs.

                Imi moved to Palestine and joined the Haganah paramilitary, a pre-state military body that was organized to protect Jewish interests.  He developed his skills into what was soon called Kapap and taught it to several elite units of the Haganah and Palmach.

                In 1948, the state of Israel was founded and the IDF was formed.  Imi became the chief instructor of the physical fitness training and began teaching what he called Krav Maga. Krav Maga was formed and by 1978 it had become the sole martial art taught to the Israeli special forces.  Imi died that year but Krav Maga continued and by the 80’s it had become a major new hit in the states. Many famous American actors and musicians became students of the art and it also was featured in many movies. 

18.Wong Fei-Hung: Wong Fei Hung was an acupuncturist and traditional Chinese medical doctor in Foshan, Guangdong China.  He was also a very influential Chinese martial artist and folk hero in China.  He was a Grand master who learned his art under Wong Kei-Ying, his father.  Wong Kei-Ying is one of the famous Ten tigers of Canton. Wong Fei Hung was the man that brought the style of Hung Gar or Hung Ga to the people of china. He also became a very famous character in Chinese history and the subject of countless movies.  He is an important person in the development of Kung fu and because of his influence in martial arts many greats began training in kung fu.  Men like Jackie chan, Bruce Lee, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao and Jet li have all played him and brought the Chinese art to the west.

17. Ed Parker: Edmond Kealoha Parker was born in Hawaii and while not very well known to some, he was a huge influence on martial arts in North America. The founder and creator of American Kenpo Karate/Kung Fu,  and seen as the Senior Grand Master of American Kenpo.  Why was he such a influencial person, I mean he was the creator of a style of Karate/Kung fu that was  mainly set in America….He was the instructor of Elvis Presley, movie star Jeff Speakman and Bruce Lee student Dan Inosanto.

                Ed Parker was the student of Frank Cho and William Chow…who was a student of James Mitose (the original founder).  Mitose created the style after a little training in Kung fu and Karate and made up a mythology that has been proven false.  Chow studied with  Mitose and created an off shoot of his original style, which he passed on to Parker.

                Parker continued to create and alter his style and built a altered style based first on Karate and then on Kung fu theories.  His unique style is built almost completely on self created forms and fighting styles.  This is unique because it was the first time that a person created a style from scratch essentially. His style became very famous when Elvis Presley brought his style on stage and introduced the world to Kenpo Karate.

16. Chuck Norris: Carlos Ray Norris was born in Ryan Oklahoma and joined the army to get away from the staunch poverty and hard life he was born into. In the army he ended up in korea and studied a style of martial arts that is based on Shotokan Karate.  He was stationed at the Osan Air Base in South Korea and competing when he got back to the states. Norris was known as one of the top fighters in the US and faced the BEST of the best at the time.   

                After his competition life was over he moved on to teaching and movies.  His more famous students include Bob Barker, chad McQueen, Steve McQueen, Priscilla Presley, Donny and Marie Osmond and others. 

                Norris became an Action movie icon and created his own style of martial arts called  Chun Kuk Do (“universal way”). His martial arts movies were one of the main reasons that young men and women flawed to the Karate Dojos in the 70’s and 80’s and for that he is one of the top 20 most influential martial arts personalities.

15. Itosu Anko and Asato Anko; Both Itosu and Asato were working for the Okinawan royals and were trained by Matsumura Sokon.  Asato was from a very wealthy family and studied traditional Samurai sword fighting and horse riding. Asato’s family wer Tonichi or town leaders. He was given leave to travel to Japan and study traditional fighting arts. His training in Horsemanship and sword fighting influenced Karate greatly.  Much of Karate’s changes were made because of Azatos training in Kenjutsu.  Itosu was also from a more noble family, but not as influential.  He came from a lower ranking Okinawa Samurai family and also afforded time to train in martial arts.  He became known as one of Okinawa’s best Karate men and known for his power.  He also was the primary instructor of Gichin Funakoshi, who went on to bring Karate to Japan.

14. Bruce Lee: Lee Jun-Fan was born in Hong Kong in 1940 and was born to Cantonese Opera star Lee Hoi Chuen. At the age of 13 his father sent him to study under famous Wing Chun master Yip Man. He only stayed with Man for a year and studied under Wong Shun Leung, one of Mans top students for a short time longer. In total he only trained in the style for five years, but his natural speed and athletic ability made him a great in the style quickly.

            Lee moved to Seattle to continue his studies at the U of W and began teaching his own interpretation of the style. He studied several different styles including Karate, Tae Kwon Do and boxing.  He created his own style called Jeet Kune Do based on his studies…. but this is not why he is known as one of the most influential people in the martial arts. Its his short movie Career and the myth he created around himself. A great self promoter, Lee parlayed four movies and a tv series into a cult following and his club was packed with students quickly, His students clubs were packed as well.

                Lee made the 70’s a Kung Fu decade and single handily sold the public on martial arts training and because of him…I joined Karate. 

13. Choi hong Hi/ Hee II Cho/Jong Soo Park/ Joon Rhee:  Cho Hong Hi or general Choi was a Korean military general who helped bring Tae Kwon Do to Korea. A Ikkyu in Shotokan Karate, Choi brought what he thought was a great style to the Korean military but was told that he had to change it to be less “Japanese” in appearance.  He went back and introduced a interesting story and changed the idea of Karate to be more kicking oriented.  From his original changes came more change that soon became what we now know as Tae Kwon Do.  Park, Cho and Rhee all came to north America to spread Tae Kwon Do to the world and all built off of general Choi’s changes to the original structure and then made further changes.  Rhee was personally responsible for the TKD craze in the US after teaching many famous students including mohammed Ali and many politicians. 

                While Tae Kwon Do is formed mainly from Shotokan, the myth of Taekyon and other styles influencing its formation seem to persist.  However, when you look at traditional Tae Kwon Do you can see that the influence of Karate was the major and most inspirational part of its development and all of the original forms that they used were slightly altered Shotokan Kata.

12. . Elvis Presley: Yes the music icon is also a Martial arts student and a very influencial person in the martial arts.  After seeing a Judo demonstration at fort Hood Tx he became interested in training in Karate or other martial arts. His first instructor was Juergen sydal, a Shotokan instructor.  Elvis went on to train in Chito Ryu and was given his Black Belt in that off shoot of Shotokan. His original Chito Ryu instructor died in Vietnam and Elvis changed his training to Ed Parkers American Kenpo.

                Elvis eventually trained in Tae Kwon Do with Kang Rhee, and earned his black belt in TKD from him. He moved on to train with a few others. Elvies is known to have been presented with his 8^th Degree black belt by Parker. 

                So, why was he so influential? Elvis was the most famous person in the USA during his life and he made Karate acceptable for a mass of people that had thought it was some strange Asian fighting art and not acceptable for “white America” . After Elvis became obsessed with Karate it became known that he did Karate and a huge influx of Students jointed Karate in the 60’s and 70’s because of this.

11. Fāng Qīniáng: According to history Qiniang was the founder of the Fuian White Crane system of Kung fu.  Born in southern China, Qiniang was a military expert and master of martial arts weapons. He was also known as Amoy Min Nan or Hng Chhit Nia and a female!  The system used deep stances, intricate hand techniques and fighting that mostly occurred at close range. The style that she taught was a imitative style of Shaolin boxing.

The Fang family lived in Fujian Province China and the family patriarch taught his daughter the fighting arts. One day while doing her chores the young girl tried to shoo a crane away that had landed near her. She studied its movements as the crane and began to form her own style of fighting.

So, why was she so important? Fang Qiniang’s style developed over time and became a very important Fujian martial arts style that was immensely popular in an area of China that hosted many Okinawan dignitaries, wealthy and visitors…like those that studied the Fujian Crane style and brought it back to Okinawa…to create the Karate style we now know as Shotokan. Fujian Kung fu is the distant relative of Shotokan Karate.

            I will post the rest soon!