In
1908 Anko Itosu, the father of Modern Okinawan Karate wrote a letter to the
Ministry of Education and the Ministry of war in Japan trying to draw attention
to Karate. His intent seems to meander from pushing Karate as a form of
fighting to a pushing it as a way of developing health and the body. This to me
shows two things; first that Itosu was writing this off the cuff without much
planning or thought out intent and secondly that he obviously was not as
elegant a writer as Funakoshi and even Sakukawa Sensei was.
The letter starts out:
“Karate
did not develop from Buddhism or Confucianism. In the past the Shorin-ryu
school and the Shorei-ryu school were brought to Okinawa from China. Both of
these schools have strong points and I therefore list them below just as they
are without embellishment.”
In
the letter he writes about the stances of “Tang Te” or Chinese hand, which is a
telling point about when it was written and the ideals at the time. The
Ministry of War at this time would refer to the Japanese ministry of War and
using the “Tang Te” name may have actually served to slow the progress of
Karate as Japan was still not on good terms with China.
One
point of interest right off the hop is that Itosu refers to Karate as not
coming from either of the most common religions of Japan and China, however it
does not say anything about Shinto. Also, Itosu comments that the two schools
of Karate were brought to Okinawa from China…. not the three….and he refers to
them as Shorin and Shorei not Shuri and Naha.
Itosu
then goes on to list his 10 “Precepts” or explanation points about Karate.
Keeping in mind that he is presenting these to official Ministry officials and trying
to help build his following and bridge the gap between the martial art thought
of as a esoteric and elitist activity and bring it into the mainstream. Karate
was not always the art that it is today, practiced at every community center
and seen as a common activity in every community. It was once a art form that
was practiced by the elite in Okinawa, created for the body guards and
officials that were in charge of working with and protecting the Okinawan king.
Itosu
and his peers (of which many did not fare as well as Itosu) now had to
transition into other careers and support themselves and their families after
the weak Okinawan emperor fell and abdicated his rule over the island nation to
the Japanese. He is using this letter
with ten points to reach out to two very different groups, the military and the
education ministry, to see if he can find an in with one of them to help teach
his art and earn a living. In the end the education ministry showed interest
and Itosu and his students flooded into the school system and started teaching
Karate to school children, altering their approach to training to suit the
children they were now presenting the system to.
This
was a stroke of luck for all of us, the art form would have been very different
if the Ministry of War (military) had picked up the art form for training their
solders and the Ministry of Education had rejected this art form. I will
present the twisting and turning, and somewhat desperate sounding, letters 10
points to you and add my own notes so you can see what Itosu had presented to
the Ministries and what we should take from this letter.
It
is very important to note that BOTH directions he was aiming for would still
have created a great art form and the art form that Itosu was presenting was
still functional and effective, he was however at a cross roads in his life,
which is why the letter seems to be aiming in two directions at the same time.
At
this point in time the Sino-Japanese war over and Japan had invaded Taiwan,
Japan was about to force Korea into being a protectorate of Japan as they
expanded their empire all over the Pacific region. Japan was ramping up to invade
Manchuria in a few decades. The nation was growing, and its influence was being
felt across the pacific. Itosu had lost his position and was desperately
looking for a way to make ends meet.
It
is with all of this in mind that he sent the following precepts to the
Education and War Ministries to try and gain traction, grow his art of Karate
and create a industry that would help him earn a living. Unlike the laws of
Bushido and the Dojo Kun the 10 precepts of Itosu are more a sales pitch, the
ideals that are presented are meant to introduce Karate to those that do not
practice Karate and in such they create a very unusual chance to see what a
well known practitioner thought of Karate as he presented it to the outside
world.
The
10 Precepts of Itosu:
1.
Karate is not merely practiced for your own benefit; it can be used to protect
one's family or master. It is not intended to be used against a single
assailant but instead as a way of avoiding injury by using the hands and feet
should one by any chance be confronted by a villain or ruffian.
This
is an interesting way to start the 10 points. Essentially Itosu is talking to
both the Education and the Military Ministries with this starting point. He is
also not very direct when you read it over and over. He says basically Karate
will give you a strong body, but it also mentions being able to fight and have
the courage to risk one’s life to support an effort of defense. This is
obviously to attract the War Ministry directly.
Duty
and honor were very big in Japan at this time, they were in the middle of an
expansionist era with a focus on nationalism. The idea of honor and duty of the
general population would have appealed to the ruling class. Also, the focus on
creating a system of teaching basic fighting skills to students and youth would
have kickstarted the military careers of many of the youth that would be
feeding the War machine that Japan had turned into at that point in its history
and to have a disciplined fighting force that was prepared prior to military
training would have been ideal to the War Ministry.
2.
Karate’s primary purpose is to strengthen the human muscles, thus making the physique
as strong as iron and as hard as stone. One may then use the hands and feet as
weapons – such as the spear and halberd. In doing so, Karate training
cultivates bravery and valor in children and should, therefore, be encouraged
within our elementary schools. Do not forget what the Duke of Wellington said
after having defeated Emperor Napoleon: “Today’s victory was first achieved
from the discipline attained within the playgrounds of our elementary schools.”
It is obvious at this point that
he was hoping the War Ministry would take notice of the built-in military like
training that the students in Okinawa would be getting. Ironically the
Okinawans were not seen as equal to the Japanese in the military and were instead
often put into Boeitai units or “home guard” units made up of 20-40-year-old
reservists in places like Okinawa, Korea and Formosa. Nearly 20,000 Okinawans
served in Boeitai units on Okinawa during the battle for Okinawa. These Boeitai
were seen as lower class than the imperial army counterparts however. It still
seems ironic to me that Itosu is trying to sell that his art would create a
perfect fighting force…when the fighting force would not be part of the IJA (Imperial
Japanese Army) and many of the Okinawans still did not see themselves as being
imperial subjects.
Proving however that training
would create good soldiers was Itosu’s focus. As proof he was correct nearly
10,000 Boeitai soldiers, mostly armed with spears and hand grenades died fending
off Americans for the Japanese at the war of Okinawa.
3.
Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow-moving bull, it eventually
travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every
day, then in three or four years one will see a change in physique. Those who
train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.
Now Itosu backs away from the
War Ministry and aims at the Education Ministry. Also, this creates “real expectations”
kind of feel to his pitch. The reality of training, as is laid out in this part
of his sales pitch is that Karate takes time to learn and to be able to practice
properly. You won’t see a miracle change in someone with in the first year of
training, it takes up to three or so years of hard training for a student to
have enough skill to defend themselves and allow for enough time for Karate to
impact the body in such a way as they can use the skills they have learned.
4.
In karate, training of the hands and feet are important, so you should train
thoroughly with a sheaf of straw (#). In order to do this, drop your shoulders,
open your lungs, muster your strength, grip the floor with your feet, and
concentrate your energy into your lower abdomen. Practice using each arm one to
two hundred times each day.
You may have to read this one
several times to understand this statement. Itosu is suggesting that you have
to work with a Makiwara (Sheaf of straw). He then explains how to it the
Makiwara for maximum improvement in your Waza. Note that the striking is set at
about 100-200 times a day. This would lead to the hardened fists that we are used
to seeing on practitioners as well as the calluses that we see today on many
hands of those that use the makiwara.
This is his suggestion for Hojo
undo or auxiliary practice, however you will note that he does not stipulate
that this is the ONLY training you should do. Itosu was also not the definitive
source for Karate training, his history suggests that he was not very high on
the ladder when it came to knowledgeable masters.
5.
When you practice the stances of karate, be sure to keep your back straight,
lower your shoulders, put strength in your legs, stand firmly, and drop your
energy into your lower abdomen.
I find it strange that in the
middle of Itosu’s sales pitch to people who know nothing about Karate that he added
this to the mix. The advice and explanation is dead on, it’s great to see that
he is explaining the basic Karate stance…to someone that has no idea what he is
talking about. This is not just out of place but also kinda weird. We go from really a letter focused 90% on
sales pitch to outside sources and then into the stance of Karate. Its like he transitioned
from talking to people who were uninitiated to writing to his students…..and it
continues…..
6.
Practice each of the techniques of karate repeatedly. Learn the explanations of
every technique well and decide when and in what manner to apply them when
needed. Enter, counter, withdraw is the rule for torite.
So, Itosu himself is now
suggesting that one should study the movements and techniques and come to a
decision as to what manner to apply them and when these are needed. My interpretation
is Itosu is suggesting that we need to train…Duh…and then interpret the movements
in Kata for ourselves. This seems to identify the fact that even at Itosu’s
level and generation there was NO SYSTEMIC IDIOLOTY REGARDING BUNKAI OR
OYO. So, all those modern day Bunkai guys
that say the old Karate guys had a plan for each move of Kata…. yah, not so
much!
Its like I tell my students,
train hard with an open mind and figure out applications for yourself, what I
teach you are my interpretations for Kata movements, and Itosu seems to be
backing me up here.
7. You must decide if karate is for your
health or to aid your duty.
Back
to the sales pitch here! Itosu is now flipping a coin, he is presenting his
approach to two groups that may have similar ideals for the people they would
employ him to teach, but he is now saying it could be a health thing…or to aid
your duty! By aid your duty he is inferring its for defending yourself and your
country again.
I
honestly think that he is using this to infer that you can train for defense or
you can train to be in good health, you can not do both, which is counter to
all modern dogma and sales pitches.
8.
When you train, do so as if on the battlefield. Your eyes should glare,
shoulders drop, and body harden. You should always train with intensity and
spirit as if actually facing the enemy, and in this way, you will naturally be
ready.
Um,
so now he is telling people that their mindset during training will get them
ready for combat against an enemy. Duh!
He is now back to telling the War Ministry that you can create warriors
with Karate that will be good at fighting and defending themselves because they
will have mentally prepared by training in Karate.
I have no issue with this other
than he seems to be mixing up his audience again. This is a letter to the two
different Ministries and yet the line is written as if it meant for a student.
Very confusing and I am thinking that he is confused a great deal at this point
in his life. He knows that he has to create a opportunity to make money and
live after having lost his job with the government of Okinawa, but he is writing
this as if he is talking to actual students.
9. If
you use up your strength to excess in karate training, this will cause you to
lose the energy in your lower abdomen and will be harmful to your body. Your
face and eyes will turn red. Be careful to control your training.
So, Itosu is now suggesting that
hard training or over training is not good for a student. Again, this is geared
towards the students and suggests that one should not train to hard. I know
that intensity training is a more modern construct and in the past one would
think of health and train to keep moving, a light easy approach with some focus
on harder training intermixed with lots of easy training. Also, the training
was geared towards younger students who were in better shape than older
practitioners.
It would seem that Itosu back
peddles a bit on his assessments of hard training previous, he had pointed out
that Makiwara training was needed, and he now suggests that lighter training
done for a life time is better. I have no clue how this fits into the sales pitch
that he is making to the Ministries but he threw it in their to remind people
not to overdo it in training.
10.
In the past, many masters of karate have enjoyed long lives. Karate aids in
developing the bones and muscles. It helps the digestion as well as the
circulation. If karate should be introduced, beginning in the elementary
schools, then we will produce many men each capable of defeating ten
assailants.
Back to the duel sales
pitch! I agree that people who train in
Karate often see great physical improvements (Flexibility, cardiovascular
health, muscle tone ext) however the fact that a few of the masters lived
longer than the average is the better sales pitch. However, its also important to note that most
of them died of very normal things that Karate did not affect really.
His go to is to sell the
ministries on starting kids in Karate so that they can help produce students
that will grow into great warriors for the War ministry. Great approach if you
are looking at creating a bunch of soldiers that will die for their country. Most
modern instructors would not relish the thought of their members dying in wars
or going to war in the first place, but Itosu had a living to make and if only
a few of the young children he was teaching became military members to die for
Japan then so be it.
If
the students at teacher training college learn karate in accordance with the
above precepts and then, after graduation, disseminate this to elementary
schools in all regions, within 10 years karate will spread all over Okinawa and
to mainland Japan. Karate will therefore make a great contribution to our
military. I hope you will seriously consider what I have written here - Anko
Itosu, October 1908
Itosu ends the letter basically
laying out that his system of fighting, this new aged (At the time) martial art
could help the country build up many students into military warriors and it
will spread quickly, in one decade those that were taught Karate from a young age
would be ripe for military service. He brings around his sales pitch and drops it
on the Ministries as a great way to help them.
Pretty much anyone who reads my
blogs knows I am not a fan of Itosu and I also think that Azato was Funakoshi’s
primary instructor and he probably had little time with Itosu. This letter from
Itosu to the ministry really makes me feel that he was a man of lesser character
than Azato. Not only was he pandering to the Japanese Ministry, a government body
in which most Okinawans did not have a lot of respect but he is basically is
saying “let me train kids to go die for Japan”.
I really started reading this
sales pitch when I was researching a book on different “Kun” from Sakukawa and
Funakoshi. I had included it in the book research at first hoping to include it
in the book, but after really looking at the precepts and digging into them,
reading what others had said and reviewing it I pulled it from the book
because, to be honest, it has no place in a book dedicated to how to do Karate
or how to behave while doing Karate.
