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Foreword of Karate-Do Nyumon
By
Genshin Hironishi
Kodansha International
Karate-do Nyumon was published in Japanese
in December, 1943. The present English
edition marks the first tRanslation of this
book into a foreign language.
In 1984, the Japan Karate-do Shotokai held
various commemorative events to celebrate
the tenth anniversary of the rebuilding of
its central dojo and headquarters, the
Shotokan. In 1986, we observed the thirtieth
anniversary of Master Gichin Funakoshi's
death. The publication of this English
edition is therefore quite timely, and I
consider it a great honor to write this
foreword.
It is said that in the master's youth his
study and practice of karate included
learning over one hundred different kata. As
a result of years of research and
investigation into these formal exercises,
the master reduced the number to fifteen
traditional kata. These fifteen kata,
familiar under such names as Bassai and
Kanku, together with the five introductory
Heian kata, form the central core of
Shotokai training.
The kata called Ten no Kata, explained in
this book, was created and designed under
the leadership and guidance of Master
Funakoshi. It is a kata unique to the
Shotokai and is proudly cherished by all of
us, his students.
Master Funakoshi felt that, rather than a
great variety of kata, it is more important
to take a limited number and practice them
thoroughly and precisely, This way of
thinking can be regarded as basic to the
Shotokai.
A Japanese maxim says, Kantan na mono yoku
kachi o seisu "The balance between victory
and defeat often hangs on simple matters".
And another admonishes, Shoshin o wasurezu"
(In your training) do not forget the spirit
and humility of a beginner".
This does not mean that it is sufficient to
practice only basics. To accurately digest
and improve even simple combat techniques
and basic movements, practice of the more
advanced traditional kata is utterly
essential.
Unlike the advanced kata, practice in basics
tends to be limited to simple forward and
backward movements. The complexity of
integrated left-right, forward-backward,
pivoting, turning, two-and three-step
advancing or retreating executed in rapid
succession tends to be lost. One should
question whether the practice of basics
alone would allow one to respond to
continuously changing circumstances, or
whether one could effectively apply basic
techniques under difficult conditions. In
this sense, the traditional kata are
extremely important for training the body
under a variety of conditions. In kata,
individual movements combined become more
than their sum total. Kata practice is meant
to lead to an understanding of the true
value of the movements as self-defense
techniques.
Nevertheless, all things have advantages and
disadvantages. Often in practicing the
advanced kata, students concentrate too much
on the order and continuity of the
movements, without considering the
effectiveness of each technique. In extreme
cases, they may have the illusion that they
have mastered the kata by simply memorizing
the order of the movements. It should be
clear that, in reality, one must practice
both basic techniques and advanced kata, and
that the study of basics takes on a new and
deeper meaning after one experiences more
complex practice.
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To
return to Ten no Kata, it should first be
noted that it is not necessarily an
introductory kata and nothing more. Rather,
it is meant to be both a kata and a
continuous practice of basics. It is well
suited to those who have practiced the
traditional fifteen kata to the point where
they have more or less mastered them and
wish to further hone their skills.
Another important characteristic of Ten no
Kata concerns the element of maai literally
translated, maai means "(spatial) distance",
but in this usage it also evokes a sense of
timing, or chance. Thus, it indicates both
the space and the time it takes for and
opponent's fist to reach one's body. In the
practice of both kata and basics, there is a
tendency to forget maai and become absorbed
solely in the repetition of movements.
In traditional kata such as Bassai, the
difference between simply executing the
movements in the correct order and
performing the kata while taking maai into
account is immediately apparent. If one
imagines a real opponent and performs the
kata while thinking of maai, a blending of
hard and soft, quick and slow elements
appear quite naturally. Then each movement
of the hands and feet takes the shortest
possible route.
In actual practice, this concept seems
rather difficult for students to grasp, even
though its importance is pointed out and
stressed. It is impossible to understand
through words, and it seems as though the
body refuses to cooperate. Besides being a
trying experience for the student, it is
source of much anguish to the instructor who
wants his students to understand and develop
this sense as quickly as possible.
The concept of maai can be instilled through
the practice of Ten no Kata. My fervent wish
as an instructor is that this will serve as
an incentive to work hard on Ten no Kata
Ura, the kumite portion of the kata. I think
that the explanation in this section of the
book will lead you to a deeper appreciation
of maai, and this understanding will in turn
influence the manner in which you practice
the traditional kata. This is the idea upon
which our system of practice is based. It
should now be clear that Ten no Kata is more
than an elementary kata.
The Shotokai kata span the hard and heavy
kata of the Shorei style and the light and
fast kata if the Shorin style. Emphasis on
maai is an element common to both styles and
kata should always be practiced with this in
mind.
One of the subjects Master Funakoshi touches
on in this book is his own masters: Azato,
Itosu and Matsumura. This makes it an
especially valuable document, and, not
surprisingly, in his recollections of these
three men, he indirectly refers to the
importance of maai.
In the Shotokai, after acquiring a general
understanding of Ten no Kata, we begin the
practice of kawashi,or might be called
"interaction". In kawashi practice, you pass
through your opponent's attack, in effect
exchanging places with him. Unlike kumite
kata, you do not catch the attack and sweep
it away, nor do you step back or to the
side. Instead you step in, towards the
attacker, while turning (kawasu) your body
to avoid the attack.
In practice, the distance between the
attacker and defender should be about ninety
centimeters, so that if the defender does
not step in to avoid the attack, he will
surely be struck. This is therefore real
practice in maai. It is a drill in
close-quarter fighting where you must
quickly read your opponent's decision to
attack.
In a fight, interaction is implicit -- to do
battle with the opponent is, so to speak, to
interact with him. The kawashi of Ten no
Kata practice, however, does not mean clash
or conflict; on the contrary, it means to
pass by or cross through one's opponent
without the slightest physical contact, in
other words, to interact, but not in the
material realm.
In the practice of basics, this interacting
is reflected quite naturally in body
movements like the retraction of the left
fist to the hip when punching with the right
hand. Even in blocking with the sword hand,
the opposite sword hand held in front of the
chest is in essence a retracted pulling hand
Karate practice reinforces the idea that
before engaging in combat, you must first
experience kawashi with your own self. In
other words, karate is a martial art of
self-examination.
In closing, I wish to say that I would be
more than happy if, through this book,
students could come to understand Ten no
Kata as basic training method embodying
traditional concepts, such as kawashi, that
have been passed down over the years. And I
hope that it will help students advance in
their practice of karate.
Motonobu Hironishi
President Japan Karate-do Shotokai
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