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The Continuing
Evolution of Shotokan
by
James R. Melton
1900-1999
(from Fighting Method to Martial Sport)
Methods of fighting such as early Okinawa versions of karate were
methods of dealing with attackers when unarmed for one reason or
another. Conditioning exercises to increase the effectiveness of
those techniques, called hojo undo, were an integral part of the
training.
When Mr. Funakoshi introduced karate to Japan, karate began to
change - to evolve - so that it would become more acceptable to the
educated, upper class he chose to teach. Funakoshi’s instructor,
Itosu, had already begun this process when he was instrumental in
introducing karate into the newly developed formal system of
education.
People love to play and compete
Fighting techniques as originally practiced had as their arena
actual combat, often to the death. Practice was in earnest, because
this was no game. There was no second place. You either won or you
died.
Sport, on the other hand, is defined as play done for the purpose
of recreation or fun. Many sports have as one aspect some manner of
competition, where the object is to compare the abilities of the
contestants, and determine a winner.
People in every culture, race, and age play games and compete
with each other through those games. Many sports started out with
strictly utilitarian motives, as means of fighting one’s enemies.
Inevitably the people being trained in these methods searched for
and found ways to try their skill against their friends and training
partners. As long as the particular fighting method remained one
that was useful in actual combat, this was relegated to the role of
training method, with the understanding that to the degree that
rules were imposed to protect the participants, that it was
unrealistic.
The people playing under these conditions were doing so with the
anticipation of applying these skills in life or death situations,
and this had to have an effect on how seriously they took the
outcome of these games.
As the methods of fighting became obsolete, or less important in
actual warfare, typically the sport or game took on a life of its
own, which as time passed, often evolved further and further from
its original function-a method of fighting. This happened in use of
swords, archery, horseback riding, and various types of hand-to-hand
combat in such diverse places as ancient Greece and Rome, Europe, as
well as Asia.
The use of the sword in its various forms serves as a good
example of this evolutionary path, since it happened in both the
East and the West. At one time or another, the sword was an
important weapon of the trained, upper class fighter in most of the
civilized world. It was used in war, and the training the men
received was structured accordingly. In addition to just being a
utilitarian part of their equipment, in both Europe and Japan the
sword also took on a mystique all its own. Legends grew up around
famous swords, and they became an integral part of the culture. As
such, they became too important to be discarded when improvements in
weaponry made them outdated. Their importance had become symbolic,
rather than purely functional. When this happened, changes had to be
made in the training methods because they were no longer intended
for young men preparing to be samuri or knights going into their
respective armies. The training had to become safer, more
civilized,in order to make it suitable for people who were not
professional soldiers.
From Jutsu to Do
In Japan, this led to the change from training with live swords
and bokken (wooden swords, which in themselves are dangerous
weapons) to the development of bamboo swords (shinai) and modern
kendo armor. Competition became very formal with a rigid set of
rules and etiquette governing the behavior of the participants. In
Europe, a similar evolution occurred, which has culminated with the
modern sport of fencing, complete with electronic equipment being
developed to help with the scoring. However, even in the midst of
that technology, fencing makes some effort to maintain an air of
chivalry and dignity appropriate to its origins.
Many modern day sports share a similar history, and have as their
origin a "martial art". The javelin, discus, shooting, archery,
boxing, wrestling, and many others all were done at one time in
preparation for use on the battlefield. Now they have changed in
terms of their purpose. According to the teacher or coach, and the
specific athlete involved, that purpose might be purely superficial,
or with an emphasis on the intrinsic values to be gained from hard
work and training.
In this way, activities which had as their origin strictly
warlike intentions evolved into a sport which could be played. The
importance of that aspect depended upon whether or not the activity
was still the "state of the art" as a means of fighting. When the
time was reached that the sporting aspect outweighed its value in
war, then it was freed from the restraint of having to be as close
to a real life fight to the death as possible. Then the rules could
be changed to better protect the contestants, as well as make the
contests more interesting and more fun.
You find what you're looking for.
Thus it is that many races and cultures has developed sports from
what were originally the skills necessary for waging war. Until
recently however, the war arts -martial arts-of the Orient were
different from the sports found in the Western world. The
philosophical tenets of these arts were based on concepts such as
those of Mr. Funakoshi,, who was of the belief that the purpose of
karate was not determining winners and losers, but the perfection of
the character of the participants. This is very similar to, "Its not
whether you win or lose, but how you play the game." But unlike
Western sports, which only give lip service to this--usually by
repeating the above saying to people who have just lost--the
traditional Oriental arts for a period of time insured that this
concept was honored by the fact that formal competition in the form
of tournaments did not exist. Therefore there were very few external
rewards. There was training, and the training was an end in itself.
The purpose of that training was to improve, and since no one ever
reached perfection, it was a continuous process expected to last a
lifetime.
However, people being what they are, both competitive and
playful, most martial arts have developed methods of competition,
and karate is no different. One school of thought is that
competition ruins a martial art by affecting the manner in which the
training is done, and causing students to ignore the deeper
philosophical values which were originally of prime importance. A
different school of thought is that people who are afraid of
competition are simply afraid, and choose to hide behind a smoke
screen by claiming to be above competition, or that their techniques
are too deadly to be played with since they are still real fighting
skills-and not watered down and made safe enough for sporting
purposes.
From the popularity of karate competition, and the direction
taken of entering into international competition by way of the
Olympic games, it would be fair to say that those of the opinion
that competition can be of benefit seem to be leading the way. The
lessons to be learned in the sporting arena are also of value.
Inner growth, character development, self discipline, plus all the
intrinsic values set forth by Mr. Funakoshi are to be found on the
tournament floor and the playing field, as easily as anywhere
else--IF that is what you are looking for. In fact, for modern man
that may be a better place to look than the traditional monastery
stuck away in the mountains with bad food and no heat in the winter.
There are no guarantees though. Many tournament champions are
self-centered, obsessed, and egotistical.
There is an old story that illustrates the point. A man was
walking down the street when he came upon a drunk crawling around on
his hands and knees under a streetlamp. The man asked the drunk what
he was doing. The drunk replied that he was looking for his car
keys. Looking around, and not seeing any keys in the circle of light
underneath the lamp, he asked the drunk where he had been when he
had lost the keys. The drunk pointed down the street into the dark,
and replied, "Over there." This confused the man, so he asked the
drunk why he was looking there, instead of where he had dropped his
keys, and the drunk explained, "Because I can see better over here
in the light".
Unlike the drunk and his keys, the object of a search for
perfection of character is to be found inside the searcher.
Therefore it does not matter where he looks, or what physical shape
his search may take. Because of this, he may as well look for his
keys in the light--the familiar arena of sports competition--since
he is just as likely to find them there as anywhere else.
Just because a martial art becomes a sport does not mean that it
must lose the philosophical guide lines which make it different and
unique when compared to mere games, if the competitions are held
under the proper conditions and in the proper spirit.
There is more than one way.
2000
(From Martial Sport to Martial Art, Sport, and Self Defense
Method)
During the last part of the 1900's some Shotokan practictioners
started to look at their beloved art and wonder about what was and
was not included. Shotokan had become specialized in turning out
karate-ka with razor sharp kihon, impressive looking kata and
effective long-range kumite techniques. All these had been designed
and refined to the point that a Shotokan practitioner could be
recognized after doing a single stance, kick, or reverse punch.
However, as many of it's students became senior instructors they
noticed that the question "Is that all there is?" came up more and
more. This happened particularly when Shotokan was compared with
other forms of karate? This lead to questions like:
Where is the bunkai for our kata?
Other styles require students testing for nidan to know the
entire bunkai sequence for every kata they know on their belt tests,
and many Shotokan instructors don't have a clue about such things.
In addition, some of our kata had been modified in such a way that
certain moves are almost a running joke. The last three moves at the
end of Chinte hop to mind.
Why don't we teach self defense skills, in addition to kumite?
Students are given the option of doing self defense on their belt
tests, but often have never been taught anything resembling self
defense in class. Maybe it is telling that when they practice self
defense techniques in class, people make a concious shift and say
"We're going to work on self defense now", thereby proving that they
don't think the Shotokan they do is self defense. Only 20-30 per
cent(and that is a generous estimate) of karate students have any
interest in entering tournaments, but the dan level belt test
requirements are slanted toward that minority. Isn't it strange that
a person can make 4th dan and not know how to get out of a bear hug
or a head lock?
Why don't we include Okinawan weapons in our curriculum?
Funakoshi practiced weapons, and so did his son Gigo. He dropped
them from the curriculum from all accounts in an effort to be more
appealing to the Japanese college students he ws trying to woo into
the study of karate. The Japanese looked down on the Okinawans and
only accepted karate after Funakoshi"Japanaized" it with the help of
Kano, the founder of Judo.
Funakoshi may have had a valid reason to with hold weapons when
he did, but that is no longer a good reason. Weapons training is
useful in many ways, such as understanding empty hand kata, learning
distancing, learning to use different types of weapons for self
defense purposes, and--reason enough by itself--they are
entertaining and fun.
In Answer To Those Questions And Others...
Many instructor's have gone out on their own and set about adding
back those things which had been dropped out along the way. To my
knowledge none of them have the intention of trying to de-evolve
Shotokan. Far from it. Most of them agree that Shotokan does what it
does better than other styles(Hopefully everyone feels this way
about their style.). They just want to add bunkai, self defense, and
weapons back into the Shotokan curriculum with those elements to be
refined to the same degree which characterizes Shotokan's kihon and
performance kata.
We at the Journal of the Shotokan Research Society International
are a part of that movement determined to help Shotokan continue
it's evolution toward being a more complete martial art.
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