The late Gichin Funakoshi wrote the following text from his book
'To-Te Jitsu' It offers a true insight into the perception of
what Karate is and means according to one of the founding
fathers of modern Karate.
In Okinawa, a miraculous and mysterious martial art has come
down to us from the past. It is said that one who masters its
techniques can defend himself readily without resort to weapons
and can perform remarkable feats: the breaking of several thick
boards with his fist or ceiling panels of a room with a kick.
With his shuto ("sword hand") he can kill a bull with a single
stroke; he can pierce the flank of a horse with his open hand;
he can cross a room grasping the beams of the ceiling with his
fingers, crush a green bamboo stalk with his bare hand, shear a
hemp rope with a twist, or gouge soft rock with his hands.
Some consider these aspects of this miraculous and mysterious
martial art to be the essence of Karate-do. But such feats are a
small part of karate, playing a role analogous to the
straw-cutting test of kendo (Japanese fencing], and it is
erroneous to think that there is no more to Karate-do than this.
In fact, true Karate-do places weight upon spiritual rather than
physical matters, as we shall discuss. True Karate-do is this:
that in daily life, one's mind and body be trained and developed
in a spirit of humility; and that in critical times, one be
devoted utterly to the cause of justice.
KARA
Karate-do is a martial art peculiar to Okinawa in its origins.
Although it has in the past tended to be confused with Chinese
boxing because of the use of the Chinese "kara" character in its
earlier name, in fact for the past thousand years, the study and
practice of masters and experts, through which it was nurtured
and perfected and formed into the unified martial art that it is
today, took place in Okinawa. It is, therefore, not a distortion
to represent it as an Okinawan martial art.
One may ask why the Chinese "kara" character has been retained
for so long. As I discuss in the section "The Development of
Karate-do," I believe that at the time the influence of Chinese
culture was at its peak in Japan, many experts in the martial
arts traveled to China to practice Chinese boxing. With their
new knowledge, they altered the existing martial art, called
Okinawa-te, weeding out its bad points and adding good points to
it, thus working it into an elegant art. It may be speculated
that they considered "kara" (with the Chinese character) an
appropriate new name. Since, even in contemporary Japan, there
are many people who are impressed by anything that is foreign,
it is not difficult to imagine the high regard for anything
Chinese that prevailed during that period in Okinawa. Even at
the time of the present writer's youth, lack of a full set of
Chinese furniture and furnishings in one's home was a serious
impediment to the social influence of any leading family. With
this background, the reason for the choice of the Chinese "kara"
character, meaning "Chinese," as a simple case of exoticism is
apparent.
Following tradition, the writer has in the past continued to use
the Chinese character. However, because of the frequent
confusion with Chinese boxing, and the fact that the Okinawan
martial art may now be considered a Japanese martial art, it is
inappropriate, and in a sense degrading, to continue use of the
old "kara" in the name. For this reason, in spite of many
protests, we have abandoned the use of it to replace it with the
new character KARA.
THE MEANING OF KARA
The first connotation of kara indicates that karate is a
technique that permits one to defend himself with his bare hands
and fists without weapons. Second, just as it is the clear
mirror that reflects without distortion, or the quiet valley
that echoes a sound, so must one who would study Karate-do purge
himself of selfish and evil thoughts, for only with a clear mind
and conscience can he understand that which he receives. This is
another meaning of the element kara in Karate-do. Next, he who
would study Karate-do must always strive to be inwardly humble
and outwardly gentle. However, once he has decided to stand up
for the cause of justice, then he must have the courage
expressed in the saying, "Even if it must be ten million foes, I
go!" Thus, he is like the green bamboo stalk: hollow (kara)
inside, straight, and with knots, that is, unselfish, gentle,
and moderate. This meaning is also contained in the element kara
of Karate-do.
Finally, in a fundamental way, the form of the universe is
emptiness (kara), and, thus, emptiness is form itself. There are
many kinds of martial arts, judo, kendo, sojitsu ("spear
techniques"), bojitsu ("stick techniques"), and others, but at a
fundamental level all these arts rest on the same basis as
Karate-do. It is no exaggeration to say that the original sense
of Karate-do is at one with the basis of all martial arts. Form
is emptiness, emptiness is form itself. The kara of Karate-do
has this meaning.
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