Okinawan peace theory is a difficult topic, most of all for Okinawans themselves. Often, the era of the 15 Years War and Okinawan participation in “the system” is categorically marginalized, denied, and not addressed. The reasons for this are varied, and the attempted UNESCO inclusion is one of these reason. However, since I am not Okinawan, I can give you a tiny glimpse of this difficult topic.
When looking at how and why Okinawa karate and kobudo was spread to the masses, we might get an idea from school teacher Chibana Koreaki from Kunigami Village, who said as follows in 1930:
“From the viewpoint of improving the efficiency during war and in daily life, the citizens of Okinawa Prefecture are a race born with the serious mission to rise to the first line of battle of national defense.”
Among the concrete incentives to achieve this objective, Chibana proposed to
“Promote private karate and bōjutsu.”
“Private karate and bōjutsu” means outside of the school system. Looking at the state of public physical education since the early 1930s, the purpose of sports promotion in Okinawa was to improve the physical strength of the citizens of the prefecture, which was linked to national defense in the event of war.
The era of war with China without declaration began with the Manchurian Incident (1931) and until 1945, sports became a means for national defense. In July 1937, the battlefield expanded to the Second Sino-Japanese War, continuing into the Pacific War (1941-1945). The year 1937 was also the time of the “National Spiritual General Mobilization Movement,” which turned sports into a training for national defense and the battlefield. In December 1937, the undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture issued a notice to all local governments, schools, and physical education groups, about “Matters concerning the implementation of the physical education movement on occasion of the National Spiritual General Mobilization Movement.” In the preamble it says,
“The physical education movement aims to improve the citizens’ ambitions by a holistic toughening (tanren) of mind and body, to cultivate the spirit of the people, and to equip them with a healthy and capable disposition that satisfies the nation’s mission.
The ideology of tanren might be a survival of the spiritualistic total war system that survived until today, although in a different context. Such ideas were established much earlier, namely in the 1910s by Tanaka Gichi, who designed “physical and spiritual education” for the young men’s corps (seinenkai) all over Japan, which thrived under member of the Imperial Reserve all over rural Okinawa. This mind and body concept can be likened to tanren kata (toughening kata), to shingitai (mind, technique, and physical strength), shintai (mind and body), spirit (seishin), etc. These things as seen in today’s Okinawa karate kobudō might well be “unpurged survivals of an Imperial ideology.”
Everyone in Okinawa was affected, and karate masters willingly participated in the preparation of the youngsters, many of which were send to Southeast Asia and elsewhere as “colonizers.” In his “Memories of Karate,” which was hidden from the public for a long time, Okinawan karate master Kyan Chotoku wrote as follows.
“Meanwhile, unfolding from the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) to the Greater East Asian War (1941–1945), the divine spiritual powers of officers and men of the Imperial Japanese Army suddenly appear in the sky and at sea and scatter our huge Caucasian enemies like one unified body. The fruits of battle are based on the glorious virtues of the Emperor, and our officers and men have enhanced the deepest secrets of Bushidō – the Way of the Warrior. Meanwhile, it is unbearable for this old man, to sit here, like an old tree, comfortably next to a charcoal brazier.”
The oldest source on the nunchaku so far seems to be by William Henry Furness III (1866–1920), American physician, ethnographer and author, who visited Okinawa from March 13 to 26, 1896, saying,
Non-shaku [nunchaku] is played with a stick about three feet long to which is attached a rope. The object of the game is to disarm the opponent by whipping the stick out of his hands.”
Soken Hohan wrote that Komesu Ushi who taught him bojutsu also taught him nunchaku techniques in 1908 (according to Soken’s 1961 hand-written resumee to the Okinawa Kobudo Kyokai, of which Walt Young has a copy).
Kaneshima Shinsuke learned nunchaku from Tokuyama Chōgi in Taiwan sometime between April 1918 and May 1919, or April 1928 to November 1928.
In 1939, Ishikawa Hōei (1911-2007) performed nunchaku at the Commemorative Demonstration held during the Opening Ceremony of the Okinawa District Committee of the Dai Nippon Butokukai.
The oldest photo of nunchaku or its use which I was able to verify is that of Koja Shoshin in a 1955 article “Roundtable discussion to talk about the karate (Part 3). – Weapons representing the spirit of defense.”
One year later, the Movie “Bushi Matsumora” was released in 1956. It is about the heroic tale of famed martial artist Matsumora Kōsaku. in this historical drama about Matsumora Kōsaku we see classical Kata of the Ryūkyū kingdom era performed, namely Passai, as well as choreographed fight scenes (Yakusoku kumite) unarmed as well as armed with a Nunchaku. Without doubt the actors were skilled in all of it.
It also seems that nunchaku has been featured for the first time on screen in this movie. Here, Henzan Jirā with a nunchaku fights against Bushi Matsumora Kōsaku, as some villagers look on.
One year later, the Movie “Bushi Matsumora” was released in 1956. It is about the heroic tale of famed martial artist Matsumora Kōsaku. in this historical drama about Matsumora Kōsaku we see classical Kata of the Ryūkyū kingdom era performed, namely Passai, as well as choreographed fight scenes (yakusoku kumite) unarmed as well as armed with a nunchaku. Without doubt the actors were skilled in all of it.
It also seems that nunchaku has been featured for the first time on screen in this movie. Here, Henzan Jirā with a nunchaku fights against Bushi Matsumora Kōsaku, as some villagers look on.
A nunchaku practice kata was presented in Ryuyku Kobudo Taikan by Taira Shinken in 1964.
Later, Minowa Katsuhiko mentioned that there were several weapons in Taira’s home such as tecchu and sanbon nunchaku that none of his students ever practiced. Taira admitted that he himself never learned any techniques or kata for these weapons. Therefore, some people later began to create techniques and even kata on their own. In this way, various of Taira’s students made their own contributions by creating new kobudo kata.
Before I talked about the disadvantages of the single grip of the Taira tinbe. To give you an impression, I assumed a two-sided lever with the formula F1 · l1 = F2 · l2. As a comparison, the punching forces in amateur boxing are around 255 Kg. When assuming a similar force for a tsuki or a strike with a bō as an attack against the tinbē, your grip strength on the tinbē handle would need to be 1732,93 Kg just to balance the attacking force. That is about the biting force of a great white shark.
Now, geometry is important and there are differences between different groups of the Taira lineage.
Below is a photo taken from this video showing the positioning of the tinbē as employed in the Shimbukan school. In all overhead positions in this kata, the tinbē is held like this. Attack trajectory A could be blocked, but attack trajectories B would tilt the tinbē and hit the shoulder, arm, collar bone or head.
But there are other positionings of the tinbē, which is with the tinbē held sideways. This gives a lot of stability to the tinbē and is excellent for practical use. In this case, your leverage is way better and you actually “have a grip.”
Sideways or frontward? This is important in terms of using tinbe or tinbe-like objects for self-protection.
Yesterday, David Hansen of Isshin-ryū posted a good question on Facebook. It is as follows.
This photo shows Shinken Sensei to be holding more of a machete than short spear. What year did this lineage change to short spear and flipping rochin back n forth?
Photo of Taira with short halberd attached to David’s post.
As noted in the post, today’s techniques of the tinbē included a lot of flipping back and forth of the short spear (rōchin), which has a long handle and a short metal tip. But a short halberd such as in the photo can’t be flipped back and forth because you would cut yourself. Therefore, it is a very good question. This is because the short halberd used in this staged photo cannot be used for the kata.
To get closer to an answer, I first wondered where the photo was taken. Taira seems to wear an Iaidō uniform, and the short spear shows a considerable amount of craftmanship, something not seen on Okinawa at the time. I have neither seen the photo nor these particular weapons in the Shimbukan dojo in Okinawa in over a year. On the other side, it is known that the photo is part of a whole series, which is found in the enlarged edition of Taira’s Ryūkyū Kobudō Taikan (1997), published under supervision of Inoue Kishō. Therefore, I would guess that the photo was taken in Japan.
Moreover, no-one knows when Taira created the “Tinbē kata.” Maybe in the 60s? Maybe after this photo was taken?
Well, let’s see what there is.
In 1964, the original edition of Taira Shinken’s Ryūkyū Kobudō Taikan (Encyclopedia of Ancient Ryūkyūan Martial Arts with Weaponry) was published. It was the first ever attempt to publish a monograph solely concerned with Ryūkyū Kobudō. The term Ryūkyū Kobudō does not refer to all schools of ancient Ryūkyūan martial arts with weaponry. Rather, it decidedly refers to the syllabus researched and established by Taira Shinken.
In one of two editions I own, a correction sheet is found glued in. In the other edition it is not, neither are there signs of glue. Obviously, and while this publication was already limited to comparatively few printed copies anyway, this correction sheet was not included in all of the copies, or it got lost.
According to the postscript by the publisher Kogure Takehide, it wasn’t possible to collect all kata of Taira Shinken in this one single volume. Therefore, the Ryūkyū Kobudō Taikan was actually planned as a series of five volumes, each with a individual volume name:
1) Kan no maki.
2) Gen no maki.
3) Kō no maki.
4) Ri no maki.
5) Tei no maki.
However, only the first of these volumes was ever published.
The five planned volumes, each with their respective kata. Vol. 5 has Kanegawa no Tonfā.
The remaining four volumes – and their unpublished photos and texts – never saw the light of day. However, on page 70 of the original Vol. 1, the publisher Kogure Takehide provided a list of kata that were planned to be published in all five volumes.
There is no Tinbē kata mentioned in it. However, Volume 5 had the following kata list.
Vol. 5 – Tei no maki
Yonegawa no Hidari-bō
Suruchin
Yakā no Sai
Kanegawa no Tonfā
Kumite
Kanegawa no Tonfā is an intriguing name. No kata under this name exists, so it might have been a mistake. For comparison, I looked at the entry for Nichōgama, which is found in Volume 4, and it is simply referred to as Nichōgama, not as Kanegawa no Nichōgama, as it is called today.
Then, Kanegawa no Tonfā could be a mistake, and actually refer to Kanegawa no Tinbē.
However, Taira Shinken invented a lot of kata after 1945. Therefore, couldn’t it be that he planned a Kanegawa no Tonfā, and then discarded it, and created Kanegawa no Tinbē instead?
The following shows how chaotic Taira sometimes worked. In 1938, Taira created Kongō no Kon based on Shūshi no Kon, but later discarded the changes, and created a completely new Kongō no Kon instead. The following instance is an example of how unclear these traditions are in reality: In an interview in 1997, when Akamine Eisuke was asked when the Shō and Dai versions of Shūshi no Kon were developed, he replied, “I guess it was after the war.” So, nothing is clear, and nobody seems to know the details of Taira’s creations. So, in creating kata, Taira did a lot of trial and error and changes and developments over time.
If Kanegawa no Tonfā was a mistake, and actually Kanegawa no Tinbē was planned to be included in Vol. 5 of the Ryūkyū Kobudō Taikan, this would be the earliest date of it being mentioned. 1964. So it could have been created around that time, or earlier.
What do the Okinawans say? Does anyone even know the details?
The simple question remains: When was Kanegawa no Tinbē created?
There has always been some confusion as to why the Taira-Inoue lineage of Kobudo practices more kata than the Taira-Akamine lineage, this even more since a comprehensive kata list written by Akamine Eisuke is found hanging at the Shimbukan that includes kata that are not practiced.
Original photo by Andreas Quast (2010).
In a 1970s footage of the Shimbukan under Akamine Eisuke, there is a kata list that is almost identical with the current kata list hanging in the Shimbukan dojo. However, this 1970s version bears the name “Inoue,” so I wonder whether the list was originally designed and written by Inoue Motokatsu, and later replaced by a version signed by Akamine Eisuke. Moreover, I also compared the handwritings of the two lists and they were written by different hands. Also, in the 1970s footage, there are tools in the Shimbukan probably lend by Inoue, because they appear on later photos of Inoue while they are not seen at the Shimbukan anymore.
It would at least explain why there are kata on the list that are practiced by the Inoue group, but not by the Akamine group, such as Kongo no Kon, Hantagwa no Sai, Sueyoshi no Kon, Yonshaku bo, Sanbon nunchaku and the like.
For the convenience of the students, here is the transcribed and transliterated 1970s kata list. It is basically identical with the current list hanging in the Shimbukan.
Ryūkyū Kobudō Hozon Shinkōkai
Kata
– Kon
Shūshi Shō/ Dai
Sakugawa Shō/ Dai
Sueyoshi
Soeishi
Urasoe (Gyakute Hanta-gwā)
Chinen Shikiyanaka
Tsuken Sunakake
Yonegawa (Hidari bō)
Sesoko
Shirotaru
Chōun
Tsuken Bō
Chatan Yara
Kongō
– Sai
Tsuken Shitahaku
Hama Higa
Chatan Yara
Hanta-gwā
Yakā
Tawada-ryū
Jigen (Manji no Sai)
Kojō (Sanbon)
– Kama (Nichōgama)
Tōzan-ryū
Kanegawa-ryū
– Tekkō
– Tonfā
– Nunchaku
– Tinbē
– Surujin
– Others
Kyūshakubō
Sanbon nunchaku
Mēkata Bō (Yonshaku)
All Japan General Headquarters
That’s all
Inoue
Ryūkyū Kobudō Hozon Shinkōkai General Headquarters
The above is the 1970s list. It is not 100% clear if Inoue really wrote it but it can well be. The Okinawans received a lot of influence from the mainland at the time, and it would be no wonder if they followed Inoue on kata names, terminology and other topics.
There was a recent post on the Facebook group “Karate Nerds,” a really good and diverse group with an open approach to communication. The post referred to a photo with a short text description taken from a translation of the original Japanese text. It went as follows.
I’m currently reading a Soke 10th DAN’s karate book and sometimes I wonder if I should laugh or cry. As a first example (more to follow): the image Sagurite uke. According to the book, this block is found at the end of the Passai Kata (yes it is) and it was originally used to look for a nearby opponent in the dark. So a block with which one looks for people in the dark.
In a slightly scornful attitude, it describes a “Soke 10th DAN” using this technique as a “block with which one looks for people in the dark.” Following the passage “this block is found at the end of the Passai Kata,” the poster adds “yes it is” in brackets, probably to prove his authority on the matter.
It has long been known that many translations from Japanese to English are directly incorrect or at least inaccurate and insufficient. The translator of the English version is Shinzato Katsuhiko, who was not only a student of the person shown in the photo, but also studied English and English Literature at the University of the Ryukyus and then studied Applied Linguistics in the United States at Indiana University. Therefore, there can hardly be any doubt as to the correct translation of the text passage.
On the other hand, mistakes happen all the time. As an editor myself, I know this very well. Here is an example. In the “Encyclopedia of Okinawa Karate-do Kobudo” (2008), the oldest Western reference to karate was presented. It was taken from Basil Hall’s famous description of Okinawa Karate, which he witnessed in 1816 on board of a ship in Naha harbor. The transliteration writes “the boxer’s potion of difence,” when in fact the text phrase is “boxer’s position of defence.” Above-mentioned Shinzato Katsuhiko, together with Takamiyagi Shigeru, were the editors and main contributors of this work, and both were professors of the English language and two of the best persons in Okinawa karate.
Boxer’s poition of di fence
While this is certainly a humorous example, these things happen. Even monkeys fall from trees, they say. This might serve as a reminder that, when reading books, critical thinking means you need to read and think actively, and sometimes you need to verify a claim by yourself.
Even though many 21st century people might find this amusing, it is in fact not too far-fetched that persons in old Okinawa might have had to fight in a pitchblack environment, and fragments of this reality have become traditions in karate.
However, since I studied in Okinawa with the son of the person in the photo, I wanted to know exactly what the original text meant. I looked up one Japanese book of the author and found the photo, yet without any further description except “The form of sagurite”. I couldn’t locate the other book so I contacted a friend who has a lot of collectibles and indeed he had it and quickly sent me the page in question. I immediately noticed that the Japanese text was way longer than in the English translation.
First of all, the poster obviously used a recently and privately published German bridge translation, which he then re-translated to English for the text of his post. Obviously, he also didn’t look up and comparing the English version by Shinzato. A bridge translation is a translation of a translation. In professional editing circles bridge translations are an inacceptable practice because it not only continues errors made in the first translation, but also might add additional errors. Imagine translation of legal papers, contracts, electrical designs, code etc. You have to go back to the original sources. In short, a bridge translation is unreliable and shouldn’t be used at all.
And just like that, the German bridge translation has several semantic nuances and terminology that are slightly flawed, if not straightforward inaccurate. And then, the poster translated that flawed German translation back to English. You get the problem, right?
Let’s move on.
The English text is as follows:
10. Sagurite-Uke (Searching-hand block). This is seen in the last part of Passai kata and was originally used to search for the opponent at close range in the dark. Used only in Passai (Fig 32).
Nagamine Shoshin: The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do. Tuttle Publishing, 1st paperback edition, 1998, p. 93.
Fair enough. It is something similar to the meaning previously mentioned. At a first glance, and from the knowledge of the kata, I immediately thought “keep in mind the verb ‘search’ here and check for its nuance.”
Without further ado, let’s turn to the original text passage.
10. Sagurite-uke (Passai)
Standing in a cat-foot-stance, making a double-handed torite, it is a posture to detect the opponent’s movements in darkness.
Torite and sagurite have the same shape, and as in case of torite, sagurite should be performed in a quick movement, just as in shutō-uke, and the palms and fingers should be flexible.
Sagurite literally sounds out the enemy not by vision, but by muscle sense, so release the tension from the muscles of your fists and arms, and move calmly and softly, as if it there was motion in stillness.
The footwork of the cat-foot-stance is also performed as if in the dark, so it is performed by raising the foot to avoid obstacles, which since long ago is called nami-gaeshi.
Nagamine Shōshin: Shijitsu to dentō o mamoru Okinawa no karatedō (The Karate-dō of Okinawa – Preserving its History and Tradition). Tōkyō, Shin Jinbutsu Ōraisha 1975, p. 148.
So what does it mean?
I mentioned before that the verb “search” struck me. It is simply too vague to understand the nuance of its meaning. The noun saguri 探り means sounding out; probing; probe; spy. The verb stem is saguru 探る, meaning (1) to feel around for; to fumble for; to grope for; to search for; to look for; (2) to inquire; to scout out; to investigate; to probe into; to spy on; to sound out; to explore. An example is te saguri de 手探りで, meaning: by touch, by groping, by fumbling.
Within the liberty of a translator, and after checking various dictionaries and synonyms, I decided to use the verb “detect” here, within the context of the above described lexical meaning of saguri / saguru.
This is also because a part of the Japanese text, which is not found in the English translation, clearly describes what it means: To sound out the enemy not by vision, but by muscle sense. Now, “muscle sense” is an obsolete medical term. As can be found in English Wikipedia,
In 1826, Charles Bell expounded the idea of a ‘muscle sense,’ which is credited as one of the first descriptions of physiologic feedback mechanisms.
Today this is known in English as proprioception, also called kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), and refers to the “sense of self-movement, force, and body position.”
So what sagurite refers to, I guess, is to deduce tactile information from contact with the opponent’s body or weapon and is related to the highly-developed human ability to operate in three-dimensional space through touching and feeling the surroundings. It is the basis for tactile response which can be seen in kakie, or in the sticky hands of Wing Tsung or Taichi and elsewhere. In HEMA, it was called “Fühlen” (to feel) and it is a concept found in any and all martial arts. It is therefore of high technical and historical value to find this concept manifested in the technique of an old kata of Okinawa karate, and described in photo and text in a 1975 book by Nagamine Shōshin.
This matter should be deeply considered by practitioners of classical karate.
Original description and photo of sagurite from 1975.
Sound effects in karate and kobudo are an underestimated part of the art of performance. The best known example of it is slapping the uniform (dogi) with the pull back hand (hiki-te) while executing a technique with the other hand. The typical suspects of dogi-slapping are karate practitioners in the field of competitive karate, particularly those specializing in kata. Dogi-slapping really wouldn’t make sense in kumite either. And it’s true, sometimes techniques performed in the air during kata don’t feel powerful, nor are they perceived as such by the spectators and judges. The sound effect produced by slapping the dogi is therefore a popular dramatic element of many kata performances, and there are true masters of this art.
But this alone is not the full story. There are also plosives produced by the chest and mouth, which are synchronized in time with the dogi-slapping. And in Okinawa karate there is also the boiler breathing of Goju-ryu and the hissing of Uechi-ryu. The sychronisation becomes more difficult then.
Another underestimated effect is the rustling and clicking of the dogi, which is caused by the cut of the uniform, by a certain execution of the movement and its trajectory, a certain material composition, by washing and drying and adding or omitting fabric softeners, etc.
Some schools preach the gliding of the feet, while others prefer stomping sounds as an expression of a certain dynamic, and there are hybrids that use both variants skilfully to create a certain acoustic drama synchronized with the movement.
Cleverly employed stomping sounds are difficult to detect, especially when the movements are short and small and the performer’s demeanor draws attention to the upper extremities and the face. This method is also found on the makiwara, where synchronization of makiwara strikes with stomping sounds give the impression of considerable dynamism and destructive power.
On the one hand, one could say that the targeted use of such acoustic elements mainly serves to give the impression of dynamics and to impress an audience or judges. Why else are none of these tricks found in kumite, such as Kuyokushin? In this case, stomping sounds would be one of several theatrical sound effects to be synchronized with each other and with the movement to create a maximum dynamic impression without each being overly noticeable individually.
But there is also the completely opposite argument, namely that all these sound effects are simply the result of a correct, powerful technique. In this case, stomping would be one of several sound effects generated as an accompaniment to a functionally correct execution of technique, and which are synchronous with each other and with the technique because they are a function of the technique.
So the whole thing is a “chicken-egg causality dilemma,” which is notoriously difficult to solve.
Some schools use the heel stomp as a functional support of their technique execution.
Such sound effects are mainly used in the area of kata demonstrations, but also on the makiwara, in kihon, shime testing and other practices. They are not only used by certain groups among karate athletes, but are also found as fundamental components in so-called “traditional karate” and Okinawa karate. All groups also have their own sets of theatrical sound effects, which are synchronized both with each other and with the movement to create an overall impression. In many cases, you can tell which group is involved based solely on the properties of the artificially generated sounds. This alone is reason enough to pay attention to this phenomenon.
A significant factor in stomping is the ground surface. Therefore, people who train or perform on mats will emphasize different stomping parameters than those who train or perform on wooden floors, which greatly amplifies the stomping sound effect. Sprung floor will even provide you a tiny acceleration while at the same time it reduces the stress on the joints. On the other hand, people who train or perform on natural surfaces such as grass, sand, or stone will employ completely different types of foot movement, since there is no sound effect whatsoever. So the question arises whether the different stomping sound effects are not simply a result of the development of different training sites. Just imagine stomping on pointed pebble, or a sharp-edged coral stone.
It should be borne in mind that in Okinawa, by and large, dojos with wooden floors were built only in the modern era after 1945. From this perspective, pushing the feet with the toes over the ground should also be a rather new method, which at least requires straight and flat grounds such as mats or a sports ground, and is difficult to carry out on natural, uneven surfaces, where it would simply make little sense. Thus, it may be assumed that the stomping sound effect as a theatrical element in Okinawan dojos is a post-war development and may have had little to no functional significance in original karate and kobudo, except maybe in the mansions of the aristocratic udun and tunchi classes.
In 1928, at the request of Dr. Iha Magobei, who owned a hospital in Chatan’s Yara Village, Ankichi painted a hanging scroll depicting a god of thunder and composed a poem for it while at a party near Murochi. This hanging scroll is a unique specimen of Ryūkyūan martial arts. Ankichi’s brother, Angi, presented the painting to Nagamine Shōshin in January 1984 as a memory of his venerated teacher. It remained in family possession of his son Nagamine Takayoshi.
Ankichi, Chotoku, and Choki, as portrayed by Andreas Quast at the Matsubayashi-ryu Kodokan dojo in Naha Kumoji.
I first saw it displayed at the Matsubayashi-ryu Kōdōkan Dōjō of my late sensei Nagamine Takayoshi in 2008. The picture scroll bears a verse on top: Kuken karate hatsukaminari mo nigiri o osafu, to be read from top to bottom and from right to left. It is difficult to interpret, but it is something like:
“The bare hands of karate, seizing the first bolt of lightning.”
Yes, something like that. And now it is getting really interesting. Because during my assessment and evaluation I came to the following conclusion, shedding some light on this alcove-forgotten figure.
Among the poem is the depiction of a god of thunder (raijin) with two short horns, governing lightning, thunder, and storms. One might suppose an allusion to the young horned dragon found in Ryūkyū myths. On a cloud scattering lightning he rides along through the sky. In his right hand is a drum, which bears three right-rotating commas. With his left hand he wields a drumstick and with his drumbeats unleashes thunder and lightning. His otherwise naked body is covered with a loincloth made of tiger skin. Around his neck he wears a type of scarf, which in fact is the bag of winds of the wind god (fūjin): our figure is a combination of two old Shintō deities, the God of Thunder (raijin) and the God of Wind (fūjin)!
On the left side the picture scroll is signed:
“An immortal mountain wizard from the shores of the pond of time.”
Lara Wendy Preston Chamberlain, who caused me the greatest and long lasting delight when she presented me with a unique re-production of Arakaki Ankichi’s hanging scroll. Her re-production is on the left, while the original from the Nagamine dojo is seen in the right photo. It is so real and true to the original, I am still perplexed this was even possible.
As regards gods of thunder and winds mythology, there are many legends across all cultures. Buddha commissioned the gods of thunder with the protection of the cosmic law and order, or dharma. In Japanese shintō mythology, gods of thunder were created by the divine pair Izanami and Izanagi after they created Japan. An example is Takemikazuchi, often revered as a god of thunder and considered the deity of jūdōka and kēndōka, as well as a protective deity of war. In the end, the three right-turning commas are also a symbol for the Hachiman Daibosatsu. For those who wonder: the royal symbol of the Ryūkyū kingdom always had three left-turning (clockwise) commas, as I described here and also here.
In this way, Arakaki’s magnificent example of the artistic culture of the Ryūkyūs compares karate with the fearsome force of nature and merges mythology with poetry and music. At least if you ask me, it carries a message:
Just like the god of thunder and wind in all cultures controls the enormous power of thunder, lightning, and storms, a master controls the enormous power karate. Just like thunder, lightning, and storms are terrifying and destructive and thus need to be controlled by the gods, so does karate need to be controlled by man and women.
Alhough frightening in their power and warlike in their implications, the thunder and wind gods originally were and still are protective deities. Again, the same relationship is valid for karate men and women.
In this way, and independent from its literal translation and screaming linguists, the ultimate meaning of this picture scroll becomes a piece of art bearing witness of the deep humanity and artistic and philosophical ideals of the person Arakaki Ankichi.
Watch and listen to Sanyama-bushi or Scattered mountain tune performed by the Nomura-ryū.
Kampfsportarten werden schon lange für ihren ganzheitlichen Ansatz in Bezug auf körperliche Fitness und seelisches Wohlbefinden geschätzt. Sie helfen dabei, den Geist zu fokussieren, die Sinne zu schärfen und eine Art Einheit mit der Umgebung in dein Leben zu bringen. Sie können auch ein effektives Werkzeug zum Abnehmen sein.
Wenn es um das Abnehmen geht, sticht eine Reihe von Kampfsportarten aufgrund ihrer Kombination aus Herz-Kreislauf-Intensität, Muskelbeanspruchung und allgemeiner Körperkonditionierung besonders heraus. Natürlich kann man nicht allein durch Bewegung abnehmen, und wie bei den Kampfsportarten sollte deine Reise eine Kombination von Disziplinen sein, die sich zu einem größeren Ziel vereinen. In den Kampfsportarten vereinen sich Timing, Stärke, Geduld und Training, um dich zu verbessern, und beim Abnehmen gelten dieselben Prinzipien.
Um einen erfolgreichen Abnehmplan umzusetzen, benötigst du mehr als nur Bewegung. Ein großer Schwerpunkt deiner Bemühungen liegt in der Küche, wo du ein solides Regime benötigst, das auf deine spezifischen Bedürfnisse zugeschnitten ist. Ein guter Ernährungsplan zum Abnehmen wird Lebensmittel kombinieren, die dir schmecken, mit denen, die dein Körper benötigt, und er wird Maßhalten und Disziplin fördern, ganz ähnlich wie in den Kampfsportarten. Denke daran, wenn du hart trainierst, könnte eine herkömmliche Diät kontraproduktiv sein, da du Energie und Stärke brauchst. Das Betreten eines Kampfsportstudios ist wahrscheinlich anspruchsvoller als eine Stunde auf dem Laufband zu laufen. Sobald du die Ernährung richtig angepasst hast, ist es Zeit, eine Kampfsportart zu wählen, die du erkunden möchtest. In diesem Artikel werden wir uns mit drei der besten Kampfsportarten für das Abnehmen befassen, die jeweils unterschiedliche Vorteile bieten, die zum Verlieren von überschüssigen Pfunden und zu einem gesünderen Lebensstil beitragen.
Kickboxen
Kickboxen, eine energiegeladene Kampfsportart, die Elemente des Boxens und traditionelle Kampfsporttritte kombiniert, ist bekannt für ihr außergewöhnliches Herz-Kreislauf-Training. Die ständige Bewegung, schnelle Schläge und dynamische Tritte beanspruchen große Muskelgruppen und erhöhen die Herzfrequenz, was zu einem erheblichen Kalorienverbrauch führt.
Es fördert auch die Stabilität des Körperkerns und verbessert die Koordination, während die Praktizierenden verschiedene Kombinationen von Schlägen, Tritten und Abwehrmanövern ausführen. Die schnelle Natur dieser Sportart fördert nicht nur den Fettabbau, sondern verbessert auch Ausdauer und Durchhaltevermögen, was sie zu einer idealen Wahl für Abnehmbegeisterte macht.
Muay Thai
Muay Thai, aus Thailand stammend, zeichnet sich durch seinen Schwerpunkt auf Klinch-Techniken sowie die Verwendung von Ellenbogen und Knien für Schläge aus. Diese Kampfsportart erfordert eine umfassende Körperbeteiligung und bietet ein intensives Training, das den Kalorienverbrauch beschleunigt.
Die explosiven Bewegungen in Muay Thai-Übungen helfen dabei, schlanke Muskeln zu formen und den Stoffwechsel zu erhöhen, was zusätzlich beim Abnehmen hilft. Es erfordert auch ein rigoroses Trainingsprogramm, das die Flexibilität und Agilität steigert und gleichzeitig die mentale Disziplin stärkt – du wirst dich vor einer Muay Thai-Einheit angemessen in der Küche stärken müssen.
Brasilianisches Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)
Obwohl das brasilianische Jiu-Jitsu nicht die gleiche sofortige Herz-Kreislauf-Intensität wie Kickboxen oder Muay Thai aufweisen mag, liegt sein einzigartiger Ansatz zum Abnehmen in seiner Betonung von Bodenkampf- und bodenbasierten Techniken. BJJ legt den Schwerpunkt auf das Hebeln des Körpergewichts und die Technik, anstatt sich allein auf rohe Stärke zu verlassen.
Diese Kampfsportart eignet sich hervorragend zum Abnehmen, da sie eine anhaltende Beanspruchung der Muskulatur während bodenbasierter Übungen erfordert, was zur Muskelstraffung und Entwicklung der Ausdauer beiträgt. Darüber hinaus fördert BJJ geistige Schärfe, Problemlösungsfähigkeiten und Widerstandsfähigkeit, alles Fähigkeiten, die auf deiner Abnehmreise nützlich sein können.
Schlussfolgerung
Es ist wichtig zu beachten, dass erfolgreicher Gewichtsverlust von einem vielschichtigen Ansatz abhängt, der Ernährung, Lebensstiländerungen und regelmäßige Bewegung umfasst. Obwohl diese Kampfsportarten außergewöhnliche Werkzeuge zum Abnehmen sind, funktionieren sie am besten, wenn sie mit einer ausgewogenen Ernährung und anderen Formen körperlicher Aktivität kombiniert werden.
Konsultiere immer einen medizinischen Fachmann, bevor du dich auf ein neues Fitnessregime begibst. Letztendlich hängt die beste Kampfsportart zum Abnehmen von dir, deinen persönlichen Vorlieben, Zielen und individuellen körperlichen Bedingungen ab.
Posted inauf Deutsch|Comments Off on Welche Kampfsportarten eignen sich am besten zum Abnehmen?
As I wrote in 2015, Chatan Yara no Kon can be performed with an Uēku (paddle) without any adaption to the gripping and hand changing methods. I wonder whether there was a unilateral or a mutual influence with Tsuken Sunakake no Uēku, with which it also shares other very specific techniques.
You can learn Chatan Yara no Kon in Japan as well as in Okinawa.
Watch about how it looks here.
Besides, Maarten van Blois of Ryukyu Kobujutsu in the Netherlands also performed it with a paddle.
