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.Other stories claim that Motobu knew only one kataand had very little appreciation for its practice.This too iserroneous.Motobu s respect for kata is seen when he explainstheir self defense value to Shoshin Nagamine, stating that Thetechniques of kata were never developed to be used against aprofessional fighter, in the arena or on the battlefield.Theywere, however, most effective against someone who had no ideaof the strategy being used to counter their aggressive behavior. Choki MotobuMotobu goes on to say, In spite of a street encounter neverbeing the same, the principles of the kata never vary, however.Thus one must learn howthey are applied and how to bend with the winds of adversity, (Nagamine, Okinawa sGreat Masters, 96).Motobu s fame skyrocketed because of a fight he was involved in after moving to Osaka,Japan.In 1925, King Magazine ran a story about Motobu knocking out a European boxer identity unknown during a no holds bout that took place in Kyoto four years prior.Motobu, who had moved to Japan before Gichin Funakoshi, was not as successful asFunakoshi in his attempts to teach karate.This created animosity between the two men,compounded when the magazine showed Funakoshi, not Motobu, knocking out thewesterner.In time the relationship between the two deteriorated to the point of slander,and their differences were never resolved.However, despite his personal conflicts, with such notables as Hironori Ohtsuka of Wado-ryu fame and Shoshin Nagamine of Matsubayashi-ryu as his pupils, Motobu s philosophieswere strongly felt in both Okinawan and Japanese karate circles.A master of kumite,Motobu emphasized close range fighting, kicking below the waist, fighting with bothhands at chest level and moving into an opponent to upset his mental composure.Theseaggressive trademarks of Motobu s fighting style were a result of his strategies having beentested in street altercations.Writing about the influence Motobu had upon him andMatsubayashi-ryu, Shoshin Nagamine stated that,After I had personal instruction from Motobu and learned kumite from him late in hislife, my old ideas on kumite were changed.I was inspired to create new ideas, based on theinstruction of this teacher, who learned kumite through his own experience in actual38Comprehensive Karate - Michael J.Rosenbaum fights.I have always been encouraged by his way of life sustained by his strong will anddevotion to karate-do.I owe a great deal of what I have achieved in the course of my career as a karateman toMotobu s karate-do and his teaching.Without him, I could never have developed sevenkata of kumite, which are the basic forms of kumite in Matsubayashi-ryu.(Nagamine,Okinawa s Great Masters, 46)Motobu believed that the student could grasp karate s intricate framework only if its statusas a combative art was maintained.He was a traditionalist in the sense that he sought topreserve not the structured teaching formats, wearing of uniforms or the kyu-dan rankingsystems, but instead, karate s essence as a fighting art.Without which he feared Karatewould become an empty practice suitable only for esthetic purposes.Ironically, althoughmany people tried to discredit his theories while he was alive, history has proven ChokiMotobu correct.It is not the external trappings which make karate a fighting art, but thededicated practitioner who constantly perfects their skills.(10)Gichin Funakoshi Each and every punch must be made with the power of your entire body behind it, withthe feeling of destroying your opponent with a single blow - Gichin Funakoshi (11)Born prematurely into an upper-class Shuri family, Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) wasnever expected to live out his childhood.However, due to the care given him by hisparents and grandparents, Funakoshi s health improved to the point that he was eventuallyable to attend primary school.There he befriended the son of Azato Anko who introducedhim to his father.Funakoshi described Azato Anko a most amazing man who was one ofOkinawa s greatest experts in the art of karate (Funakoshi, My Way of Life, 3).Funakoshiwas accepted by Azato as a student and soon proved himself to be a dedicated novice.Making a long walk, by lantern, each night to Azato s house there Funakoshi would receiveinstruction which proved to be very demanding.Writing about this time in his latter yearsFunakoshi recalled that Night after night, often in the backyard of the Azato house as themaster looked on, I would practice kata ( formal exercise ) time and again week after week,sometimes month after month, until I had mastered it to my teacher s satisfaction.Thisconstant repetition of a single kata was grueling, often exasperating and on occasionhumiliating.More than once I had to lick the dust on the floor of the dojo or in the Azatobackyard.But practice was strict, and I was never permitted to move on to another katauntil Azato was convinced that I had satisfactorily understood the on I had been workingon (Ibid.p.6).It would be through Azato that Funakoshi would come to know, andeventually train with, Itosu Anko.In keeping with his family s upper class (shizoku) traditions, Gichin Funakoshi was taughtthe four Chinese classics, five Confucian classics and calligraphy as a youth.This classicalreparation prompted him, around the age of twenty-one, to become a school teacher, a39www.iainabernethy
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