House Of The Pure Martial Arts - Martial Mindfulness · House of the Pure Martial Arts No 4 February 2005 House Of The Pure Martial Arts MEIBUKAN MAGAZINE M EIBUKAN M AGAZINE THE

WWW.MEIBUKANMAGAZINE.ORG No 4 February 2005House of the Pure Martial Arts

House Of The Pure Martial ArtsMEIBUKAN MAGAZINE

MEIBUKAN MAGAZINETHE INTERNATIONAL WEB BASED MARTIAL ARTS

MAGAZINE AS A PDF DOCUMENT No 4 FEBRUARY 2005

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ills. Interview with Master Anthony Mirakian

The History of Goju-ryu Karate, Part IIIScience as a Weapon

What is Ki?

www.meibukanmagazine.org


MEIBUKAN MAGAZINENo 4 FEBRUARY 2005House of the Pure Martial Arts

ColumnA Shift in Intention

InterviewInterview with Master Anthony MirakianAnthony Mirakian was the first Westerner taught by Grandmaster MeitokuYagi, the top student and successor of Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu. Reflecting on a lifetime of practice, Master Anthony Mirakian dis-cusses the meaning of karate-do and the techniques of Goju-ryu kata.

FeatureScience as a WeaponThroughout time, scientists have waged war on established beliefs and con-cepts. Using the same process as the scientist, martial artists are able to testtheir own theories regarding techniques and personal defence.

ReviewComprehensive Asian Fighting Artsby Donn Draeger & Robert Smith.

HistoryThe History of Goju-Ryu Karate, Part IIIIn this last part in a series of three, we continue the exploration of the Chi-nese influences on Goju-ryu. Where did Chojun Miyagi learn the kata thatdo not come from Kanryo Higaonna? To understand this, we take a look atthe Karate Research Club and the Chinese combat manual the Bubishi.

ExperienceWhat is Ki?After practising the right punches Mario McKenna went on a search for themeaning of the mysterious ki. After experiencing pleasure and flow he endsup with an ancient meditation technique.

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Copyright and disclaimer

© 2003-2004 Meibukan Magazine.All materials on the Meibukan Magazine website and Meibukan Magazine pdf-files (including without limitation all articles, text, images,

logos, compilation, audio, video, and design) are Copyright by Meibukan Magazine. All rights reserved.The downloadable Meibukan Magazine pdf-files may be downloaded, printed and distributed for personal use only.

Only with explicit permission in writing from the Meibukan Magazine and the original copyright holder may the Meibukan Magazine or (partof) articles be used for other than personal use (e.g. educational, research purposes, commercial use, a.o.).

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All information and materials on the Meibukan Magazine website and Meibukan Magazine pdf-files are provided “as is” and withoutwarranty of any kind.

Meibukan Magazine founders are Lex Opdam and Mark Hemels.Web design by Lex Opdam.

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Meibukan Magazine is published several times ayear in an electronical format with an attractive mixof subjects and styles. Each issue of at least twelvepages is published as pdf-file for easy printing.Published editions remain archived on-line. We havechosen for a low picture resolution for easy down-loading

Readers of the webzine are enthousiasts and practi-tioners of the spirit of the martial arts world wide.

Editor in chiefLex Opdam

Executive editorMark Hemels

Editorial BoardMatthew Jones

Iwan MeijJeroen Verhoeven

ContributorsMathieu RavignatMario McKenna

Casey PutneyMarc van Dam

Art directorLex Opdam

Meibukan Magazine is pleased to submit views, con-cerns and experiences on any subject matter IF re-lated to the mission statement expressed by theMeibukan Magazine. Therefore articles, photo-graphs and illustrations are welcome, althoughMeibukan Magazine is selective and can notgarantee that submissions will be placed. Submis-sion can be mailed to our P.O. Box by floppy, CDor DVD, or can be sent to our e-mail address.

MISSION STATEMENT

Meibukan Magazine is an initiative of Lex Opdamand Mark Hemels. Aim of this web based magazineis to spread the knowledge and spirit of the martialarts. In a non profitable manner Meibukan Maga-zine draws attention to the historical, spiritual andtechnical background of the oriental martial arts.Starting point are the teachings of Okinawan ka-rate-do. As ‘House of the Pure Martial Arts’, how-ever, Meibukan Magazine offers a home to the vari-ous authentic martial arts traditions.

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Lex OpdamEditor in chief

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Interview withMaster Anthony Mirakian

After a decade of intensive training in Okinawa, AnthonyMirakian introduced Meibukan Goju-ryu karate-do to the

United States in 1960. Mirakian was the first Westerner taughtby Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi, the top student and successor of

Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu. Reflecting on alifetime of practice, Hanshi Anthony Mirakian, 9th degree blackbelt, discusses the meaning of karate-do and the techniques of

Meibukan Goju-ryu kata.

- by Lex Opdam -

Karate-do, its purpose and responsibility

Question: Sensei, could you give yourdefinition of a martial system and amartial art?Answer: An art encompasses thephilosophical concept of a specificsystem. Not only as a fighting methodbut as a way of life, as a philosophicalconcept. There should be a guidelinefor all our actions, our interrelations withrelatives, friends and students. This isthe art.A system is a composite of techniquesthat does not have a binding ethicalconcept that an art form will have. Theart form will bring the human elementinto it, the human spirit, and the physical,mental and spiritual concept.There was a great Okinawan mastercalled Tode Sakugawa who developedthe dojo-kun over more than 200 yearsago. Okinawan karate is recognized andhighly respected for this moral ethicalaspect that the dojo-kun represents.In a dojo a group of people are trainingwith the same aim. Practicing with ajoyful heart and a pure mind, withoutdistractions, training highly spiritedwithout any ego intentions against eachother.

Sensei, how would you describe the roleof the teacher in a martial art?An instructor in a system teaches purelyphysical movements. It doesn’t go anydeeper than that.

Teaching an art like karate-do, in ourcase Okinawan Meibukan Goju-ryukarate-do, which includes aspects ofspirituality, means that we are not just

Hanshi Anthony Mirakian, appointed by Meitoku Yagiin 1972 as the Overseas General Manager of theOkinawan Meibukan Goju-ryu Karate-do Association.

“The aim of a martial art is to strive todevelop a pristine human naturethrough hard intensive training, whichis a challenge for a person mentally,physically and spiritually.”

practicing the art for the sake of physicalmovements. The aim is to strive todevelop a pristine human nature throughhard intensive training, which is achallenge for a person mentally, physi-cally and spiritually. An art goes into the

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A while ago I had a conversation with aTai Chi Chuan Sifu. He told me that forthe last decade, more and more peoplethat visited him to receive instructionsaw him as a personal trainer. Like theones presented by the many 24-hours aday television commercials. Thosepeople also saw his martial art assomething to fulfill their needs – needsthat seem to be dictated by these mediamonsters but that are not forthcomingfrom their own inner quest.I told him that in general I also havenoticed a shift in expectations whenpeople visit my school for the first time.People seem to replace the concept of amartial arts teacher to the concept of a‘personal trainer’. To justify their pre-chewed needs, they are taking over thewrapped up superficial talk concerningthe philosophical meaning of martialarts as presented by the commercialmedia.Nowadays, with 24 hours commercialtelevision, sales are all that matter, andmartial arts are exploited as neverbefore. The way martial arts arepresented by the media and received bythe unaware seems to form a new partof culture in our western society. Withthis every new generation seems toslowly erase the deeper meaning ofmartial art in society in general.The ego is very easily fed, and with thisshift in our high-tech society andtendency for speed, the right questionsasked are another step away. Questionsthat could bring us self-knowledge andunderstanding of each other. Everymartial artist stands in connection toother human beings in our daily life. Ifwe value martial arts and want to keepthem alive, not only now but also in thefuture, we should actively participate insociety by letting people know aboutthe deeper ways of the martial arts, andby giving notice to those who want tolisten. Those who present or teachmartial arts could have a task here inkeeping the spirit of the martial artsalive. Maybe they should keep it frombeing overtaken by those who are onlyin it for the money.

A Shift in Intention



inner aspects of the human being that isactively engaged by the continuous effort,devotion and dedication to the trainingthe practitioner puts into it withoutegoistic feelings behind it. This processis guided by the teacher whose aim isto help the practitioner on this path.

In this process, you once said, the mind isour worst enemy.Our mind is continuously in conflict.Being a human being, a social beingliving in society, we have our obligationsand daily struggles and often are underpressure, challenging us to live har-moniously within an organized society.This is the existence of many people.But as soon as we have fulfilled har-monizing with societies demands, wethen need guidelines to bringing us backto more self-realization and harmonizedliving. A lot of people live their liveson a terrestrial level, taking care of theirbody functions but their spiritual levelis non-existent. They are not aware oftheir spiritual side and we should becareful with whom we are dealing with.So, it is very difficult to teach somethingto someone when it is not part of hisnature or his living.

Sensei, is there any difference in the wayyou teach here in your dojo and the waythey teach in Okinawa?Yes, the way I teach is somewhatadopted in a cultural sense. We live inAmerica and have an American way oflife. If you live in Europe, for examplethe Netherlands, then there is also acultural difference and this will influencethe way of teaching. There is nothingwrong with that. This does not meanthat the system has been altered. Theway people think and live will be aliving element for the practice of karatein that specific country.

I have also noticed that not all mastersare as approachable as you are whenpeople want to talk to their teacher outsidethe training.This is my nature, as was my father’swho was very approachable, friendlyand generous. This can be said also forother masters in Okinawa, China, Japanor anywhere else who want to imparttheir knowledge in the right and friendlyway to their students. But unfortunately

there are also those who are not. WhenI lived in Okinawa I had the privilegeto meet many masters and because ofmy nature and search for informationby the many questions I asked, I wasgranted information by the masters thatI would not have received if my perso-nality were different.

When you lived in Okinawa in the 50’syou became very close to manyOkinawans. One of them was RyuritsuArakaki. Was he approachable?Master Ryuritsu Arakaki was veryapproachable. I would go to his homeon the weekends especially on Sundays.And there in his home we would havevery lengthy conversations, and hewould try to explain to me the meaningof the martial art, karate especially. Hetold stories of how Okinawans went toChina, and how they were taught, so Ilearned a lot about the martial art frommy visits to his home. Master RyuritsuArakaki explained many things whichotherwise I could not have ever learnedif I had never met him. So meeting himwas a very valuable experience.

Would you say that the American societyis more goal oriented as opposed to theway of life in the Martial Arts which are apath in the way of life and not a goal?Yes, American society is more goaloriented, they seem to chase the black

A party is being held in honor of Anthony Mirakian’s promotion to the rank of Sandan, third degree black belt inNovember 1959. Fourth from the right standing is Mr. Ryuritsu Arakaki protégé of Anthony Mirakian. First row,seated from left to right: Mr. Fukuij, Mr. Mitsugi Kobayashi, Mr. Anthony Mirakian, Mr. Meitoku Yagi and Mr.Seikichi Toguchi. Second row, standing from left to right: Mr. Tamaki, Mr. Shinken Taira, Mr. Yohena, Mr.Seikichi Higa, Mr. Ishime, Mr. Ryuritsu Arakaki, Mr. Higa, Mr. Yushun Tamaki and Mr. Sunabe.

belt. It is like when somebody is trainingand, this happened in my dojo, asks:“Could I use the knowledge of karate/technical skill in daily life?” I repliedwith: “I don’t think you should”. Theperson then said, “Well then what goodis it?” I responded, “When you have apistol or a revolver with you, do you goaround shooting people?’ Americans arepractical; they want to learn somethingthey can use. Wealth, good health, con-venience, poise, inner serenity, well being,all these are actually assets; qualities thatare rewarding. A person doesn’t have tohave a trophy, that’s more like feedingthe ego. Some people like to think theycan make black belt in a year, or a yearand a half. If a black belt means that, itmeans nothing. The black belt is a meansto a beginning. Earning a black belt is astart of learning the art, not the end. Thestudent embarks on a new aspect in lifebased on self-imposed discipline. Thepromotion to black belt is a certainamount of acknowledgement given bythe teacher and that the practitioner hasreached a certain level. Now, he has towork to a higher level. I’m going topromote this student to a next level, nowhe is going to learn even more. See, soit’s learning!Actually, the most important aspect inthe martial art is not the end goal, “theblack belt”, but the journey itself. It islike a person traveling from here to

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California. The final destination couldbe San Francisco, Los Angeles or SanDiego. The most important thing is thejourney to the person traveling. Hisjourney and meeting so many people,enjoying and experiencing himself ashe is training and learning. Beingcurious and learning, seeing differentcities, different landscapes, this is themost important thing, not the finaldestination. So the journey itself is themost important aspect of karate. It is thetraining of karate that is the mostimportant, not the black belt. When Istarted training karate I didn’t have myaim on getting a black belt. I waspracticing karate because I loved it.Regardless of whether I got a black belt.A person can have all kinds of blackbelts, but if his heart and enjoymentaren’t in it, he is wasting his time. Evenif I wasn’t promoted to black belt, Iwould still practice karate. If a personis coming into my dojo and aims for theblack belt, he is wasting his time. Heshould go some place else. Because ifhe wants the black belt, it means he’s

“The most important aspect in themartial arts is not the end goal, “theblack belt”, but the journey itself. Thatis why I have learned that many grandmasters in Okinawa, after a lifetimeof dedication, would wear a white belt.Because they felt that after so manyyears, they do not know ‘anything’.”

coming for the black belt and not forthe training. The most important aspectof him being there is his training andwhat he is gaining from the training.The belt is more a recognition from themaster that after a certain amount oftime the student has realized this level.A marker for what he has learned. Butactually the most important thing is thebeginning. That is why I have learnedthat many grand masters in Okinawa,after a lifetime of dedication, wouldwear a white belt. Because they felt thatafter so many years, they do not know“anything”. The artist of the artless art.They are going back to their originalstatus that when actually in thebeginning they were ignorant of the artand now in the end they are “ignorant”of the art again. I have only been teachingfor 45 years of the over 50 years I havebeen practicing the martial arts and stillI am not “scratching the surface.” But,still there is something that is in thesubconscious mind that if we, as a truemartial artist, have to protect ourselves,it is there and that will never fade away.

You have a reputation of being strict anddemanding when someone enters the dojofor the first time to workout. Training inyour dojo also means that one has to trainin highly repetitive amount of basics overand over again. This is very demandingfor people, especially when you are notused to these kinds of workouts. This alsomeans that not many students stay long.

Anthony Mirakian demonstrates Shisochin kata at the Annual Martial Arts Events in Ginoza, Okinawa 1958.

Could you please share your thoughts onthese points?Unfortunately, there are many peoplewho practice the art with the rightintentions, but do not know why or whatthey are doing, and unfortunately, thereare many schools in America in whichas soon as a person walks in off thestreets he is taught to fight withoutexplanation. Because teaching the methodof how to block, how to punch, goodstance, good body posture and move-ments takes a few years or even longerdepending on the practitioner. It is veryeasy to get up in the morning and juststart swinging, but that doesn’t mean aperson knows karate. A person shouldlearn why he or she is practicing the art,starting from the a,b,c all the way up toz. That takes time. After a person learnsthat he goes his way, he goes off. It isdifficult to teach karate to the Americanpeople; they don’t have patience. InAmerica everybody wants to learn every-thing now or quickly. It doesn’t worklike that. It took so many years for amaster to develop that level of skill andit will take the student as long, or longer,to develop that same level of skill.

Sensei, Chojun Miyagi has said he wasnot opposed to use certain titles likeRenshi, Hanshi etc. but believed that aranking system, like the system used insome of the Japanese martial arts wouldnot be suitable for Okinawan Goju-ryu.It would distract and feed the ego. Afterhis death in 1953 the Okinawan karateassociations, including Goju-ryu schools,adopted the Kyu- and Dan-rankingsystem. In light of Chojun Miyagi’sthoughts and that he did not want toincorporate the Kyu- and Dan-ranking,what are your thoughts on ranking, howdo you personally see its purpose?We don’t know the way Chojun Miyagithought. He thought that only membersof the Japanese nobility were entitledto promote and award rank to practitionersof karate. He thought that the JapaneseBotoku-kai were the only ones whocould award rank. For that reasonChojun Miyagi did not award any rankto his students. I think when ChojunMiyagi died, this opened a gate formany people who had very little trainingfrom Chojun Miyagi to make ridiculousclaims that they were top students ofC

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him. But the ones in the inner circleknew who was the top student ofChojun Miyagi. They knew MeitokuYagi was his top student. Then therewere some lesser students who claimedto be the top student. I think that ifChojun Miyagi had established somesort of ranking system, many of theseclaims might not have surfaced.Unfortunately, his untimely death left thepossibility of unqualified people makingall kinds of exaggerated claims.

How do you see the ranking within martialarts today, knowing that there are schoolsthat do not use ranking?It all depends on the school and thepractitioners. When I was in Okinawain 1990, I was talking to one of the blackbelts of Sensei Senaha. He said to me,“Mr. Mirakian, the ranking of karate inOkinawa is no good.” I knew fromwhere he was coming and I asked,“why?” He said, “Some have 8th, 9th,10th degree, but they don’t deserve halfof that rank because they have neverworked hard or practiced hard to deservethat rank.” But now they are claimingall kinds of rank. The rank in Okinawais highly inflated. There are manyinstructors and masters in Okinawa thatare highly qualified and deserve theirrank, but there are others who leavemuch to be desired.

How do you feel about the duality of rankthen, feeding the ego of the person, whereZen principals in Martial Arts say the egois to be shed?Well, this is a difficult situation. It isvery difficult to know exactly what isgoing on within the inner aspect of thepractitioner’s mind. A disturbed personcould come and be respectful and politeto the master but that practitioner couldhave ulterior motivations. Well, thetruth, like I always say, is like oil. Itwill eventually come to the surface. Thetrue character of the practitioner willshow in due time. It cannot be hiddenforever. Karate is supposed to helpdevelop the person into a better humanbeing. That is the optimal situation. Butif a person is of a bad character and abad spirit, he will take this knowledgeand distort it to accommodate his ownselfish motivation of how to teach andturn whatever he knows into a money-

Anthony Mirakian practicing Saifa kata with Shigetoshi Senaha (1950’s) at the Meibukan honbu dojo on Okinawa.

making method. Rather than teachingthe art to the right people, in the rightway. What is the right way? To somepeople the right way is to confuse thepractitioner… Ranking is sometimesdelayed to bring forth the pristine andtrue nature of the practitioner.

Sensei, you mentioned people makingmoney with karate. What do you thinkabout people who commercialize the artof karate?The ones that are commercializing theart in my opinion are not teaching thetrue art. They are using the name ofkarate to suit their purpose. The worsethey teach, the more people are comingto them because they have a certainimage and ways to attract people tocome to them to fool them. They evengive kids of 10 or 12 years of age oreven younger a black belt. That is adisgrace. Even a teenager of 16 or 17years of age that has practiced 7 or 8years has not developed a mentalawareness for the realities of life. Oncea person becomes an adult they might,without guarantee, develop awarenessabout the benefits of this intensivetraining and learn to respect it.

Today I have seen certain teachers andorganizations charging money forgrading tests and promotions, and thosecharges increase as the practitionerreaches “higher” levels. There are evenschools that guarantee you that within

three years you will become a “blackbelt” without ever having seen or metthe prospective student!Unfortunately there are people thatmake big money with gassuku andseminars. All they are really accom-plishing, in most cases, is fooling thepublic with these gimmicks. I do notmake money with karate. If people wantto be fooled it’s their choice, but it isnot my cup of tea, it is not the way Ioperate. Maybe to them I am too oldfashioned, not practical, but I am notcompeting with anybody. If they wantto do it like that they should do so, butthey don’t have to come to me and saythat they teach the real karate, becausethey are not.

“Bowing to the shrine and to the pic-tures of the masters is done out of re-spect. Without their existence wewould not be practicing the art, and inbowing to them we show our respectto them.”

Sensei, when your students enter yourdojo they bow before a shrine. Could youexplain this ritual?Within the shrine there is a paper, whichupon is written ‘Respect towards thebrotherhood of mankind”. This is whatMaster Meitoku Yagi has written for me.This is a dojo shrine and is not directlydepended upon a religion. Bowing to theshrine and to the pictures of the mastersis done out of respect. Without their

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existence we would not be practicingthe art and in bowing to them we showour respect to them.When meeting a person one shakeshands to show that we have no badintentions and come in friendship, thatwe have respect for each other. Thebowing in the dojo means the samething.

Sensei, before training you always burnincense. Is there a special reason for doingthis?Incense has, I would say, a purifyingand cleansing effect in the Dojo. Itbrings the right spirit to the environment.It helps the students realize that karateis not purely physical but it’s spiritualas well. Incense is burned to honor thepast masters, because, if it weren’t forthem, we would not be practicing thatspecific style of karate, or martial art.So incense is burnt in due respect to themasters and to bring spirituality tokarate training because karate-do hasspirit. It is not only the physical aspectbut goes beyond the physical realm. Itis a place for people’s spiritual develop-ment because while the students aredeveloping physically they are develop-ing also mentally and spiritually.

Before starting the actual kata, oneprepares oneself in the “Yoi” position. Inthis preparatory position, what is the exactpurpose of bringing both fists next to the

The ready- or ‘Yoi’ position as performed beforeopening the kata.

body, contracting all the muscles for ashort moment, and performing thesemovements before opening up every kata?Is it correct to state that the reason for thisis both a ritual and a preparation for thebody and mind?It is a preparation. You have to tense allof the muscles of the body and get readyfrom there on to start doing the kata.The movements are like a spring quality.You spring up and make the movementsdynamic. Make the body like the coilsof a spring. This “Yoi” position is forpreparation pushing down like gettinga feel of the floor and the feet reallyplanted for tremendous maximumenergy development and concentration.

Could you tell me why all the Goju-ryukata start at the same spot as they do end?In the case of other Okinawan karatestyles, like Shorin-ryu you see kata likeNaihanchi that do not start at the samespot as they end. Is there a specific reasonfor this element of the Goju-ryu kata? Isit a philosophical approach or is it just apractical tool?So many of the kata concepts remainthe way that they were brought fromChina to Okinawa. Some kata, even inGoju-ryu, don’t have the balance in that,what is done from the right is also doneon the left.Returning to the same spot has nodeeper philosophical meaning. Its goalwas for the symmetry of the kata. If thekata is correct, one should be endingup in the same place. It also dependson the steps that the student is taking.When the student takes a larger step andthen the next one short, this can throwthe kata off, and the student will not beable to end up in the same place. As faras Shorin, I am not a practitioner ofShorin. But it could be that some of themovements in Shorin have beeneliminated or that’s the way it waspracticed.

Chojun Miyagi trained Naihanchiextensively. Is there a special reason whyChojun Miyagi did not put Naihanchi inhis Goju-ryu system?In Shorin-ryu, Naihanchi is like theSanchin of Shorin-ryu, only they do itin a natural way with natural breathingwhile Goju-ryu emphasizes the deeperand dynamic breathing, rather than

natural breathing. Chojun Miyagi taughtNaihanchi kata. Grandmaster MeitokuYagi thought Naihanchi was such agood kata with good movement, thatwhen we were training Goju-ryu karatein the 50’s, we also trained Naihanchikata. Naihanchi was a Shorin-ryu kata,so it wasn’t incorporated into Goju-ryukata; we had so many kata that weretypical of Goju-ryu, so that kata wasn’taffiliated with Goju-ryu.

Master Anthony Mirakian demonstrates Naihanchi kataas was taught to him by Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi.

“Slow movements in Goju-ryu karateare typical of the system. They aredone to develop more concentrationin the movement and more awarenessof the students while doing this move-ment”

Could you describe the reason why thereare slow movements in some of the Goju-ryu kata?Slow movements in Goju-ryu karate aretypical of the system, which wasfounded by the late great GrandmasterChojun Miyagi. Some of themovements in the Goju-ryu kata, likefor instance in the Seiunchin kata, andto a certain extent in the beginning ofSeipai, Sanseru, Suparinpei and otherGoju-ryu kata, are done to develop moreconcentration in the movement andmore awareness of the students whiledoing this movement. The physicalexplanation is that when a person ismaking a movement more deliberately,

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Sensei Anthony Mirakian demonstrates a typicalslow movement in Goju-ryu’s Seiunchin kata.

a person can spend more concentrationon the movement and make it morecorrect.

Could this be applied to all kinds ofmovement or is it specific for certainschools?This is typical, more typical of Goju-ryu, being hard and soft, slow and fast.There are other schools like Tai Chi orother certain internal systems that haveslow movements and rhythm. Noteverything is always done slow; certainmovements are done slow to developinternal inner energy and strength.Suddenly these movements become fastand explosive. These forms also haverhythm. If everything is done at thesame speed, then rhythm is lacking.

Sensei, in Seisan kata there is a movementwhere you push and you have a sort ofup-down Muchimi. Is there a specialreason for incorporating this movement?We see it in Sanchin and Tensho kata, butsometimes it is also found in other kata ofour system. Is its purpose the same reasonwe practice it in Sanchin kata, to developcertain strength, energy and tension?Yes, I think it is done for developingmaximum energy in the movement andthen slowly, I would say, transferringthis energy into another movement.Going from one movement to the nextone. So that’s why it is done with acertain amount of speed and concen-tration. Then the movement can

develop, or transition, with a suddenexplosive surge of energy. This couldbe in the form of a kick or a punch, oras in the example of the Seisan kata lastmovements which is almost a simul-taneous and explosive kick/punchcombination.

Sensei, we have six Goju-ryu kataincluding Sanchin and Tensho that startin a similar Sanchin dachi posture or theSanchin guard stance. Obviously, seeingthe background and origins of the Goju-ryu system, this seems to differ from theoriginal Chinese versions, which origi-nated in China. Is there any reason whyChojun Miyagi and/or Kanryo Higaonnachanged the original versions, (except forTensho which was created by ChojunMiyagi), adding or changing the first threekata movements as described?It wasn’t appropriate for KanryoHigaonna to forward the system, as faras we could speak of a system, to theOkinawans exactly in the way he hadlearnt it in China because of culturalreasons. Okinawa is culturally differentto the Chinese. The Okinawans don’tfight like the Chinese and by nature aredifferent from the Chinese. So that’swhy Kanryo Higaonna adapted what hehad learned to suit the Okinawan culture,environment and Okinawan people’sway of living.

Would you say that the opening of thekata is to incorporate Sanchin principalsinto the kata?Well, all of the Goju-ryu kata have the

From left to right: Anthony Mirakian, Ken Miyagi, Meitoku Yagi and Helen Mirakian. The 73th birthdaycelebration of Meitoku Yagi on Okinawa 1985.

inner aspects of the breath control ofSanchin. Like when you are doing allthe movements they are done in asystematic, methodic way of inhalingand exhaling. It’s done in a very quietmanner. It’s like doing the Sanchin, butit is more silent with the concept ofSanchin behind it, of concentrating, andpushing the energy below the navel intothe Tan Tien and tightening the stringsof the chalice, the perineum, and theanus. Especially doing the Sanchin tocreate maximum energy. When oneperforms kata, it is done by moving thebody with the concept of Sanchinbehind it.

Most of the kata incorporate three stepsin the opening movements. Is this donefor the purpose of symmetry or is there adeeper meaning to these movements?Well, that could be. It could be that thereweren’t that many steps and theOkinawans thought it was morebeneficial to them to practice with thosethree steps. Maybe in the original katathere weren’t the three steps, maybe itwas less or more.I believe that for cultural purposes theymade it three steps. Most Chinese katahad highly repetitive movements. TheOkinawans thought that rather thanmaking it so repetitious, they preferredto concentrate on one or two of thosespecific techniques with maximumconcentration and power. Kata withhighly repetitive movements becomesvery grueling and would lack energy.The Okinawans have always emphasized

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power. Power was always very important.Like the concept of one blow, one kill,to develop maximum energy in yourmovement, especially in the punch, sowhen attacking a person you eliminatethis person with one blow. In actualcombat, if your opponent is not defeatedwith one technique he might be able tofight back and reverse the situation.

You mean by stringing multipletechniques together, very quickly, thebody cannot recover and quickly generateenough energy?Then you are sacrificing power forspeed. The Okinawans felt that speedand flexibility are very important, butthey have always invested more inpower. Okinawans are not built big.They are very strong by nature and feltthat they were going to evolve karateto their own physiological make up. TheChinese are more slender, of coursethere are big boned Chinese, but generallythey are slender people. Okinawanshistoric background, their nature, is thatof farmers & fishermen. They workedin agriculture, cultivating the land andfishing from the ocean. So they werestrong from the sort of labor they did.Over two to three hundred years ago,Okinawans would practice karatesecretly during the night because it wasforbidden by the Japanese conquerorsof Okinawa. In that time they wouldpractice their techniques on theGajimaru tree, which is the Banyan tree,trying to break the Gajimaru shoots.The Banyan tree, which grows inOkinawa, grows shoots from some ofthe branches and the shoots reach theground and then those shoots eventuallybecome part of the main trunk of thetree. The Okinawan martial artistswould try to break these Gajimarushoots coming down from the branchesto the ground with one powerful shuto,punch, kick or forearm strike, to developmaximum power. If they hit someonein actual combat with heavy armor theycould penetrate the armor and kill theperson.

It’s been said that Chojun Miyagi greatlyemphasized Sanchin kata practice and thatit was extremely important to thedevelopment of the practitioners training.There have also been stories and writings

Anthony Mirakian next to Chinese Hung Master Dr. Kwan Tak Hing in Hong Kong in the 1950’s. Mirakianvisited the Orient intensively to broaden his knowledge and understanding of the martial arts.

that some people have practiced nothingbut Sanchin. Is Sanchin more of aphysical exercise for the body, teachingit to strengthen? Or is there a spiritualaspect to Sanchin that had Chojun Miyagiso embrace it as part of the training?Well, the cultivation and preparation ofSanchin takes so much concentration.Because everything in life starts withbreathing and ends with a breath. Sothe bringing of this energy in Sanchin

“The concept of Sanchin is to maxi-mize the level of energy in the body.Sanchin has a spiritual value to it also.Because Sanchin is performed to de-velop a level of fighting spirit. Tomake a person gradually fearless inactual combat.”

is to raise the level of energy of the body.To maximize it. That is the concept ofSanchin. The concept of Tensho is torelax the level of energy in the body.They are two opposites. Sanchin, toincrease and maximize the level ofenergy in the body and then Tensho, torelax the energy level. Sanchin has aspiritual value to it also. BecauseSanchin is performed to develop a levelof fighting spirit. To make a persongradually fearless in actual combat.That is the tremendous stress controlthat Sanchin is about.

Do the pauses in the middle of the

movements of Sanchin carry any meaningother than a transition point?Well, that is the concept of inhaling andexhaling, because the person is pushingthe energy through the lower abdomen,to what is known as the Tan Tien.Pushing not only in the Tan Tien, but tothe sides and the back of the body like acircle. The energy is not only in the TanTien but also in the lower Tan Tien,which is a few inches below the naveland to the sides and back of the body.These places are also expanding duringSanchin breathing, like an inner tube.The energy is not only in the front, butalso in the back and sides as well.

If somebody performs Sanchinincorrectly, do they do their bodies moreharm than good?Yes, a person could actually hurt himselfmore than helping himself. PracticingSanchin has to be a gradual process. Asign that the person has been cultivatingand practicing Sanchin right is that whenthe body is relaxed it is soft like cottonor rubber. When the body is tense, thebody should be very tight and hard.Also, the correct practice of Sanchin willdevelop the body to feel like steel coveredwith velvet. The actual appearance thata person would give is that his body issoft, but if a person touches that person’sarm or body, he would realize that hisbody is very dynamic, tight and hard. Itis very deceiving. Like for instance,

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watching Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi’sbiceps. They looked very supple andsoft. He had well developed forearms,feet and fists. When GrandmasterMeitoku Yagi did his movements it waslike iron covered in velvet. Once I tooka magazine over to the dojo, a body-builder’s magazine with somebody onthe front cover flexing his biceps. Thesebiceps were 21 inches and GrandmasterMeitoku Yagi began mimicking themovement. You could tell that his bicepsweren’t that developed. But I havelearned that he asked a Japanese soldierto take a rifle and hit him with it on theshoulder. The Japanese soldier broke hisrifle butt over his shoulder and Grand-master Yagi just shook it off as if it wasnothing. He had very developed trapezes.

Chojun Miyagi seemed to have twovariations of Sanchin and also there mayhave been more than one variation ofTensho. Do any other variations ofSanchin exist that were developed byChojun Miyagi?I don’t think so. As far as I know, therewas only one Sanchin. It was ChojunMiyagi who developed the deepbreathing.I remember going back to the 1950’s,in Grandmaster Meitoku Yagi’s Meibukandojo. He practiced the Sanchin openhanded; similar to the way we hold ourhands in the opening movements ofShisochin kata. When he did the move-ment it was done slowly, deliberately,

“The correct practice of Sanchin willdevelop the body to feel like steel cov-ered with velvet.”

It was Chojun Miyagi (photo) who developed thedeep breathing.

with open hand and openhanded strikes,and it was done with dynamic tension.That’s the way that we practiced it atthe time. The format of the kata was thesame like the regular Sanchin withclosed fists, except this was openhanded.

It is said that the open hand allows the chito flow through the arm faster and betterthan the closed fist, which closes the chi.Is this correct?Well, there is a certain amount of truthin that. Open hand techniques arealways much faster than closed fists.When a person has open hands, theyalways have a longer reach. When aperson is closing or making a tight fistwith a hand, he is losing a few inchesreach. So, Chinese martial arts favoropen hand techniques, it was faster tomanipulate and to operate, but also theyhad many various techniques thatdiffered from the closed fist, like thepanther punch, eagle eye punch andothers. Those techniques were done forwhen you were facing a fast opponent.It all depended on the skill of thepractitioner. If the practitioner was wellskilled, he could use either technique.Open handed, or strike with the fingersor closed fist, depending on the levelof knowledge and skill of thepractitioner. But always open handedtechniques are much faster than closedhand.

Sensei, if you could give advice to peoplestarting the practice of Sanchin, whatwould be the appropriate way to do it?First the posture, then movement, then thetechnique, then the breathing, then themuscles focus?They should try to learn step by step.Good posture first, and then properalignment of the body, where the headshould be held, proper alignment of thearms and the feet, the relationship ofthe feet and the hands, then thebreathing control which should becoupled with the movement of thehands. All this should be learned stepby step. It is better to start slow, anddevelop a slow progress, rather thantrying to learn everything all at once andthen failing. So they should go step bystep. In the beginning they shouldbreathe as natural as possible. And then

later on they can increase it. Youngpeople are dynamic and have so muchenergy, they could apply so muchstrength and energy in Sanchin practice.Depending on when a person becomesold, their body loses some of thatintensive energy and movements becomesofter by nature. Most importantly thepractitioner should practice Sanchinunder the strict supervision of a qualifiedSensei to prevent harm to the practitioner.

Performing Sanchin increases ones energy level andprepares for combat.

Lex Opdam, Renshi, 5thDan, is editor-in-chief ofMeibukan Magazine andpersonal representative ofSensei Anthony Mirakian.He interviewed his teacher

in July 2004 during a visit atAnthony Mirakian’sOkinawan Karate-do

Academy in Watertown,Massachusetts, USA.

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Science as a WeaponApplying the Scientific Method to Martial Arts

Throughout time, scientists have waged war on established beliefs and concepts, continuallyseeking out that which is true. Using the same process as the scientist, we as martial artists are ableto test our own theories regarding techniques and individual concepts regarding personal defense.

play, the significance of each event mustnot be overlooked. Awareness is the keyto unlocking the scientific method,

- by Casey S. Putney -

Daring to challenge time-honoredtraditions and customs, scientists havesucceeded in identifying new andamazing ways in which we might betterourselves and improve our quality oflife. One need only look as far as thetechnological revolution to quicklyunderstand the magnitude of thediscoveries of these innovative dreamers.Never before have we as a people servedwitness to such magnificent and importantdiscoveries. The technological revolutionis undoubtedly well underway. Buriedwithin this revolution, often overlooked,is the primary weapon used by thesescientific warriors, the scientific method.Serving as a pathway to truth the scien-tific method has served as catalyst tovirtually every known scientific ad-vancement this world has been subjectto witness. It serves as a tested procedurefor all to use whom possess the courageto dream of a more effective and efficientway of doing things. Again and againthroughout history the scientific methodhas labored in theoretical battle as scien-tists and explorers alike have attemptedto test their conclusions against nature.Using the same process as the scientist,we as martial artists are able to test ourown theories regarding techniques andindividual concepts regarding personaldefense.

ObservationThe first step in the scientific method isthat of observation. As practicingmartial artists we should be aware ofthe happenings in the world around us.Any and all events regarding self-protection must be observed as we gothrough our daily lives. Whether ourobservations occur in the dojo ortraining hall, local news, at work or at

“Only through training ourselvesto maintain a certain state ofattentiveness throughout our dailyactivities can we be truly preparedfor any and all situations thatmight arise.”

without it we simply live day to day ina somewhat unconscious state. Onlythrough training ourselves to maintaina certain state of attentiveness throug-hout our daily activities can we be trulyprepared for any and all situations thatmight arise. Observation is the first stepin the scientific method, as well asserving as the catalyst in our awarenessof life. Without this stimulation of mindand spirit we simply exist within ourdaily lives in a rather robotic conditionof consciousness, unacquainted with allthat surrounds us. Simply being sensitiveto all that happens within our world,however, is only the first step in thescientific method. We must then beginour questioning of that which weobserve.

QuestioningAssume for instance that you observe amass influx of student interest andenrollment in dojo’s that feature thenewest “flavor of the month” martial artmade popular by television or cinema.Almost naturally the first question thatwould be addressed is whether thisparticular Art X is actually efficientregarding self-defense. In our quest toanswer that particular question how-

ever, we must ask several more probingquestions regarding the operating ten-dencies of the art in question. How doesthe art address attacks from all rangesof combat? What are the art’s trainingphilosophies regarding sparring? Theseare but a few of the questions that mustbe investigated when trying to answer theimmediate question as to the effectivenessof Art X regarding self-defense. Theability to perform competent research isthe key to excelling in the capacity ofgathering relevant information. Infor-mation that will help us develop ahypothesis as it relates to our originalquestion.

HypothesisA hypothesis is nothing more than whatwe believe to be the answer to our im-mediate question. Simply stated: Becauseof the information gathered and theevidence of sufficient training philoso-phies, we believe that Art X is indeed afunctional way of training for self-defense.It is important to note that the originalhypothesis is not always correct. Misinter-pretation of data, ignoring of facts oremotional involvement could possiblyserve as some reasons that an originalhypothesis might be proven wrongduring the testing phase of the scientificmethod.

TestingQuite possibly one of the most crucialphases within the scientific method isthat of the testing of the hypothesis. Allbias and personal feelings regarding thequestion at hand must be removed fromthe action of testing. One must rememberthat truth is the only result that is beingsought. To allow personal feelingsregarding the experiment to taint the

10


WWW.MEIBUKANMAGAZINE.ORG No 4 February 2005House of the Pure Martial Arts 11

process will result in total failure of theexamination.In order to test our hypothesis that ArtX is indeed an effective means ofpreparing oneself for self-defense, wemust ensure that we are actuallyperforming our experiment in the properformat. Therefore, it is imperative thatwe assess the success of Art X in anenvironment that closely resembles areal self-defense situation. Simplyengaging in sparring sessions with anuncooperative opponent can easilysolve the dilemma of reality testing.

“No matter how much we likedthe flow of the techniques on thebig screen or how magnificentlythe instructor performs duringclass, we must test the techniquesfor ourselves.”

be answered regarding the effectivenessof Art X in self-defense situations. Thisresults in either our original hypothesisbeing proven correct, or flaws withinthe hypothesis becoming evident, thusrequiring the development of a renewedhypothesis and testing cycle. Operatingas a succession of phases the scientificmethod will hence continue to testhypothesis after hypothesis until thetruth is revealed.

The scientific method, time tested anddependable, serves as yet another toolavailable to all students of the martialarts. By effectively utilizing the ideasand concepts of observation, questioning,development of hypothesis, testing ofhypothesis and the examination of data,practitioners of any and all forms ofmartial arts may now take a giant stepto freedom within the martial artscommunity by testing for themselveswhat they believe to be true or false.The scientific method offers once andfor all a systematic approach to truth,freedom and self-expression within themartial arts.

Casey S. Putney (B.S.Professional Aeronautics)

is a freelance writerresiding in Bellevue,

Nebraska. His martialarts journey has endureda span of over 15 yearsresulting in training in

many disciplines includingJapanese Jujutsu, Muay

Thai and BrazilianJujitsu.

The article was first published onSubmission Fighting in the UK

(www.sfuk.net) in February 2004.

Mr. Putney can be contacted [email protected].

“Man is the measure of all things”, a call for inquiryby artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci.

Remember, no matter how much weliked the flow of the techniques on thebig screen or how magnificently theinstructor performs during class, wemust test the techniques for ourselves.The question of whether a person ofyour individual height, weight, andphysical ability can successfully performthe self-defense techniques in questionmust be answered in the appropriate way.

ExaminationOnce we have tested our hypothesis wemust examine the data accrued from ourtrial. As in the testing phase of theexperiment, it is essential that allpersonal feelings be ignored during theexamination of the results. It is withinthis phase that the original question will

Comprehensive AsianFighting Artsby Donn Draeger andRobert Smith

182x257 mm, 2480 pp,over 200 photo’s & ill.available atwww.mikado.nlwww.amazon.com

COMPREHENSIVE ASIANFIGHTING ARTS

Fighting arts are as old as man himself and asvaried as his languages. In Asia they devel-oped to a degree of effectiveness probablyunsurpassed elsewhere in the world. Begin-ning as hunting skills of prehistoric peoples,these arts developed with the experiencegained when man pitted himself against man.It comes as a surprise, then, to learn that atleast some elements present in the Asiancombat methods were practiced in the Westwell over two thousand years ago. What Platocalled “fighting without an antagonist”(skiamachia) was an ancient form of shadowboxing. And there were military dances calledpyrrhichia (“how to cope with an enemy”).Both types are counterparts of the kata or formtraining, a central part of all Asian combattechniques. Ancient Greek and Roman boxersbroke stones for spectators - a practice thatalso enjoys popularity throughout Asia. Theabdominal shout (Japanese: kiai, “spirit-meeting”) was used by Greeks, Romans, Irish,and other martial peoples. This book explainsthe relationships between fighting arts,assesses their strengths and weaknesses, andpresents new material about hithertounknown fighting methods. It covers fightingmethods and techniques found in elevenAsian countries -fighting techniques thatrange from the artful Chinese Tai Chi andBurmese Bando to Japanese Jujutsu and thelethal Pencak-Silat of Indonesia. Documen-tation of these has been supplemented with awealth of fascinating anecdotes. The readerlearns of the daring exploits of the Japaneseninja, of Gama, perhaps the greatest of thegreat Indian wrestlers, of the Indonesian“trance” fighters - and hundreds of other talesthat serve to illustrate some of the most deadlyfighting systems that the world has known.The late Donn F. Draeger, U.S. Marine Corpsofficer and a historian of martial artsdisciplines and licensed and recognized inJapan as a teacher of numerous martial arts,is internationally recognized as one of theworld’s leading experts on the subject. Helived in Japan, China, Mongolia, Korea,Malaysia and Indonesia. He was technicaldirector of the magazine Martial ArtsInternational and he has authored and co-authored numerous books on martial arts. Hisbooks virtually all have become standardworks. Draeger also has served as the directorof the International Martial Culture ResearchCenter, Tokyo. He died in 1982. Robert W.Smith, well-known teacher and widelypublished author, is one of the world’s leadingexperts on Chinese fighting forms andtechniques, though his interests extend tofighting arts of all Asian countries.

By Marc van Dam

www.mikado.nl

www.amazon.com

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In this last part in a series of three, we continue the exploration of the Chinese influences onGoju-ryu. As we have seen in part II, through his independent research, Chojun Miyagi cameto a different system than his Chinese teacher Kanryo Higaonna. But where did Miyagi learnthe kata that do not come from Higaonna? To understand this, we need to know more of hisfriends within the Karate Research Club and the Chinese combat manual the Bubishi.

- By Mathieu G. Ravignat -

The History of Goju-Ryu Karate, Part IIINew Ideas on Goju-ryu’s Direct Chinese Ancestors

GokenkiOn his two trips to Fujian in China, in1915 and 1936, Chojun Miyagi wasaccompanied by Gokenki. Gokenki(Chinese: Wu Kiang or Wu Hsien Kuei,1887-1940), moved to Okinawa in 1910and worked for the Eiko Chako TeaCompany. He taught White Crane inOkinawa between 1912 and his deathin 1940. Gokenki was a close friend ofMiyagi, Mabuni, Kyoda, Matayoshi,Hanashiro, Kana Kinjo, and other futuremasters. Gokenki was a respectful nick-name, a title bestowed by the localsmeaning “great and very honorablemaster.”

in diverse versions. It is also believedthat Gokenki had something to do withthe creation of the Tensho kata and thathe based it on his Rokkishu White Craneform.According to McKenna, Gokenki taught thefollowing forms (McKenna 2000, p. 14):• Happoren (Babulian/Paipuren):

eight linking steps;• Nijuhachi-uchi (Ershibada or

Neipai): twenty eight strikes;• Chukyo (Zhongkuang): middle

save.

These forms may have affected theChojun Miyagi kata in Goju. However,none of the other kata begin in thecharacteristic White Crane openingother than Shisochin, nor do any of theabove names sound familiar. Becauseof this, I propose the possibility thatShisochin, which begins with the typical

“In Fujian, Gokenki introduced Miyagito some important kung fu masters,and helped him to find books onChinese martial arts. It is also believedthat Gokenki had something to do withthe creation of the Tensho kata.”

In Fujian, Gokenki introduced Miyagito some important kung fu masters. Hehelped him to find books on Chinesemartial arts and had an influence on thedevelopment of To’on-ryu of Kyoda; forexample the kata Neipai. According toSeiko Kina, Chojun Miyagi and Gokenkiused to spend long hours playing Go anddrinking tea discussing the martial arts(Higaonna 1996, p. 65).Reportedly, Miyagi originally learnedNeipai (also known as Naipaipo) fromGokenki, and Seiko Higa still practicedthis kata as late as the 1940’s. However,though it was later dropped from theGoju curriculum for no apparent reason,it survives in Shito-ryu and amongstsome kobudo and Shorin-ryu practitioners

openhanded White Crane guard, mayhave been influenced by Gokenki, butthat it is impossible to tell for the others.

To DaikiTo Daiki (or Tang Daiji) was born inYaosha 50 km west of Fuzhou, in Fujianprovince. In 1915, he came to Okinawato work at his cousin’s teashop andChinese restaurant in Naha’s easterndistrict. He quickly settled in and marriedan Okinawan woman called Ishira Michiko.Interestingly enough, Fujiwara and Gimabelieve that he taught a form of FiveAncestor Fist, which may have includedthe forms:• Chinto (Chentou): sinking the head;• Sesan: great thirteen;• Wando: ?;• Goko Choyo: five tiger morning sun.

What is clear is that Five Ancestor Fist

Seiko Higa (left) is demonstrating kumite

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includes a form called Chentou (Sinkingthe head). Interestingly enough the kataChinto also begins with protecting andlowering the head. Five Ancestor Fistalso includes a form called Goko Senor Five Tiger Battles.Five Ancestors was a form of kung fuespecially taught in Quanzhou andShamen (Amoy) districts of Fuzhouwhere To Daiki lived. Given that hetaught a form called Chinto (Chentou)and a form called Goko Choyo (GokoSen) both similar to those in the FiveAncestor system, it is logical to concludethat he taught Five Ancestor Fist.Probably through Gokenki a fellowChinese tea merchant To Daiki befriendedChojun Miyagi and Kenwa Mabuni andbecame part of the Karate Kenkyukai.He participated in a public demonstrationin 1920 (Fujiwara & Gima 1986, p. 74).After some disaster, he left for China in1930 and he died there in 1937. If thesedates are correct, conceivably he couldhave been active in the Kenkyokai for10 to 15 years; definitely long enough tohave a profound influence on ChojunMiyagi’s karate. Though none of theforms above seem to have made it inthe Goju-ryu system, it is possible thatsome of the remaining kata were createdbased on them. They also may havecome directly from To Daiki since wecannot discount that To Daiki may haveknown other forms that we do not knowabout.

The BubishiThe Bubishi is a Chinese kung fu manualdiscussing the historical principles andtechniques of the White Crane andLohan styles of kung fu. The date of itscomposition and introduction to Okinawais contested. However, the late DaiSensei Meitoku Yagi believed that it hasits origins among the 36 Chinese familiesthat arrived in the Kume district of Nahaduring the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).Some others have proposed that theOkinawan Bubishi is a section of a bookwritten in the Ming dynasty by a famous

motivation for adding the kata Tenshowith the help of Gokenki, came from theRokkishu hand techniques (see picturesbelow) in the Bubishi. In addition, thename Goju-ryu comes from a verse inthe Poem of the Fist, or Kenpo Hakku,contained in the Chinese Bubishi.Finally, the general principles of hardbreathing and soft breathing and balancinghard techniques and soft techniques andthe philosophy of Goju-ryu are containedin the Bubishi.

KenkyokaiIn 1926, Hanashiro Chomo Sensei withthe help of Chojun Miyagi reorganizedthe Ryukyu Toudi Kenkyukai (Toudimeans China Hand) to ensure thepreservation of karate as an Okinawantreasure. Miyagi took out a loan to buildthe new dojo for the club. The guarantoron the loan was none other than Gokenki.The club established itself in Asahigoaka,Wakasa-cho, and Naha-Shi. The co-founders were Chojun Miyagi Sensei,Hanashiro Chomo, Motobu Choyo andKenwa Mabuni. Others masters whofrequented the club included JuhatsuKyoda, Seikichi Uehara, ShimpanGusukuma, Gokenki and another Chineseperson called To Daiki (Tang Daiji). Allthese people shared ideas and trainedtogether. They also developed manynew methods of training and taught eachother what they knew. It is here thatMorio Higaonna believes Miyagi firstperfected his teaching method: Yobiundo (warm ups), Hojo undo (trainingwith implements), basics, Sanchin andthen kata (Higaonna 1996, p. 63). Nodoubt, contact with all these peers hadan influence on the composition andsystematization of modern Goju-ryu.However, it is unclear how far thisinfluence goes, since the influences aretoo many to be accounted for.

Conclusion to Part IIIIt is clear that Gokenki, To Daiki, theBubishi and the Kenkyukai all had theirrespective influences on Chojun Miyagi

“Miyagi probably believed that theBubishi was an ancient text handeddown from master to student forcountless ages in the Chinese system,and that it was learned by his teacherKanryo Higaonna. Therefore, he musthave believed that it resumed theessential principles of the style heinherited from his teacher.”

military strategist called Mao Yuan Yi.However, existing copies of this Bubishi(or Wu Bei Zhi in Mandarin Chinese)do not include material found in theOkinawan Bubishi though similaritiesbetween its thirty-two empty-handedtechniques and those found in theOkinawan Bubishi do exist. Therefore,the connection between these two textsmay be an older text. The thirty-twoempty-handed techniques in the Wu BeiZhi are thought to originate from thefamous Japanese pirate buster andChinese General Qi Jiguan’s (1522-87)treatise on war, the Jixiao Xinshupublished in 1561 (McCarthy 1995, p.27).

However, Chojun Miyagi probablybelieved that the Bubishi was an ancienttext handed down from master tostudent for countless ages in the Chinesesystem, and that it was introduced inNaha in 1828 and learned by his teacherKanryo Higaonna. Therefore, he musthave believed that it resumed the essentialprinciples of the style he inherited fromhis teacher. This would explain bothMiyagi’s and Juhatsu Kyoda’s venerationfor this book. Given the White Cranecontent in the book, this would alsoexplain why so many nahate practitionerssought Gokenki’s guidance. Incidentally,this would also explain why JuhatsuKyoda completed the Higaonna systemwith the introduction of kata Nepai(learned from Gokenki) and also whyMabuni introduced Nipaipo (his revisedversion of Gokenki’s Neipai), Hakuchoand Paipuren (all from Gokenki) in hissystem. It is believed that the primary

Sword Hand One Blade of Grass Hand Iron Sand Palm Blood Pool Hand Claw Hand Iron Bone Hand



older, different and known as Lohan(Rakanken).

2. The second question is what didChojun Miyagi Sensei learn in additionto Higaonna’s kata?To which I have attempted to answerthat it is highly unlikely that Miyagiwould have learned five kata fromKanryo Higaonna that Juhatsu Kyodadid not. Secondly, that because thereare clearly stylistic differences betweenthe Higaonna kata and the other kata inthe Goju-ryu system, it is likely thatChojun Miyagi learned the other katafrom other Chinese sources; either fromOkinawa through Gokenki or To Daikior during his trips to Fujian.

3. It is unclear to what extent otherinfluences in Okinawa may have contri-buted to Goju-ryu. Specifically, it isunclear to what extent Gokenki and ToDaiki may have taught the other nonHigaonna kata to Miyagi.

In answer to this question, I haveproposed that Gokenki influenced thecreation of Tensho and perhaps theinclusion of Shisochin. Secondly, thatTo Daiki may have taught kata toMiyagi which we do not know of.Thirdly, that the Kenkyukai had adefinite pedagogical influence. Fourthly,that the Bubishi had a theoretical andphilosophical affect.

New Avenues of ResearchThere are two avenues of research thatthe conclusions of this essay proposeto be important for the future of Goju-ryu’s Chinese connection.

BibliographyHigaonna, M. (1996). The History of Karate:Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate, Dragon Books.McCarthy, P. (1995). Bubishi: The Bible ofKarate, Tuttle.Miyagi, Ch. (1993). An Outline of Karate Do(transl. McCarthy), IRKS.McKenna, M. (2000). Wu Xianhui and TangDaiji: Pioneers of Okinawan Karate, DragonTimes Vol. 20, pp. 13-15.McKenna, M. (2000). Wu Xianhui and TangDaiji: Pioneers of Okinawan Karate, DragonTimes Vol. 20, 2000, pp. 13-15.Nagamine, S. (2000). Tales of Okinawa’s GreatMasters (transl. McCarthy), Tuttle.Ohtsuka, T. (1991), Bubishi, BaseballMagazine.Swift, Ch. J. (2003), The Kenpo of KumeVillage. Dragon Times Vol. 23, pp. 10, 11, 12,34.Yagi, M., Wheeler, C., Vickerson, B. (1998).Okinawan Karate-Do Gojyu Ryu Meibukan,Action Press.

DisclaimerThis article represents the opinions and speculationsof the author and in no way should be taken as areflection of the historical opinions of the AllAmerican Goju-Ryu Meibukan Academy or of itsbranches. It is designed to incite discussion andthought on the Chinese origins of Goju Ryu Karate.To this end the author invites all who would like tocordially discuss such historical matters to contacthim at the following email address: [email protected].

and the modern composition of Goju-ryu karate. What is unclear is whetheror not the non Higaonna kata introducedby Miyagi were learned or developedfrom these sources or if they were strictlylearned during Miyagi’s trips to Fujian,or both.

General ConclusionDuring this essay, I have been able tonarrow down the confusion over thehistory of Goju-ryu to three majorquestions:

1. The first and most important is theconfusion stemming from the contra-dictory information coming from Chinaas to who Ryu Ryu Ko was. The datesfound just do not make sense and theinformation as to his profession contra-dicts the more consistent Okinawansources. Based on this contradictory infor-mation there has been an assumptionthat Goju in its earliest form must befrom Whooping White Crane. Never-theless, as we have seen the informationwhich leads to this opinion also makesit highly unlikely that it is true. Thougha similarity with the names of the kataand forms does prove to be fertileground, the actual performance of theWhooping White Crane forms and theHigaonna kata are significantly different.To solve these contradictions I haveproposed that:1. The name Ryu Ryu Ko in Okinawaactually refers phonetically to WaiXianxian and not the Ryu Ryu Ko foundin the records in China.2. Wai Xianxian, Higaonna’s first teacherin China was of an older generation.3. The style learned by Higaonna, thoughrelated to Whooping White Crane, was

Training Hojo undo under the watchful eye of Chojun Miyagi (fifth from the left).

1. To find genealogical information onthe family of Ryu Ryu Ko to see whetheror not there is an older relative who mayhave been a court official at the relevantperiod in time which may match thecareer of Wai Xianxian.

2. To find out where Buwa is, the placein Fujian in China that Chojun Miyagimentioned during the 1936 Meeting ofMasters. It is also paramount to revealwhat martial arts were traditionallytaught there.

Mathieu G. Ravignat B.A,M.A. PI. Sci. is one of

Sensei Hing-Poon Chan’ssenior students and is a

student at the AllAmerican Goju-ryuMeibukan Academy-

Canadian Headquarters.He is also the founder ofthe Stonelion Traditional

Chinese Martial ArtsAssociation, founded in

1993.


www.geocities.com/hpchan8/

www.members.rogers.com/stonelion/


What is ki?After practising the right punches Mario McKenna went on a search for the meaning of the

mysterious ki. Through experiencing pleasure and flow he ends up with an ancient meditationtechnique. McKenna, who teaches karatedo and kobudo, shares his thoughts on ki and one simple

exercise. Well, simple...

- by Mario McKenna -

Not that I am that old, but when I was ayoung karateka I concentrated ondeveloping good, solid technique. Let’sface it, the spiritual side of karate wasn’tgoing to interest a teenager and I washardly an exception. Sure I did my obli-gatory “mokuso”, but that was as far asit went. I was much more interested inpunching the makiwara than sitting inseiza.

Flower-childThis all didn’t change that much until Ientered university and came intocontact with other budo groups, mostlykendo, judo and aikido. Out of thosethree I was most struck by the aikidoka.Sitting and talking to them gave me awhole new perspective on budo, what Ilabeled the “flower-child” mentality.They constantly talked about things thatI considered quite esoteric, “harmonizingwith your opponent”, “being one withthe universe” and of course “ki”. Wediscussed things and compared ideas,but compared to the aikidoka, I supposeI had a “hammerhead” mentality becauseI didn’t have much use for those concepts.I thought , “How are those things goingto help me smash my opponent intonothing?” No real practical application,so not much use to me. At least that washow I thought. The aikido guys wouldjust sigh and say that I just didn’t get it.After my encounter with the aikidoka,I started to bring up the topic of ki withmy teacher, Kinjo Sensei, a very down-to-earth Okinawan gentleman. Hestated quite frankly that his teacher hadnever discussed the concept of ki withhim, but he intuitively felt that itexisted. “But how do you know itexists?”, I asked him. “You just feel it”,he would answer. Now, having beeneducated in a Western school setting

where emphasis was placed on logical,rational and analytical thinking, thisanswer didn’t help me very much. Infact, it just added to my confusion.Practice and I’ll feel it? What exactlyam I supposed to feel? The concept ofki again dropped to the wayside.

Vapor and riceAfter I moved to Japan where I stayedfor eight years, I came into contact withall manner of budo, religion, meditation,the esoteric, the mundane and the justplain weird. However, through all theseencounters, the concept of ki started tomake a little more sense. Why? Becauseit was everywhere. You couldn’t swinga dead cat in Japan without encounteringthe concept of ki. Let me explain. Kiwas originally written as a “vapor” and“rice”, implying some sort of ethereal

Morihei Ueshiba demonstrating aikido.

energy being released by an object ororganism. In fact the concept of ki is soprevalent in the Japanese language thatit is an integral part of many words andidioms. For example, genki (vigor;energy), kibun (feelings), kien (highspirits), kiomo (gloom), kikaru (light-heartedness), the list is almost endless.What we can see in these examples then,is that at a basic level, ki has quite a lotto do with the human emotional state.Now you might ask yourself what thishas got to do with budo? Well, every-thing. A budoka who cannot control hisor her emotions, will never be able toapply any technique or respond appro-priately when he or she absolutely needsto. Raw emotion quickly underminesand destroys any technique, no matterhow much training the person has had.



That which is pleasurableSo, ki reflects our emotional state and acontrolled emotional state is essentialfor a budoka. So how should ki be seenor defined from a budoka point of view?Well, to give you an idea of ki’s impor-tance and its implications, let’s look atthe following definition of ki by the lateWalter Todd Sensei (Skoss, 1995). Inmy opinion this is one of the best no-nonsense definitions of ki I have read.

Yes, I wanted to demystify aikido andmake it simple so that anybody couldunderstand it, at least on a lower level.Just like when they talk about ki – I havemy own interpretation of what ki is –but when I ask aiki people to explain tome what ki is, 99% of them give me theold “Well, you’re just not ready tounderstand it. You’ll understand it whenyou’re ready.”Well I say that’s a cop-out. If you reallyunderstood it, you could explain it. Hereyou are trying to teach ki and you don’teven understand it. At least when I teachI can explain what ki is. I have my ownlittle definition of ki, which is: “Ki isthe spirit of the movement, frommovement to movement, seeking thatwhich is pleasurable.”

“It’s the feeling of the movement,going from movement to movement,seeking that which is pleasurable.So when we’re working out andyou catch me on a really beautifulthrow, it feels good, doesn’t it? Likea little ‘body orgasm’.”

And most teachers would not agreebecause of one word: pleasurable. Theysay, “You’re making it sound exotic orerotic or something.” No. It’s the feelingof the movement, going from movementto movement, seeking that which ispleasurable. So when we’re working outand you catch me on a really beautifulthrow, it feels good, doesn’t it? Like alittle “body orgasm.” And those are thethings that keep us in the martial arts.When the body does a good movementit feels good! And that feeling at thatmoment is ki at its best manifestation.Ueshiba and Tohei, they both saidyou’re supposed to feel good when

you’re training. They never said you’vegot to get in there and kill yourself whenyou train. Who wants to do that and endup crippled? That’s ridiculous.

FlowLooking at Todd Sensei’s definition wecan see the idea and importance of ahighly energized and pleasurable emo-tional state. For myself, after readingthis, things started to make a little moresense. Especially if you compare it tostudies investigating peak performance,or collegially referred to as “flow”.According to Goleman (1995, p. 103)flow refers to: “a state of self-forget-fulness, the opposite of rumination andworry: instead of being lost in nervouspreoccupation and worry, people inflow are so absorbed in the task at handthat they lose all self-consciousness,dropping the small preoccupations –health, bills, even doing well – of dailylife. In this sense, movements in floware egoless. Paradoxically, people inflow exhibit a masterly control of whatthey are doing, their responses areperfectly attuned to the changing demandsof the task. And though people performat their peak while in flow, they areunconcerned with how they are doing,with thoughts of success or failure – thesheer pleasure of the act itself is whatmotivates them.”

Interviewer: You have studied manydifferent forms of martial arts. Is thereany one in particular that you are fondof?Murakami: No there isn’t any one inparticular that I like. They are allunique. It’s not like I feel, “oh it’sMonday so I should practice Tai ChiChuan” or “it’s Thursday so I have topractice Shorin-ryu”. Personally, nomatter how hard I practice or how wellI perform a technique, I never think,“oh, I’m never going to perfect thistechnique”, that is not the focus of mytraining. What is important is that ineach moment I am focused on thattechnique, I lose myself in it and enterinto a state of mushin (literally “nomind”). This type of training is a formof Zen training, more specifically theSoto Zen (the school of Zen Buddhismfounded by Dogen Zenji). Zen Buddhismteaches that the truth (of your existence)

can only come from yourself. And canonly be achieved through forgettingyour own self (ego). In order to forgetyour own self you must have a singularconcentration on the moment whichrequires you to remove all other dis-tractions or obstacles. When you canachieve mushin you have removed alldistractions and have perfect concen-tration and are able to see the truth forwhat it is. You have forgotten yourself.In karate, kobudo or Chinese kempo,when you practice, your goal should bethe same; achieving that singularconcentration and forgetting yourself.The kata and movements found in budoare Zen. Their common denominator isthe elimination of the self. When youcan achieve this state of forgettingyourself, it is an absolutely wonderfulfeeling.

16

BreatheMurakami Sensei’s answer to cultivatingand benefiting from ki is a simple one,to focus the mind by singularly concen-trating on the task at hand. Again,Western scientific research corroboratesMurakami Sensei’s belief that arguesthat a sharp focused attention to theactivity or task at hand is essential toentering “flow” or getting your ki moving(Goleman, 1995). But this is not as easyas it seems and requires quite a lot ofdiscipline to get passed that initialhurdle. The mind has a tendency towander and become distracted easily.If you don’t believe me, try the followingrudimentary exercise used in Zen. In a

Mario McKenna



should be relaxed, but not closed. Now,slowly breathe in through the nose to acount of one and slowly exhale throughthe nose to a count of one. Try to completethis cycle 20 times. Easy you say? Justwait. You must not have ANY distractions.If your mind starts to think aboutsomething else besides the rhythm andthe counting of breaths, go back to zeroand start again. If you get to five or sixand start thinking, “Gee this is easy”,go back to zero. You are absolutelyallowed no extraneous thoughts. WhenI first learned this simple exercise, Ithought I had a fairly good concentrationlevel. Boy, was I wrong. I spent mostof the day going back to zero becausemy mind kept distracting me. I’d get to19 and think, “I’m almost finished.”,

Mario McKenna is a 5thdegree black belt in karatedo

(To’on-ryu) and Ryukyukobudo. He has practicedkaratedo for over 20 years

and kobudo for 10 years. Heresided in Japan from 1994

to 2002. McKenna nowteaches To’ on-ryu, Goju-ryuand Ryukyu Kobudo at theKitsilano dojo in Vancouver,

Canada.Read more on him at

www.mariomckenna.com.

ReferencesGoleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence:Why it can matter more than IQ. New York:Bantam Books.McKenna, M. (1999). An Interview withMurakami Katsumi: The Heart of Ryukyu’sMartial Ways. In: Journal of Asian Martial Arts,Vol. 8(4).Skoss, M. (1995). Walter Todd: An Interview,www.aikidojournal.com (republished:www.koryu.com).

17

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Mario McKenna with his To’on-ryu teacher Sensei Shigekazu Kanzaki.

“Slowly breathe in through the noseto a count of one and slowly exhalethrough the nose to a count of one.Try to complete this cycle 20 times.Easy you say? Just wait. You mustnot have ANY distractions.”

quiet location, sit opposite a wall in acomfortable position either cross-leggedor in seiza (you can use a zabuton orcushion). Keep your back perfectlystraight and focus your gaze towards thewall, slightly downward. Your eyes

then I’d realize my mind is wanderingagain. Damn! Back to zero!Once you can do this simple exercise,try doing it while you practice kata. Youwill be surprised at the results as ki orflow creates its own feedback loop andproduces a state devoid of emotionalbaggage, save the pleasure it generates.



www.mariomckenna.com

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