As I approached them, I could see that our assailants had all covered their faces with towels, so that it would be impossible to identify them. As instructed I told them politely that Master Itosu was one of our group and that we were all his students. “Perhaps,” I added quietly, “this is a case of mistaken identity.”
“Itosu? Who’s he?” muttered one of the gang. “Never heard of him!”
Another, seeing how short I was, cried, “Hey, you’re just a kid! What are you doing – sticking your nose into men’s affairs? Just get out of the way!” And with that, he started to grab me by the chest.
I lowered my hips into a karate stance. But at that moment I heard Itosu’s voice: “No fighting, Funakoshi! Listen to what they have to say. Talk to them.”[1] — Karate-Do: My Way of Life, by Gichin Funakoshi, p. 50
This week I decided to learn more about the kata Anan, and ended up finding the answers to questions I’ve always had about kata. Questions I had when I was 4, when I was 10, when I was 14, and when I was 30, but questions I’ve always felt were impertinent to ask Sensei.
Around the time I joined Kenshinkai via myonlinekarate.com I started watching lots of World Karate Federation videos on YouTube. I came across this particularly impressive one, Team Japan’s performance of the kata Anan in the 2016 finals.
What style does Anan come from?
The trio in this video, led by four-time gold medalist Ryo Kiyuna, were students of Tsuguo Sakumoto. Anan was popularised by Sakumoto when he performed it in Karate tournaments in the late 80s[2]. It comes from the Ryuei-Ryu style, and versions of it have been adapted for the Shito-Ryu and Shotokan styles. Jesse “The Karate Nerd” Enkamp has a blog detailing how it has been changed by practitioners of other styles, often for the worse.[3]
Nakaima Norisato and the Ryuei Ryu Style
According to the family website, one day, a young Norisato (also known as Kenri) Nakaima was secretly watching some Chinese military officers practising martial arts. He was spotted by the general, who decided that Norisato possessed the aptitude to be trained in martial arts himself. He was given a letter of introduction and accepted as a live-in disciple of the Chinese Master Ryuro Ko (Ru Ru Ko in Japanese) at the Beijing Military Academy. He studied for several years, and on leaving the academy, he was, according to Jesse and the Nakaima family website, given secret documents and swore an oath of secrecy. He passed these secrets to his son and grandson, who were also bound by the same oath. Among the books and documents he was entrusted with on leaving the academy – according to Ryuei-Ryu Karate Kobudo Association – was the Bubishi.[4]
If I was going to find something that elucidates the mysteries of Anan, this seemed the best place to look.
The Bubishi
It has to be stressed at this point that the Ryuei-Ryu Karate Kobudo Association’s assertion that Norisato Nakaima is only one of many theories about the origins of the Bubishi. However, given the contents of the Bubishi, it is a compelling, if not undisputed, theory.
After six years of sacrifice and diligent training, he [Nakaima] surfaced in 1876 as a proficient expert. Before departing from Ryuru Ko’s, he was required to make copies (by hand of the many books he had studied). Among the most noted books were, books on etiquette, health, and Chinese medicine, and a book about cultivating a brave spirit through the practice of quanfa [traditional Chinese martial arts]. Some believe that the present Okinawan Bubishi is a compilation of these documents. [5]
The Bubishi (“bu” military, “bi” prepare, “shi”, record) is a collection of writings about the history and philosophy of White Crane and Monk Fist Boxing kungfu, traditional Chinese medicine, Dim Mak (“Touch of Death”), and contains many diagrams and coded explanations of techniques and drills of the White Monkey, White Crane and Black Tiger style, written in an incredibly elusive code (for example, “Winning technique: Two hands worshipping the Buddha, Losing technique: Rain wet through to the body”). It is an enigmatic text of mysterious purpose and provenance. Miyagi Chojun described it as a “bible”, and the book’s moral and philosophical guidance has formed part of the personal studies of the early pioneers of karate, as well as karateka up to the present day.[6]
As esoteric as its subject matter sounds, it is indeed an invaluable document. As Funakoshi explained in his Karate-Do: My Way of Life, “there is virtually no written material on the early history of karate, we do not know who invented and developed it, nor even, for that matter, where it originated and evolved”[7]. The Bubishi allows the reader to discover, in Hanshi McCarthy’s words, “the original contextual premise upon which this art was forged, [Karate, that is, from its roots in traditional Chinese martial arts], what forces affected its evolution, why such variations upon common themes unfolded, and how such secrets fell quietly dormant into an abyss of ambiguity.”[8]
Hanshi McCarthy’s Habitual Acts of Physical Violence Theory
I didn’t find Anan in the Bubishi, nor can I claim to understand the meanings of the obscure two-person drills written in code. In Hanshi McCarthy’s commentary, however, the product of a deep study of the Bubishi and its contexts, I did find an answer to a lingering question I’ve had since I began karate. How were the katas designed? Even as a junior grade, the value in meditative focus, perfecting each technique, and overall physical fitness is evident. But understanding these benefits doesn’t explain how kata came to be designed.
Hanshi McCarthy developed a theory called “Habitual Acts of Physical Violence”.
Teachers of traditional martial arts would observe the kind of violent scenarios that repeatedly emerge in their society and time.
They would take their students and have them practice two-person drills. One attacking, the other passive but resistant.
As these drills progress, the defender would offer increasingly unpredictable and aggressive resistance.
To consolidate the lesson, the teacher would convert the two-person drill into a solo re-enactment model: Hsing, or kata in Japanese.[9]
“By linking together individual models into collective routines, quanfa innovators developed unique and complex solo exercises through which to not only culminate the lesson imparted but also express one’s individual prowess while strengthening their overall mental, physical, and holistic conditioning”.[10]
It can be seen, then, that karate’s approach to kata is diametrically opposed to that of traditional martial arts. In karate, at least, in my experience doing wado-ryu then Shotokan (comment below if your dojo was different) kata comes first, and bunkai (application) comes much, much later. There are a number of historical factors that explain this shift, but the rise of the modern budo movement in Meiji era Japan, its introduction into the school curriculum, and the motivations and goals of those who spearheaded the movement, are all a bit beyond the scope of this piece, which was originally supposed to be about Anan, and perhaps the topic deserves its own article (and a more expert author).
Suffice it to say for now that self-defence - the pioneers have consistently stressed - is of secondary importance in Karate. Better to instil restraint, and make fighting redundant altogether. When Master Itosu and his students are attacked in Funakoshi’s childhood anecdote quoted in the epigraph, Itosu urges Funakoshi to use words even when his assailant has initiated the violence. Funakoshi and his peers are more than capable of overpowering the drunken workers that were out looking for a confrontation, and in most any court of law they would be legally and morally in the right, but of course not fighting at all is most desirable.
I would like to reiterate that Karate is not and never has been, merely a brutal form of self-defence. On the contrary, anyone who has truly mastered the art of karate will take care not to venture into dangerous places or situations where he or she may be forced to put the art to use.[11]
Osu, thank you for reading.
Hesitation is defeat.
Bibliography
Funakoshi, Gichin, Karate-Do: My Way Of Life, p.50
Enkamp, Jesse, “Ryue-Ryu History, Ramblings About Kata: Anan”, <https://www.karatebyjesse.com/ryuei-ryu-history-ramblings-kata-anan/> (Accessed 25/01/2023)
Ibid.
<http://www.ryueiryu.org/history> (Accessed 25/01/2023)
McCarthy, Patrick, Bubishi: The Classic Manual of Combat, (Tuttle: 2016), p. 101
Ibid. McCarthy p. 13
Ibid. Funakoshi, p. 29
Ibid. McCarthy, p. 25
Ibid. McCarthy, p. 25
Ibid. McCarthy p. 25
Funakoshi, p. 114