Gichin Funakoshi Quotes - Shotokan Revision

[jion]

"Hoping to see karate included in the universal physical education taught in our public schools, I set about revising the kata so as to make them as simple as possible. Times change, the world changes, and obviously the martial arts must change too"

"The karate that high school students practice today is not the same karate that practiced even tas recently as ten years ago, and it is a long way indeed from the karate that I learned when I was a child in Okinawa"

"Inasmuch as there are not now, and never have been, any hard or fast rules regarding the various kata, it is hardly surprising to that they change not only with the times but also from instructor to instructor."

"What is most important is that karate, as a form of sport used in physical education, should be simple enough to be practiced without undue difficulty by everybody, young and old, boys and girls, men and women"

That is the essence of Shotokan karate-do, Funakoshi's main ideas of revision and adjustment of what was known as karate, tode, nahate, etc.

These quotes can be found is his book, "Karate-do: My Way Of Life" page 36.

I think it raises some interesting points. Shotokan was:

1) aimed at reaching as many people as possible

2) changed so the names of the techniques and kata, made it easier for the average Japanese person to adapt to it. He aimed at spreading it as much and quickly as possible

3) an invaluably aid to person fitness, and Funakoshi saw it as a sport

Honestly, he was a genius and taught us all an invaluable lesson. Karate changes and adapts to modern society, our thinking and our development as human beings.

Contrary to what it might seem like, Shotokan is not a watered down version of karate aimed at school kids and the elderly. It is aimed at everyone, from the most brutally built heavy weight to the weakest old woman. But what we do with it today is the difference.

I've only recently started lurking here, and there seems to be notion that Shotokan is weaker or less effective. And there are people that say it's up to the club or the trainer. Honestly I believe when we train once, twice, three or four times a week we are given the tools. We take them home and then we grow.

Some say Shotokan doesn't have this low kick or this grappling technique because it's not taught in kihon. But has anyone taken the time to look at the katas? It's an encylopedia of techniques. Just shuto-uke itself has at least three different applications to it. In kihon we train only a tiny tiny fraction of them.

What's worse is the almost dance like kata competitions these days. Shotokan's kata are amazing, but like Funakoshi said there are different variations, different ways and "no hard and fast rules". Are we forgetting karate these days?

As a karate-ka, I try to take home the katas, think about them. What could they be good for, how can I adapt even the weirdest and most obscure parts to a meaningful and powerful technique? Surprisingly, I've come to realise Shotokan offers more than I ever thought.

Every training session we get Funakoshi's idea of karate. But it isn't the whole picture - as I think he'd agree too. Take those ideas, adapt them to your thinking. Once you accept that, Shotokan becomes as watered down as sports TKD or as hard as full contact KK (blatant extraggerations to express my point).

[Menjo]

Wow great post, send it in to be an article because its really great. I couldn't agree with you more, awesome stuff.

[Killer Miller]

Osu, Jion...

- Killer -

[jion]

Thank you very much for the kinds words!

[jnpnshr411]

:appluase:

wow that is really a wonderfully true article.

"Honestly I believe when we train once, twice, three or four times a week we are given the tools. We take them home and then we grow."

I tell that to some of the students (13-15 ish) you have to take what you learn home and do over and over again until you adapt to it and it becomes part of you.