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The Masters
Aged 21, and now married, Funakoshi was working as an assistant schoolteacher. Encouraged, and supported by his wife who was also skilled in karate, Funakoshi continued with his dedicated practice of the martial art until he was considered sufficiently proficient to teach it formally in schools in 1901. Throughout his life, Funakoshi tried to achieve the true spirit of karate, and his teachings centred around etiquette and discipline rather than a method of self-defence. Forever mindful of the proverb Soken Matsumura taught him – when two tigers fight, one is bound to be hurt, the other will be dead – he did not believe that karate should be employed in conflict. His expertise brought him to the attention of the King of Okinawa, and Funakoshi was chosen to instruct the monarch in karate. Engaging in demonstrations, firstly around the island, and then to Japan, Funakoshi spent several years pioneering karate. In 1922, the Ministry of Education asked him to go to Tokyo to take part in the first National Athletics Exhibition. The demonstration was so successful within the martial arts community, that he was persuaded to leave his home in Okinawa and take up residence in Japan. Notably, Jigoro Kano sought private lessons in kata from Funakoshi, as did Hoan Kusugi, the artist responsible for creating the Shotokan Tiger. By 1925 Master Funakoshi was enrolling students and developing clubs at the various colleges and universities in the Tokyo area. Four years later, teachers and students in the Keio University's Karate Research Group discussed the translation of the kanji for karate to mean 'empty hand'. Gichin Funakoshi was instrumental in this movement and, despite much protest among the Okinawans, the change was adopted and became the accepted definition. The karate movement continued to gain strength and Funakoshi's next major task was to create a new dojo.In 1936 the first karate school to stand in its own right was completed, and was named 'Shotokan' (after the pen name he used when writing poetry). Now an elderly man, Funakoshi began handing over his teaching assignments at the various universities but continued with regular demonstrations, including those before Emperor Hirohito. World War II saw Funakoshi's dojo destroyed, the death of one of his sons, and the reunion of him and his wife at a refugee camp on the island of Kyushu. He remained with his wife until she died in 1947, at which time he returned to Tokyo. In 1948 the Nihon Karate Kyokai (Japan Karate Association) was officially organised, with Master Funakoshi named as chief instructor, now aged 81. This was an honorary title, and Masatoshi Nakayama was selected for the actual teaching who, during the 1950s, became one of the karate pioneers in America. Master Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, died on 26 April 1957. On his black, cross-shaped gravestone are the words 'Karate ni sente nashi' – there is no first attack in karate. ©Copyright 2006-2007 FightingSpirit.Biz Ltd |
