I was under the impression that the majority of martial arts were not "marketed" for popular consumption until rather recently. I have not heard that the Okinawans did so until somewhat recently when karate was introduced into the physical education curriculum in schools. Do you have any idea of the relationship between the introduction of the "Do" aspect of things and the trend to popularize training?
I don't know anything other than the broad details most know about already. Itosu Sensei already was heading in that direction some say with the introduction of his Pinan kata, these forms intended to be easier to learn for kids still in school (picture 9th grade on, not primary school). If you read his famous letter however, the one in which the 10 Precepts are written, it's apparent that karate was no mere exercise vehicle for him, though as he states it is an important benefit.
1. Karate is not merely practiced for your own benefit; it can be used to protect one's family or master. It is not intended to be used against a single assailant but instead as a way of avoiding injury by using the hands and feet should one by any chance be confronted by a villain or ruffian.
2. The purpose of karate is to make the muscles and bones hard as rock and to use the hands and legs as spears. If children were to begin training naturally in military prowess while in elementary school, then they would be well suited for military service. Remember the words attributed to the Duke of Wellington after he defeated Napoleon, “Today's battle was won on the playing fields of our schools”.
3. Karate cannot be quickly learned. Like a slow moving bull, it eventually travels a thousand leagues. If one trains diligently for one or two hours every day, then in three or four years one will see a change in physique. Those who train in this fashion will discover the deeper principles of karate.
4. In karate, training of the hands and feet are important, so you should train thoroughly with a sheaf of straw (#). In order to do this, drop your shoulders, open your lungs, muster your strength, grip the floor with your feet, and concentrate your energy into your lower abdomen. Practice using each arm one to two hundred times each day.
5. When you practice the stances of karate, be sure to keep your back straight, lower your shoulders, put strength in your legs, stand firmly, and drop your energy into your lower abdomen.
6. Practice each of the techniques of karate repeatedly. Learn the explanations of every technique well, and decide when and in what manner to apply them when needed. Enter, counter, withdraw is the rule for torite.
7. You must decide if karate is for your health or to aid your duty.
8. When you train, do so as if on the battlefield. Your eyes should glare, shoulders drop, and body harden. You should always train with intensity and spirit as if actually facing the enemy, and in this way you will naturally be ready.
9. If you use up your strength to excess in karate training, this will cause you to lose the energy in your lower abdomen and will be harmful to your body. Your face and eyes will turn red. Be careful to control your training.
10. In the past, many masters of karate have enjoyed long lives. Karate aids in developing the bones and muscles. It helps the digestion as well as the circulation. If karate should be introduced, beginning in the elementary schools, then we will produce many men each capable of defeating ten assailants.
Chojun Miyagi Sensei was also part of the evolution to "Do". He participated in creating a few kata along with Shosin Nagamine Sensei that were meant to be universal kata unifying the Shorin & Shorei branches of karate as a bridging pathway to the other kata and I believe these hookiyu kata likewise were meant for usage in schools before the outbreak of war ended the project.
Miyagi wrote an essay that has been translated through the efforts of some Hawaiian historians (I believe puunui has said he knows them well). In it he makes some interesting remarks about this transition in karate.
http://seinenkai.com/articles/sanzinsoo/outline.html
3. Karate circles in the past
We also do not know origin of the name "karate", but it is true that the name "karate" was made recently. In the old days it was called "Te". At that time people used to practice karate secretly, and a masters taught a few advanced Kata out of all the Kata only to his best disciple. If he had no suitable disciple, he never taught them anyone, and eventually such Kata have completely died out. As a result, there are many Kata which were not handed down. In about middle of Meiji period (1868-1912), prominent karate masters abolished the old way of secrecy. Karate was opened to the public, so it was soon recognized by society. It was dawn in the development of karate. In accordance with the rapidly progressing culture, karate was also recognized as physical education, and it was adopted as one of the teaching subjects at school. Therefore, at last karate has won the social approval.
4. How we teach karate at present.
According to oral history, in the old days, the teaching policy of karate put emphasis on self-defence techniques. With just a motto of "no first attack in karate", teachers showed their students the moral aspects. However, I heard that in reality they tended to neglect such moral principles. So gradually the teaching policy was improved with the change of the times. Now we discontinued and abolished the wrong tradition of so-called "body first, and mind second", and we made our way toward Tao of fighting arts or the truth of karate. Eventually we have obtained the correct motto "mind first, and body second" which means karate and Zen are the same.
Also, do you know of any karate ryu that didn't "sign on" to the idea of karate becoming karate-do?
It's hard to say really without having trained in all of them under a senior native master. I'm sure you've noticed the karate brought back to the United States by westerners tends to be full of the personal development stuff. Whether that was emphasized by their Asian teachers or evolved over time in the US in response to business needs, I can't say with any surety. I do think some styles like Shotokan and Wado have been more influenced by Zen, notwithstanding the previous bit about Goju-ryu from Miyagi Sensei, and it's not uncommon to see teachers of these styles adopt and promulgate some aspects of Zen in their classes.
Personally, although we had a dojo kun in own line of Goju-ryu and we recited it before most classes, it really wasn't analysed in any great way. In fact, I can count on 1 hand the number of times my sensei said anything about the dojo kun at all.
I am planning a trip to Okinawa next year for a three week stay and I am setting up training opportunities judiciously with senior karate-ka. It will be interesting to see what they choose to show me. In my inquiries I'm asking for them to give me the regular training experiences someone on the islands would receive, rituals and all.
From my experience in CMA it seems that a greater emphasis is placed on students being virtuous to be accepted for training rather than training making one a better person (though this idea isn't completely absent). In Taekwon-Do there is a much greater emphasis on developing certain character traits through the training itself than I experienced in Kung-Fu. I'd be interested in hearing your thought on how Okinawan karate addresses this.
Well, all I have is personal experience. My teacher did not accept new students casually. Only if he had room, only if he thought you would be diligent. In fact, he would turn away people I thought would have made great additions to our group based on their physical attributes and prior experience. I don't think he was looking for any moral qualities. With that said our training included nothing remotely like Zen Buddhism, nothing like seen in ATA TKD schools where students are encouraged to be positive, kind people.
As I said, Okinawan karate in the US is filled with this type of stuff. Is it purely a western construct, an American thing in reaction to our cultural needs to educate youth in civility and good character? I don't know. Anecdotally, I believe it is from what I have observed in my own training along with what I have seen in dojo run by people also with close ties to a living Okinawan. I hope to learn more about it when I travel next year.
