Master Gichin Funakoshi – 1868 to 1957 – Founder of Shotokan Karate
“The ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory or in defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants.” – Gichin Funakoshi
Master Gichin Funakoshi is widely recognised as the founder of modern day Shotokan Karate. He was born on November 10th 1868 in the Yamakawa district of Shuri, Okinawa. He began his training under Master Yasutsune Azato at the age of eleven. Master Azato also trained Funakoshi in the Confucian classics. Later, he also studied with Master Yasutsune Itosu. He dedicated his life to the development and promotion of Karate training throughout Japan. Harry Cook’s superb ‘Shotokan Karate – A Precise History, 2001′ offers a detailed account of Funakoshi’s personal development and his eventual formulation of the style of karate which became known as Shotokan. As Cook observes;
In order to fully appreciate and understand Funakoshi’s Shotokan Karate-do it is essential to realise that, above all else, Gichin Funakoshi was a Confucian gentleman, or Chun-tzu. Becoming a gentleman, in Confucian terms, is not a matter of birth but is the result of the development of a number of ethical values. … Those who manifest these virtues in their character and conduct are considered to be Chun-tzu. …
The Five Characteristics
‘Chun-tzu’ can be translated variously as the gentleman, true manhood, the superior man, and man-at-his-best. Confucian teachings were focussed on ‘the gentleman’; the man of virtue. Confucius said “He who in this world can practice five things may indeed be considered man-at-his-best.” What are they?
Humility, Magnanimity, Sincerity, Diligence, and Graciousness. If you are humble, you will not be laughed at. If you are magnanimous, you will attract many to your side. If you are sincere, people will trust you. If you are gracious, you will get along well with your subordinates (James R. Ware, trans., The Sayings of Confucius, New York: New American Library 1955, p. 110). It is this type of man who can transform society into the peaceful state it was meant to be. In this quotation you can detect the roots of the Shotokan Dojo Kun.
The Ethics of Confucius
Confucius, born in 550 B.C., is considered the greatest of all eastern philosophers. His teaching forms the foundation of Asian philosophy and culture. Confucianism, as its founder taught, is not a religion in the traditional sense – it is an ethical code.
Three key principles are emphasized in Confucius’ teachings: the principles of Li, Jen and Chun-tzu. The term Li has several meanings, often translated as propriety, reverence, courtesy, ritual or the ideal standard of conduct. It is what Confucius believed to be the ideal standard of religious, moral, and social conduct.
The second key concept is the Principle of Jen. It is the fundamental virtue of Confucian teaching. Jen is the virtue of goodness and benevolence. It is expressed through recognition of value and concern for others, no matter their rank or class. In the Analects, Confucius summarizes the principle of Jen in this statement, often called The Silver Rule: “Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you.” (Analects 15:23) Li provides the structure for social interaction. Jen makes it a moral system.
The third important concept is Chun-tzu, as discussed above, this represents the idea of the true gentleman. It is the man who lives according to the highest ethical standards. The gentleman displays five virtues: self-respect, generosity, sincerity, persistence, and benevolence. His relationships are described as the following: as a son, he is always loyal; as a father, he is just and kind; as an official, he is loyal and faithful; as a husband, he is righteous and just; and as a friend, he is faithful and tactful. Here again you can see the seeds of the Shotokan Dojo Kun.
“If all men would live by the principles of Li and Jen and strive to emulate the Chun-tzu character of the true gentleman, justice and harmony would rule the empire.”
The Five Ways
The Confucian philosopher Meng Tzu said that “A Gentleman (Chun-tzu) teaches in five ways. The first is by a transforming influence like that of timely, seasonal rain. The second is by helping the student to realise his virtue to the full. The third is by helping him to understand his potential and develop his talent. The fourth is by answering his questions. The fifth is by setting an example others can reflect upon and emulate. These are the five ways in which a gentleman teaches.”
Cook observes that all of Funakoshi’s writings are suffused with Confucian values and themes. His teaching methods were certainly derived from Meng Tzu’s ‘Five Ways’ as discussed above, and you can see how these concepts come together in some of the excerpts below. Ultimately, Funakoshi believed that; “true Karate-do places weight upon the spiritual rather than physical matters … that in daily life, one’s mind and body should be trained and developed in a spirit of humility, and that, in critical times, one should be devoted utterly to the cause of justice.”
What is Karate? (excerpts from Gichin Funakoshi’s ‘Karate-Do Kyohan’)
The tremendous offensive and defensive power of Karate-do is well known. Karate-do is an art with which one can defeat enemies with a single fist attack or kick, without weapons. …. [However] ….
True Karate, that is, Karate-do, strives internally to train the mind to develop a clear conscience enabling one to face the world truthfully, while externally developing strength until one may overcome even ferocious wild animals. Mind and technique are to become one in true karate.
Those who follow Karate-do must consider courtesy of prime importance. Without courtesy, the essence of Karate-do is lost. Courtesy must be practiced, not only during the karate training period but at all times in one’s daily life. The karate student must humble himself to receive training. It may be said that a presumptuous or conceited person is not qualified to follow Karate-do. The student must always be aware of and receptive to criticism from others; he must be constantly introspective and must readily admit any lack of knowledge, rather than pretending to know what he does not know.
Those who follow Karate-do must never forsake a humble mind and gentle manner. It is the small-minded individual who likes to brag upon acquiring some small skill, and those with little knowledge who carry on as if they were experts, are childish. It is because the large number of false martial artists in the world that the public tends to either to ignore the martial artist or to consider him wild. Therefore, many serious martial artists are embarrassed. Students of Karate-do should always keep these points in mend.
Those who follow Karate-do will develop courage and fortitude. These qualities do not have much to do with strong actions or with the development of strong techniques as such. Emphasis is placed on development of the mind rather than on techniques. In a time of grave public crisis, on must have the courage, if required for the sake of justice, to face a million and one opponents. For the Karate-do student, the most shameful trait is indecisiveness. ………
In a few words then, those who seek karate should not stop merely with the perfection of their techniques. Rather, I hope, they will dedicate their lives to seeking the true Karate-do. This is because life through Karate-do is life itself, public and private.
Karate-Do as a Defensive Art (excerpts from Gichin Funakoshi’s ‘Karate-Do, My Way of Life’)
I have always stressed the point in my teaching that karate is a defensive art and must never serve offensive purposes. “Be careful”, I wrote in one of my early books, “about the words you speak, for if you are boastful you will make a great many enemies. Never forget the old saying that a strong wind may destroy a sturdy tree but the willow bows, and the wind passes through. The great virtues of karate are prudence and humility.”
That is why I teach my students always to be alert but never to go on the offensive with their karate skills, and I instruct my new students that I will under no circumstances permit them to use their fists to settle personal differences. Some of the younger ones, I confess, disagree with me: they tell me that they believe karate may fairly be used whenever circumstances make it absolutely necessary.
I try to point out that this is a total misconception of the true meaning of karate, for once karate enters, the issue becomes a matter of life and death. And how can we allow ourselves to engage in such life and death confrontations often in our few years on earth?
Whatever the circumstances, karate must not be used offensively.
On Training (excerpts from Gichin Funakoshi’s ‘Karate-Do, My Way of Life’)
You must be deadly serious in training. When I say that, I do not mean that you should be reasonably diligent or moderately in earnest. I mean that your opponent must always be present in your mind, whether you sit or stand or walk or raise your arms. Should you in combat strike a karate blow, you must have no doubt whatsoever that that one blow decides everything. If you have made an error, you will be the one who falls. You must always be prepared for such an eventuality.
You may train for a long, long time, but if you merely move your hands and feet and jump up and down like a puppet, learning karate is not very different from learning to dance. You will never have reached the heart of the matter; you will have failed to grasp the quintessence of Karate-do. To be deadly serious, then, is not just an essential for a follower of Karate-do; it is equally essential in everyone’s daily life, for life is itself a struggle to survive. Anyone so complacent as to assume that after a failure he will have another opportunity will seldom make much of a success of his life. …..
Try to see yourself as you truly are and try to adopt what is meritorious in the work of others. As a karateka, you will of course often watch others practice. When you do and you see strong points in the performance of others, try to incorporate them into your own technique. At the same time, if the trainee your are watching seems to be doing less than his best, ask yourself whether you too may not be failing to practice with diligence. Each of us has good qualities and bad; the wise man seeks to emulate the good he perceives in others and avoid the bad.
….. I would like to reiterate that karate is not, and never has been, merely a brutal form of self-defense. 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. …..
He who is aware of his own weakness will remain master of himself in any situation; only a true weakling is capable of true courage. Naturally, a real karate adept must refine his technique through training, but he must never forget that only through training will he be able to recognize his own weakness.
Master Funakoshi, Supreme Master of the Japanese Karate Association, died on April 2th 1957 just days after the Japanese Ministry of Education formally recognised the JKA. Above is shown Gichin Funakoshi’s Memorial at the Engakuji Temple, Kamakura, Japan.
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