The Name of the Kata Wansū

Images from the books Karate Jutsu (English translation of Gichin Funakoshi's Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu, 1925, by John Teramoto), and Karate Kenpo Zen by Mutsu Mizuho, 1933, as well as from footage of Hironori Otsuka performing wansu.

In Funakoshi karate, wansū was later (by 1935) called enpi, meaning “flying swallow”. It is a relatively swift and light form, and resembles the flight of a bird, specifically a swallow. In Chinese martial arts, and as wansū was originally Chinese, as with many of the Okinawan karate kata, any bird system is within the crane / white crane style as a matter of generality. 

In Karate Jutsu, and therefore in Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu, Gichin Funakoshi used kanji for wansū when listing the kata, and katakana later when describing it. There are only a few kata listed with kanji, such as gojūshiho and kūsankū, despite the fact that sēsan, for instance, is known to be “13 [hands / skills]” for certain. It must be, then, that the kanji for wansū were known, unusually. Was it someone’s name, or were they chosen in Okinawa (Ryūkyū) a long time ago? 

Apparently wansū was [potentially] a system taught in Tomari village in 1683 or from the 1600s. There are a few versions, so it may have been a system of techniques that were formalised by various experts in Okinawa, or there was one kata / quan which was changed over time by several exponents. 

The ideograms used by Gichin Funakoshi in Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu are not listed in Collins Chinese Dictionary within W and J, as in Wang Ji. Those meaning “prince” are different characters, and are written “wángzi” (the “i” has an upsidedown arrow above it) when Romanised. Andreas Quast wrote an article about wansū. However, with respect, the characters used for Wang Ji are different to those used by Gichin Funakoshi and Mutsu Mizuho, so, assuming accuracy of the characters written by Gichin Funakoshi, wansū is not from that Wang Ji. Additionally, again with respect, and also considering that Quast’s article is from 2015, and a researcher might form one conclusion at one point, but a different one later with further research, the article states that Gichin Funakoshi used only katakana for the name wansū, while he actually used kanji in his kata list and katakana in addition when describing the kata later, as I have already noted. Mutsu Mizuho, a student of Gichin Funakoshi’s, used the same characters as his teacher, but Hironori Otsuka seems to have used different symbols that mean “late” based on the translation provided by Google Translate, which seemed to manage to accurately scan the symbols. In Collins Chinese Dictionary, the first symbol used by Otsuka reads as “wan” (with an upsidedown arrow above the “a”) and means “late”, but the second character doesn’t appear anywhere you would think it should, such as ji, shu, su, shou, zhi, zi, and others. However, they’re different to the ideograms used by Gichin Funakoshi, so I would suggest that they are incorrect. Also according to Google Translate, the kanji noted by Gichin Funakoshi and Mutsu Mizuho are Wāng Jí in Mandarin, meaning Wang Ji in English. So even with different symbols there is a similarity to the suggestion that wansū is Wang Ji. Though, of course, the accuracy of the characters is important. Therefore, I would suggest that wansū is named after a Chinese person called Wang Ji who was an expert in Chinese boxing and who taught some Okinawans, maybe in the 1600s.

Sean Marshall

Yin and Yang in Karate

It is a myth that karate is a hard martial art in the sense that it only uses hard techniques. It appears hard, but that is because it is related to a variety of so-called hard methods, such as Southern Shaolin. The karate text, Bubishi, does not specify a difference between Northern and Southern types of gongfu, instead simply noting Shaolin. While the old masters disagreed over the idea that karate kata were descended either from Shorin-ryu, using the characters for Shaolin, or Shorei-ryu, using the ideograms for Zhaoling, supposedly referring to the, or a, Southern Shaolin Temple, the commonality is that both are a kind of Shaolin boxing. In other words, the sort of gongfu seen to be harder or external, when compared with Wudang boxing which, while descended itself from Shaolin, is viewed as being softer or internal. Although, both Shaolin and Wudang actually teach hard and soft techniques and methods, as the concept of yin and yang runs deep in Chinese history and culture.

According to Kanken Toyama (Oyadomari) in his Introduction to Karate-Do: Its Inner Techniques and Secret Arts (1956 – translated into English in 2019 by Tobey Stansbury), there are no such styles as Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu in karate, only hard and soft. However, there are general northern and southern types of Chinese boxing, discussed traditionally in quanfa through the saying, “Northern legs, southern hands”. Northern-style gongfu is usually formed in patterns that require a lot of space to perform, because they are based on the military patterns used for weapons such as different kinds of swords and the spear. Whereas, southern gongfu is more civilian based, hence the term “civil fighting arts”. Also, as with other parts of China, the terrain and weather differ in the south. Therefore, southern boxing often moves less than northern boxing, and sometimes not much at all. Stances are not necessarily narrow, but there is more emphasis on solidity while using the hands and body. Okinawan kenpo, or in other words, karate, is generally more like the southern kind of Chinese boxing, though there are a range of influences which have contributed over the centuries to making Ryukyu kenpo unique to Okinawa. Nonetheless, experts such as Gichin Funakoshi are supported in their theory on Shorin-ryu (Northern-style Shaolin boxing) and Shorei-ryu (Southern-style Shaolin boxing; Zhaoling boxing) with, for instance, Wong Kiew Kit’s 1996 book, The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu, stating on page 38 that “Southern Shaolin Kung Fu is characterised by solid stances, powerful arms and elaborate hand techniques, in contrast with the elegant jumping, extensive movements and wide range of kicking attacks of the Northern Shaolin version.” This is completely separate from karate, so masters like Gichin Funakoshi were not wrong in distinguishing between different broad types of boxing; one that is lighter, and one that is heavier. Master Funakoshi noted that both should be studied, and this advice fits perfectly with the study of yin and yang as yin is light while yang is heavy.

In Collins Chinese Dictionary, the character for yin refers to the negative and the shade, while the symbol for yang refers to the positive and the Sun, and is masculine. Gichin Funakoshi, in his 1925 text Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu, translated into English in 2001 by John Teramoto, described yin and yang in relation to the use of the hands as he had been taught by his teacher, Anko Asato, as noted in Karate-Do Ichiro (Karate-Do: My Way of Life), Master Asato always emphasising the differences between yin and yang. According to the English version, entitled Karate Jutsu, shinite is the dying hand, female hand, or yang hand, while ikite is the living hand, male hand, or yin hand. This seems odd or an incorrect translation or typing error, as yin is female and yang is male. Yet the same sort of description is given in later books by Gichin Funakoshi, including Karate-Do Kyohan (1935 – translated in 2005 by Harumi Suzuki-Johnston) and Karate-Do Kyohan (1958 – translated in 1973 by Tsutomu Ohshima). It cannot, then, be a mistake. I think it must either mean that both hands can change between types depending on the situation, or that the living hand is soft and the dying hand is hard. Regardless, yin is soft and yang is hard, but they rely on each other and are interrelated and constantly changing, with no beginning or end. This is a fundamental aspect of Taoism, referring to the beginning of the Universe and the creation of everything. Indeed, the hand gesture in which you place the open left palm over the closed right fist is a physical representation of yin and yang, meaning balance, peace and to stop fighting. That same posture is the manifestation of the Chinese character for martial (wu in Mandarin, bu is Japanese and Okinawan). There are quite a number of karate kata that employ this position, such as jion, jitte, wansu, passai, naihanchi (in a different manner), and many more.

Gichin Funakoshi stated in Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu that karate contrasts to jujutsu in that it can be considered a “hard” martial art. However, he goes on to write that hard and soft co-exist, and that grappling techniques can be considered soft which is fundamental to karate if the student seeks to become truly skilful. Furthermore, Funakoshi stated in the same text, on page 37 of the English edition, “... the ancient expression [which] says, ‘Battle exists in the interval between the normal and the abnormal – without knowing that the abnormal becomes normal, and the normal changes to the abnormal, how can victory be achieved?’” Immediately following this, it reads, “Yin and yang have no beginning, action and stillness are not apparent; unless one knows the Way, who can hope to gain victory?” And then the end of the paragraph talks about the cardinal principles, which are the same, albeit later described in a more succinct and refined way, as the three cardinal points of karate noted by Master Funakoshi in other works, including in his Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate which were first published in Karate-Do Taikan in 1938 by Genwa Nakasone, and translated into English in 2003 by John Teramoto. The principles are: Hard and soft application of power, stretching and contraction of the body, and fast and slow application of technique, all of which are clearly based on the opposites of yin and yang.

In Karate-Do Tanpenshu (2006), by Patrick and Yuriko McCarthy, there is an article written by Gichin Funakoshi in 1934 entitled Stillness & Action / Yin & Yang. Funakoshi details the concept of yin and yang to a degree that shows the reader that he clearly had a great understanding of this ancient Chinese notion of opposites in the Universe. Indeed it is the foundation of Chinese martial arts, with some styles such as taijiquan and taiji mantis going so far as to name their systems after it, taiji referring to yin and yang after there was nothing in the Universe. The taijiquan classics, including the Treatise by Master Chang San-feng, written around 1200 AD according to T’ai Chi Classics by Waysun Liao, 1977 / 1990, the Treatise by Master Wong Chung-yua, written circa 1600 AD, and the Treatise by Master Wu Yu-hsiang, who lived from 1812 to 1880, all discuss the principles of yin and yang when explaining the key points to know regarding the method of Long fist that is commonly known as taijiquan. Karate could also be called something like taiji karate (although that could be viewed as being incorrect as it is a combination of languages). Yet, it already is, in a manner of speaking. Taikyoku is taiji, but in Japanese. The three taikyoku kata in Funakoshi karate were developed by either Gigo Funakoshi or his father or both together. In the 1958 Karate-Do Kyohan by Gichin Funakoshi, he wrote about taikyoku being the first and last kata of a real student of karate. That is because the basics are fundamental and difficult to master. Yet, taikyoku is taiji and therefore yin and yang, so the teachings of the natural opposites of life and existence are supposed to be taught as the foundations and most important lessons in karate. Morinobu Itoman also discussed yin and yang in Okinawan karate in his 1934 book, The Study of China-hand Techniques, translated by Mario McKenna into English in 2012. From pages 154 to 156, there is a section called The Way of Opposites, and the first line reads, “Martial strategy is the way of opposites.” The third sentence is: “If my opponent employs one strategy, then I employ its opposite.” In sumo wrestling, I have seen several exponents who were small and comparably light defeating much larger wrestlers by using the skills found in soft power, harmonising to use their opponent’s strength against them. Hence, all complete martial arts study yin and yang; soft and hard; opposites.

In physical practice, the theory of yin and yang applies in many ways from a pure perspective. If there is no weight on one foot, it is completely yin, while the foot bearing your weight is fully yang. The free leg, or yin leg, can be most efficiently employed for kicking or stepping. Meanwhile, the arms and hands are yin on the outside and yang on the inside, yet can be applied in a multitude of manners. For example, checking the opponent’s attack, rather than blocking it in a raw sense, is yin defence. A counter-attack would be yang. All of the various methods of blending with the opponent’s assaults are yin, as they are soft. If, on the other hand, I use a defensive technique in a striking fashion, that is yang. For instance, instead of blending with the attack, I can essentially hit the advancing arm or leg. In addition, rather than just crudely blocking in such a way anywhere, I can select a location, preferring a soft target to a hard one, particularly when using the bones of my own arm. You need stamina and efficiency in fighting, as well as accuracy and speed, but you also need to utilise yin and yang and use your mind to strategise and fight with intelligence. It is better for longevity in a situation and in life to block hard to a soft point such as the upper arm, as opposed to connecting bone with bone more so on the inside and outside of the forearm near the wrist or by the elbow. Iron-body training is great, and you should be confident that you will not be easily hurt, coupled with your ability to evade and your skills in defence. But to rely solely on an iron-like physique is a mistake. As Master Anko Asato taught Gichin Funakoshi, “Think of the hands and feet as swords.” And as Master Funakoshi also wrote in his 20 precepts, “Do not think of winning; think, rather, of not losing.” Hence, focus on defence and do not let your opponent so much as touch you. In addition to this, employing the three cardinal points, as previously noted, as well as moving in accordance, the principles of yin and yang can be applied skilfully and with intellect, enabling, as with the case of certain sumo wrestlers, a small person to defeat someone much larger, no matter how intimidating they may appear.

This essay was written for my 5th Dan exam, which I passed in early January 2022.

Sean Marshall

So-called Advanced Kata

From sūpārinpē performed in the 1974 footage of Keio karate, which also featured Isao Obata

Suparinpei is taught in Keio University karate, and, according to Sensei Kinichi Mashimo, who learnt directly from Master Gichin Funakoshi and others such as Master Isao Obata (who continued to teach Funakoshi karate at universities such as Keio until he passed away in 1976), Master Gichin Funakoshi supervised the transmission of suparinpei at Keio, resulting in the alterations present in their version, although he did not teach the kata all on his own. It does appear evident that we know which kata he focused on, but that he knew other kata to one extent or another, and was therefore able to make changes to them after they were taught by other teachers to his students. Of course, to be overly concerned with which kata this or that person knew is ridiculous and a waste of time, because, for instance, Goju-ryu does not include gojushiho, and Tomari village tii traditionally taught wansu, wankuan (okan), rohai, naihanchi, passai, perhaps sesan, and maybe one or two other systems, then chinto, ji'in, jitte, chinte (mariti) and plausibly jion, but gojushiho was from Matsumura's tii. It makes no difference if you know suparinpei or gojushiho or any other particular kata that is, nowadays, said to be more advanced. Look at Choki Motobu's example. He only practised one or two kata, focused more on kumite, probably knew many more kata, and was highly skilled, apparently more so than most. My current teacher only teaches five forms: a short version of the actual form, the actual longer form, and three weapons forms. And the short form has 108 movements. Yet, we get by, and most of the time we practise pair-work. As Master Asato said, five or six kata are enough, provided they are studied deeply. And each has its own beneficial characteristics, so they can be selected accordingly, and in harmony with your own body.

The Karate Kata of Master Gichin Funakoshi

I think Master Gichin Funakoshi knew many kata but selected certain forms, for foundations, based on the recommendations of his teacher Master Asato (in the 1914 article/s, “Okinawa no Bugi”, based on interviews conducted between Gichin Funakoshi and Anko Asato in the early 1900s), and from his own favourite karate kata. Some others were devised by himself and his son, Master Gigo Funakoshi, in addition to kata imported from elsewhere and included in the then enlarging list which I think, for Gichin Funakoshi, was a re-enlarging list. 

In the first place there were mainly, if not only, the primary kata of the lineage. These are in Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu (1925), though a much longer list of additional kata is also included. But it doesn’t appear that any more than the main kata were being studied, unless we’re missing something.

Pin’an

Naihanchi

Kusanku

Passai

Sesan

Chinto

Wansu

Jitte

Jion

Despite a photo of Gichin Funakoshi using the bo (staff / stick) on his own, the only internal mention of bo kata by Gichin Funakoshi to students is to learn from his son, aside from other recommendations to learn from experts such as Master Kenwa Mabuni. (“My Years With Funakoshi”, Dr Yasukiyo Takeda, Shotokan Karate Magazine, Issue 41) The weapons practices of Gichin Funakoshi seem to have been more pair-work oriented.

There is a picture of Gichin Funakoshi grabbing the kicking leg of his opponent with both hands as in gojushiho and niseshi, and the description resembles the technical details of gojushiho. Whether or not this is indicative, though, I’m not certain, as with the bo photograph. Although the latter does look like the practice of kata, and it would make sense. However, what we can be sure of is that Gichin Funakoshi felt confident in his bojutsu (and, I would suggest, saijutsu, too) skills, according to Hironori Otsuka who stated that Gichin Funakoshi used to stand guard with his bo at the dorm when there was a threat of attack from Korea. 

The kata devised by both or each of the Funakoshi men were:

Taikyoku

Ten no Kata

Chi no Kata

Jin no Kata

Shoto (Okan / Wankuan)

Matsukaze no Kon

Meikyo (Funakoshi Rohai)

A kata added via Gigo Funakoshi and intended for his father was Kudaka Sochin. 

Therefore, with Rohai having been known as well by Gichin Funakoshi, and with teachers wanting to transmit their secrets only to Gichin Funakoshi (with his son equally trusted), why would Gichin Funakoshi not have been taught many more kata, methods and practices when he was young, before simply selecting a few to focus on when he started to teach when he was about 34?

Further support is found in a book by Kinichi Mashimo, “Ken: …”, a student under Gichin Funakoshi at Keio University. Here is a translation based on Google Translate:

“Under the supervision of Master Gichin Funakoshi, Suparinpei from Goju-ryu and Shito-ryu was adopted and altered in accordance with Master Funakoshi’s karate. The three-pronged stance, which is not found in Shotokan, was left as it was, but the four-pronged stance was changed to a horse-riding stance, and the tightening of the legs was particularly important.  It is suitable for breathing in accordance with gentle movements, remembering the tightening of the whole body, and mirroring in four directions to increase repetitions. The slowness is balanced by turning from a gentle movement and quickly changing. …” 

So, the kata Suparinpei, mentioned by Gichin Funakoshi in Rentan Goshin Karate Jutsu, was taught at Keio when Gichin Funakoshi was present, and he supervised altering it. I think this suggests he had learnt it, therefore was able to change it, though he didn’t teach it wholly himself. However, this may be reading too much into it. 
Does this apply to other kata? We know that Master Nakayama, for example, was also sent to learn from others such as Master Mabuni, as he described in an interview. When he returned to Funakoshi with the kata he had been instructed to study, and as they were changed afterwards, to what extent did Funakoshi make those edits?