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September30,2010

ITOSUANKOYASUTSUNE
ANDHISCONTRIBUTION
TOOKINAWANMARTIAL
ARTS
RyuBuKanDojo
ROBERTA.JINKINS
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ITOSU ANKO YASUTSUNE AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO OKINAWAN

MARTIAL ARTS

Itissaidbymanypractitionersthatkarateisadeeplyphilosophicalpractice.To
manyitbringsethicalprinciplesandspiritualsignificancetothosewhofollowthis
pathway.
AsnewandexperiencedpractitionersofShorinryukarate,wecontinuallylearnand
developourkihonbasics(i.e.,stances,punches,strikes,kicks,blocks,footwork),
kata(aformalizedsequenceofdefensiveandoffensivemovementswhichinclude
kihon)andwedevelopourkumite(i.e.,sparringwithlightphysicalcontact).One
fundamentalandimportantseriesofkatathatwelearnandpractice,aspartofour
basicdevelopmentinShorinryu,isaseriesofkataknownasPinan.Therearefive
Pinankata;Shodan,Nidan,Sandan,Yondan&Godan.Manywhohavestudiedthe
PinankatabelievethatPinanmeans;peaceofmind.WhenGichinFunakoshi
(18901954),oneofthegreatOkinawankaratemasters,broughtkaratefrom
OkinawatoJapanin1921,herenamedthekatatoHeian,whichistranslatedas
"peacefulmind".
WhocreatedthePinankata?Whatadditionalcontributionstokaratedidthis
personmake?Whowashisteacher,hisstudentsandhowdidheinfluencethe
developmentofkarate?
ThegreatcontributorandlegendisItosuAnkoYasutsune.
ItosucomposedthePinankata(ShodantoGodankata)in
1907andheisalsooneofthegreatestcontributorstothe
developmentofkarate.ItosuAnkowasborninGiboVillage,
Shuri,Okinawa(RyukyuKingdom)in1831andhediedin
Shuri,Okinawa,Japanin1915attheageof85.Hewasraised
inastricthomeinafamilyofposition(noblefamily).Asa
child,Itosuwassmall,shyandintroverted.Duringhischildhood,hewaseducated
intheChineseclassicsandcalligraphy,anddevelopedexcellentwritingskills.Asan
adult,hewasofaverageheightwithabarrelchestandhehadsuperiorstrengthin
hishandsandarms.Itissaidthathecouldcrushthickbamboostalkswithinhis
irongriphands.Itosureceivedhisnickname"Anko," which means horse, from
the horse stance which he was superb in demonstrating. Itosu was known to walk
in the horse stance position from time to time.
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ItosuAnkobeganhisstudyofkarateunderNagahamaChikudunPechin.Thisstudy
ledhimtoMatsumuraSoken(18091899)whoisbelievedbymanytobethefather
ofkarateandtheheadbodyguardforthelastruleroftheRyukyukingdom.
MatsumuraSokenisconsideredthelastwarriorofShuri.
MatsumurascontributionstoKarateDoinadditionto
techniqueincludethedevelopmentoftheKarateScrolls,
whichoutlinetheprinciplesofbehaviorforallfollowersofthe
karateway.ItisbelievedthatItosuAnkowasMatsumuras
numberonestudent.ItosuAnkotrainedunderMatsumurafor
overthirtyyears,andwithoutquestionItosucontributed
moretothedevelopmentofkaratethananyothermasterin
history.Itosubelievedthebodyshouldbetrainedtowithstandthehardestof
blows.Perhapsthisisonereasonwhytodaywetrainandconditionsohardinthe
dojo.
ApartofItosuAnkosdevelopmentandtrainingincludedmakiwarapractice.The
makiwaraisapaddedstrikingpostusedasatrainingtoolinavarietyofstylesin
traditionalkarate.ItwassaidthatItosuwalkedtotheimperialtombseverydayand
practicedhispunchesagainststonewallsthatlinedthegrounds.Heoncetieda
leathersandaltoastonewallinanefforttoconstructabettermakiwara.Hisstrikes
tothemakiwarawallweresofiercethatstonefellfromthewall.Afterafewmore
strikes,Itosudestroyedthewall.Thistraditionandpracticeofmakiwararemains
todayanimportantpartofkarate,withwoodreplacingthestonewall.Todaythe
makiwaraisplacedintoastandsothatitisnearshoulderheight,andisusedfor
closerangepracticefromabout58feetaway.Themakiwaradevelopsa
practitionersstrike,punchandkickbyallowingthepractitionertoexperience
resistancetopunches,kicksandotherstrikes.
Itosuwasamanwhowasknowntoavoidphysicalviolencehisentirelife.Thereare
manystoriesabouthowhecarriedhimselfduringtheconfrontationshe
encountered.Hewasamanofgreatdignitywhodeeplyrespectedhumanity.One
storyhasitthatItosuwaswalkingneararestaurantinNaha,Okinawawhena
strongmanattackedhimfrombehind,aimingablowtothebackofItosushead.
Notturning,Itosugrabbedtheattackersfistwithhisrighthandandwithout
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Theabovephotoisbelievedtohavebeenshotaround1909or1910whenItosuhadjuststartedteachingatthe
PrefecturalMiddleSchool(thepresentShuriHighSchool).BesidesItosu,[thephotoalsoincludes]the[school]principal
OkuboShuhachi,(theJudosensei)IkedaTakehikoandstudentsarethere.PhotocontributedbyKinjoHiroshi,printed
OkinawaTimesFeb.26,2006

breakingstride;heguidedthemanrightintotherestaurant.Hethencalmlygreeted
thewaitress,requestedatableandthenorderedfoodandwine.Stillholdingthe
manshand,Itosutookasipofwineandthenpulledthemanaroundtotakeafirst
lookofhim.Hesmiledlookingintothemanseyesandsaidtotheman,Idont
knowwhatyourgrudgeagainstmecouldbe,butletshaveadrinktogether!
PerhapsitsItosusbeliefsandactionsthatliveonwithusinspiritandcontinue
todayasabeliefthatkarateisadefense.Donotstrikefirst.Inmanywaysthefact
thatItosuneverfoughtseemstoexemplifytheancientmartialartsmaxim
Tatakawazushitekatsuwhichisoftendescribedaskaratenisentenashi(there
isnofirststrikeinkarate)asQuotedbyNagamineShoshininhisbookTalesof
OkinawasGreatMasters.
ItosuAnkoservedasSecretarytothelastkingoftheRyukyuIslandsuntilJapanese
abolishedthemonarchyin1879.NagamineShoshin,inhisbookTalesofOkinawan
MastersexpressedthatitwasadifficulttimefortheOkinawans;itwasatime
whenoldgavewaytonew.ItwasunderthesetryingtimesthatItosucametofully
understandwhatmasteringoftote(karate)reallymeant.Itosuretiredfromhis
servicetogovernmentandbegantopracticeandteachkaratefulltimeinhishome.
Highlyskilledinthetraditionsofkarate,Itosuwasateachertoanyonewhowanted
tolearn.Hedevelopedmanyoutstandingstudents,manywhowentontobecome
legendaryandsignificantcontributorstokarate.AchartofItosuskarateheritage,
includingItosusteacherSokenMatsumuraandmanyofhislegendarystudentsis
providedonpage8.
In1901,Itosuwasinstrumentalingetting
karateintroducedintoOkinawasschools.
Hewasaparttimeteacheraround1909
atOkinawasFirstJuniorPrefecturalHigh
SchoolandattheShuriJinjoElementary
School,instructingkarateasanextra
curricularactivity.Itwastherethathe
developedthesystematicmethodsof
teachingkaratetechniquesthatareused
todayinourpracticeofkarate.Itosuiscreditedwithcodifyingthekatathathe
learnedfromhisteacherSokenMatsumura.
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In1907ItosucreatedandintroducedthePinankataasalearningtoolforstudents
becausehefelttheolderkataweretoolonganddifficultforschoolchildrentolearn
andunderstand.ItisbelievedthatItosumayhavedrawnPinanfromtwoolder
kata:kusankuandchiangnan.OnestorybehindthehistoryofthePinankataholds
thatItosulearnedthechiangnankatafromaChinesemanwholivedinOkinawa.
Chiangnanbecameknownas"Channan",anOkinawan
interpretationoftheChinesepronunciation.Unfortunately
theoriginalchiangnankatahasbeenlost.TodaythePinan
katahasbeenadoptedbymanyteachersandschoolsof
karate.Itispracticedtodayinmanystylesofmartialarts
includingShorinryuandinourRyuBuKandojo.
ItosuAnkohasbeencreditedintakingtheoriginallarge
Naihanchikataandbreakingitdownintothewellknown
threesmallerkatathatwepracticetoday:NaihanchiShodan,
NaihanchiNidan,andNaihanchiSandan.Naihanchiisakata
thatisperformedentirelyinastraddlestance(kibadachi)
anditisoneoftheprinciplekataofShorinRyu.ItosuAnko
isbelievedtohavelearnedtheoriginalNaihanchikatafromSokenMatsumuraandit
isthoughtbymanyresearchersthathecreatedtheNaihanchiNidanandSandan
kata.Othersbelievethattheoriginalkatawasmerelybrokendownintothree
separatekataprobablyduetoconstraintsofspaceinthedojo.
TheNaihanchikataissoimportanttotheoldstyleofkaratethatKentsuYabu
(18661937),astudentofItosu,oftentoldhisstudentsKaratebeginsandends
withNaihanchiandhetoldhisstudentsthattheymustpracticeNaihanchi10,000
timestomakeittheirown.BeforeItosuAnkocreatedthePinan,Naihanchiwould
traditionallybetaughtintheschoolsofkarate.Naihanchiremainstodayasoneof
theprinciplekatathatwepracticeandperform.NaihanchiShodanisamongthe
firstkatathatwelearnstudyandpracticeasnewpractitionersofShorinryukarate.
In1908,ItosuAnkowrotetheTenPreceptsofKaratelettertodrawtheattention
oftheMinistryofEducationandtheMinistryofWarinJapan.Itosuspriorposition
asSecretarytothelastkingoftheRyukyuIslandsenabledhimtobehighly
influentialintheintroductionofkarateintotheOkinawanschoolsystem.Theletter
hasbeeninfluentialinthespreadofkaratethroughouttheworldandholdstrue
todayaswelearnandpassontootherstheknowledgeandspiritofkarate.
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Ten Precepts (Tode Jukun) of Karate

AtranslationofItosusletterreads:

TenPreceptsofKarate
KaratedidnotdevelopfromBuddhismor
Confucianism.InthepasttheShorinryu
schoolandtheShoreiryuschoolwerebrought
toOkinawafromChina.Bothoftheseschools
havestrongpoints,whichIwillnowmention
beforetherearetoomanychanges:

1. Karateisnotmerelypracticedforyourownbenefit;itcanbeusedtoprotect
one'sfamilyormaster.Itisnotintendedtobeusedagainstasingleassailant
butinsteadasawayofavoidingafightshouldonebeconfrontedbyavillain
orruffian.
2. Thepurposeofkarateistomakethemusclesandboneshardasrockandto
usethehandsandlegsasspears.IfchildrenweretobegintraininginTangTe
whileinelementaryschool,thentheywillbewellsuitedformilitaryservice.
RememberthewordsattributedtotheDukeofWellingtonafterhedefeated
Napoleon:"TheBattleofWaterloowaswonontheplayingfieldsofEton."
3. Karatecannotbequicklylearned.Likeaslowmovingbull,iteventually
travelsathousandmiles.Ifonetrainsdiligentlyeveryday,theninthreeor
fouryearsonewillcometounderstandkarate.Thosewhotraininthis
fashionwilldiscoverkarate.
4. Inkarate,trainingofthehandsandfeetareimportant,soonemustbe
thoroughlytrainedonthemakiwara.Inordertodothis,dropyour
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shoulders,openyourlungs,takeholdofyourstrength,gripthefloorwith
yourfeet,andsinkyourenergyintoyourlowerabdomen.Practiceusingeach
armonetotwohundredtimeseachday.
5. WhenonepracticesthestancesofTangTe,besuretokeepyourback
straight,loweryourshoulders,putstrengthinyourlegs,standfirmly,and
dropyourenergyintoyourlowerabdomen.
6. Practiceeachofthetechniquesofkaraterepeatedly,theuseofwhichis
passedbywordofmouth.Learntheexplanationswell,anddecidewhenand
inwhatmannertoapplythemwhenneeded.Enter,counter,releaseisthe
ruleofreleasinghand(torite).
7. Youmustdecideifkarateisforyourhealthortoaidyourduty.
8. Whenyoutrain,dosoasifonthebattlefield.Youreyesshouldglare,
shouldersdrop,andbodyharden.Youshouldalwaystrainwithintensityand
spirit,andinthiswayyouwillnaturallybeready.
9. Onemustnotovertrain;thiswillcauseyoutolosetheenergyinyourlower
abdomenandwillbeharmfultoyourbody.Yourfaceandeyeswillturnred.
Trainwisely.
10. Inthepast,mastersofkaratehaveenjoyedlonglives.Karateaidsin
developingthebonesandmuscles.Ithelpsthedigestionaswellasthe
circulation.Ifkarateshouldbeintroducedbeginningintheelementary
schools,thenwewillproducemanymeneachcapableofdefeatingten
assailants.Ifurtherbelievethiscanbedonebyhavingallstudentsatthe
OkinawaTeachers'Collegepracticekarate.Inthisway,aftergraduation,they
canteachattheelementaryschoolsthatwhichtheyhavebeentaught.I
believethiswillbeagreatbenefittoournationandourmilitary.Itismy
hopeyouwillseriouslyconsidermysuggestion.

AnkoItosu,October1908

ITOSUs KARATE HERITAGE

Notables about Itosus Legendary Students

and their Students who have followed:

ChoshinChibana(listedabove)

ChosinChibanaiscreditedwiththedevelopmentoftheKobayashi
BranchofShorinryu,onestyleofkaratewepracticetoday.

GichenFunakosi(listedabove)

GichenFunakosiiscreditedwithintroducingkarateintoJapanin1921
andforthecreationofShotokanstyleofkarate.

ShoshinNagamine

AstudentofChotokuKyanandMotobuChoki.Nagaminewasa
senseitoKatsuhikoShinzatoin1967.Heisauthorofthebook;The
EssenceofOkinawanKarateDo.In1941Nagaminedevelopedthe
FukyugataIchikata.Itisoneofthefirstkatawelearnandtomanyit
ischerished.Thekatawasoneofseveraldevelopedbasedonthe
requestin1940bytheKarateDoSpecialCommitteetoexpandthe
karatecurriculumtaughtintheschoolsystem.TheCommitteewas
assembledbytheGeneralHayakawa,GovernorofOkinawa.
Nagaminewasaprestigiouscommitteemember.

KatsuhikoShinzato

Professor,teacher&historian.Shinzatotranslated
ShoshinNagamineswritingintoEnglishandhasbeen
asenseiandteachertoJimSilvan&PedroBernardy
(ourSensei).

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A Dedication to the Spirit and Contribution of Itosu Anko

Duringperiodsofchangethroughouthislife,Itosu
Ankodedicatedhislifeandusedhisspirit,
knowledgeandstrengthtothepracticeand
developmentofkarate(tote).Todaya
commemorativestonemonumentrestsalongside
ItosusgravesiteintheforestofFurushimain
MawashiOkinawa.Thestonemonumentmarksthe
contributionsandachievementsthatItosu
preserved,developedandpassedontohisstudents
andothers.

TheinscriptiononItosusstonemonumentreads:

ItosuAnkowasborninShuristinyhamletofGiboin1831.
HediedinYamakawavillageinMarchof1915,attheageof
eightyfive.Havingmasteredtheprinciplesofkaratejutsu,
ItosuAnkodedicatedhisentirelifetothedevelopmentof
modernKaratedo.ItosuAnkoisrecognizedastheman
mostresponsibleforbringingkarateoutfrombehindits
closeddoorsofobscurityandintroducingitintotheschool
system,whereitfirstservedasanadjuncttophysical
education.Hisimmeasurablecontributionsprovidedthe
veryfoundationsonwhichmodernkaratedowas
established.

August30,1964
EstablishedbytheKobayashiryuKarateDoKyokai
President;ChibanaChosin
Calligrapher;IrahaChoko
Engraver;IshimineJitsuhiko

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References

Nagamine,Shshin.TalesofOkinawa'sGreatMasters.trans.
PatrickMcCarthy.

Kerr,GeorgeH.(2000).Okinawa:TheHistoryofanIslandPeople(revised
editioned.).

Bishop,Mark(1989).Okinawankarate:teachers,stylesandsecret
techniques.MartialArts.

CharlesC.Goodin(2006)KarateThoughtsBlog;
http://karatejutsu.blogspot.com/2006/04/ankoitosuphoto.html

TheHawaiiKarateSeinenkai.PhotoofKatsuhikoShinzato,copyright
HikariInstitute,aHawaiinotforprofit&taxexemptorganizationunderIRC
501(c)(3).

CharlesC.Goodin.DragonTimesOnline,Volume15,1999The1940
KarateDoSpecialCommittee:TheFukyugataPromotionalKata.Archive
HawaiiKarateSeinenkai.