HERITAGE AND CHANGE IN KYOKUSHINKAI

I' d like to talk about Kyokushinkai, which is a modern and said to be “combat

oriented” style of Karate. Because of this reason, perhaps it would be better to begin

(I had better begin) explaining the meaning of the word “Karate”.

I think that its etimology is a non-consciouss game of words: kara can be translated

by “empty” and te means “hand”. So karate could be translated by “empty hand” and

“karate do” by “the path of the empty hand”.

But, on the other hand, the same kanjii “kara” was (and still is) used in order to

design “China”, which was the land of emptiness, in the sense that Japan looked

towards Chinese empire as the land from which they had taken their ideology focused

on emptiness (absence of desire, absence of thinking, perfect harmony between self and

being, absence of pain). So “empty hand” could also be “Chinese hand” due to the

Chinese role of being the buddhist bridge between Indostan and Japan. In fact, karate

comes from Chinese kempo, which itself comes from Indian buddhist mongers who

travelled and settled in China so as to spread their religion and thought.

Previously, Brahmans and peasants had developed techniques, which animals

were imitated in, so as to keep out wild beasts and to fight Central-Asian peoples’

invasions. I don' t know until which level there is a relationship between yogga

movements and birth of first martial arts, but yogga was developed to overcome Maya

(consciousness of isolation: Therefore, its similarity with the Spanish word “yugo”,

unity), so similarity seems to be just formal.

 But, moreover, kanjii for “hand” (te) is the same kanjii for “system”. Te is

“system” besides being “hand”, because hand represents the idea of system: a unity of

fingers and movement skills. So, to sum up, “empty hand” is also “Chinese system”.

Obviusly, Japan has a different nature and other animal reign, so learners added

movements they saw in environtment and brought up new styles. For instance, fishers

from Okinawa imitated crane (final sequence in Karate Kid) and peasants far from the

coast took their own labour procedures using their tools to root lands, as pattern to hit

and to avoid attacks.

On the other hand, there was, maybe at the same time, a properly japanese

warrior' s way towards creating a martial art: when a Samurai was thrown out his horse

and lost to hold his weapon, he found himself almost defeated, so Jiu Jitsu was born so

that he could avoid being stepped by his enemy' s horse and so that he could be able to

catch his opponent and make him throw. That' s the reason for the name, Jiu Jitsu, which

means soft art, art of adaptation, of flexibility.

Because of this last reason, Jiu Jitsu is considered the oldest among Japanese

martial arts, even though karate is even older. Karate was learnt as a communitarian

self-defense way, whereas Jiu Jitsu was created by a sort of war lords.

Nevertheless, both are inside Budo (“the war' s path”, or more nearly

translated by “martial arts”), besides Judo and Kendo (the path of the katana, or

sword). And Modern Japan has tried to keep connected in some way Bushido (“the

warrior' s path”) with kids and youth school-learning. Therefore, every Japanese child

has to choose one between the four arts inside Budo and keep on learning it during

primary and college.

Of course, Budo and Bushido are both deeply linked, but Bushido is more an
attitude and a behaviour code. For instance, obeying is Bushido, not using fire weapons

was Bushido (and still is), serving your Master is Bushido, never surrendering is

Bushido, and so is it not to raise your head in Dojo, but keep it low while you look

honestly at your Sensei and your Kohai.

What' s Kyokushinkai?. As I have said before, it' s a modern Karate style created

by Sosai (much more than a Sensei) Masutatsu Oyama, a Corean Kempo and

Taekwondo Master, who combated the Japanese colonialism in Corea even though he

alisted as Kamikaze later. Kai means “self-lost”, “fussion” or “communion”, while

Kyoku means “the summit” or “the highest” and Shin is “reality”.

Sosai Oyama is known to have developed Kyokushin in the mountain forests,

where he practised with trees and stones. It' s said that he knocked out wild bulls only

with his own hands. I think this is the strong point: Sosai Oyama hated violence, so,

when one day he was attacked by thieves and defeated them, he felt so bad that he

couldn' t stand. So he was self-porsuited to develop a system with which being able to

finish the opponent by just one hit.

Loyal to this important needs of him, Sosai Oyama created Kyokushin and began

teaching it in Japan. He found the total opposition by Shotokan Karate School

institued then in Japan, who had strong links to Yakuza and whose fundator had been

Sensei Miyagi (Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid means a little gift to his memory).

Meanwhile, first Oyama' s pupils got admission to travel to Tailand so as to combat

against Moai Thai fighters, to whom they defeated in not few occasions.

On the other hand, some Kiokushinkai pupils and even some Sensei refere to

Shotokan karatekas as “the women dancers”, which is a deep lack of respect and
understanding: “the house of the tiger” (shotokan) is kiokushin own house too, because

shotokan is inside kiokushin' s basic structure.

Afterwards and also at the moment, competition pragmatism has broken

Oyama's wide bunch of hits, keeping the strong practice only at those which are the

most useful to win a tournment. Of course every Sensei teaches the complete bunch of

techniques, but a lot of them lightly pass by “admiting” they are keeping Shotei, Uraken

or Ryutoken attending tradition. But, in fact, these techniques and other ones are

brutally effective for self-defense, but not for competition, because it' s forbidden hitting

with hands on the opponent' s face, head or neck. So they mean that they are not useful

to win a championship. This attraction-opposition to this tendence is one of the main

reasons for kiokushin division into several Federations, who claim distinctively to be

the Spirit of Kiokushin' s keepers.

Three years ago, I was lucky to give lodgement to a Japanese Sensei (Sensei

Kojima, creator of Ten Ryu stile, or “The School of the snake”) at home, who had

been invited to the Dojo I trainned in, and he taught me the fine and letal sense of

those “traditional” techniques.

A central term in Kyokushin and generally in Karate is Dojo: on the one hand,

it' s refered to the pshysical space for practising and, on the other hand, to the

community of practisers and, finally, to the sintesis between both. Meanwhile, Kata is

the total code which contents all the martial art inside. Practising this code allows

the karateka to learn and to cultivate feet position, rithm, concentration, equilibrium,

breathing and focusing energy and body towards one point.

Otoshibaraku literally means “conscienceless” and refers to a state of combat in

which total intensity blocks reflexivity and karateka fights and moves just by spirit. Kiai

is a shout to act and focus Ki (the lively energy, from Chinese Chi). There is a

physical reason for it: the less dispersed is energy, the highest the pressure. Sempai is a

black belt karateka under third degree, who is not Sensei yet but is already a model

and a teacher for Dojo. “Kohai” means “comrade” in the deep and primary sense of

simpathy, sharing the same aims, equality.

Spirit is a clue-concept in Kyokushinkai. According to me, Spirit is the Force

which moves, manages and push one' s strength, so that a weaker karateka can hit

stronger than a stronger karateka, because his Spirit is greater or has been greater in

some moment. One of the most “famous” Oyama' s sentences is “When you absolutely

feel that you can' t make one step else, just make it then”.

Humility has nothing to do with self-hidding or self non-importance, but with

being honest enough to show yourself and whatever you are so that other pupils could

improve. For instance, it' s not humility to be conservative during combat because you

guess that if the opponent thinks you can' t fight, he is going to be soft with you. That' s

fright making itself up behind false “humility”.

And, last but not least, Osh is an exclamation which means “to push”, “to be

able to”, “to resist under pression”, “to carry on”, “perseverance”, etc. We use it when

we come in or we go out from Tatami, when Sensei talks to us or when we salute a

lesson from a partner or a Dojo practice experience which we take the substance from.

Some karatekas claim “¡osh!” whenever and whatever situation inside Dojo,

understanding the term as a word which condenses the Spirit of Kiokushin and helps it

to manifest.

It' s important to underline that Dojo practice (Do, or “Path”) is a non-

stopping dialectics between three elements: the martial art objectively codified, the

karateka as individual and the Dojo itself.

Oneself starts learning the common base and, the more oneself learns, the more

oneself is near to begin to express his or her personal print. It' s the same as in dancing

or in music, where firstly you must learn a language or a basic pattern so that you could

express yourself through it. The more developed is expression of individual spirit, the

more it builds common Dojo spirit giving influence to one' s partners throught a bunch

of shared exercises. This dinamicly built “Dojo' s personality” returns to the

individual and determinates him or her, and ever again.

This sort of relationship breaks the instrumental perspective focused on the frontier

between subject and external object for the subject, because oneself is the object being

produced by Dojo and arriving to be completely himself or herself only when he or she

is able to fight in total emptyness and forgeting every lesson, just letting the Dojo act

through himself or herself.

I will end my exposition showing you the ordered meaning in coloured belts,

which is a metaphore of Do. It' s said that peasants had only tones between white and

black. Belt and kimono were turning darker and darker with time and experience.

Nevertheless, belt-coloured systems started to be developed since Dojo started to be

created:

White is innocence, unknowledge and not being determinated, because white can

turn to anything.

Orange is sun-rising: karateka is awaking.

 Blue is the sea, wideness, a great journey which has just begun. In this point, there

are not frontiers or borders for the karateka, because he is trying everything. He doesn' t

care about Sempai giving directions to him. He knows a bit but he wants to taste by

himself how goes all.

Yellow is shinning, bright, technical accurance. Karateka has taken the fruit of his

journey across the sea of wideness, freedom and passion. You are still not able to

execute a whole comprehension of the art, but, the techniques you manage, you domain

them.

Green is faith. Becoming Master was an idea until now, but now it has become an

horizon and a sight.

Brown is land, realism, stability, being firmly attached to the solid land of own

knowledge and sight. Karateka has got full security about his aim of turning Master,

because he valorates its sense and value. Meanwhile, he is modest, realistic, non falsely

proud, because he has learnt enough to understand that there is still much more to learn

and to walk (conscience about Do). The more the karateka domain, the more he realizes

he knows still little.

Black is knowledge and Mastery. Since this level, degrees are named Kyu no more,

but Dan. Every Dan is expressed as a golden lined mark on the black belt. Since third

Dan karateka is Sensei. Since Seventh Dan karateka is Shihan. Sosai is an even higher

consideration. Do has no end and neither has number of Dan, which are infinite.
 For some Schools of Japanese traditional Jou-Jitsu, progression is cyclic and

ascendent, so there is red coloured belt after black belt and one “returns” to white belt

but on a higher stair, and so on. This shows how Master has a total lack of knowledge in

some dimension and opposes the truth of relativity -and consequently humility- to self-

importance.