Karate is a generic term encompassing the striking, as opposed to grappling, martial arts styles that have evolved in Japan following the introduction of Okinawan karate to mainland Japan in 1916 (though 1922 is generally acknowledged as the year when its popularity began). Itosu, pictured, was the master of masters. His students included Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni and Choki Motobu. Itosu, as a guide to training, introduced ten principles of Okinawan karate. If Funakoshi was the father of Shotokan karate, Itosu was the grandfather. The first of Itosu’s principles spoke to the application of karate: Karate is not merely practised 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 a fight should one be confronted by a villain or ruffian. In keeping with these principles: “Master Itosu never once found reason to fight another person. He was a man of great dignity who deeply respected humanity.”—Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997)

Itosu was a learned man. In his principles he makes reference, though slightly misquoting, to Wellington when he says (second principle), tomorrow’s victory will come from today’s playground. That the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eaton is the quotation most often attributed to Wellington. Itosu also appears to borrow from Shakespeare’s Henry the Fifth in his eighth principle when he enjoins karateka to make the eyes glare, drop the shoulders and harden the body...always to practice with a battlefield spirit. On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt (before the walls of the city of Harfleur), Henry the Fifth galvanised his troops with stirring encouragement: stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood...lend the eyes a terrible aspect.

Funakoshi extended and augmented these ten principle with his twenty precepts. Most familiar of these precepts, as related to Itosu’s first principle, is the notion of no first strike; in fact, supporting this, all kata begin with a purportedly, defensive technique. In Karate-Do Kyohan, Funakoshi says that “It has long been said that there is no first hand (sente) in Karate, and whether performing kata or kumite, the front fist is used for defense and the fist held to the back is used for offense.” The translator explains the meaning of sente as there being no advantage to the one who makes the first attack. This translation belies today’s understanding of why all kata begin with a defensive technique (no first attack); rather, the implication should be that self or family preservation is first, whatever form this takes. This, too, is different from the significant disadvantage of actually receiving the first blow. To pre-empt the first blow, Funakoshi goes on to say, when there are no avenues of escape, “...do not show any intention of attacking, but first let the attacker become careless. At that time attack him, concentrating one’s whole strength in one blow to a vital point, and in the moment of surprise, escape and seek shelter or help.”. Itosu and Funakoshi, then, speak to “avoidance of an encounter before its occurrence” but this should not be interpreted as waiting for a blow to be delivered when an attack is imminent before acting in one’s self defense; to the contrary, when there is no alternative, exploit or create a momentary weakness in one’s attacker, strike and escape.

Given these sublime precepts in the face of mortal peril one might expect their virtues and the training methods to attain them to be unequivocal. There is some suggestion (Hidden Karate, Gennosuke Higaki), however, that certain techniques, particularly in the kata, were deliberately obfuscated, reducing their usefulness, perhaps not from a physical or even mental conditioning perspective but from an application’s perspective. What came to be taught was largely a result of Funakoshi’s son, Yoshitaka’s innovative approach to one-on-one, freestyle sparring (jyu kumite) where the awe of head-high kicks and the effectiveness of explosive, linear attacks tended to prevail in competitions. The appeal of such displays, especially to those of an age whom Shakespeare described in his ages of man as jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, seeking the bubble reputation even in the cannon's mouth, meant basic instruction leaned towards these sparring techniques to the detriment of the more prosaic aspects of practical self-defense intrinsic to kata. That such instruction lacked the comprehensiveness designed in the kata did not deter the growth of karate; rather, in keeping with the contemporary, militaristic fervor of the generation to which it was targeted (1930’s), popularized it. Absent, or perhaps more accurately, neglected in what was taught—and perhaps in keeping with the times—was the more abstract spirit of conflict avoidance inherent in Itosu’s and Funakoshi’s teachings.

The martial arts have had and continue to have an air of mystery. But, as with any skill, there are four, progressive stages towards mastery: unconscious incompetence (I don’t know that I can’t do this), conscious incompetence (I know that I can’t do this), conscious competence (I can do this if I think about it), unconscious competence (I don’t have to think to do this).

Established karate instruction comprises three elements: KIHON or basic techniques, which could be equated to conscious incompetence (the first stage is the holistic appreciation of the skill or unconscious incompetence); KATA, a pre-set combination of basic techniques associated with specific applications known as bunkai, which could be equated to conscious competence; and KUMITE, sparring, from one-step to freestyle, which falls into the last stage of learning, unconscious competence. This latter element, as contemporarily taught, is a twentieth century innovation, which, in its freestyle form bears little resemblance to the multiplicity of techniques learned in kihon or kata. It is a rule-based, competitive endeavor the outcome of which is determined by the speed at which a fist or foot makes contact with the opponent; fastest wins.

Traditional—in the sense of what has been handed down since the second world war—bunkai for kata stretch credulity in their purported application. They are often ambiguous and open to skepticism and interpretation, so diminishing the essential value of the kata, certainly to questioning, Western eyes, which may explain the relegation of the importance of kata in competition-oriented training. Kata, too, is often described as a series of moves against imaginary opponents—an admirable, if fanciful, aspiration; further, the associated bunkai, again as traditionally handed down, often illustrates defenses against simultaneous attackers, as in manji uke. The practicality of using such defenses is likely apocryphal. More probable, the kata have become so stylized through flourishes and embellishment that their meaning, reaching deeper into the arcana, necessitates equally esoteric rationalization to explain the purpose of certain techniques, the original form having been obfuscated. More reasonable, the techniques in kata are simply mnemonics, memory aids for handling generic situations--generic because every confrontation has unique aspects.

Dutifully dogmatic, the JKA has promulgated Shotokan style karate since its inception in 1949. Stepping outside the dogma, some researchers have investigated the origins of karate and the conventional bunkai interpretations of the kata, the fundamental training tool. With the necessary flexibility of interpretation, since each situation is unique, the essence of modern research on bunkai show it is as readily applicable to Shotokan kata as it is to Wado kata or to any style of karate kata; it is the common denominator integrating all karate styles. It is increasingly known as practical karate.