shortly after World War II that karate became popular in the U.S. when Masutatsu Oyama gave a series of impressive demonstrations, fought against professional wrestlers and boxers, and confronted bulls with his bare hands.
In 1963 Shihan Masayuki Hisataka introduced Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo to the United States where he began to teach and demonstrate. In 1964, he officially represented Japan at the New York World's Fair, the first official presentation of karatedo at a world event. He again was asked to represent his country at Expo' 67 in Montreal, Canada, following which he instructed there for several years, thus introducing Kenkokan Karatedo throughout North America.
In ways such as these, karatedo soon spread throughout the world and is now practiced in almost every country.
5. Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo
Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo was founded by Shinan Kori Hisataka soon after World War II. Born in Shuri (in Naha City, Okinawa) on April 22, 1907, he is a descendant of Kyowa, the 56th Emperor of Japan. Shinan Kori Hisataka studied Okinawan karate including studying with Master Chojun Kyamu, and then returned to Kyushu Island, where he had spent his infant years, in order to study jujitsu. He then entered the army where he learned soldiery, bayonet handling, and was exposed to true fighting. He continued his training in the martial arts but could not satisfy himself with the dojo practice and was always looking for an opportunity to increase and test his knowledge with other Masters. In 1929 he toured Taiwan for almost a year with master Chojun Kyamu, never losing a fight to the local kempo practitioners. He returned to Japan where he sudied judo at the Kodokan with Master Sanpo Toku, attaining the rank of fourth dan in only one year. . . a truly remarkable achievement. He also studied kendo and traveled throughout Japan competing in every police department against local fighters without losing a single encounter. In one of his many demonstrations, he was challenged by a swordsman, in a test of strength. He defeated him by breaking a hardwood board that even the sword could not cut.
As a result, a duel between he and the swordsman evolved. He, weaponless, defeated the swordsman. Continuing his search for other martial arts, he returned to China to master Shorinjiryu kempo.
During World War II he worked as a Station Master in Manchuria, at the same time teaching karate. At the end of the war, when the Japanese were evacuating Manchuria under pressure from the Allied Forces, he saved the lives of countless civilians working in one of the two stations he was supervising. These station employees had been bombed and were in shock. A suspension bridge was thrown over a deep precipice but no one dared to venture on to it. Shinan Kori Hisataka helped them cross the bridge one by one, carrying some who had become almost hysterical with fear, after having knocked them down. He credited this act of composure and bravery to his years of training in karate which had given him complete control of himself, allowing him to keep this placid state of mind called "heijoshin" when others were overcome by fear and hysteria. This event was of immeasurable importance in displaying to him the virtues of karate. So much so that upon his return, to find his country demoralized and disheartened by the aftermath of war where people living in poor conditions of health and without food, he undertook to help them rebuild their lives and a better society.
With the systematic and scientific method of karatedo he had developed over the years, and by the disciplining of mind and body, he assumed this undertaking. He founded the Kenkokan School of Karatedo in Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu, naming his art Shorinjiryu Kenkokan Karatedo after his two main sources of inspiration: Shorinryu karate, and Shorinjiryu kempo, placing the suffix “do” on karate to emphasize that it is a "way" of reaching the highest mental state.
In addition to this greater emphasis on the spiritual development of the individual, Shinan Kori Hisataka has introduced into karatedo a number of other innovations:
a) In basic techniques, he has placed a greater emphasis on the use of the feet, and in particular the heel, which is more solid than the toes. The whole body is put into action when executing a technique in a follow-through fashion.
b) This also led to the use of the vertical fist (tate ken) which is stronger, natural and also safer for the wrist.
c) Also, stress is placed on the practice of yakusoku kumite, where two or more karatedo practitioners execute a sequence of prearranged offensive and defensive techniques. This type of kumite is one of the best forms of training in karatedo, as it teaches the most effective techniques of attack and defense against actual opponents.
d) The use of protective equipment (bogu) which allows karatedo students to really test their techniques in a safe way and without having to hold back their blows.
e) The practice of weapons (buki-ho) is an integral part of Kenkokan Karatedo, along with karate-ho, the art of empty-hand fighting. These two facets are inseparable in Kenkokan Karatedo, weapons being an extension of the arm and their practice having the same virtues as the empty-hand practice, as well as helping to "bring to life" the karate techniques by displaying the actual clear-cut degree to which the limbs are true weapons.
All these points will be treated in more detail in subsequent chapters.
6. Prelude of Karatedo Training
a. Place of Practice and Equipment
The dojo is the place of practice for karatedo. Dojo literally means “training" or "learning" place, (jo) means place, (do) the way. Its name comes from Buddhism where it designated a place of worship. Later it came to denote a place for the practice of martial arts. It is not necessarily a closed practice hall or gymnasium but any area where one trains one's mind and body in the way of karate. As such a dojo should be respected almost as a temple, and one should always observe a correct attitude and act with proper decorum. Anything which disturbs the concentration of karatedo should be avoided. Smoking should be prohibited and spectators should observe the silence. An atmosphere of mutual respect and of mutual aid between the students, who are in fact helping each other develop themselves, should reign in a dojo.
The front wall of the dojo, called shomen, is the place of honor. In most dojos there is a picture of the founder of the school hanging on the wall. In Japan, where Shintoism is the main religion, the shomen is a kind of altar called a Shinzen “the place of god." The instructors sit on the shomen's left side, joseki, while the students sit on the opposite side in descending order of rank from the shomen.
The karatedogi is the training outfit for karatedo; it consists of a jacket (uwagi) and trousers (zubon) made of white canvas and a belt (obi), the color of which indicates the rank of the student. The lower ten ranks (kyu) of non-black-belt holders (mudansha) are divided into the following belt colors: white, ranks 10 and 9; yellow, 8 and 7; orange, 6 and 5; green, 4 and 3; and brown, 2 and 1. The upper ten ranks (dan) of black-belt holders (yudansha) all wear the black belt for ranks (dan) 10 to 1; though on special occasions, ranks 6,7, and 8 wear a ceremonial red belt with white stripes, and ranks 9 and 10 wear a red belt, symbolizing their respective levels of achievement. Junior students (under age 14) are ranked in the same way but half of their belt remains white while the other half indicates their rank; on becoming seniors, they are reclassified.
On special occasions, advanced instructors may also wear the hakama’ the black pleated traditional trousers worn by the samurai of old. The hakama is worn over the trousers of the karatedogi with the obi on top.
The karatedogi was originally the underwear worn by monks. Its white color was a symbol of purity. The belt ranking system has been derived from the monks' ranking system according to the surplice (kesa) worn around their necks.
How to wear the karatedogi
The karatedogi must be large enough to allow complete freedom of movement. The jacket must completely cover the hips and its sleeves must cover more than half of the forearms. The trousers must be long enough to
