In 1921, the master from Okinawa, Gitin Funakoshi, began to widely acquaint the Japanese with the martial art of karate. In this he was the very first because he was at the forefront of creating the most common style - shotokan Many consider him the founder of karate in Japan.
Significant was the date of birth.Gitin Funakoshi was born in the first year of the Enlightenment, this was the name of the Meiji era, that is, in 1868, on 10 November. It happened in the city of the kings of Shuri. His district, Yamakawa-Shô, is located west of the town’s castle. There were few people living there, as usual in the prizamkovy settlements.
A family
Gitin Funakoshi was born into a family thatbelonged to the Sidzoku estate, that is, in the noble one. Knowledge of martial arts was passed down from generation to generation, all his male relatives certainly paid tribute to this tradition. Tominokosi Gisu - father, whom Gitin Funakosi exclusively loved and revered, as well as his uncle - also Gitin - were considered real masters of the bodjutsu style.
His books are filled with memories of his father, where he wrote that his father was tall and handsome, danced and sang beautifully, but most importantly - he was a bogjutsu master.But even more extensively in the book "Karate-do: My Way of Life" Gitin Funakoshi recalls his grandfather, a very educated man who knew Japanese and Chinese literature, was called a master of calligraphy and versification, was an adherent of the teachings of Confucius.
Childhood
Githin Funakoshi’s good health was no different.in childhood or in adolescence. All his peers were fond of Okinawan wrestling, and the future founder of karate did not want to lag behind them, but lagged behind. Physically, he was weak, because he often lost and was very upset, which is also written in the book "Karate-do: My Way of Life". Gitin Funakoshi very much wanted to defeat this weakness: he constantly treated with herbs, and the doctor advised tote to improve his health (namely, from this type of martial arts, karate subsequently grew).
A lucky chance brought him to the father of one ofclassmates, who was a master tote. Gitin Funakoshi was already almost an adult - he was fifteen when he came to the first lesson with Adzato, practically the most famous master of shorin-ryu. It was a popular style, followed by a serei-ryu. The teacher was pleased with the boy’s success, and, most importantly, his health was really straightened.
After years
Funakoshi Gitin karate never stopped practicingnever. In 1916, when he was already a master, he admired the audience to such an extent that his fame spread throughout Japan. Until that time, this tote was not officially shown at any All-Japanese martial arts festival. And an invitation was received from Dai-Nippon-Butokukai, there is such a society of Japanese military prowess, and everyone at the festival at the school of professional martial arts (Bu-Jutsu-Sanmon-Gako) understood that karate (tote) -great art and githin funakoshi - master no less great.
In 1918, an association already existed in Japan.studying tote in Okinawa, where such magnificent masters as Motobu Choki, Mabuni Kenwa, Simpan Sirom, Kiyan Tetoku united for the exchange of experience and joint practices. And in 1921, Gitin Funakoshi introduced many new events into his biography, which were entirely related to the spread of karate. He stopped working at the school as a teacher, but founded a society of assistance in Okinawa for students. At the same time and there he organized the Association of the spirit of martial arts. Of the masters, the famous Ishikawa Khoroku, Tokumura Saitё, Osiro Tyёdo, Tokuda Ambun, and Choshin Tibana entered.
Name
In 1936, the first own dojo was built.for karate classes in Tokyo. The books of Gitin Funakoshi convey many details of this place for meditations, the object of which was the martial art. Then the famous master was replaced even the name of karate in writing (it sounded the same). The former hieroglyph meant the Chinese hand (or the hand of the Tang dynasty), and now the word "karate" was translated as "empty hand". During his studies, Gitin Funakosi paid special attention to ritual, following the rules and observing the norms. With this, it has always been very, very strict.
When Chinese terms were replaced with Japanese,the fact that karate is rooted in China, almost completely ceased to recall. Apparently, they wanted to add this martial art to the traditional budo in Japan, where the national spirit is strongest, since it is based on the traditions of samurai culture. The name of karate acquired the prefix before, which meant "the way of karate". All this is described in the most detailed way in the biographical book "Karate-do: My Way of Life" by Funakoshi Gitin (Sometimes the name is translated and so on). The new name even to the uninitiated says that karate-do is not only a fight, it is primarily a system of spiritual and physical education.
Style
When World War II ended, onlearning from the master Funakosi were mostly students. He continued the formalization of his own style of karate. This style was called shotokan, which can be translated as “the wind among the pines”, and the name was consonant with the literary pseudonym of the writer Gitin Funakoshi. And only in 1955, the Karate Association of Japan (JKA) was finally formed, where the creator of the new style was formally an instructor. However, Gitin Funakoshi was disappointed in this organization, because he did not like the transformation of the complete philosophy of style into a purely sporting martial art.
Естественно, Ассоциация развивалась, и более All this contributed to one of the sons of Gitin Funakoshi Yoshitaka. He put a lot of effort into modernizing karate. It was thanks to him that beautiful kicks appeared above the belt. Karate became more and more spectacular style, and its focus was mainly sports.
And the creator of karate remained in Tokyo. This city and became for him a place of death. Gitin Funakoshi died in the Arpele in 1957, when he was almost ninety years old.
Last years
About karate Gitin Funakoshi wrote about a dozen goodthick books. One of them is autobiographical ("Karate-do Nyumon", if in Russian voice acting). For the last one or two decades, the master founder of the Shotokan school, although he was too old to conduct trainings on his own, was present almost every day, carefully watching his pupils explain this technique to their students.
He always came in ceremonial dress and calmlySat aside, almost never interfering with the process. After training, sometimes talked with students and from time to time lectured. He gave the school in good hands: his third son, the most talented Funakoshi Gigo (Yoshitaka), became the main instructor in this dojo. And it was from him that the Shotokan karate lessons were a legend of this genre Masutatsu Oyama, who shared these memories in his book.
Oyama
He and Gigo Funakoshi had a lot in common, likewrites Oyama. And the constitution, which allowed to carry out interesting sparring on an equal footing, and worldview. They agreed closely, often for a long time talking about the martial arts. From his own book, we also know about the death of the Shotokan dojo: there was a powerful bombardment in March 1945 and a direct hit happened. Then Oyama visited the sick Gigo, arriving from the airbase where he served, extremely pleasing with these visits the son of Gitin Funakoshi.
The most interesting thing is that no matter how many years Gygo is full, for students and pupils he always remained a young master, since the shotokan founder was still alive - his father.Young was really a genius in the martial arts. It would seem that dense, stocky healthy, but how flexible, how soft and fast, like lightning. It was impossible to keep track of his blows. Especially good were yoko-geri - kicks.
Innovations
Уже в тридцатых годах Гиго удалось значительно improve the style of karate, which was offered by his father Gitin Funakoshi. Short and high racks of dzenkutsu-dati used by his father, he changed to long and low ones for which he needed special strength of legs. His students were much more enduring, and the overall level of physical fitness was much higher.
Condition and physical stamina was giventhe value is increasing. In addition to the basic elements of training (kata), the basic technique was worked out with all the intensity, and even more time was allotted for the kote-kita exercises. - hand stuffing when one partner was workingblows, and the other - hard blocks. This was done so fiercely that the pupils' buzzing hands after class were first cooled in a fire tank, where there was always ice cold water, and only after that could they go home.
New arsenal
There were not only new racks.In the arsenal, the Shotokan-ryu were now in the range of kicks, which were completely absent from the initial Okinawan karate version. It was the third son of Gitin Funakoshi who developed the mawashi-geri technique, when a circular blow is performed, ura-mavashi-geri - reverse same blow, yoko-geri-keage - a biting side impact in which only the edge of the foot is involved. There was a rule of reversal sideways to the enemy, when strikes and blocks are carried out with their hands.
Changes have also occurred in Kata, one might sayhuge. They were strikingly different from all variants of the Okinawan school, and from the rest of the schools of Japanese karate. Gitin Funakoshi, being already an old man, sometimes carried out old versions of kata, moving slowly, even majestically. His son was sure that such training does not have practical feasibility, and it is simply impossible to perform it like Gitin Funakoshi. He said this, of course, only to his students, revealing in detail the reasons for such an assertion. Yoshitaka could not offend his old and beloved father.
Sparring
Already in 1933, the methods of kihon ippon kumite were used in training. - fight with one attack, followed sc ippon kumite - the same, but with movements (and Gigo most of allloved exactly this kind of sparring). When Gitin Funakoshi saw how good the innovations were, he developed the Heavenly Kata (ten no kata), it is two-part: individual and with a partner. By 1935, the development of methods of training sparring was completed.
In 1936, the first textbook on karate-do came out,who wrote Gitin Funakoshi. It was presented and innovations, and all modifications. This textbook has become the declaration of the birth of modern Japanese karate.
Father and son
The very essence of karate-do and the views on it wereformed by father and son Funakoshi. Moreover, the father claimed that there were no karate schools in Japan, and therefore even the name of the style was not official. And the son was a real reformer, it was he who introduced into the style almost all the most colorful elements.
Gitin Funakoshi far survived a son who died in1945 from the disease. Dojo bombed son died. Few students returned from the war, and even fewer were those who were able to return to karate classes. And yet it was revived! Moreover, it is today one of the most popular types of martial arts.
