Karate-Do: My Way of Life – Empty Hand

Karate was originally written using the Chinese characters for “China” (literally “Tang dynasty” which came to mean “China”) and “hand”. Gichin Funakoshi writes in his autobiography that the “China hand” version was used most often when he studied karate in Okinawa. Occasionally, however, karate was written using the Chinese character for “empty”; both characters are pronounced “kara”.

After Master Funakoshi began teaching karate in Tokyo he was an active advocate for using the “empty hand” version of kara-te. Funakoshi’s opinion was that “empty hand” better described the martial art in a number of ways.

First, “China hand” was inappropriate because, over many decades, Okinawan Karate-Do evolved away from Chinese Kempo. The differences are enough that, watching a sparring match between a Karate-ka and a Kempo practitioner, a casual observer would easily see that the combatants trained in different martial arts.

Second, although Karate-Do teaches the use of certain old Okinawan farm implements as weapons, Karate-Do is primarily about unarmed combat with “empty hands”.

Third, Funakoshi insists that karate students, “… aim not only toward perfecting their chosen art but also toward emptying heart and mind of all earthly desire and vanity.”

Fourth, there is yet another Chinese character pronounced “kara”. This third “kara” means “void” and is commonly found in Buddhist writings in phrases such as “matter is void”. Funakoshi writes, “Believing with the Buddhists that it is emptiness, the void, that lies at the heart of all matter and indeed of all creation, I have steadfastly persisted in the use of that particular character in my naming of the martial art to which I have given my life.”

And so, “China hand” karate became “empty hand” karate. By the time World War II ended and Americans began to study Karate-Do the “empty hand” version was widely accepted - except perhaps in Korea.

The first martial art I studied was Tang Soo Do, a Korean style of karate. “Tang Soo Do translates as “the way of the China hand” whereas “Karate-Do” written using the Chinese character for “China” translates as “the way of the China hand”. Many Tang Soo Do “pumse” (forms or “kata” in Japanese) share the same names as forms mentioned by Funakoshi, i.e. Pinan, Naifanchi, Chinto, & Bassai. This, of course, leads one to conclude that the two styles share a common Okinawan origin, despite the 2,000 year history claimed for Tang Soo Do.

Link to the Special Report: "Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi"

Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi

Gichin Funakoshi was the Okinawan Karate Master largely responsible for popularizing karate throughout mainland Japan. In his autobiography, "Karate-Do: My Way of Life", Master Funakoshi shares with us not only his life story, but insights into his understanding of the martial arts. In this series I've attempted to summarize and compartmentalize those things I've personally learned from reading his book. I recommend that you too read the original.

Links to Other Posts in the Special Report: Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi:

Karate-Do: My Way of Life - By Gichin Funakoshi
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Origins of Karate
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Empty Hand
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Visualization
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Rules
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Gratitude
Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Humility

Karate-Do: My Way of Life – Origins of Karate

There are many stories and myths describing the origins of martial arts including Okinawan karate. It’s a testament to the character of Gichin Funakoshi (1868 to 1957) that he doesn’t perpetuate any of the myths.


Master Funakoshi begins his discussion of the origins of Okinawan karate with these words,

“Inasmuch as there is virtually no written material on the early history, we do not know who invented and developed it, nor even, for that matter, where it originated and evolved. Its earliest history may only be inferred from ancient legends that have been handed down to us by word of mouth, and they, like most legends, tend to be imaginative and probably inaccurate.”

Funakoshi conjectures that karate was introduced through trade contacts with China. As late as the 1920’s the characters used to represent kara-te in Japanese were the characters for “China” (pronounced “kara”) and the character for “hand” (pronounced “te”). In later years people began to use the Japanese character meaning “empty” (also pronounced “kara”). Funakoshi witnessed this transition in his lifetime. He notes that for many years both versions of the word, “China hand” and “empty hand” were used; sometimes by the same people.

Another certainty about the origins of Okinawan karate is that the people were ordered disarmed by their government. Apparently, this order was first issued by the local Okinawan government before the island was incorporated into the Empire of Japan. So karate developed as the people’s primary method of self-defense.

Later the Japanese government outlawed the teaching of karate and the art moved underground – being taught discretely, mostly at night. Again, Gichin Funakoshi experienced this first hand. Teaching Karate was still illegal when Funakoshi started training as a child. The proscription was lifted when he was a young man.

It seems that although karate was illegal in Okinawa for many decades, it was a commonly ignored law; kind of like speed limit laws – many people violated the law and even the authorities turned a blind eye to the practice of karate as long as the training was not blatant.

In any event, by the time Gichin Funakoshi was a young man the law was revoked. Karate was practiced openly and demonstrations were soon organized for Japanese Naval officers.

Master Funakoshi tells us what he knows about the origins of karate and he tells us what he conjectures about it. He is, being a man of integrity, also careful to tell us the difference between what he knows and what he conjectures.

Link to the Special Report: "Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi"

Karate-Do: My Way of Life – by Gichin Funakoshi

Gichin Funakoshi is the founder of Shotokan Karate, although he would be disappointed to hear that. He opposed the notion of different styles of karate preferring one unified - but open to change - Karate-Do.



“Karate-Do: My Way of Life” is Gichin Funakoshi’s (1868 to 1957) autobiography written in the last years of his life.

Studying karate, raising a family, and making a living as a school teacher dominated the first half, the Okinawa half, of Master Funakoshi’s life.

Then, he found his purpose – to introduce and popularize karate throughout Japan. He moved to Tokyo, where he struggled for many years; keeping faith with his purpose. Finally, he succeeded in establishing Karate-Do as an accepted part of Japan’s martial arts tradition

In his autobiography, Gichin Funakoshi narrates a number of his formative events illustrating the spirit of karate-do as he understands it. He uses the narrations to instruct the reader in these principles.

Subsequent posts will present Master Funakoshi’s narratives and their verbal illustrations of the spirit of Karate-Do.

Link to the Special Report: "Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi"

A Different Christmas Poem

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear..
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,
"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.
I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall.."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.

To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.

Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."
******************************

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq