Karate news
The Peace Way Style Of The Empty Hand Way
28/10/2006
Master Ohtsuka was born in Shimodate, Ibaragi prefecture, on the first of June 1892, and died on January 29th, 1982. Master Hironori Ohtsuka, the founder and creator of the world famous Wado-Ryu system of karate-do, passed on to the spiritworld. We as practitioners of Wado-ryu however have not lost him. Practitioners of the art should think that he lives on through every technique that is correctly executed in every dojo throughout the world. His amalgamation of jujitsu, kempo and the Funakoshi brand of karate-do is still studied by thousands of karateka, like you, every day; and therefore, in a sense, the world will never lose Hironori Ohtsuka while Wado lives.
From a samurai family Master Ohtsuka began training at the early age of six years, Ohtsuka began his study of jujitsu under the guidance of his father. By 13, he entered the Shinto-Yoshin Ryu, (school of jujitsu), where he studied under an instructor named Nakayama. The jujitsu school of Shinto-yoshin was unusual in that, whereas most jujitsu schools stress throwing and ground techniques, the system Ohtsuka studied stressed kicking and striking.
At the age of 19, Ohtsuka entered Waseda University. While continuing his study of jujitsu, he began also to study an art altogether new to him: kempo. Unfortunately, he never was able to complete his university studies, however. His father's death forced him to drop out in his second year and begin work at a bank in Shimodate. At the age of 29, Ohtsuka was to achieve something that most martial artists wouldn't dream of before the age of 50, 60 or even 70. He received a certificate of "full proficiency" from the nationally known Shinazburo Nakayama. He then was to take over the entire Shinto-Yoshin-ryu school of jujitsu. Little did this young instructor know, that only a year later he was to meet a man who would change the direction of his life.
He read an article in a newspaper about the Crown Prince Hirohito's visit to Okinawa. The article said that while there, Prince Hirohito was entertained
by a dancing performance and a demonstration of "karate," at that time a fairly unknown, local, Okinawan martial art. The news article also
mentioned that a certain Gichin Funakoshi had arrived from Okinawa and that a demonstration of the art of karate was planned at a public hall in Tokyo.
Hironori Ohtsuka wanted to see for himself what this Okinawan and the art of karate had to offer. Fortunately for the world of the martial arts,
Funakoshi welcomed Ohtsuka with open arms; and from this first introduction to karate, ideas began to evolve in Ohtsuka’s mind about adapting his
jujitsu and kempo techniques to the Okinawan art of karate.
So in July 1922 Master Ohtsuka began to study Okinawan Karate, then, after twelve years, in 1934, he founded Wado-Ryu Karate Jutsu and also Wado-Ryu Karate Jujitsu Kenpo. At this time his aim was to blend Okinawan Karate and, what was considered traditional Jujitsu with some of his own ideas. (In 1940, when Budo-Kai requested a name for each style and school, it was officially named the Wado-kai and later Wado-ryu.)
In those days weaponless Japanese martial arts seemed to be more physical than philosophical, and it must have seemed strange to bring such ideals as peace and harmony to the forefront. However, these were the new principles of Master Ohtsuka's teaching, and when peace and harmony were incorporated into the physical aspects of his teaching, a truly new style of karate was born.
Little by little Funakoshi began to depend more on Ohtsuka for the organisation of meetings and special events. Karate in Japan grew bigger and
jujitsu began to lose popularity, due partly to the new karate and the newly developed judo. Ohtsuka accordingly began to concentrate more of his
own energies on karate. In an old interview Ohtsuka said that "nearly half of Funakoshi's instruction periods were given over to lectures." He
especially emphasized that "Karate begins with courtesy" --- a principle Funakoshi and Ohtsuka both preached and practiced.
Ohtsuka finally became acting master at Meishojuku when it became too much for Funakoshi alone to handle. Because the students sometimes got bored
with studying nothing but kata all of the time he began putting more emphasis on kumite. Ohtsuka taught a type of kumite based on ippon (one
step) and sanbon (three step) sparring. Ohtsuka also embarked on a venture that would later affect karateka of almost every style. He began
the study of jui-kumite for competitive purposes. This was to lay the foundation for today's free-style karate tournaments. Actually by modern standards it was almost like kata --- with one man applying the technique and the other receiving the technique. Gradually Ohtsuka began to open karate clubs of his own at various universities and colleges. He then was not only to teach and spread the word and soul of karate, he also set up as a medical specialist in the treatment of martial arts injuries and so was able to give up his employment in the bank.
There are many aspects of Wado-Ryu itself that make it a unique and different style, some of which cannot be explained without studying the art
and experiencing it for yourself. The peace aspect of his methods is the most easily understood. For example, peace has always been a stated reason for the existence and practice of martial arts. Ohtsuka, obviously, had a wider vision of what peace should mean. He had a very wide range of objectives connected that could be strived for and thus used for the betterment of people all over the world.
Ohtsuka built his new style around nine kata, five of which are considered as basic. The takedown and throwing techniques of jujitsu play a strong role,
as do kicking, striking, punching and blocking of kempo, jujitsu and Funakoshi's karate. As a lunge punch attempts to attack the midsection of a
Wado-ryu-ka, it tends to be avoided by a swift twist of the body, with apparent ease; if the same punch were also blocked, the blocking hand would
simultaneously be converted to a counterattack. Even the counterattack could be changed back into a block. For most styles this would require the
use of two arms and two hands.
It must be kept in mind that Wado-Ryu does not always block an attack. An attack can be avoided by a side step, with or without a kick. If a kick is
used, not only is there the power of the kick alone, but the power of the adversary's attack runs right into the kick as well. The power is doubled.
The mobility of Wado-ryu can also be demonstrated when the jui-kumite is witnessed. The Wado-ryu-ka can go from low to high or high to low with his
defenses and attacks. Sidestepping is therefore a useful defence, but also in offence. In this unique system, defence and offence are more often than
not, one and the same. If the attack of a Wado-ryu-ka is blocked or obstructed, it can immediately be changed into another attack. At times it seems as though when one attack is blocked, it can spring off the block and be redirected to a different area of the body. Precise timing is another very important feature. As the adversary attacks, the Wado-Ryu practitioner cuts him off at the pass with an attack of his own. With the proper timing, another attack can be ducked or simply sidestepped again. The Wado-ka may also just lean backwards to avoid the technique. He feels that if a punch misses him by an inch, it may as well have been a mile.
During and after World War II, Ohtsuka continued to teach Wado-Ryu. Although the occupational forces insisted that the teaching and practice of all
martial arts must cease, this didn't stop Ohtsuka from spreading karate. Like other schools, including Shotokan, he continued to teach by offering
boxing lessons. Karate, incognito.
In his later years, Master Ohtsuka traveled the globe teaching his art of Wado-Ryu Karate-do which featured very positively these philosophical principles. Peace, as promoted by Ohtsuka, not only referred to the peaceful co-existence between peoples but meant a very personal involvement of individuals. The principle of peace can be seen quite distinctly being applied in the physical aspects of Wado-Ryu and indeed this is what made Wado-Ryu a new and unique style of Karate-do, a style that specialized in body movements designed to avoid attacks.
A peaceful attitude is very much in evidence throughout the Wado system of Karate. This is easily seen in the body movements, which are specifically practiced using the minimum amount of force, and very often none at all.
The harmony aspect of Ohtsuka's teaching was a much more vital ingredient in the development of a true Wado-Ryu Karate-do practitioner. At first it may be difficult to appreciate this aspect. Harmony is a state that embodies all of life, but, this must start within the individual. A state of harmony between an individual's mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects must be achieved, experienced, and then understood. Briefly, this amounts to being at one with yourself and understanding what this means, and also being aware of the great personal benefits that can accompany such a state. To understand this fully we must grasp a most important fact, this is, that the human electromagnetic energy is the vital link between our non-tangible aspects and the physical body. It is this energy that allows a state of personal harmony to be achieved.
When an individual is in a state of mental, emotional, spiritual and physical harmony, the next step can be to harmonize with nature. Linking to the vast store of natural energy gives us a fundamental understanding of life and enables us to use the energy for the benefit of others.
The next step can be to look for oneness with the universe, because all things in the universe consist of energy, but this is a subject for another time. If you have any difficulty in understanding these statements about energy then you must consider molecular structure and realize how energy is molecular resonance. If your question now is, 'What has all this to do with Karate?', I will try to explain. I use the negative word 'try' because many of the very deep personal feelings and experiences that come through hard martial arts training are difficult to explain. However, the best starting point is to make a through analysis of our practice of Mokuso.
Mokuso is a means by which we free are inner-self from our outside distractions and give our inner-self control, so that we control and direct our mental and spiritual energy. It may help to realize that 'total unemotional awareness' is an aspect of Mokuso. This state of inner-self control helps us to acquire the skills of our physical body plus any changes we may wish to make. These skills and changes are acquired gradually, by regular practice of inner-self and physical control, over a period of time.
In order to get the full benefits which are available from the practice of Wado-Ryu> Karate-do a practitioner must, via the practice of Mokuso (including the Total Unemotional Awareness Aspect) be able to understand and achieve a state of meditation. Meditation is a state in which the higher aspects of an individual take over, and communication with the inner-self is the initial objective, with development and change being the desired end result.
However, on the practical side of all this inner-self control work, we need to realize that there are implications as well as benefits attached to our practice of Total Unemotional Awareness. The first implication is a result of total disregard of our physical being during times of combat. If we concentrate on any aspect of our physical self during combat it detracts from our ability to perform physical movements in a natural and fully effective way. The more we concentrate on the preservation of our physical self the less effective we will be.
At the end of the day the physical body can show signs of wear and tear as a result of hard training and combat. It is at these times when the physical body is in need of healing that a state of meditation is ideal for encouraging our natural healing process to work at its most effective level and concentrate fully on the healing required. It is worthy of note that Ohtsuka was well known for his healing ability especially with physical injuries.
To end here on a positive note we must fully appreciate that all the inner-self work that we have considered, in connection with producing good Karate-do and physical healing, can of cause be used to enhance our existing good qualities and aspects of our life.
A lot more can be said about the history, philosophy, peace and harmony but it is hoped that what has been said will highlight the importance of what Wado-Ryu Karate-do can offer the dedicated practitioner.
In the 1960's, Grandmaster Hironori Ohtsuka sent his top student, Master Tatsuo Suzuki to spread Wado-Ryu Karate to Great Britain and Europe.
In 1975, Suzuki Sensei was awarded the highest Japanese martial arts title of Hanshi by the Emperor Higashikuni. Master Suzuki is the only living person with this title in Wado-Ryu. The only other person I know of was the late Master Ohtsuka.
Provided by: www.alphabase.demon.co.uk
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