Shoshin Nagamine (1907–1997)

from dust jacket

Now available for the first time in English, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters, the late Shoshin Nagamine's groundbreaking work, recounts the legacy and life histories of Okinawa's greatest martial artists. In addition to profiles of the legendary tegumi wrestlers, Namine-sensei features many of the world's great karate masters, including the founders of the core styles from which modern karate sprang.

Read about Choken Makabe-the aristocratic, legendary 'giant' whose incredible feats have spurred generations to train with diligence; Kosaku Matsumora-the first great master to emphasize morality above all else; Sokon Matsumura-the consummate sythesizer who combined the native traditions of Okinawa with principles and techniques of Japan's Jigen-ryu and Chinese boxing form Fuzhou; and the great To-Te Sakugawa-who made a mark in weapons and empty hand arts that remains vibrant to this day.

Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters corrects historical inaccuracies surrounding Okinawan martial arts and brings alive the greatest of the great masters. In this seminal work, Nagamine-sensei presents the martial legacy of the Okinawan people and, to complement and emphasize what is of greatest importance in these tales and life histories, concludes with detailed insturctions for the practice of zazen (sitting meditation). Already a classic in the Japanese edition, Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters ins a must-read for all karate and tegumi enthusiasts, practitioners and researchers alike.

Shoshin Nagamine (1907-1997) was a practitioner and master of Okinawan karate-do for more than 70 years and, after years of intense study, the founder of Matsubayashi-Ryu Karate-Do. Nagamine-sensei held the rank of 10th dan black belt and hanshi, the highest title in the art of karate, from the Okinawan Karate-Do Association. For his service in the cause of world peace, he was awarded the Fifth Class Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor of Japan. Nagamne-sensei held black belts in judo, kendo, and sumo. He served ass police chief and as an insturctor of police judo teams, and concluded his career as president of the Okinawan Police Station. He next served as vice-chairman of the Naha City Assembly. After his retirement, he dedicated himself to the teaching and promotion of karate-do as a means to enhance world peace and to his studies in Zen Buddhism. He was a member of the Board of Advisors for the Daihonzan Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, and was the head of Chozen-ji/International Zen Dojo of Okinawa. In addition to this volume, he wrote The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do, published by Tuttle.

Patrick McCarthy is the author of The Bible of Karate: Bubishi, and the two-volume Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts: Kouyu Uchinadi, all published by Tuttle. He lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Contents

Foreword by Funakoshi Gisho
Forword by Kadekawa Junki
Translator's Foreword
Author's Preface
Part one: Biographies of Okinawan Karate Experts
1. Makabe Choken Okina: A Man of Great Strength--The Divine Jumping Techniques of Tobitori; A Heroic Episode; Law and Order in the Castle Town of Old Shuri
2. To-Te Sakugawa Kanga: The General of Great Leaning, Wisdom, and Cokurage--Travel to China, Detention in Beijing; The Progenitor of Shuri-Te
3. Bushi Matsumura Sokon Okina: Shuri's Bujin--A Master of Jigen-Ryu Kenjutsu; The Pen and the Sword; Yielding to the Winds of Adversity
4. Matsumora Kosaku Okina: The Baujin Who Emphasized Morality--Knocking Down a Stalwart With Only a Wet Towel; Becoming an Expert in Bojutsu in Spite of Losing a Finger; Protector of the Neewagumuchi
5. Itosu Anko Okina: A Prominent Model of Chivalry--The Model of Chivalry; Revealing the Truth of Karate-Do; The Ten Lessons of To-Te
6. Higaonna Kanryo Okina: The Iron-Fist Warrior--A determined Decade in China; Naha's Well-Known 'Secret Bushi'; The Restorer of Naha-Te; Higaonna's Advice for Using Supplementary; Equipment in Karate-Do
7. Funakoshi Gichin Sensei: First Propagator of Karate-Do--Refusing to Remove His Topknot; Tokko: The Foundation Upon Which Japanese Karate-Do was built; Spending His Life Propagating Karate-Do; Funakoshi Sensei's Twenty Principles of Karate-Do
8. Kyan Chotoku Sensei: A Tiny Man With a Self-Trained Fightng Spirit--The Lesson of a Strict Father; Karate Enlightenment; The Taiwan Incident; The Motto of Karate-Do; Highlights of Three Classical Kata
9. Motobu Ckhoki Sensei: The Master Fighter--Motobu 'The Monkey'; The Bout Against a Foreigner; The Enormous Power of the Keikoken
10. Arakaki Ankichi: The Young and Multi-Talented Bushi--Toe-Kicker Extraordinaire; A Profound Knowledge of Music, Folk Dance, and Classical Drama; Powerful Enough to Seize the First Bolt of Lightning
Part Two: My Philosophy of Karate-Do
11. The Power of Myth
12. Ken Zen Ichinyo (Karate and Zen are One)--Through True Karate Only, Can Inner Peace Be Found; Musashi and Teshu Both Taught the Significance of Zen; Awakening One's Inner Self Through Zen; Dedicated to Seeking Ken Zen Ichinyo
13. Basic Instruction for Zazen--Placement of Cushion; Positions of the Hands; The Lotus Positions; Stabilizing the Body; Adjusting the Vision; Initial Deep Breathing; Breathing in Meditation
Part Three: Tegumi and Master Grapplers of Okinawa
14. Okinawan Tegumi--Introduction; Tegumi and the Origins of Okinawan Sumo; Gatherings, Venues, and the Sumo Ring; Differences Between Okinawan and Japanese Sumo; Master Directors, Referees, and Announcers of Okinawan Sumo; Principal Techniques of Okinawan Sumo
15. Biographies of Okinawan Tegumi Meijin--Akarie Matsuzo; Hawaii's Kawasaki vs Okinawa's Kinjo: The Confrontation (Kawasaki Kitatsu, Kinjo Masayuki, The Kawasaki and Kinjo Match); Uezu and Ishikawa: A Confrontation of Small wrestlers (Uezu Jiryo, Ishikawa Seijin, The Match); Okinawan Sumo in Postwar Japan (c. 1946-1956); Kushi Jokei: Sumo Critic; Makishiugan: The Big Venue; The future of Okinawan Sumo
Trahslator's Notes
Apendix: Okinwan Karate and World Peace
About the Author… (meer)

'There is no first attack in karate...karate must be a defensive art from beginning to end.'-Shoshin Nagamine

A rich source on the technique and philosophy of traditonal Okinawan karate, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do presents the teachings of legendary karate master Shoshin Nagamine, world famous as the founder of the Matsubayashi school of Shorin-ryu karate-do. First published in 1976, this timeless work has long been a treasured reference source for martial artists around the world.

A systematic treatment of the technical aspects of karate-do using over 1,000 photographs to document eighteen classic karate kata (preset forms) and seven yakusoku kumite (prearranged partner exercises), as well as basic techniques, this book is a precise and easily accessible pictorial guide to performance and perfection of traditional karate. The only book in English with photos of one of the great prewar masters demonstrating the proper execution of Okinawan karate, The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do is a bridge between karate's legendary past and the practitioners of today. This ingenious and imaginative text explains the historic landmarks in the development of the style, vividly outlines its leading forms and techniques, and recalls noted Okinawan karate men of the past, including the author's teachers Ankichi Arakaki, Choki Motobu, and Chotoku Kyan.

Shoshin Nagamine began his sudy of karate in 1924. By his death in late 1997, he had been ranked Judan (10th degree black belt), Hanshi (master instructor) by the All-Okinawan Karate-Do Association, and was recognized worldwide as a major force in bringing karate-do into the light of world respect and admiration. After a career that included service as vice-chairman of the Naha City Assembly and president of the Okinawa Police Station, Nagamine Sensei dedicated himself to teaching karate-do and Zen meditation, and to preserving the traditional arts and culture of the Ryukyus.

Contents

Foreword by Junji Nishime
Foreword by Jugo Toma
Preface
Part One
I A brief history of karate-do
The art of te
Shuri-te and naha-te
Popularization of karate
Post-war revival
The kumite match
Effects of the tournament system
Recommendations for study
II My life with karate
A prescription for health
Devotion renewed
Insights of Arakaki
Inspiration form Kyan
Kumite development under Motobu
III Thoughts on the mastery of karate-do
Precepts in the mastery
The maxims of Matsubayashi-ryu karate-do
Attitudes to be kept for karate training
The ethics of the dojo
Training hints
Part Two
IV Interpretation of the kata of Matsubayashi-ryu karate-do
Basic movements
Kamaekata (ready stances)
1 Soto-hachiji shizentai-dachi (open-leg natural stance)
2 Chokuritsu-fudo-dachi (formal attention stance)
3 Heisoku-dachi (closed-foot stance)
Tachikata (stances)
1 shinzentai-dachi (natural stance)
2 Jun shizentai-dachi (quasi-natural stance)
3 Jigotai-dachi (wide open-leg stance)
4 Naihanchi-dachi (straddle-leg stance)
5 Zenkutsu-dachi (front-leg-bent stance)
6 Naname zenkutsu-dachi (slanted front-leg-bent stance)
7 Kokutsu-dachi (back-leg-bent stance)
8 Kosa-dachi (cross-leg stance)
9 Ippon-ashi-dachi (one-leg stance)
10 Iaigoshi-dachi (kneeling)
Semekata (attacking techniques)
1 Seiken waza (fist technique)
2 Yubi waza (finger technique)
3 Uchi waza (striking technique)
4 Ate waza (smashing technique)
Ukekata (blocking techniques)
1 Seiken-ude-uke (forearm block)
2 Shuto- and haito-uke (knife-hand and reverse knife-hand blocks)
3 Shotei-uke (palm-heel block)
4 Hiji-uke (elbow block)
5 Hangetsu-barai-uke (half-moon foot block)
Kerikata (kicking techniques)
1 Kyobu-geri (chest kick)
2 fukubu-geri (abdomen kick)
3 Kinteki-geri (groin kick)
4 Sokuto-geri (foot-edge kick)
5 Nidan-geri (flying front kick)
Intermediate movements
V Sequential movements of te eighteen kata
1 Fukyugata I
2 Fukyugata II
3 Pinan I (shodan)
4 Pinan II (nidan)
5 Pinan III (sandan)
6 Pinan IV (yondan)
7 Pinan V (godan)
8 Naihanchi I (shodan)
9 Naihanchi II (nidan)
10 Naihanchi III (sandan)
11 Ananku
12 Wankan
13 Rohai
14 Wanshu
15 Passai
16 Gojushiho
17 Chinto
18 Kusanku
VI On kumte (sparring)
Yakusoku Kumite I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
VII Kobujutsu (ancient weapon art)
Bo-jutsu
Nunchaku
Tuifa
Sai-jutsu
Afterword
Glossary-Index… (meer)