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Kushanku
Kwang Shang Fu: Chinese emissary to the Okinawan kingdom in the middle of the 18th century. Phonetic transcription in japanese language: kushanku, kosokun. Aside from his rank of nobility and function as a diplomat, Kwang Shang Fu was a renown martial artist from southern China (Fujian province), and in the context of his missions to the archipelago, he was given the opportunity to share not only cultural, artistic and economic knowledge but also the martial arts side of Chinese expertise. He met several to de masters (precursors of karate); amongst them were Sakugawa Kanga (1730-1815) and Chatan Yara. Both of them learned the teaching of Kwang Shang Fu, but Chatan Yara, given his apprenticeship in China, was more suited to understand the subtleties of the complex techniques, especially regarding the development of internal force. The kata thus evolved along two principal currents, through different masters over the span of more than a hundred and fifty years. Nowadays, the kata Kushanku is practiced by most of the karate ryu (schools), admittedly through several different versions. Anko Itosu developped two variations of this kata, namely Kushanku sho (short, or lesser, form) and shiho Kushanku, while also formalizing the original form as 'Kushanku dai'. The Kokusai Butokukai preserves and teaches four different versions: Kushanku dai and sho from Itosu, Chibana Kushanku ( Chibana Choshin, 1885-1969) and Chatan Yara Kushanku (from the Tomari te lineage). Kushanku is one of the longest, and physically most demanding kata of the art of karate. The numerous and complex techniques constitute a complete fighting system in itself. The tactical principles of body movement only reveal themselves after several years of continuous practice, far beyond the shodan level. Given the physical intensity and length of this advanced kata, the student first learning it quickly realizes the limits of his physical strength, and learns to keep a constant level of intensity throughout its execution. Principles:
The aspiring shodan-ho (preparing for a black belt examination) also comes to realize the similarities between the Kushanku kata and the pinan series, and is thus able to connect his past knowledge to more complex applications. Gichin Funakoshi changed the name of this kata to Kanku when he introduced karate to mainland Japan. Kanku can be translated as ‘looking at the original void’ or ‘contemplating the sky’, in reference to the first movement of the kata. |
Starting at the tanden, both hands rise, concentrating the body's energy
The earth's energy (yin) meets the sky (yang) while inhaling (yin)
Splitting apart, the right hand (yang) meets the left hand (yin) while exhaling (yang)
One can see the symetry in the symbolism
The earth's energy (yin) meets the sky (yang) while inhaling (yin)
Splitting apart, the right hand (yang) meets the left hand (yin) while exhaling (yang)
One can see the symetry in the symbolism