GATEWAY KARATE BLACK BELT SHITO-RYU HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY TEST STUDY GUIDE

GATEWAY KARATE BLACK BELT SHITO-RYU HISTORY & PHILOSOPHY TEST STUDY GUIDE

GATEWAY KARATE SHITO-RYU KARATE-DO BLACK BELT HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY TEST STUDY GUIDE The history and philosophy of Shito-ryu Karate is an interesting and fascinating one. Knowing the history and traditions behind your study gives it more depth and meaning not only to those under you, but also to you personally. In the following pages is a list of historical events and Shito-ryu philosophy which we should all be aware of. All candidates must past a written history and philosophy test at the black belt pre-test. This test has twenty-five basic questions on the topic of Shito-ryu karate and our dojo traditions. The passing grade for this test is 80% (20 correctly answered questions) or higher.

HISTORY BREIFS The origins of karate can be traced back through the past centuries through its many changes and development. Karate, which means empty hand, began on the Ryukyu Island chain and the main island of Okinawa. The Okinawan s were very resourceful and they had their native fighting art called Tegumi, which was a form of grappling. It is believed with Okinawa being strategically situated in the East China Sea between Japan and China that the Okinawans were exposed to both the fighting traditions of the Japanese as well as the kung-fu brought to the island by the Chinese and also those Okinawans who traveled to China and returned to teach the Chinese martial arts. The Chinese martial arts were highly respected among the Okinawans and were ultimately integrated into their native martial art of Tegumi. Later on with the occupation of the Satsuma Clan of Samurai on the small island the Okinawans would also begin to incorporate the fighting skills of the Japanese into their art as well. Tegumi would eventually grow to become simply Te, meaning hand and is a generic term for martial art on Okinawa. With the further introduction of the Chinese martial arts on Okinawa, the term used to define the Okinawan s martial art would eventually change again to Tode, which means China hand. This way the Okinawans were giving credit to considerable contributions of the Chinese arts of kenpo to their own native fighting art. In time with the occupation and eventually the complete take over to the island by the Japanese, karate would go through further transformation and name changes to adapt to the new Japanese cultural requirements to be considered an official Japanese martial art. This included the ultimate name change for Tode meaning China hand to Karate, meaning empty hand when a group of the top karate masters had a meeting to make the name change official in 1936. Karate since then has also been further systemized into styles. The four major Japanese styles of karate are Shito-ryu, Shotokan, Wado-ryu and Goju-ryu. Karate would eventually be spread all over the world and make its way to the United States with the return of the U.S. Servicemen who were stationed in Japan and also by the young karate Sensei who trained at the local Japanese universities and then were dispersed throughout the world to spread karate and their specific styles of karate.

HISTORY BREIFS Kenwa Mabuni, the founder of Shito-ryu karate-do, was born in 1889. By all accounts he was a frail child and due to his poor health his parents requested the master Ankoh Itosu accept him as his pupil. To be accepted as a karate student in those days was very different. Teachers were much more secretive about their arts and acceptance was very difficult. With the persistent request of Kenwa s father, Kenpo, he would eventually be accepted. Training for Kenwa was very hard and strenuous, but he refused to give up. One of his fellow students said that he trained with an intensity that was rarely seen. Kenwa would go onto master the art of Itosu s Shuri-te and eventually be introduced to the other great karate master of the time Kanryo Higaonna by way of his good friend Chojun Miyagi, founder of Goju-ryu, who was Higaonna s top student. Mabuni is one of only two men to have had the opportunity to train directly with two of Okinawa s greatest karate masters, having trained directly under Itosu and Higaonna. As time passed Mabuni would become a police officer on Okinawa and would travel the island chain and learn many forms of karate from other great masters and also kobudo, the weapons art of Okinawa. He would incorporate these arts as well into his style of Shito-ryu explaining the large number of kata in Shito-ryu compared to the other styles of karate. Eventually in 1929 Mabuni would move to the mainland of Japan and settle in Osaka where he would go onto open his dojo, the Yoshukan, and begin teaching his art under the new name of Shito-ryu. The name Shito-ryu is a combination of the first two kanji that make Itosu and Higaonna s names. This was Mabuni s way of recognizing his two main teachers and their contributions to the art of karate. Shito-ryu would be officially recognized by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai, the governing body for Japan s martial arts at the time, in 1934. Mabuni had many students through the years including his two sons Kenei and Kenzo who would carry on their fathers teaching. One of Mabuni s top students was Manzo Iwata. Iwata was considered one of the top karate masters of Japan and two of his top students were Shoko Sato and Kunio Murayama. Murayama was the uchi-deshi, inside student, of Iwata and both Sato and Murayama at one time were the captain and coach of their university karate team at Toyo University. Sato and Murayama eventually left Japan in the early 1970 s to spread Shito-ryu karate to the world. Sensei Dave Hanson has been trained and promoted as a black belt and instructor under the guidance and direction of these two great karate masters. Shito-ryu would go onto be introduced to the United States by another great karate master, Fumio Demura in the year 1964.

Black Belt Written Exam Questions & Answers: Q. What does Karate-do mean? A. Karate-do means, The way of the empty hand. Q. What are the four major styles of Japanese karate? A. Shito-ryu, Shotokan, Goju-ryu & Wado-ryu Q. Who was the founder of our karate style? A. Shito-ryu founded by Kenwa Mabuni Q. Who was Mabuni s two principle teachers? A. Ankoh Itosu & Kanryo Higaonna Q. What is our style called & what is the translation of the name? A. Shito-ryu. Shi represents Itosu and To represents Higaonna. Ryu means school. Q. What island did Karate originate on and what were the three main villages? A. The island of Okinawa and the villages of Shuri, Naha and Tomari Q. What does Heian mean and how many Heian kata are there? A. Heian (Pronounced Pinan in Okinawan dialect) means peaceful mind and there are a total of 5 Heian kata. Q. What are the Dojo Kun? A. Rules of the dojo #1 - Seek perfection of Character, #1 - Be faithful, #1 - Endeavour to excel, #1 - Respect others, #1 - Refrain from violent behavior

Q. What is the Go Do Shin? A. The Five Way Spirit: #1 - Determination, #1 - Courtesy, #1 - Effort, #1 - Common Sense, #1 - Peace Q. What is your karate lineage at Dave Hanson s Gateway Karate? A. Your Sensei is Dave Hanson. Sensei Hanson studied under Kunio Murayama & Shoko Sato, who were students of Manzo Iwata and Iwata trained directly under Kenwa Mabuni (Shito-ryu Founder) & Seiko Fujita (Japan s last real ninja and jujutsu expert). Q. Who are the founders the three major Japanese styles of Shotokan, Goju-ryu & Wado-ryu karate? A. Gichin Funakokshi - Shotokan, Chojun Miyagi - Goju-ryu, Hironori Ohtsuka - Wado-ryu Q. What is our mission at Dave Hanson s Gateway Karate? A. Developing, Leaders of Character, Leaders of Excellence, Leaders of Legacy in the martial arts and life! Q. What are the four ways to answer in the dojo & what do they teach? A. Hai (Yes), Ie (No), No excuses & I don t understand Q. When was karate officially introduced to Japan? A. 1917 with a demonstration by Gichin Funakoshi in Kyoto, Japan Q. When was Shito-ryu officially accepted as a Japanese martial art? A. 1934 Q. What styles of Okinawan karate taught in Shito-ryu does Itosu & Higaonna represent? A. Itosu represents Shuri-te and Higaonna represents Naha-te (These Sensei s styles were named after the towns, Shuri & Naha, that they lived and taught in by their students in 1926 in and effort to systemize karate more and get it ultimately accepted by the Japanese.)

Q. When did Kenwa Mabuni move to Japan and begin teaching karate on the mainland? A. 1929 Q. What does Bassai-dai & Seienchin mean? A. Bassai-dai: Penetrate the fortress - major / big version & Seienchin: Lull in the storm Q. Where did the belts in karate and the uniform we use today originate from? A. Adopted from Judo to help karate gain recognition as an official Japanese martial art. Q. What is the ultimate aim of karate training? A. Perfection of Character: The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants ~ Gichin Funakoshi Q. What was karate originally called before officially being named Karate-do, Way of the empty hand? A. It was first called Te, which means hand & eventually Tode meaning China Hand Q. What is the Hejutsu No Sanbyo, Three weakness of the martial arts? A. Doubt, Negligence, Egotism Q. What year was the founder, Kenwa Mabuni, of shito-ryu born? A. 1889 Q. What year was Shito-ryu Karate introduced to the USA & by whom? A. In 1964 by Sensei Fumio Demura Q. What are the eight virtues of black belt? A. Modesty, Courtesy, Integrity, Compassion, Gratitude, Self-control, Perseverance & Indomitable spirit. *Bonus Question: What is Kenwa Mabuni s famous quote? A. Karatedo is a lifetime study.