SENSEI
Those who made the road
before
Bodhidharma(470-543)
INDIA
Based on mans' instinct of self-defense, different
fighting arts were developed in most cultures, especially in central
Asia, Egypt and Turkey. The principles of the Asian martial arts are
believed to have spread from Turkey to India, where they were
further developed to sophisticated arts ("kalaripayt").
The history of Karate as we know it today can be
taken back to India, perhaps two thousand years before the Christian
Era. India was the birthplace of a bare-handed martial art called,
in Sanskrit, Vajramushtthi. Evidence seems to indicate that it was
commonly practiced by the Kshatriya, which was the Warrior Class of
that time, and which can be compared to the Japanese Samurai and the
medieval Knights of Europe.
It is said that the third child of King Sugandha of
southern India was a member of the Kshatriya (Warrior) Caste.
However, after a few years he was led by the spirit to a small but
dynamic Buddhist province south of Madres. He received his religious
training from the Dhyna of Master Prajnatara. Under the master’s
guidance, the boy grew into a very wise man and advanced in the way
of the Dhyana or Buddhist practice, and was given the name
Bodhidharma. "Bodhi" means Enlightenment and "Dharma" means law.
CHINA
After his masters death, Bodhidharma traveled to
China, where he taught. His life was centered around the Shaolin
Temple and monastery located in Hunan Province. Tradition states
that upon seeing the emaciated condition of the monks, Bodhidharma
instructed them in physical exercise, to condition their bodies as
well as their minds. The exercise was called, “Eighteen hands of
Lo-Han”. This exercise also included breathing; he knew that this
physical activity was a means of cleansing body internally .
Eventually the monks began to study the animals and form exercises
that resembled their ways of fighting, and later it was known as
Chuan-Fa, “The Art of the Fist”. It is important to note that the
motives of the practice was art, physical conditioning, and finally,
self-defense.
During the Sui Period (589-618), bandits began to
raid the monastery for the purpose of food and anything of value.
At this time the monks, in order to protect their
lives and their beloved monastery, utilized their Chuan-Fa art and
defeated the bandits. The reputation of the Shaolin Fighting monks
spread, and many came to study the art along with Buddhism. Today
there are hundreds of styles, and of course the philosophy has
changed somewhat, depending on the personality of the headmaster of
the styles. In 1609 the art was brought to Okinawa where it
underwent many changes and became later known as Karate-do.
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