Fukyugata Ichi

Last night in class, it became apparent that the history of the Fukyu katas were not included in the manual. Wanting to focus more on doing the kata, I opted to include here a history of the development of the Fundamental katas as I know it.

Much of this essay is derived from an article appearing in Dragon Times, Volume 15, 1999.

At the turn of the century, kata was still a closely guarded secret by most practitioners and was practiced mostly in private. Itosu Anko changed all of that by creating the Pinan series of katas for integration into the Okinawan school system. The government readily agreed to this as military conscripts and recruits who had previous karate training were superior physically and more disciplined than their untrained counterparts.

In his Ten Lessons of To-te, written in October 1908, Itosu states:

The primary purpose of karate training is to strengthen the muscles, making the physique strong like iron and stone so that one can use the hands and feet to approximate such weapons as a spear or halberd. In doing so, karate training cultivates bravery and valor in children and it should be encouraged in our elementary schools. Don't forget what the Duke of Wellington said after defeating Emperor Napoleon: "Today's victory was first achieved from the discipline attained on the playgrounds of our elementary schools.

With these teachings in mind, it is my conviction that if the students at the Shihan Chugakko (old name of Okinawa's Teachers College) practice karate they could, after graduation, introduce the discipline at the local levels; namely to elementary schools. In this way karate could be disseminated throughout the entire nation and not only benefit people in general but also serve as an enormous asset to our military forces.

Itosu did in fact teach at the Teachers College, thus spreading the art to a new, and very prolific, generation of instructors.

In making the transition from very small, private or semi-private classes, to large classes of school children, Itosu decided that an easier form of kata was required. Drawing from such sources as the Kusanku kata, Itosu formulated the five Pinan ("Peace") kata./4 If you have ever practiced or taught the Pinan kata, you will recognize that they are not basic at all, but rather of an intermediate level. In a nutshell, the Pinan are too difficult for beginners, particularly for young children.

Prior to the development of the Pinan kata, three basic kata were generally taught in Okinawa. For students of Shuri-Te or Tomari-Te (which generally became known as "Shorin-Ryu"), the introductory kata were either the three Naihanchi kata or the Seisan kata. For students of Naha-Te (which generally became known as "Goju-Ryu"), the introductory kata was generally Sanchin. The introductory kata were usually practiced for at least three years before more advanced kata were learned. Okinawan school students might or might not have previously learned these kata. It is to be expected that most had not (since the early masters generally taught very few students at any given time).

The 1936 Meeting of Masters:

In October of 1936, a meeting was held of the leading Okinawan masters. The martial arts participants included Hanashiro Chomo (1869-1945, shihandai of Itosu), Kyan Chotoku (1870-1945, student of Sokon Matsumura, among others), Motobu "the Monkey" Choki (1871-1944, student of Kosaku Matsumora), Miyagi Chojun (1888-1953, student of Higaonna Kanryo), Kiyoda Juhatsu (1886-1967, senior student of Higaonna Kanryo), Chibana Choshin (1885-1969, student of Itosu and founder of Kobayashi-Ryu), and Gusukuma Shimpan (1890-1954).

It was at this meeting that the term "Karate" (Empty Hand) was formally adopted in favor of the old "Tote" (China Hand). The masters observed that the new "Karate" was becoming very popular on the Japanese mainland. Okinawans such as Funakoshi Gichin (1868-1957, a student of Itosu and Azato Anko, and founder of Shotokan), Motobu Choki (1871-1944), and Mabuni Kenwa (founder of Shito-Ryu), among others, had moved to the mainland and successfully begun to spread the art. Funakoshi was quite an innovator, adopting Judo's kyu and dan system, and "modernizing" many of the kata. He had also changed the traditional names of the kata, many of which were Chinese in origin, in favor of Japanese versions. Okinawa's unique cultural art was at risk of becoming "Japanese."

The Okinawan Masters knew that something had to be done. They realized that the status quo in Okinawa had changed relatively little since the turn of the century. The art was broken into distinct "Te" systems. Generally, the Naha-Te practitioners trained among themselves practicing their own kata, as did the practitioners of Shuri-Te and Tomari-Te. The Pinan kata, while widely taught and practiced, were distinctly of Shuri-Te origin. It was time to attempt to bring the systems closer together and make Karate more accessible to the youth of Okinawa. One of the participants, Fukushima Kitsuma, a prominent military officer, recommended the creation of ten kinds of Japanese kata with Japanese names. Miyagi stressed the need to preserve the classical kata, but suggested that a national kata could be created.

The following year, the Okinawan Prefectural Karate-Do Promotional Society was founded by several leading instructors, many of which were present at the meeting the previous year. The members of the society followed up on some of the proposals made at that earlier meeting and formulated up to twelve new kihon (basic) kata. Within a few years, almost all of the senior masters would pass away as well from old age, the war or both.

What became of the twelve kihon kata developed by the Okinawan Prefectural Karate-Do Promotional Society is unclear. But in 1940, the Governor of Okinawa, Gen Hayakawa, assembled a prestigious Karate-Do Special Committee to address the need for easier basic kata for children.

Governor Hayakawa requested that the committee develop two new basic kata that would be easier for beginners. It also appears that he wanted kata that would break with the Shuri-te, Tomari-Te and Naha-Te distinctions. The new kata would be truly "Okinawan." Students from any area of the prefecture and with any type of karate background (or no previous training at all) could freely learn and practice them. Again, it must be remembered that the Pinan kata were of Shuri-te origin. Governor Hayakawa, through his selection of committee members, ensured that the Naha-te tradition would be fairly represented in the formation of the new kata.

The actual task of composing the kata fell upon Miyagi Chojun and and Nagamine Shoshin. Miyagi Sensei was 52 at the time, still young when compared to seniors such as Hanashiro, Kyan and Motobu who were in their seventies. Nagamine Sensei was only 33!

The kata Miyagi contributed became known as Fukyugata Ni International. In Goju-Ryu it is known as Gekisai (to "smash") Dai Ichi. There are two Gekisai kata. Gekisai Dai Ni is a more advanced form of the first kata, primarily through the use of more open handed techniques. The Gekisai kata are generally acknowledged as having been created by Miyagi in 1940 to teach to school children.

Nagamine Sensei chose to create an entirely new kata, one firmly rooted in basics. After a few months of considering the existing kata and careful design work, he developed the kata now known as Fukyugata Ichi. According to Nagamine Sensei, he "drew in his mind a basic and an easier kata so that any beginner may start Karate with ease." The kata was accepted and ratified by the Special Committee in June of 1941.

A few years ago, Master Kise introduced a kata known as Kihongata to effectively be our most basic beginner’s kata; however, this kata is no longer taught on a wide scale and has been replaced with Master’s version of Fukyugata Ichi, Ni, and San. (low,middle, high)

Elements of sport karate styles are incorporated into the Fukyu katas so they will be recognizable anywhere, by any Okinawan style.