Cayuga Karate is an effort to provide evidence for the hypothesis that the Chinese kata taught to Okinawans were handed down by military authorities and were designed for military use, to defend maritime vessels. The obvious challenge to this hypothesis is how this information could have been lost. If these Chinese kata were indeed designed to propel short spears in close quarter fighting, how is it possible that modern students of the arts have no knowledge of it.
The goal of Cayuga Karate is to better understand how Okinawan empty hand kata can be used to propel a short spear in useful fighting patterns. To date, I have reviewed 80 kata for use with the spear, and have encountered no movement or series of movements that cannot be used to propel a short bladed pole-arm. In fact, I continue to be genuinely amazed at how remarkably effective the movements are for close quarters combat with enemies all around, the kind of military confrontation one would expect in the defense of Tribute vessels against the recurring threat of piracy in the South China Sea. Moreover, I have great confidence that many students interested in kata, who take the time to undergo similar analysis, will find the evidence very compelling.
So the question remains, if these Chinese kata were designed by Chinese military authorities for defense of maritime commerce, and these arts were shared with the Okinawan aristocracy over many hundreds of years, how is it that this information would have eluded the more modern students of the arts, those that came of age in the final days of the Ryukyu kingdom when practice of the art was just emerging from the secrecy that had shrouded its past.
Since many of Okinawa’s historical archives were destroyed in 1945, we will never have the documentary evidence to fully understand this perplexing issue. However, a review of the basic development of military technology and trade of the period can shed some light on the matter.
There is no doubt that as the 18th and 19th centuries progressed, the spear (halberd), the primary weapon of Chinese infantry for thousand of years, became increasingly obsolete. Though the literature on this subject, at least in English, is woefully lacking, it is reasonable to assume that as the requirement for skill in Chinese spear arts declined, the general practice of Chinese martial arts evolved accordingly. One strong possibility is that without the impetus for men to train in spear arts for military purposes, their martial training would naturally shift towards a greater emphasis on empty hand fighting concepts. In support such a shift, the Chinese would have been able to draw upon a vast knowledge developed over many centuries. It is likely that in many cases, old forms developed specifically for military purposes were discarded, and replaced with new forms created from the ground up for empty hand fighting.
We should also expect to find remnants of old military arts in Chinese martial arts. Over thousands of years, the Chinese had created advanced systems of spear movements that efficiently utilized the fast and powerful body movements necessary to propel a spear in combat. Consider, for example Xingyi quan which according to one important source was developed in 1750 by Zhou Tong. “Extremely skilled in spear-fighting, he used the spear to create fist techniques and established a skill called Yi Quan. Meticulous and unfathomable, this technique far outstripped ancient ones.”
From the Okinawans perspective, there was no requirement for spearfighting skills to fight land wars. But there was a critical requirement to protect their tribute vessels, and here between the mid 1700s and the mid 1800s, firearms inexorably made the spear obsolete. An additional, but equally important development was the decline of piracy over this period. As the 19th century wore on, not only did the need to defend ships from piracy decline, but the weaponry of choice to do so also rapidly evolved. Thus the centuries old requirement for crew and passengers to learn spear based naval defense arts steadily eroded.
These two points cannot be emphasized enough. The combination of the decline of piracy, coupled with the emergence of firearms as the primary weapons for defense of naval vessels, resulted in a dramatic decline in the need for mastery of the spear to defend tribute vessels.
The old Chinese spear-fighting forms, handed down from father to son, in secret, for generations, no longer needed to practiced. In 1872, the tributary relationship between Okinawa and China formally ended as the Ryu Kyu Kingdom was abolished and the Japanese formally absorbed Okinawa as a prefecture. At this point, Okinawan martial traditions were still practiced in utmost secrecy as they had been for generations. Eiichi Miyazato relates a story from Miyagi about Kanryo Higaonna’s frustration with his inability to learn Toudi (Chinese hand) from Chinese practicioners in the port city of Naha.
He himself trained in “ti”, but, by chance one day, he stumbled upon Chinese Kenpo. The splendid feats that he witnessed fascinated him so much that he went around [to] all the prominent houses in Okinawa and asked them to teach him. Unfortunately for him, the common practice of the time was to keep the art veiled in secrecy and the more famous the house was, the more pride they took in this secrecy. Considering the fact that those within the family who practiced the art didn’t share their knowledge even with their own family, an outsider receiving instruction was virtually unheard of. Unable to give up on his quest, Kanryo Higaonna Sensei decided that he would travel to China.
It is a commonplace that the secrecy in which Chinese fighting systems were practiced and taught in Okinawa was due solely to the Satsuma ban on weapons and their practice. Though this factor certainly played a crucial role, there is another oft-overlooked reason as well. We know that during the 16th century, the Chinese took seriously the Japanese threats on the high seas and sent military specialists on tribute missions. These attaches were certainly knowledgeable in the spear arts required for the defense of tribute ships. Is there any reason we should assume that they chose not to share this vital knowledge with the Okinawans who were so critically dependent on this trade. For a prosperous trading relationship to thrive, Okinawan trade missions would have to be successful as well. It stands to reason that Chinese military authorities, trained in the military defense of tribute vessels, would have have some justification for sharing military principles and training with the Okinawans in order to ensure a successful trading partnership between the two countries.
We know that as late as the 1850s, when Higaonna wanted to learn fighting arts, that the Chinese were genuinely averse to sharing their fighting arts with ordinary Okinawans. However, we should assume that if Chinese military authorities chose to share maritime defense arts with selected members of the Okinawa aristocracy, that it would have been done in the utmost secrecy. And we should expect that those Chinese military authorities would have demanded that all efforts would be made to protect this valuable military instruction. This has been standard practice for the military since the dawn of time. Okinawa would have been expected to maintain a culture of complete secrecy in the transmission of maritime defense arts taught by the Chinese.
We have fairly significant documentation describing that Chinese fighting systems were handed down in Okinawa in strict secrecy. It should go without saying that one of the hallmarks of secrecy is that the holder of the secret shares no information whatsoever about the nature of the secret. I believe that this central tenet of secrecy, that nothing about the secret is shared, renders moot, the reason for secrecy. The commonplace assumption that Chinese arts were practiced in secret in Okinawa because the Japanese banned these arts is just that. An assumption. Another possible assumption is that the Chinese passed down Maritime defense arts and demanded the strictest of secrecy because these were sensitive Chinese military secrets and they would have demanded that the Okinawans treat them as such.
Due to the secrecy in which instruction in Chinese fighting arts was conducted, we can never know the extent of the role that Chinese military authorities played. However, we do have some evidence to believe that this occurred, at least in the late 18th century, and early to mid 19th century. In Karate-Do Kyohan, Funakoshi writes the following:
…according to Shiodaira of Shuri, one hundred and fifty years ago (as noted in The Oshima Note, by tobe of Japan), a Chinese expert, by the name of Kusanku (referred to later in the text as a military attache), arrived in Okinawa with a few of his students and introduced a type of kempo. Okinawan experts … of Naha, studied for some time with the Chinese military attache, Ason: Matsumura of Shuri and Maesato and Kogusuku , of Kume, with the military attache, Iwah, and [nine residents] of Kunenboya with the military attache Waishinzan. It is said that the teacher of [nine Tomari residents] was a southern Chinese who drifted ashore at Okinawan. [Emphasis added.]
It is important to note that of the five Chinese named by Funakoshi, one was a quite possibly a Chinese sailor. The other four were all described as in the text as “military attaches”.
Nagamine documents the need for protection against piracy in Tales of Okinawa’s Great Masters
All tribute ships that sailed the treacherous waters between China and the Ryukyu Archipelago during feudal times were equipped with a turret, artillery, and weapons such as arrows, spears, guns, and explosives.[emphasis added]
Regarding the threat of piracy to tribute trade. F.W. Mote, in his text Imperial China 900 to 1800, has written:
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese seafarers were then troubling the waters between Korea and Shandong in an early phase of what became known in the 16th century as the wokou, or “Japanese pirate” menace.
In the text The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu, Matsuo Sakon quotes noted Okinawan historian Higaonna Kanjun:
Once Toyotomi Hideyoshi began to flex his might on the high seas during the Bunroku era (late 1500s), the Chinese government changed its policies. In 1600, when King Sho Nei sent Tei Do and others to request a Sappushi (government envoys), the Emperor issued a decree, to send military specialists long [sic] with the scholars who oversaw the formalities.
The Importance of Tribute Trade
China and Okinawa maintained a tributary relationship for half a millennium. The Okinawan aristocracy was fundamentally dependent on it, and therefore had critical military requirements for the protection of their Tribute missions. Nagamine wrote:
Tribute was the single most important aspect of the Ryukyus’ social economy, and, therefore, no expense was ever spared when it come to ensuring the safety of cargo, passengers, and crew. It was the responsibility of the captain and crew to be able to defend their cargo and vessel against attacks during a voyage, Hence, proper training in combative disciplines was essential. Designated the official vessels of the Ryukyu Kingdom, tribute ships carried both valuable cargo and important passengers to China. In the event of an assault, which was quite frequent during feudal times, passengers who were skilled in combative disciplines were, by order of the King, commanded to aid the crew.
It is critical to note that these requirements did not evaporate in 1609 when the Satsuma clan invaded and imposed high taxes and a variety of restrictions on the Okinawans, including a weapons ban. In fact, it is important to understand the terms of Satsuma rule. Critically, the Japanese greatly restricted Okinawan trade after the invasion. Prior to 1609, the Okinawans procured goods in China and traded them across Southeast Asia, from Korea to Indonesia, to Malaysia to Vietnam. In return, they would acquire rare goods valued by the Chinese aristocracy for future tribute missions. The Japanese co-opted this lucrative trade for themselves, leaving the Okinawans greatly limited in the goods they could acquire and sell in China. Prior to the annexation, Okinawa’s trade provided a substantial economic benefit to a growing ruling class. There were ever increasing members of the aristocracy that were granted monthly stipends of rice which allowed the affluent to avoid menial labor.
After the Satsuma annexation, however, high tax rates and restrictions on the distribution of stipends forced many of the aristocracy into manual artisan occupations, and in some cases, fishing and farming both of which often required grueling physical labor. The only path to prosperity for the aristocracy, once their stipends were eliminated was to join a tribute trade entourage.
In The Secret Royal Martial Arts of Ryukyu, Kanenori Sakon Matsuo provides some valuable insight into the plight of the aristocracy after 1609.
Trade with China was very profitable. Shimazu left the Royal family in place, and had Ryukyu continue sending tribute ships to Ming and Qing China, as well as keep the Sappushi system in place. Shimazu, however, controlled the trade and the economic stringency resulted in the loss of stipends by many in the upper classes. And the end of the Edo era, 90 per cent of the aristocrats in Ryukyu were without stipends.
Those aristocrats without stipends, which made up 79 percent of the entire aristocrat population, went to work for no wages in the lower government offices. They made their actual livelihood by moonlighting at home or loans. The greatest wish for these people was to be awarded a stipend or appointed as part of a traveling entourage, and
..The martial artists (bushi) of Ryukyu can be divided into five distinct groups. First of all, the Shuri bushi, who were in charge of protecting Shuri Castle. Next the Tomari bushi, who were in charge of domestic law enforcement. Third, the Naha bushi, who were in charge of protecting the Chinese envoys (Sappushi) as well as the tribute ships sent from Ryukyu to China.
Karate is the art of the Ryukyuan martial artists. In Okinawa, the term bushi refers to a martial artist.
Therefore only one with martial arts training is called a bushi. On the other hand, martial arts were referred to as buji or bu in Ryukyu. The term bushi is especially reserved for masters of karate and associated weapons arts. During the Edo era in mainland Japan, all bushi held stipends.
The difference with the Ryukyun bushi was that in Ryukyu there were several thousand aristocrats without stipends, in addition to hundreds without income. At the time of the abolition of the feudal provinces, there were 362 aristocrats with stipends as opposed to 5,007 without. Also most of the Ryukyuan bushi held positions in Shuri, Tomari, Naha or Kume, but in order to make ends meet, were also involved in agriculture, fishing, trade, or artisan work. Therefore in Ryukyu, there was no real class distinction like the warrior-farmer-artisan-tradesman system in Japan.
While retaining their aristocratic position with their tiled roofs and hairpins, the engaged in other work at home, accumulated debts, and awaited their turn for promotion within the government system. Once they were promoted, they repaid their debts, and worked day and night in order to be appointed as part of a traveling entourage, so that they could leave something for their descendants. Once they were appointed to said position, they left for China on a tribute ship, earned extra pay, and returned home. Those who studied karate and associated weapons practices under a master in preparation for their journey were the Ryukyu bushi.
Looking at the lineage chart established in 1689, the King was at the top, those in control were the feudal lords and aristocrats, and those being controlled were the civilian class citizens. The feudal lords and aristocrats, from whom the Ryukyuan bushi came, were divided as follows.
The feudal lords were comprised of the princes, the Aji and the Uekata, who were given land and stipends. The aristocrats were comprised of the Peichin classes, who were given charge of villages. The lower level aristocrats maintained their status in Shuri, Tomari, Naha and Kume while also working at the various governmental offices.
These lower level aristocrats were without stipend, and many worked with no wages, awaiting to be appointed to a post in which they would be granted a stipend. Out of thousands in this position, some lost all employment, and left to make a living in the farming villages surrounding Shuri and Naha.
In order to be considered for a post with the royal government, one had to put one’s name on a waiting list. The people were chosen based upon administrative jurisdiction or application and consultation. They then worked as non-salaried workers and waited for years or decades. Finally after being appointed to service in an official position and then in an entourage, their hopes of becoming a land lord rose. Those who were not appointed to official positions or entourage positions tried for gratuity jobs. However, even here the window of opportunity was narrow, and those who missed the opportunity gave up and worked in agriculture, fishing, trade or artisan work.
Once one was promoted to an official position, the salary was four bushels of rice. One then worked in this position for years or even decades, but if one was appointed to an entourage, an income of 120 bushels of rice was given and they were able to travel to China. Once there they bought medicinal herbs and other Chinese items that would fetch a large profit in Ryukyu, in order to pay back their long-standing debts and have at least a little left over from themselves. Once every two years, two ships would leave port on a tribute mission, and those appointed to the entourage would travel with them.
Using the great amounts of money obtained through this work, they fought the rough seas and traveled to danger-fraught China in order to buy goods. Physical strength and self-defense skills were a necessity.
Sakon’s text provides a valuable contribution to our understanding of the fundamental importance of Tribute trade to the Okinawan aristocracy. Appointment to an entourage (trading mission) was an essential step in the life of the Okinawan elite. With it, they could become successful. Without it, their entire lives would be fundamentally different.
It is worth noting that even as late as Funakoshi’s youth in the latter half of the 19th century, acquisition of Chinese goods were a prerequisite for social standing in the Okinawan aristocracy. In the Master Text he writes,
Even at the time of the present writer’s youth [in the 1870s], lack of a full set of Chinese furniture and furnishings in one’s home was a serious impediment to the social influence of any leading family.
The information, above, provides a foundation for understanding key aspects of the 500 year Chinese-Okinawan Tribute relationship. The Okinawan economy centered on Tribute trade, and profits from this trade funded increased prosperity of the Okinawan elite. Sakon’s text shows in detail how fundamental Tribute trade became after the Satsuma invasion. Recognition of the criticality of this trade, and the ongoing threat of piracy, is essential to understanding the purpose of transmission of Chinese fighting arts to the Okinawans. Chinese military personnel were documented as being involved in teaching combative arts. It was critical that Tribute trade was protected from the ever-present threat of piracy. The Chinese clearly recognized this threat.
The standard history of karate makes little, if any mention, of this vital background regarding the Chinese-Okinawan Tribute trade relationship. The Chinese had a clear purpose for their presence in Okinawa. They were there to support Tribute trade. The Chinese began this formal process in the late 1300s after the Ming ascension to power. Historic trading routes overland to the West were blocked by rivals. The Ming, in response, began a rather substantial investment in trade to the East. Though their investments in Okinawa were but a tiny fraction, nevertheless, there were investments. The Kume village community was established in the port City of Naha. 36 Chinese families were sent to Okinawa to teach needed skills including shipbuilding, paper and ink manufacture.
In the 500 year history of Tribute trade, the Chinese sent over a hundred missions. It was common for up to 300 Chinese sail to Okinawa for six months to conduct trade and diplomatic exchanges. The unanswered question is why did the Chinese teach combative arts to the Okinawans. We have established, based on Funakoshi’s writing that Chinese military authorities played a role in at least the late 18th century and into the mid-19th century. And we know that military attaches on Tribute missions came in the 16th century as well. Despite the secrecy in which combative arts were taught, we have some small bits of information. Numerous sources, including Funakoshi, Motobu, Miyagi, Nakama and Nagamine point to Chinese origins of Okinawan fighting arts. Importantly, Choki Motobu specifically mentions 12 kata as having Chinese origins
“As to the origins of Karate, there are many theories, however I am inclined to believe that this art was taught by Chinese men since there were many contacts made between Ryu Kyu and China since ancient days. There have been numerous styles (kata) in Karate. Some have already been forgotten and others are still being used and developed into some other styles. Changes in the different styles are difficult to trace. Throughout the history of Karate the demands for changes by society and the lifestyles of the people and even geographic differences caused each school to choose its own course to become popular or unpopular. Among those styles or katas which have been used in Ryu Kyu from ancient days are:
Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan, Seiunchin, Ippakkku-Re-Hachi, Naihanchi, (Ichidan, Nidan, Sandan), Passai, Chinto, Chinte, (bamboo-yari spear style), Wanshu, Rohai and Kusanku.
And especially the three styles Nai-hanchi, Passai (great and small), and Kusanku which are widely known to many islanders. As I have mentioned, Ryu Kyu Kempo-Karate originally came from China. Sanchin, Jo-Ju-Shi-Ho, Seisan and Seiunchin have been used there for many centuries. However, the Naihanchi, Passai, Chinto, [and] Rohai styles are not left in China today and remain only in Okinawa as active Martial Arts. Wanshu and Rohai were used only in Tomari until [the] geographic reorganization in 1871 was made as a part of the Meiji Restoration. No one in Naha or Shuri learned those two styles until then, but later they were introduced to those main cities in Okinawa. As to the Pinan, the modern-time warrior Mr. Itosu originated this style to use a teaching material for his students.”
Recognizing that the history of karate is forever shrouded in secrecy, the information presented above can be summarized as follows:
1. Considering the efforts China made in their tributary relationship with Okinawa (Over two hundred trade missions to and from Okinawa over 500 years), they had ample reason to want to ensure successful voyages of Okinawan ships to China and therefore would have derived benefit from sharing Maritime defense arts with the Okinawans.
2. There is a record of the Chinese sending military attaches beginning in at least the 16th century. These personnel spent up to six months in Okinawa and would be well positioned to train senior members of the Okinawan aristocracy in the principles and techniques of maritime defense.
3. Funakoshi documents four military attaches as teaching combative arts in the late 1700s and mid 1800s.
4. Motobu records 12 forms as having Chinese origins (including one described as a spear form) and states: “I am inclined to believe that this art was taught by Chinese men since there were many contacts made between Ryu Kyu and China since ancient days.”
5. Nagamine recounts a historical text that shows that lists spears as the principle hand-held weapon in defending maritime vessels. (He makes no mention of swords.)
6. Other than the kata described by Motobu, there is scant documentation of what the Chinese military authorities taught the Okinawans.
Cayuga Karate is devoted to the assumption that Chinese military personnel, having motivation to share military arts with the Okinawans, shared with Okinawans, kata (described by Motobu as being taught by Chinese) that are plausibly military in nature. They were designed for the military purposes for use during armed conflict in the protection of Tributary trade missions.
This assumption stands in stark contrast to the standard history. The evidence is clear that these arts were handed down in secret. As a result, our inability to peer back into the past to understand what was taught and why, to draw clear conclusions on the nature of the creation of these Chinese kata. Nevertheless, a standard assumption has come to the fore. At the time the arts became public in the late 1800s, these Chinese forms were practiced as solely as empty hand arts, and therefore, they must been designed for empty hand fighting.
The opening of this post potentially sheds some light on this quandary. If the Chinese combative arts were designed for the spear, then how is it possible that at the turn of the 20th century, they had evolved to become empty hand arts only. And how is it possible that the Okinawans, practicing these arts at the time, would have been blind to their origins?
Perhaps one factor has been provided by Morio Higaonna.
Morio Higaonna’s has described the varying rate of change in Chinese and Okinawan fighting arts in the 1800s (Encyclopaedia of Goju Ryu, vol. 4: Sanseru and Seipai).
Goju-ryu makes no secret of its Chinese origins, yet it should not be considered a purely Chinese martial art. While the patriarch of Goju-ryu, Kanryo Higaonna, trained in China as a young man and was clearly influenced by the principles and practices of Chinese boxing, Okinawan Goju-ryu is more than just another form of White Crane Fist.
In the evolution of Goju-ryu karate, Okinawan self-defense methods were blended with Chinese combat techniques, principles, and strategies. Training methods were changed somewhat to suit Okinawan practitioners, their physiques, and lifestyles. What resulted after more than a half century of development was classical Okinawan Goju-ryu karate as presented in this series of programs. Ironically, this is without doubt closer, in a technical sense, to what Okinawan students were taught by 19th century boxing masters in China, than modern Chinese Wushu.
During the late Qing era and the early days of the Chinese republic, with notable exceptions, the martial arts went into decline in China. In the backwater of Okinawa, however, when change happened, it did so at a snail’s pace. As good Confucians, the Okinawans revered tradition and resisted change. [Emphasis added.]
With the rest of Asia in turmoil for more than fifty years, the tranquil, rustic, sub-tropical islands of Okinawa provided a safe repository for Chinese boxing methods, as well as the crucible in which they were refined and developed for use by the generations that would follow.[Emphasis added]
By the late 19th century and early 20th century, the martial arts went into decline in China. This directly coincides with the decline of the use of the spear for military purposes. The martial arts practiced in China, evolved accordingly. Old systems were replaced wholesale. Arts like XingYi Quan were developed that bridged the gap from ancient spear-fighting techniques to empty hand applications. Despite the upheaval in Chinese martial arts, it appears, according to Higaonna’s text, that the same cannot be said for it for the Chinese combative arts practiced in Okinawa. From Motobu’s writing, it seems clear that old arts taught by the Chinese, “since ancient times” were preserved. There is ample reason to believe that they too were gradually adapted. Their initial purpose, enhancing the military (armed) capabilities of Okinawans (spear fighting expertise) evolved such that the became specifically practiced to further develop empty hand fighting abilities. The Okinawans did not have access to vast stores of Chinese empty hand fighting, developed over the many centuries in China. They had their ti, (empty hand fighting concepts) and they had their Chinese kata. As Higaonna’s text states, the Okinawans resisted change. They did not discard their old spear arts. They learned to apply the movements found within for empty hand fighting. In doing so, the Okinawans chose to preserve their old arts, even as mainland Chinese fighting systems evolved more fully to the new paradigm of primarily empty hand fighting. Motobu wrote that Naihanchi, Passai, Chinto, [and] Rohai styles are not left in China today and remain only in Okinawa as active Martial Arts.
Compared to China, Okinawa’s revered tradition and resisted change, and as a result their arts evolved slowly, if at all. To paraphrase Higaonna, Okinawa provided a safe repository for Chinese fighting systems. Many have survived until the present.