The Way of Least Resistance

Few karate masters have exerted as much influence as Yasatsune "Anko" Itosu (1831 – 11 March 1915) - the alleged creator of the pinan kata and possibly the naihanchi series; teacher of such luminaries as Gichin Funakoshi , Choki Motobu , Chomo Hanashiro , Chotoku Kyan, Shinpan Shiroma, Choshin Chibana and Kenwa Mabuni - among many others. It would be fair to say that, while his legendary teacher Sokon Matsumura is regarded as the start point of the Suidi or Shorin school of karate, the real "father" of this school was Itosu . I will let you read Tom Ross's excellent articles on Fightingarts.com concerning the man and his legacy.  I also invite you to read my article on the Channan kata and on the origins of Naihanchi . But what did Itosu look like?  Is the picture to the right really him? Until 2006 the only images we had of Itosu were drawings - and conflicting ones at that.  Specifically there were 3 main ones to be found on the net. Two seemed ...

Gichin Funakoshi is well known as having had two teachers: Yasatsune (Anko) Azato and Yasatsune (Anko) Itosu . As I pointed out in my previous article , the adjacent group photo shows Funakoshi (already a karate master in his own right) and some school students just before a demonstration to Prince Hirohito in 1921.  I have tentatively concluded (see my previous argument) that it is Funakoshi's teachers - Azato and Itosu - who are shown in the inserts (as was custom, particularly when you consider that the photo was used by Funakoshi in his 1922 book "Ryukyu kempo"). This leaves only one real question, and this is who is Azato and who is Itosu? Having just deduced  (with, I think, good reason) that the person in the right insert must be Itosu, it follows that the person on the left is Azato.  In other words, we have, for the first time, a reasonably identifiable picture of Anko Azato! He is certainly quite distinct from the drawings we've previously seen ...

[Continued from Part 1 . ] The double block and uraken sequence Personally, I think the naihanchi shodan of Zenpo Shimabukuro is at its most interesting when it gets to the "double chudan/gedan block" (as per the adjacent image) - just before the uraken (backfist) is usually executed. It is here that Shimabukuro's version is truly unique in that it combines features from very distinct lineages . Of course, that's one way of looking at Shimabukuro's kata. Another is to ponder whether this "combination" actually reflects a more "ancestral" or "fundamental/original" nature of the version, complete with "embryonic" or "stem cell" movements capable of morphing into many of the various lineages we see today! Actually, the "double chudan/gedan block with uraken" sequence in this kata has long been a bug-bear of mine: I have lost count of the number of discussions I've had (in person, by corres...