Читать книгу Empty Hand. The Essence of Budo Karate онлайн

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There is also the opinion that the term “hand” (te) for all Ryūkyū techniques corresponds to the general term for fighting techniques used in Japan, the “18 arts of fighting” (bugei jū happan)28 because similar to the samurai on mainland Japan, the Ryūkyū bushi29 also practiced different special fighting techniques.

The original Okinawan karate developed in particular during two periods of prohibition of weapon use. After Lord Oho (Shō) Hashi (1372-1439) had unified the country, King Oho (Shō) Shin (1465-1526) had the local gentry disarmed and he forced them to settle in the castle town of Shuri. Furthermore he created a central government and introduced a legal system.

In 1609, almost one and a half centuries after the first prohibition of weapons the Shimazu clan conquered the Ryūkyū islands. These samurai came from southern Kyūshū, from the province of Satsuma. Again the possession of any weapons was forbidden on pain of death for the islanders. Under these circumstances, the development of fighting techniques had to focus on unarmed fighting. So, under the influence of Chinese kempō the Ryūkyū kempō was developed, the archetype of present-day karate.