Читать книгу Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters онлайн

47 страница из 66

THE PROGENITOR OF SHURI-TE

Most Okinawans who wanted to learn Chinese boxing travelled to Fuzhou to study. The Chinese boxing which was brought back from Fuzhou became especially well-known in and around Naha. Yet, when compared to the hand techniques, breathing methods, footwork, and names of the kata (formal exercises) of that style which was cultivated in and around the old castle district of Shuri, we observe noticeable differences. It was sometime before World War II that I first became convinced that Shuri-te also evolved from the Chinese boxing native to Fukian province. Evaluating the plausibility of this hypothesis, consider the principles of Chinese boxing being haphazardly introduced to one limited area, subjected to socio-cultural circumstances unlike that of a another time and place, and cultivated by men of different insights, physical characteristics, and attitudes. Under such varying conditions, it is entirely possible that the two traditions, in spite of having the same root origin, would develop in different ways. Hence, I believe this hypothesis provides a plausible explanation to those differences which separate karate-do in Shuri from that of Naha.