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History of Martial Arts
1. The word ’Karate’
The word ’Karate’ is
not very old. ’Karate’ meaning empty hand (kara=empty, te=hand,
technique), which has become the common terminology today was used
probably for the first time in 1929. And the word ’Karate’ as
Chinese hand or more likely ’Todei’ (kara=to=China, Tang-dynasty, te=dei=hand,
technique) may have been used on the island of Okinawa a bit
earlier, though unfortunately it is difficult to find evidences.
Toudei - Karate
(Chinese hand) - Karate (Empty hand)
-1922
- 1929
So the word ’Karate’
has been used in less than 100 years. But the techniques that are
included today in modern karate have been practiced in many places
in the world and various periods in the history. Let us look at our
Karate as one of the martial arts in the world.
2. Martial Arts in
the History
Martial arts (empty
hand) are techniques that are mainly used in person-to-person
combat. The purpose of fighting could have been different. It could
have been just a play - not a serious fight, fighting in form of
sport - as a competition, a ritual in ceremony, to defend oneself
from some attack from others or even to beat an opponent for some
reason. It seems like martial arts have had various characters in
different periods and different places in the history. We have to
remember that various martial arts have been existed on the earth
for a long, long time before our karate showed up in the history.
Let us look at various martial arts from the past and analyze their
characters. By doing this we would be able to locate our Karate and
understand what is the special character of our Karate.
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2-1.
Mesopotamia
The oldest evidences about the existence of martial arts that we
can trace today are found in Mesopotamia. (meso=between, potam=river,
in Greek, area between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates) where
one of the oldest civilizations of human being, which we know
today, was developed. The first city-state Urq was built by
Sumerians. A city or a city-state was a place where people
gathered. Then they needed a center for administration and
various ceremonies so that this gathering of people could
function as a unit. The centers in the cities in Mesopotamia
were temples. Terracottas with wrestling and boxing were found
in those temples as votive tablets. It indicates that wrestling
and boxing had something to do with temples. In the temples
various ceremonies were arranged, among others to pray for
better harvest. Winners in martial arts such as wrestling and
boxing were strong men. A strong man gives birth to strong
children. Strong children were needed so that their race should
continue to exist. A strong man was a symbol for survival and
existence. In short, the character of martial arts in
Mesopotamia in those days had a connection with better harvest
and survival of their race or nation. |
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Boxers with short skirts.
They wear
band on their
wrists, ca. 2000
BC, found
in Ashunnak,
Mesopotamia,
should be exhibited
in
Louvre Museum,
Paris |
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2-2. Egypt
The next oldest evidence materials for existence of martial arts
- wrestling and boxing, which we can trace today after
Mesopotamia, were found in Egypt. Egyptian civilization is one
of the four oldest civilizations in the history together with
Mesopotamian, Indian and Chinese. Evidences of martial arts from
Egypt are frescos and reliefs with wrestling and boxing, which
were found mostly in the graves of kings or high officers in
such places as Saqqara. The oldest reliefs in Egypt with martial
arts can be dated back to around 2300 BC. This period is called
’The Old Kingdom’, when Egyptians enjoyed peace and prosperity
under the leading of strong kings (Pharaohs). This is also
called ’The Age of Pyramids’ when many pyramids were built
throughout the country. |
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Reliefs of
boxers (left) and fencers (right), in the grave of Egyptian high
officer Ptahshotpe, found in Saqqara, Egypt, ca. 2300 BC
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Egyptians were rather
peaceful people in those days. Even when they were strongest, they
were not as extremely expansive as Romans. Then it would be rather
correct to guess that Egyptians did not need to combine martial arts
training with that of military. Frescos and reliefs from Egypt show
rather simple and skinny body of their athletes. It is rather
obvious comparing with the ancient Greek athletes who had very well
trained body. We dare to come to the conclusion that Egyptians
rather played with martial arts training - boxing and wrestling.
They enjoyed even fencing by using sticks made by papyrus.
Besides Egyptians in
the ancient days seem to have believed the life after death. In that
belief they started mummifying early as 3000 BC. The body should be
in perfect form when they die and being mummified. They wanted to
come to the new life (after death) with as perfect body as possible.
Then there should not be any injury on their body when they die.
Then it would be less possible for Egyptians in those days to train
martial arts so hard that the training may cause some injuries on
their body. It would be more probable that they trained martial arts
rather in a easy manner and played with them.
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2-3, Minoan
Crete
Around Aegean Sea i.e. between Greece and Turkey today; such
places as, the island of Crete, Cyclades Islands, the southern
part of Greece and even the west coast of Asia Minor - Turkish
coast, a highly developed civilization flourished ca. 2600-1400
BC, which is generally called Aegean civilization. It was nearly
a thousand years before the ancient Greek started to show up her
own highly developed civilization, which made a ground for the
coming European civilization. Especially that on Crete is called
Minoan civilization named after the king Minos of Crete in the
Greek mythology. Greek mythology says that Minos father was
Greek God Zeus and his mother Europe, a Fenician princes.
’Europe’ seems to be named after her. This area around Aegean
Sea from this period is quite interesting for us karate
historians because we can see some evidences of existence of
martial arts: boxing and wrestling. |
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You can find
this
fantastic colorful
wall painting of ’boys
boxing’ in
Athens National Archaeological
Museum. This
was found
in Thera. Dated
back
to 1500 BC.
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The bull-leap is quite
acrobatic and must have required an advanced systematical training
to follow. As far as we know Minoans were the only people who did
this bull-leap in the history. Anyway it indicates that Minoans must
have trained even boxing and wrestling in a systematical manner. By
guessing from the wall paintings from the palace of Knossos where
people sat and enjoyed watching something, boxing and wrestling
matches must have been performed at palaces together with bull-leap
in front of the audience who surely enjoyed watching them.
The fresco with boys
boxing indicates that in the Minoan world not only the adults but
also the young people enjoyed boxing. The fresco can be dated as far
back as to 1500 BC. It is more than 1000 years after the evidences
of martial arts in Mesopotamia and Egypt, but nearly 800 years
before the Greek started the ancient Olympic Games.
2-4, Ancient Greece
Iliad by Homeros
Homeros mentions in his
Iliad: Achilles arranged a sport event for the honor of his best
friend Patroclus who was killed in the battlefield instead of
Achilles himself. This event, if it was really arranged, was the
oldest arranged sports games that we could trace in the history. It
was meant to be the funeral ceremony for Patroclus. Together with
running, chariot racing, javelin, discus, archery and armed combat,
boxing and wrestling were included in the program. The story he was
telling might have happened around 1300 - 1200 BC. It is quite
interesting that our martial arts ( boxing and wrestling) were
mentioned in Ilias. Martial arts were performed in connection with a
funeral.
Ancient Olympic
Games
The ancient Greeks
started the Olympic Games in 776 BC. They were arranged every four
years until the 293rd in 393 AD. It is quite amazing that the
ancient Olympic Games lasted for 1.169 years. It is really a long
period comparing the Modern Olympic Games, which have, a history of
just 100 years.
In the ancient Greece
even the Pythian Games were started in 582 BC. There were even
Pananthenaic Games, Isthmian Games and Nemean Games. In such a way
the Greek athletes in those days had access to at least one game a
year. But the Olympic Games were of course by far the biggest and
most prestigious among them all. Let us look at the Olympic Games in
connection with martial arts:
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1st 776
BC The first Olympic Games were arranged.
18th 708 BC Wrestling was included.
23rd 688 BC Boxing was included.
33rd 648 BC Pankration was included.
37th 632 BC Wrestling for boys included.
41st 616 BC Boxing for boys included.
145th 200 BC Pankration for boys included.
Martial arts played
a major role in the ancient Olympic Games. What was the most
characteristic of martial arts in ancient Greece?
Spartans and
Athens
In ancient Greece
there were many citizen-states or polis. Among them Athens and
Sparta were powerful and competing for the hegemony in Greece.
We find some differences in the idea of sport between those two.
Spartans rather regarded the sports including boxing and
wrestling as a way to train strong bodies and produce strong
soldiers at their Agoge - school. The word Sparta
is still used today meaning a disciplined and hard training.
Spartan men spent most of their lives in military barracks.
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A Greek vase
from 400-500 BC, Athens National Archaeological Museum. The
boxer on the right gives his right straight punch to the
opponents face. Both of them have vary well-trained body. You
can find many such vases from Greek days.
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Athens rather regarded
sports as a way to develop the individuality through their body
(physical training) based on their ideology ’beauty and harmony’ at
least in early Athen days. By making their body well trained and
beautiful they may have believed that they should come closer to
their God. Many Greek youngsters trained at their gymnasium
and/or palaestra (school of martial arts). We can find many
sculptures and paintings on the vases from these days at many
museums in Europe. By looking at them you can easily find that the
Greek athletes had very well trained bodies.
In later days
especially after their victory against Persia character in the
society of Athens may have changed to more irresponsible freedom and
individualism. The sportsmen became more and more professional, and
more people enjoy watching professional sportsmen instead of
participating by themselves.
The Greek way so called
’Hellenism’ has been spread with Alexander the Great. Martial arts
are not exceptions. The idea of gymnasium and palaestra, sort of
schools of sports and martial arts and the using of olive oil on the
body are very characteristic of Greek sport. Totally speaking one
important character with Greeks is that they regarded martial arts
as sports with competition. This Greek idea is inherited to modern
sports in Europe.
2-5, Romans
In 275 BC Romans had
control over the whole Italian Peninsula by concurring Etruscans.
Greece became a Roman territory in 146 BC. Romans in those days were
quite expanding. Even the prosperous Rom was split into east and
west in 395 AD. West Roman Empire ceased to exist in 476 AD and East
Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) in 1453 AD. Romans adapted cultures
and traditions from those whom they concurred. Even in the Roman
martial arts we can find traces from the Etruscan and Greek
traditions. I have mentioned already about martial arts in Greece.
Let us have a quick look at Etruscan martial arts.
Etruscans
Etruscans are very
interesting for us martial art historians because they have left
some materials of martial arts. Etruscans received a great deal of
influence from Greeks at that time, but they had their own tradition
too. Among others in the Museum of Villa Giulia in Rom, and also in
Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican Museum, you can find
thousands of vases from the Etruscans. Like Greeks Etruscans also
made vases, maybe not with so high quality as those by Greeks. But
you will find several vases that show boxing and wrestling in those
museums. But the unique thing with Etruscans is that they have left
wall paintings in their tombs, maybe like Egyptians. Some wall
paintings show martial arts. You will also find some bronze figures
of wrestlers from Etruscans. In some of them even a man and a woman
wrestle against each other. It indicates that not only men but also
women wrestled among Etruscans.
But it is important to
mention that Etruscans had a tradition of using prisoners as offers
for various ceremonies. For example prisoners had to fight either
with or without weapons and only the winners of those fighting's
could survive and the losers became offers. Etruscans had fighting's
even between two animals and sometimes even between human being and
animals. These kinds of fighting with offering were inherited later
to the Roman gladiators.
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Romans
Romans took over the ancient Olympic Games of Greece and
continued until 393 AD. The character of the Olympic Games may
have changed in the meantime. For example Greek boxers used
himantes, soft strings on their hands, but the Roman boxers
started using caestus, made of metal in order to injure
the opponents more seriously. Gladiators fought not only against
each other but also against animals such as lions.
The ancient Rom was
a military empire. They used the training of martial arts for
military training. It makes a part of character of Roman martial
arts.
At the same time
Romans enjoyed their lives for example in their huge bathhouses,
thermos. Romans did not train hard by themselves. They
would rather watching others fighting such as gladiators at
Coliseum in Rom. We can find some differences in Romans from the
ancient Greeks who rather enjoyed training by themselves.
In 391 AD
Christianity became the Roman official state religion. Two years
later in 393 AD the last Olympic Games were held. Christianity
may have influenced that games had become too cruel and they did
not agree with the teaching of Christianity.
You may find many
motives with gladiators in many museums throughout Europe; in
forms of sculptures and mosaics from Roman days.
But here I would
like to show two fantastic evidences of kicking from Roman
period: one is a bronze sculpture and the other a marble relief.
In the game of pancration it was allowed to use kicks. But still
it is not easy to find evidences of kicking. Why not? Kicking
may not be the most effective technique when they had olive oil
on their body and perform fighting on the sand? Was it too
dangerous to kick when throwing was allowed? Anyway these are
the evidences of kicking from Greek- Roman days. |
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A bronze
statuette with kicking (Maegeri), height 27 cm, a pancrationist
from 1st century AD? Louvre Museum in Paris.
In pancration almost any technique including kicking was
allowed. We can see that he bends his toes upward as our Maegeri
today. This is one of the few evidences of kicking from these
days.
Another evidence
of kicking from Greek-Roman days; probably from 200-300 AD,
Vatican Museum, Rom. Those two on the left are pancrationist.
The fighter to the right holds the opponents wrist and execute
knee kick to the genitals. To the right he is a boxer wearing
caestus (metals on the hand) and stands over a fallen opponent.
Boxers wore some kind of cover on their hands. So we can see
that the two to the left are pancrationist and the one to the
right is a boxer. |
2-6, India
In India around 2500 BC the River Indus they developed one of the
oldest civilizations being parallel with Mesopotamia and Egypt.
Mohenjo-Daro was a city with some 40.000 inhabitants and was a
center of manufacture and trade. Not a few objects were found
showing how the life there was, but from our martial arts viewpoint
they have not left evidence materials of martial arts as
Mesopotamians and Egyptians.
Later a people of Indo-European origin came into India and
established perhaps around 1.000BC so called caste system by which
people were divided into the classes. People had to stay in the same
caste from the birth to the death without any possibility of
changing. Then we can guess that the society would be rather
passive. Such a static exercise as yoga is very characteristic of
India. It has been practiced for a long time in India at latest
already around 500 BC. Yoga aims at an unification of mind through
training that includes body posture, control of breathing,
meditation and overcoming of the sense impression. The idea of Yoga
was inherited in Buddhism. TI think that the idea of controlling the
breathing the Indian contribution to martial arts.
2-7, China
China has been huge. There has been a long history of martial arts.
I do not have much space left to go into details. But simply
speaking Chinese has combined the training of martial arts with
health. About 500 BC Taoism was developed with the idea of chi
(internal energy). With chi you will be strong in martial
arts and strong in your body (healthy, a long life). Vital points on
our body can be used for both medicine and martial arts. It is
dangerous if you are hit on those points, but the proper stimulants
to the same points will make you healthy (the idea of acupuncture).
Today many people train taichi chuan (taichi boxing) for
health.
2-8, Japan - Budo
Japan is unique concerning martial arts. They developed the idea of
’the way of life’ by training martial arts. This is expressed by the
word ’Budo’. The equation is:
Art of survival (or art of killing) - Survival of both sides (One
should think not only your own survival.) - Winning over yourself
(Then you have to fight rather against yourself than against your
opponent.) - Winning over ’Life and Death’ ( the biggest subject for
human being) - Emptiness - Creative Life ( We have to try to gain a
creative emptiness - a real happy life) = Budo
Summary
I have made a quick review of how martial arts have been trained in
the past. One can train karate for various purposes. But I think it
would be a little bit too poor if one trains karate only for
competition. It would be better if one gets healthier life by
training karate. It would be better if one could find the meaning of
life by training karate. I believe that the idea ’Budo’ is
something needed in the world today.
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[Source: Shingo Ohgami -
Swedish Web Site] |
