Journal of Traditional Karate No. 2/2018 EDITORIAL
The SECRETS OF TRADITIONAL KARATE in the fight against AGING
Research Hypothesis: The more the motion/sport systems are related to practices where the Mind is trained to control the Body, the longer the active life in the sport field/on the tatami for the practitioners is.
- GENERAL DIAGNOSIS – FACTS. The masters of Traditional Karate live longer than the average lifespan of their contemporaries. Moreover, their AGING process is different, in that they remain active on the tatami even after the age of 70 – what other sports practitioners in other performance sports still practice their sports (even according to the speed and age factors) after the age of 70? Athletes? Football players? Handball players or rugby players? Boxing champions or the champions of other styles of contact fighting? If we consider the average lifespan of the most renowned sensei in the history of Traditional Karate, we notice that regardless of the epoch and lifespan in that epoch, the age is above 70, they; remaining active mentors-practitioners almost until the end of their lives. It is probably one of the mysteries of Traditional Shotokan.
- SPIRITUALITY AND TRADITIONAL KARATE IN 19th-20th centuries. So; with a few exceptions, if we look at the lives of the Masters of Traditional Karate – meaning the style of fighting involving the concept of Zen spirituality – we notice that they used to live past the age of 70 even in the 19th century. For instance, according to statistics, the average lifespan within the population of the Okinawa was about 20-30 years, while for the Euro-American population inhabiting the isles of the Okinawan kingdom of Ryukyu the average lifespan was not higher than the age of 50. Even in these conditions, a gene within our legacy as a species, expressed or maybe activated through the practicing of this type of motion system in which the Mind controls the Body, ensures that the Sensei of Traditional Karate still trains on the tatami at ages that would be improbable in other motion systems or sports.
III. LONGEVITY OF THE OKINAWA MARTIAL ARTS SENSEI – A CRITERION FOR AN IMPERIAL EDUCATIONAL POLICY? We thus have serious grounds to believe that one of the reasons why the style of martial arts Shuri-te, introduced to the Emperor of Japan in 1922 by Sensei Funakoshi, was accepted by the Emperor as suitable to being taught to the masses was beyond any doubt the longevity of the masters of Traditional Karate in the Okinawa. The most renowned masters in the style brought forth by Sensei Funakoshi in the 1922 tournament had lived approximately 2.5 longer than the last 5 kings of the Okinawa at the time as well as than the last 5 Emperors of Japan. The decision to spread the art of Shuri-te, which later evolved into the style of Traditional Shotokan as we know it today, throughout Japan in the 1930s was thus a choice made by an Emperor who thought wisely and valued the lifespan of his people. What do the reliable historical statistics show?
- WHEN USED CORRECTLY HISTORICAL STATISTICS DO NOT LIE. We notice that at the time of this relaunch of the art of Shuri-te from which Traditional Shotokan originated, which had been brought to the Okinawa in 1922 by Sensei Funakoshi, there was valuable information on the lifespans of the renowned masters of this style. Let’s consider a few examples: 1.) The average lifespan of both the peasants in the Okinawa and the inhabitants of the cities was about 22 years. 2.) The kings of the Sho dynasty in the Okinawa lived up to 36 and the last 5 emperors of Japan of the time lived on average about 35 years. 3.) The direct Masters of Sensei Funakoshi, who were like grandparents to his children, had significantly longer lives – Master Pechin Azato: age of 82; Master Anko Itosu – age of 85. If we think back, there are masters who are known to have lived up to the age of 97 – Master Matsumura who adapted the style of Shaolin Kung-fu to the fighting conditions of the Royal Guard of Okinawa where the carrying of weapons was forbidden; Tode Sakugawa – he reached the age of 82 in the same period. 4.) Their followers: Shosei Kina, the disciple who continued the art of Itosu, passed away in 1988 at the age of 100, whereas Sensei Funakoshi passed away in 1957, at the age of 89. We thus remind that these statistics show us that during epochs when the lifespan was of 20-30 years, the practitioners of Traditional Karate used to live past the age of 70 while remaining active in their martial arts even at this age. In the 20th century, when lifespan went beyond 60, afterwards beyond the age of 70, the lifespan and active practice of the Traditional Karate Sensei remained constant – still beyond the age of 70. Given this, a highly plausible assumption would be that Shotokan, Shito Ryu, Wado-ryu, Shoryn-ryu (Okinawa), Goju-ryu as motion and spirituality systems in which the Mind is permanently trained to control the Body, make it possible for the practitioners to have an active life on the tatami until the age of 70.
CONCLUSIONS. What we hereby aimed at was to examine the history of the lifespan of Traditional Karate Masters in the context of the history of the lifespan of the population, searching for constants and variables. And a historical constant that we identified is: REGARDLESS OF THE EPOCH, THE PRACTITIONERS OF TRADITIONAL KARATE LIVE AND ARE ACTIVE IN THEIR ARTS UNTIL BEYOND THE AGE OF 70. Are there any other sports disciplines or motion systems where one can find such performances as aging while still being an active practitioner? Maybe there are. If so, we would need to search for explanations that help us examine perspectives and paths for those who aim at remaining active at senior ages in ways that differ from jogging in the park by oneself, deprived of the rewarding effects of socializing in a group/team, socialization that seniors of 65+ need very much.