Shotokai Chile has now been on the WWWeb for 9 months!
It still is a very interesting and extremely important experience for our school. Living in Chile there has been very little contact with outside groups, this has drastically changed since we established this Web Page. We are now in contact with many Shotokai groups and other related styles, this is something that is invaluable, we thank all the interesting people that are in contact with us, we will try to stay in a more or less constant contact.
Little by little this Home Page has become very big and complete, there are many things that are missing and some new things that were missing have appeared, a Yoshitaka (Gigo) Funakoshi biography, a Shigeru Egami biography, information about Genshin Hironishi and some general information, other things will appear. I have had plans for some time now to include videos, I will try to make this a reality [Ed. note: took two and a half years!!] and not just a prolonged fantasy. I will try to include some descriptions of other Martial Art styles, etc.
Our Home Page is now totally balanced in quantity of information that can be obtained in Spanish and in English though there still are things you can get in one language but not in the other…People have thus an incentive to learn more languages š The information included here has been intended as a reference for anybody interested in knowing more about Traditional Martial Arts, specifically Shotokai Karate-do, Karate, Budo, it’s Masters, and as far as possible, to give a stronger philosophical basis to the practice of Budo styles. Please make us know any mistakes you may find, we hope you will send us comments on the material, things you’d like to see and positive and negative criticisms, etc.
This homepage includes information from books like “Karate-do Kyohan” by Master Funakoshi, “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra, “The Zen Way to the Martial Arts” by Taisen Deshimaru or “Karate-do Nyumon” by Gichin Funakoshi. I will quote them when it is necessary. Most of the information here has been recollected by Humberto Heyden Sensei, who has dedicated most of his life to Karate and to its historical and philosophical foundations, though he won’t be happy to be named, I’ll do it because it’s only fair.
Shotokai Karate-do is practiced intensely at the University of ConcepciĆ³n, the third largest University in Chile, in ConcepciĆ³n, also the third largest city in size in Chile (approx. 300000 inhab.). At this University, Shotokai has been practiced since 1990 and at the moment consists of about 100 active student karatekas from 8th to 1st kyu. The classes are given by Humberto Heyden Sensei, Shotokai representative in Chile, Chief Instructor at the University.
Shotokai Karate-do is not practiced as a sport, rather as a way toward a personal enrichment [to be understood as development, not on the financial aspect!!], thus participants can strive to generate a stronger personality, character and internal richness, together with the almost secondary effects, such as better physical condition and self-defense abilities. It is due to this point of view that we do not take part in competitions nor championships of any class, there is a clear conviction that competition is distractive and even destructive of the traditional martial art’s objectives.
This is the right moment to quote the Zen Master, Taisen Deshimaru, that in his book “The Zen Way to the Martial Arts”, said:
‘ I have nothing against sports, they train the body and develop stamina and endurance. But the spirit of competition and power that presides over them is not good, it reflects a distorted vision of life. The root of the martial arts is not there… In the spirit of Zen and Budo everyday life becomes the contest. There must be awareness at every moment –getting up in the morning, working, eating, and going to bed. That is the place for the mastery of self. ‘
One should not get carried away with the images shown on TV, or movies, where martial arts are shown as flashy, violent and uncontrolled self-defense techniques. Even though the developments in the martial arts and the public opinion have been misled by sport, competition and the media, there are schools that try to maintain the Budo spirit, as close as possible to it’s original and traditional form.
Reading the Shoto Niju Kun and Dojo Kun, it’s completely clear that Karate is a Budo, never used for attacking; courtesy and respect are fundamental and there must be a complete dedication of the karateka to his Karate studies. In Master Gichin Funakoshi’s book, Karate-do Nyumon, first published in Dec. 1943, he says:
“Karate-do is a noble art, and the reader can rest assured that those who take pride in breaking boards or smashing tiles, or who boast of being able to perform outlandish feats like stripping flesh or plucking out ribs, really know nothing about karate. They are playing around in the leaves and branches of a great tree, without the slightest concept of the trunk.”