The History of Fighting

An instructional video of kihon kata by Sensei Masao Kawasoe.

Kihon (basic form) is the most elementary of all the shotokan kata. Invented by Sensei Gichin Funakoshi as an easy introduction to kata and karate itself, it is made up of only two moves, gedan bari (lower block) and oi tsuki (lunge punch). Kihon kata, also known as Taikyoku Shodan, is a part of a set of basic kata that Funakoshi introduced, though in shotokan only the first is now taught and even that has now disappeared from the syllabus of many schools.

More Kata History

An Ajantha Mahantharachchi expert at a sword demonstration in 2012.

Source: wikimedia.org

A 1964 photo of middleweight challenger Rubin Carter.

Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, who died in April 2015 aged 76 could, according to some commentators, have become the World Champion and was one of the best middleweights of his day. However on June 17th, 1966 Carter was out on the town with a friend, John Artis and their lives would change forever when they found themselves getting arrested for the murder of a bartender and two customers of the Lafayette Bar and Grill.


Rubin Carter knocking Florentino Fernandez of Cuba out of the ropes in a first round KO.

Despite not even being at the bar at the time of the murders, eyewitnesses failing to identify the pair and a long list of other inconsistencies with the prosecution’s case, the two were found guilty and sent to jail. It would take nearly 20 years for the convictions to be overturned and while serving the time, Carter wrote an autobiography called ‘The Sixteenth Round.’ This attracted a host of celebrities to his cause including Muhammad Ali and Bob Dylan, who wrote the song ‘Hurricane’ about him. Years later a movie of the same name starring Denzel Washington would also tell the story of Rubin ‘Hurricane’ Carter and his struggle for justice.

Source: nydailynews.com

Still photos of Gichin Funakoshi taken while performing Heian Sandan.

More kata photos

"Do not look upon this world with fear and loathing. Bravely face whatever the gods offer."

~ Morihei Ueshiba ~

Found on funnyjunk.com

A section of the Skull Tower

The Skull Tower (Ćele Kula), in Niš, Serbia was built in 1809 by Turkish general Hurshi Pasha during the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire (1804-1813). The rebels were defeated but rather than run away or give themselves up, their commander Stevan Sinđelić fired a shot into a gunpowder keg in a fully stocked gun powder room, which not only finished the rebels off but also took a number of Turkish soldiers out as well.


A section of the Skull Tower

Turkish commander Hurshid Pasha was furious and believed he needed to teach the Serbian Nation a lesson. The bodies of the dead soldiers were mutilated and decapitated, then the skin was peeled off the heads, stuffed with straw and sent to Turkey. Meanwhile, the skulls were used as blocks for a tower built right outside the city, which was to serve as a horrific reminder to other Serbs of the fate that would befall those that rebelled against the Ottoman Empire.


Illustration of Skull Tower (1868)

The 15 foot high, 13 foot wide tower was made up of 952 skulls with the skull of Stevan Sinđelić placed at the top. Soon after it was biult, the Serbs would again rebel and in 1830 the Ottomans were driven from the country. Many of the skulls were removed from the walls by family members wanting to give their loved ones a proper burial and today there are 58 skulls remaining in the tower. In 1892 a chapel was built around Skull Tower by Serbian authorities in a bid to preserve the monument which had become a symbol of the bravery of those that fought for the country’s independence.

Source: atlasobscura.com

This 1931 jujitsu demonstration in Germany aimed to show how a well-trained unarmed woman could defend herself against a would-be attacker. In this scenario, a rope tied across the road has caused her to stop her car and she is set upon by a man with a knife. She controls the knife hand and engages the assailant by grabbing his throat before taking him to the floor with a throw.

Sources:
Pinterest, Martialarts.unltd

This lithograph plate from 1888 by Albert Racinet (1825-1893) shows Japanese samurai warriors
with various different types of armour and weaponry.

Source: Wikipedia

"Practice is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation."

~ Ann Voskamp ~