The History of Fighting

 “It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out, it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

~Muhammad Ali ~

The Tekki (Iron Horse) kata originally came from the Okinawan style of karate known as Shuri-te and were derived from one longer form called Naihanchi (Internal Divided Conflict) that was revised and split into three through  Anko Itosu’s teachings.


Gichin Funakoshi performing Tekki Shodan

Some scholars believe he actually invented Tekki Nidan and Sandan, but as only Tekki Shodan has a formal opening, they were probably derived from one kata. It is believed that Itosu learned Naihanchi from his teacher Sokon Matsumura, who in turn learned it from a Chinese man living in Tomari in Okinawa.


Gichin Funakoshi performing Tekki Nidan

They represent a fight that takes place with limited space however there is some debate about exactly what the pattern of the kata means. All three Tekki kata follow the form of a simple straight line while performing kiba-dachi (horseback stance). Some believe that this represents fighting with your back to the wall, others maintain that they were developed for fighting on a boat and others still think the kata were likely made to represent fighting on horseback.


Gichin Funakoshi performing Tekki Sandan

Naihanchi was the most basic kata before the introduction of the Pinan (Heian) kata and was taught in both Tomari-te and Shuri-te schools. Sensei Gichin Funakoshi learned the kata derived from Naihanchi and later renamed them to Tekki Shodan, Tekki Nidan and Tekki Sandan.  Funakoshi spent three years practicing each of the Tekki kata and thought of them as difficult to master, despite the fact that they are relatively short.

More Kata History

Sitting Bull (1885)


Alleged photo of Crazy Horse (c.1877)


Chief Gall (1881)

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, otherwise known as Custer's Last Stand or Lakota Victory Day took place on the 25 – 26 of June, 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory. The conflict was fought between the combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army.

The Native American forces achieved an overwhelming victory that was inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull and were led by several tribal chiefs including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall. The 7th Cavalry was made up of twelve companies, five of which were completely obliterated including the Custer Battalion, a troop of seven hundred men led by General George Armstrong Custer, who himself was one of the fatalities of the conflict.

Images vai wikipedia.org

A practitioner of Kun Gek Do, (a form of Korean kickboxing) demonstrating a high side kick.

wikimedia.org

Title:  The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan

Artist:  Eugene Delacroix

Date:  1826

Information: The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan was inspired by the dramatic climax of the
poem Giaour (1813) by Lord Byron. It depicts the moment when the Greek giaour (meaning Christian
infidel) avenges his lover, who was killed by the Turk Hassan (on the horse to the right).

artic.edu

To succeed, consult three old people.

Chinese Proverb

Image – The Chinese deities of Happiness (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou).

Richard Hill describes the gear worn by kendoka at the Asian Art Museum's educator workshop for the
Lords of the Samurai exhibition on September 5, 2009.

Title:  Westernised Samurai

Date:  1866

Artist:  Unknown

Information:  This picture was published in London News not long before the Meiji Restoration.
It depicts a group of young warriors dressed in western clothes alluding to the fact that many
of the samurai class were in favour of the opening of Japan’s borders to foreign influences. 

wikipedia.org

1920s postcard of the Lochnagar Crater.

The Lochnagar Crater is 90 feet deep and 300 feet across and was caused by a charge of 60,000 lbs (26.8 tons) of Ammonal explosives that was set off on the German front lines on the Somme on 1st July 1916. Cecil Lewis, an officer in the Royal Flying Corps who saw the mine explode from his aircraft stated;

“The whole earth heaved and flared, a tremendous and magnificent column rose up into the sky.
There was an ear-splitting roar, drowning all the guns, flinging the machine sideways in the
repercussing air. The earth column rose higher and higher to almost 4,000 feet.”

somme-1916.com