Empi Kata - Funakoshi Gichen 1924

[MultiZON123]

He was a true Master... A legend among legends! :)))

[acerwk]

He is not Gichin ''the midget faggot'' Funakoshi.Just calcurate the years

[Darragh62]

he does look a bit tall compared to the other pics n footage of him

[orel1996]

Wow.. I wish I could see him in action, that would be an amazing honour. Great respect sensei, oss :)

[JimCaronArtist]

FARCE-In no way shape or form is this Gichin Funikoshi. Footage is too new and enhanced to look old, besides, this is not the style he taught at all. As a long time student of Tsutomo Ohshima I will verify that. What person would try to create such a farce and for what stupid reason?

[chudanjufood]

@JimCaronArtist I will agree that this is most likely not Funakoshi. But being a student of Oshima, I'm surprised you don't recognize Empi. It is part of the SKA curriculum. Its a senior kata, so not much attention is paid to it until later on in training.

[gordhill]

@dogfacedboyuk1 I agree! It looks like the guy who posed for the english Kyohan.. Egami, iirc (at least the outline of his hair looks the same).

[WMuckaMW]

very very cool video  !!! from Russia

[stegxstar]

My favorite kata but the strike empi is spelt like this, the Kata enpi is spelt with a N :)

[R4W]

@stegxstar I'm glad someone said it.  It's one of my favorites too.

[Shooter16a2]

Well, that's who the original film claimed it was and I have no reason to disagree with them.

[ShorinRyuRonin]

This is not Funakoshi.

[peacekevin16]

well we still can watch a student of him kanazawa who is really amazing too

[misan89]

great!  Thanks for this video!

[zombii17]

Osu!

[eon2569]

even if the video is blurry i can still see that gichin's execution of enpi is perfect(of course he's the founder of shotokan karate)

[dedalan]

oss sensei, domo, domo arigatou gozai mashita

[Cachalesco]

Oss

[HxCMillo]

oss senseii!

[TheWorkingPart]

Great video, if you have any other old martial art films of ANY style, please upload them. Great to see genuine martial arts.

[RipTheJakker]

awesome. thanks for uploading this.

[PLAYER1NYC]

Osu

[Winterdenni]

I love how this footage from 1924 contains changes to the kata that weren't introduced until the mid 1930s.

[bestrode]

yeah lol :P

[vap3600]

Well, it looks cool, but it is too blurry

[Shooter16a2]

Well, accordind to the people who put the tape out, it is. They should know, some of them were his students.

[matsumurasghost]

This is not Funakoshi Meijin. It looks more like his son - Yoshitaka aka Gigo. It was Yoshitaka who spearheaded the changes in the performance of the koryo Okinawan kata.

[graphic]

wow... 1st time i see a comment like that; please explain.

[mehle3]

its long history.....karate from okinawa but that was diferent karate when funakoshi came to japan he change style and save only kata:(("(

[MasOyama10dan]

OSS !

[johnkings004]

OSS!

[Ruben1994OL]

I am really sorry to have to correct you, but it's written "Osu".

Same to johnkings004.

Osu!

[giggadygoogog]

No, its written in kanji, hiragana or katakana. Osu or Oss is just a phonetic translation of the word. If when read it sounds correct, then it is.

[jimbrazendale]

what is the source of this video? can you verify that it is real footage of Funakoshi sensei circa 1924? It looks very much like shotokan circa 2000. fyi Funakoshi wasn't using the name "empi" for this kata in 1924. I have of copy ryushu karate kempo, published 1926, in this book the kata is still called wahshu. the kata described is nothing like the video. therefore, is the video authentic?

[QUntouchable]

Very clean sharp movements. Great form. There arent many martial artists like that anymore.

[frankvanqueens]

You are only using talking points and propaganda! Look at how the karate world is filled with those so called "masters" who denigrate others. It is not the way! If you look at how JKA sold dans, and kept non Japanese down, such as Frank Smith who demolished Japanese fighters, you'd think twice about the nonsense that you've come to believe! It is only fighting, and nothing else!

[Luca87V]

Karate isn't "just a fight". People that thinks of karate just as a way to show "I hit harder than you" can't understand the philosophy behind this Martial ART.

Hitting harder than someone doesn't make you a karateka...to do karate you don't nedd someone else to fight, yourself is enough...

know what you're talking about, before speaking

[AlexSevast2008]

Actually I do agree with you. Karate for me is fighting with myself rather than with somebody else. This is the Way I wil follow  untill the end of my life.

[mehle3]

i cant belive//do you think this is martial arts?

[frankvanqueens]

What my point is mainly, is that we shouldn't believe those who shroud Karate in "phrases". It is just a fighting art, and that's all. To talk about building character is nonsense. What you do in dojo has nothing to do with that, it's how you're brought up, and how you view the world. Either you stay a kid or grow up and treat people accordingly. The Japanese were brutal in WW2. The overlay of nationalism was incorporated into Shotokan. So therefore, they were good to Japanese, brutal to others

[wayoftheforesthand]

nationalism was incorporated in to everything in japan in ww2. its kind of hard to put blame on them for their humanity. Power and influence has huge power over even the greatest of people. even the greats of intent can go very astray. every style has some level of spirituality and morality in it as some point. even the silat styles who are PURE combat have a moral and spiritual aspect to their training. if you are face your death you want some moral or spiritual purpose behind it.

[thebringerofjustic]

your wronge i know the history of gichin funakoshi- he didnt make shotokan karate- his student mas oyama did, further more Oyama only focused upon the more psycal and combat aspect of the art and not the spiritua, and character building aspects. funakoshi hated war also, he only wanted to share this gift of the martial arts with the world, to make it world wide knowledge so that more people would studty and learn from it.

[Sochinstudent]

@thebringerofjustic Incorrect. Mas Oyama created Kyokushinkai. Shotokan is Funakoshi's art. To say different against all the historical and documented evidence is ludicrous and you'd better have some good evidence to back it up.

[LordKitsune7]

What you just said is completely wrong...

Karate builds character, But also, at the same time, turns your entire body into one deadly weapon.

Karate has transformed me into the person I am today. I will continue improving myself through Karaté. Choosing something like Karate improves your confidence and your views of the world. Which can then further lead onto thinking about the person you wish to be.

[frankvanqueens]

The ultimate aim in karate do is not victory, but the building of character. That is paraphrasing him, but close to the actual quote. I never said that Shotokan was a "bad" style, it has it's good and bad points. Once, like you, I was a true believer. As I have grown, I can see that there is no ulitmate style, or master. But by actually seeing it for what it is, and the people who are called masters, we can then free ourselves to find what is best for us. Many teach one thing, and do another.

[wayoftheforesthand]

you are assuming i think karate is a end all or that some master is supreme. I enjoy history of the masters and styles but what they did or what they are known for doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. the title of masters is a sign of respect, which i don't think is a bad things as long as you don't worship a guy. but either or not people worship a master matters very little to me because its doesn't effect my training in karate, kung fu, and silat.

[starwarsfan1985]

awesome. very good kata.

[frankvanqueens]

So reading your comments one can come to the conclusion that dojo kun as propagated by Funakoshi was all a lie! After all did he preach that the ultimate goal wasn't in victory, but in character building? That this is karate's ultimate aim? How can one have character and treat his fellow man like this? What does it have to do with fighting skill? It's how that skill is used, for right or to oppress the weak and helpless. You unfortunately are an idol worshipper. Release your mind!

[wayoftheforesthand]

building character was Funikoshi's Ultimate tempted. is it the ultimate aim? thats debatable. not everyone in Shotokan would completely agree with it. different teachers have had different points of view on it. i dont think its wrong either. way. ppl treat ppl badly because they do thats called human nature. using ones skill depends on the situation and who looks at it. if japan would have won no one would have cared. but that doesnt make shotokan bad as a whole. thats individual bases.

[acerwk]

So gay!

[frankvanqueens]

Why must one of my superior knowledge and intellect try to speak to one who's knowledge is so inferior? It does have a bearing, because it is a lie! Where was the character during the Bataan Death March? Where was the "code of Bushido"? Where was dojo kun? How they view the non Japanese is how they relate to them. I guess therefore, using your "logic", that we can admire the Nazis and how they fought against the innocents of WW2. Character, dear friend, does count!

[wayoftheforesthand]

Character is not fighting skill. Character speaks of a culture. culture is a different topic for a different video. Most historians do admire the Nazis tactics in WW2. it was military genius. now ethically they were evil and should not be admired, but every super power in the world took their ideas on military combat. but once again what does moral short comings have to do with the self defense readiness of a karateka? we are talking about Karate right not morals?

[frankvanqueens]

Okinawa Te was a true art of self defence. It wasn't introduced as a gymnastic. The kata was changed along gymnastic lines of performance. As your god Funakoshi said of Okinawa, "such was the dangerousness of the times". This cannot be applied post Meji Japan. You are like a man drowning in a sea of stubborness, refusing to grab on to the lifeline of fact and truth. There is no character building in Shotokan. Funakoshi's students took part in the rape of Asia during WW2!

[wayoftheforesthand]

first off Te is only part of karate, its not the whole. Kempo or Kara Te/chinese hand is what you keep talking about. Te was incomplete so the Okinawan's added chuan fa. once again ones character does not dictate ones ability to fight. martial arts... art of war... their ethical or moral short comings have no barring on their fighting ability. now in your language. the flowers bloom and dog cries. pretty language does not change the flow of a raging river.

[acerwk]

Shotokan sucks!Funakoshi got his ass kicked by a regular student of judo..

[brucejonesful]

if my history is correct, I believe that funakoshi became friends with a practitioner of judo.I don't recall finding out that they had a fight

[mallardgreen]

Funakoshi became close friends with the founder of modern Judo, Jigoro Kano, after Funakoshi moved to Japan in early 1920s. Funakoshi borrowed both the use of colored belts to indicate rank and the wearing of the gi from Judo. This video actually looks like it might be Funakoshi's son, Yoshitaka.

[ukflamenco]

@mallardgreen If this is from 1924, Yoshitaka was born in 1906 and got his shodan in 1925, its probably one of O-Senseis earlier students such as Takeshi Shimoda.

[Bassai]

@brucejonesful Read Harry Cook's "Shotokan: A Precise History" very good book. The only known conflict Funakoshi had was with Shorin-Ryu teacher Choki Motobu. No, Funakoshi never fought anyone notable, especially in mainland Japan. He was respected because of his special audience with Prince Hirohito, when he demonstrated Karate for him (first in Okinawa then again in Tokyo).

[frankvanqueens]

Shotokan was created as a form of gymnastics. It was used to elevate the physical level of students as part of militaristic click that was gaining power in Japan. Shotokan is a chop suey of Okinawa Te without the deadly forms of that system. That's why Funakoshi taught kata from other styles. The colleges where it was taught were the most nationalistic of all. It has a sorrid and ugly past as it was associated with the hateful violent Japanese militarists who ruled Manchuria.

[wayoftheforesthand]

what the hell does that have to do with the price of cheese in denmark? who they were associated with does not detract from a system. one personal or moral outlook on life has nothing to do with one ability to fight. secondly shotokan was not created as a form of gymnastics. it original concept was to bring together two schools of thought in Okinawa Naha-te, Shuri-te.

[wayoftheforesthand]

also whats with all the okinawan te thing being amazing? as you have said on other videos why do you have to change something that is perfect. why did the Okinawan's include Chinese chuan fa? which was then translated in to Kempo. karate is Chinese hand not Okinawan hand. most of what makes karate good is not the Okinawan influence but the Chinese influence. so maybe the Okinawa's were bad because they included EVIL Chinese Chuan Fa in to their perfect art.....

[frankvanqueens]

Kata has no place in kumite! That's why the scoring doesn't count any moves from it. Kata was developed for self defence and killing or maiming an opponent. How can you use such techniques in a match, and how can you say that they don't use those moves? Your knowledge is apparently at the level of a novice. The masters created these moves in respone to a life threatening situation. Since they don't allow head punches and death techniques, how can they be realisitic/?

[acerwk]

No good!

[frankvanqueens]

JKA changed the katas and every school in JKA does it different. ISKA, SKA, ect all do them differently from the original. Why? Are they saying that they're on his level? And whom did Funakoshi fight? Who did he take on? NO ONE! He came to Japan because he didn't have a job in Okinawa. He taught for exhorbitant fees. As Oyama called them, "slow motion excises for women and children". Money then as now was the name of the game. Self promotion, then as now! This is NOT real karate do!

[opticannon]

well, not to defend a counter point. its just that a great deal of karate if not all comes from china via india. certain kung fu is played slow to unify structure and understanding such as chen style tai chi which is explosive eventually; as it derives its power from the root through the hips and to the hands. much like ive seen oyama do. the only thing is that from my veiw point alot of oyama fighters (respectfully) suck and use none of the kata in thier fighting. so keep asking why, really.

[wayoftheforesthand]

why isnt there one single style of karate? why isnt there one single style of kung fu? simple each style is a interpratation of fighting. shotokan is as much karate as Goju. they are just differing opinions on how and what karate is. secondly karate do is what funikoshi called it. empty hand way. he focused on Do aspect of karate. but his system has made good fighters. now was Funikoshi's way of teaching boring as hell? HELL YA it was, but it was his way of karate. there is no one right way.

[frankvanqueens]

It's w "SHOULD" not shuld! The stories about him are all nonsense! He should have tried to do this during hurricane Katrina! Oshima wrote that "his students all forgot him" except of course self promoting Oshima! He also wrote that he was so weak that Oshima had to carry him up stairs for demos. If he was so weak how could he demo?If his Karate was so great,then why did his students change it? How can you improve on perfection? Each Shotokan school changed his karate. So how was he so great?

[8485773]

now is how u do a karate's kata

[DDEMONHUNTERR]

very cool...very traditional and clean...not like today like valdesi who is only for demonstration

[mhmmmo]

I agree the person moves quite different from the man in the Tekki performance. He resembles much more Gigo F. in Heian Jodan.

[frankvanqueens]

Funakoshi couldn't go back to Okinawa because he owed too many people money. So where is the "character building" by this hypocrite? Too many in Karate talk a good game, but are really fraudsters and liars!

[magnusmarti]

Why would you say this about Funakoshi Sensei?? He was a great man leave him alone. What is wrong with trying to bring out the best in people. You shuld read some of his books.

[farorin]

Thats really cool. I personnally think its funakoshi, and if it isnt it would surprise me.

[klodser9090]

how did he get the tape??? can't believe it

[spinklevic]

awesome

[Shooter16a2]

According to the tapes I've seen,they claim it is. The same story with Meikyo kata. These were taped at the same time the Naihanchi's were.

[parkermartin161]

@Shooter16a2 Back then it would of course have been analog film camera, not tape. The images do look to me like old home movies, which is my only frame of reference for analog film cameras, so this looks to me like it's genuine. But I am not an expert. It would be interesting to have a old film expert take a look at this to verify its authenticity.

Thank you for posting it. Sensei and I were just discussing the other day whether or not Funakoshisan did empi. This seems to answer it! Ossu.

[empilpu]

but is this gichin funakoshi? im not so sure.

[empilpu]

i love this kata! usually old video is sped up and the kata has changed so much!

[adhamsabree]

1- This is one of the master's students, I'm not sure of his name.

2- This vedio was speeded up when played due to the old technical recorders(it was slower in the reality).

3- look at the real Kata..

4- Traditional is better than modern.

[thankful2one]

Are you sure it is not Master Funakoshi himself?

[skimarcus]

The person in the video is too tall to be Funakoshi Sensei. I believe he was only 4'11".

[aoaby]

Nope, that's not Funakoshi. Funakoshi uses the slow movements with the heavy striking thingy, that guy moves way too fast to be him.

[Lexrubber]

I dont belive this video coz i see some color in this video. Je ne crois pas à ce video parce que je vois quelques couleurs dans ce video. I am surpris that its impossible to see who is this man. Je suis surpris que cc'est impossible de voir cet homme.

[mjfeener]

could be funakoshi's son, gigo. he was the one who started the longer stances.

[FabriX415]

OSU

[otaviosy]

very good , excellent

[karatekid68]

it's not Funakoshi, before 40's, there had no jumps in the katas

[Trapp1993]

i dont quite believe it is him in person - this is not the style of empi - there is an older one and master funakoshi would surely not have known the new one, also his jump isnt the greatest...

[anacondadelta]

je ne crois pas que ce soit Funakoshi, le kata n'est pas réalisé dans la forme traditionnelle de son enseignement.

[stardingo747]

damn. I've never seen empi performed with such perfection.

[dipil]

u havent? then u havent seen much...because i didn't see a well perfomed Empi and it«s hard to believe that this is Sensei Funakoshi..or maybe he just did it like this and nowadays it's made differently..

[xikovzmolotovz]

LOLOLOLOL great video m8's :D

[NewEnglandBudo]

No way this is Gichin, I believe that he did not modify his stances to a lower kibad dachi till after the 1930's. This clip is someone of the Shotokan era, post 1935.

[rosswoof]

In his biography Funakoshi describes 'seeing' someone else holding kibadachi on rooftop in a hurricane, it was as said below an example of determination.

As for killing a horse no.

An old mentor/tutor of Funokoshi was Soken Matsumura, he is reported to have defeated a bull without laying a strike.

Mas Oyama was famous for wrestling/killing bulls when he came down from the mounting spouting his Kyokushin Kai style. Check it out probably a movie on here about it.

[matbroomfield]

Actually, Funakoshi's biography describes Funakoshi himself standing in Kiba dachi against a typhoon, as related by Mr Togawa.

[rosswoof]

I'll dig out the book and look it up, but one of us is going to be eating his hat! I'm 99.9% sure it wont be me. =)

[matbroomfield]

The chapter begins - "Perhaps it would be more modest to let another person describe one's youthful feats than to do so oneself... I shall here quote the words of Yukio Togawa" Funakoshi then says, "The reader may see a touch of madness but I have no regrets." He then goes on to relate the words of Togawa, as he (Togawa) describes seeing Funakoshi stand against the typhoon.

So would sir like salt with that hat? ;-)

But all just in fun Ross. :-)

[rosswoof]

I stand corrected. Well actually, I sit constipated; too much fibre in that straw hat of mine!

A Zen monk goes up to the hot-dog stall and says "Make me one with everything!" .... "Hey! where's my change??!" ---- Change comes from within!

[matbroomfield]

Oh I knew that guy. He went to the dentist to have a tooth pulled. The dentist asked if he wanted novocain to numb the pain - the guy refused - he wanted to transcend dental medication! ;-)

[rosswoof]

Oh I heard about him too... wasn't his appointment at Chinese Dentist time? - tooth-hurty? =)

[adox26]

@rosswoof Actually, in his autobiography, Funaikoshi writes about someone who saw him, Funakoshi, on a roof during the hurricane. Funakoshi then goes on to affirm that it was himself who was on the roof.

[dejathorus]

This looks like Giko Funakoshi ? anybody else think this ?

[KobayashiShorinRyu]

dejathorus, Yes I think you are right. It looks like

GIKO but I could be wrong.. It is very nice to see this old video. Thank you Shooter16a2.

[KSchwarz]

If I remember well, in his book he included that hurricane episode, but it wasn't him. He saw a person doing it during a hurricane, and he mentioned it as an example of determination. But it wasn't Funakoshi.

[ShotokanWarrior91]

I also found it kinda odd too, maybe my sensei was mistaking him for someone else. Sounds like something Kyan or Motobu would do.

[draconerius]

I know for sure that Funakoshi recounted the hurricane story in his autobiography Karate-Do: My Way of Life and I believe also in Karate-Do Kyohan: The Master Text. In it he recounts standing on top of an Okinawan house, holding a tatami mat while standing in horse ridding stance(kibadachi). But he also adds that although the strong winds pushed him over, he would get back up again and stand against the wind. The horse story sounds false when compared to his writtings and philosophy.

[Shooter16a2]

Thanks for your help. It's been years since I've read those books. I guess I'll have to re-read them. I also agree with you about the horse story. From what I recall, he didn't seem like the kind of persome to kill for no reason.

[Shooter16a2]

I never heard this. Can you please tell me where this info is documented?

[klemowicz]

Funakoshi sensei was non-violent, gentlemanly and reserved. I'm sure he never gave a shuto to a horse. In addition, he himself scoffed at the notion of superhuman powers deriving from the martial arts. It's true, however, that he stood upright on his roof in kiba-dachi while holding a mat to block the wind during a hurricane. It's in his book, "My Life," also written about in John Stevens' "Three Budo Masters."

[ShotokanWarrior91]

I also heard from my sensei that he read in a book that Funakoshi could break a horses' neck with a knife hand strike.

[Shooter16a2]

Could you find out the name of the book? I'd like to see this.

[randyslicker]

uber find!

[Raphneckone]

Some of sensei funakoshi´s students have reported his ability to block karate stikes while sleeping when he was around 80. Of course this is utter nonsense, but it shows what strange effects the admiration of a master can have.

[kakorroto]

i heard this guy did some crazy shit like stood upright in a hurricane and didnt budge. anyone else hear of that? what else has he done?

[Shooter16a2]

I have read many books and heard the story and although I can't remember who it was at this time, I know it wasn't Funakoshi Sensei.