Investigations into the history of karate

When he first set foot on the island of Okinawa more than 35 years ago, he could not have imagined where his journey would take him. Today, Joachim Laupp (9th Dan Hanshi) is the official representative of Shōrin-ryū Shidōkan in Germany and Europe and teaches hundreds of students throughout Europe.

Mr. Laupp, what was it like when you met your teacher Miyahira Katsuya (1918–2010) for the first time in the early 1980s?

It was the most incredible moment of my life. I had been to Japan before and had met several Japanese masters there and in Europe, but the first time I met my teacher, Miyahira Katsuya (10th Dan Hanshi), was simply indescribable. He was a man with great charisma and an aura that impressed you to the core. I was facing a master who radiated an incredibly strong physical and mental power. It was the most impressive moment of my life.

You stayed on Okinawa for a while to train and have been visiting the island at least twice a year ever since. What was training with Miyahira Sensei like?

I had three private lessons every morning on the karate path with Miyahira Sensei, which always pushed me to my physical and mental limits. It was strict and hard every time. In the afternoon I practiced Kobudō for one or two hours and in the evening all Shidōkan students trained with our teacher in the Shidōkan Honbu Dōjō. It was a very difficult and hard time for me, because each of the senior students wanted to show me the ropes. I often packed my suitcase to fly home, but the next morning I was back in the dōjō, ready for the next lesson.

Karate changes over time. And Murakami Katsumi once said that it is not surprising that the karate of two people with different personalities is different. How close is what Miyahira taught to what his teacher Chibana Chōshin learned from his teacher Itosu Ankō?

Very close. Very close, because Chibana Sensei passed on his inner teaching, which he received from Itosu Sensei, to his inner student and successor, Miyahira Katsuya. Itosu Ankō Sensei taught two types of karatedō, a purified karate for the general public and the original karate only for his inner students, one of whom was Chibana Chōshin Sensei. Chibana Sensei passed on the original inner teaching unadulterated to Miyahira Sensei.

Every person, every master has his own personality with which he teaches. I can only repeat what my teacher, Miyahira Katsuya, did. And I am firmly convinced that he strictly adhered to what he learned from his teacher. Miyahira Sensei was strict but fair. He was extremely precise when it came to the exercises and was not directly satisfied with performance. You had to have very good stamina to satisfy him to some extent. Itosu Sensei is Itosu Sensei, Chibana Sensei is Chibana Sensei. And Miyahira Sensei is Miyahira Sensei!

It is said that Miyahira Sensei was one of the few who endured the hard training at Motobu Chōki, while others gave up after a short time. Were you also inclined to throw in the towel at the beginning of your apprenticeship with your master?

As I mentioned … several times. I even wanted to give up karate altogether. I had moments when I no longer understood karate and was constantly on the verge of giving up, sometimes to my shame. Every night this feeling kept coming back to my heart and stomach: “Don’t give up, keep going! Constant dripping wears away the stone”. I didn’t give up, on the contrary, I got stronger from day to day. I can’t say exactly what force kept driving me back to dōjō, but this force was definitely very strong. I am happy that I did not throw in the towel!

There are usually three pillars of karatedō: kihon, kumite and kata. You base your training on five pillars. What are they?

Yes, there are three pillars in sports karate: kihon, kata and kumite. I learned from my teacher, Miyahira Katsuya, that the path of karate in the traditional sense is built on five pillars, namely: kihon, kata, bunkai, makiwara and kumite. I have five pillars in my dōjō that support the ceiling. Each of these pillars stands for exactly that. I am me, …, I am who I am. In my dōjōs there is a spiritual, imaginary sixth pillar that stands out from the other five pillars. And this is the “spiritual and mental attitude” towards what you do or practice – always doing it with the same respect, as if the master were omnipresent in front of you!

What is the most important thing you learned from Miyahira Sensei?

First of all, his entire teaching on budō. Then: about life, about the society we live in, about dying, humanity, compassion, mercy, strictness towards oneself, kindness towards others, constant practice, never giving up, togetherness, to flourish and be happy together and, above all, to find one’s true self!

You once said that karate – according to Itosu Ankō – can change people for the better, which is why he supported the introduction of karate into Okinawan school education at the beginning of the 20th century. A big step for a martial art that had been taught in secret for a long time. Now karate is on its way to the Olympics. How do you feel about that?

Yes, that’s true. Karate has a very positive effect on people if they practice it properly. I think practicing karate in schools and incorporating it into school lessons is very smart. There is sport karate and there is traditional karatedō. Both differ in that sport has a beginning and an end, and budō – as an umbrella term for all martial arts disciplines – has a beginning but no end, provided it is practiced correctly and consistently. A motto of mine: “budō includes sport, but sport does not include budō”! If I’m honest, the content and meaning of budō is lost with the Olympics! As a sport it’s okay for many, but as a traditional art it has no value for those who respect tradition.