Stories about animals have always played an important role in folklore. In the world of karate, the bull is the subject of many anecdotes. The bull is a very powerful animal. A form of bullfighting, in which peasants pitted bulls against each other for fun, is said to date back at least to the 12th century. In later times, for example, Matsumura Sōkon 松村宗棍 (c1809–c1899) is said to have won a fight with a bull without actually fighting by using a trick. Itosu Ankō 糸洲安恒 (1831–1915), on the other hand, is said to have subdued a runaway bull by sheer manpower. There are numerous accounts of this in literature.
In a rather rare story told by Kosugi Hoan 小杉放庵 (1881–1964) from 1930 (republished in 1934), a ram was involved instead of a bull. According to this, Itosu Ankō once made a bet that he could kill a huge ram with a single blow without it making a sound. The only rule was that Itosu was not allowed to hit the animal on the head. When the ram fall, however, it made a small grunt. The bet eventually remained decided, as it was argued that the sound was only the breath of the poor animal. Such stories were often told to prove the skill and quality of individuals — even if they take some getting used to from today’s perspective.
Sources:
Feldmann, Thomas (2021): Anko Itosu. The Man. The Master, The Myth. Biography of a Legend. Lulu Publications
Joe Swift’s translation of Kosugi’s 1930 account in Dragon Times Volume 19 (2001: 26)
Photo credit: AI-generated with chat.openai.com – Public Domain Mark and Naha City Mueum of History
Investigations into the history of karate 