(6) Kanryo Higaonna showed students the position of a fist, its movement and
so on with his short round stick. He seldom touched their bodies. During the
practice he had never glared at students. He always taught them with a
gentle look.

(7) In the beginning, originally, they performed Sanchin with open hands.
They struck with Nukite (= spear-hand). Different from today¡Çs hard
breathing sound, they breathed so silently that the others could hardly
notice. Also different from today¡Çs Sanchin training, the teacher never
struck shoulders of students. There was no such a training method.

(8) "Matsu (= the childhood name for Chojun Miyagi), stop before you turn at
a street corner." said Kanryo Higaonna to Chojun Miyagi. He often gave
Miyagi cautionary advices. Miyagi told his teacher that they were burdensome
for him. Higaonna replied, "You should have a cautious manner. Make it your
habit. Only Nanji (= practicing hard) is not a martial art."

(9) It seemed that Chojun Miyagi went to Fuzhou, China not for studying
martial arts but for a minor business. After returning to Okinawa from
China, he asked Kanryo Higaonna, "In China, I saw they were breathing with
making sound ¡ÇHuu Huu Haa Haa¡Ç like a roar of a very large snake
when they
were practicing Sanchin. What do you think of this breathing method?"
Higaonna replied, "Theirs is genuine. Ours is genuine, too. What I have
taught you so far is authentic. Everything is slow to mature. Training from
the inside is genuine. You are still full of youthful vigor."

(10) Thinking about a technique of karate, Chojun Miyagi got up even in the
midnight and studied it. In order to devote himself to studying karate, he
left a five-year middle school before graduating when he was in the fourth
grade.

When Chojun Miyagi was young, he visited karate masters of other styles such
as Anko Itosu and Chotoku Kyan. In those days, there were no Ryu or names of
karate styles, so karate masters from various styles gathered together and
held a meeting called "Bu No Hyoji" (= a forum on martial arts?). At the
meeting, they talked about karate techniques, read a Ryuka (= an Okinawan
poem) aloud and drank Sake (= an alcoholic drink made from rice). It was
something like a friendly party. Chojun Miyagi was the youngest among them.


- to be continued -


Sanzinsoo
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