There existed in Greece another sport, known as the pankration, or "game of all powers," since at least 648 B.C., when it was instituted as an Olympic event.3 This sport developed as a combination of earlier forms of Greek boxing and wrestling. In it, any technique except eye-gouging and biting was permitted (although some city-states may have allowed even this). Kicking was common, and statues exist that show practitioners competing what in modern karate would be called the front kick. Other techniques permitted were straight punches, jumping kicks, and throws similar to the tomoe-nage, or "circle throw," of judo, a move in which the thrower grasps the opponent's lapels and while falling backward, presses his foot in his adversary's stomach and throws him over his head. On some pottery fragments can be seen a front kick that has been caught with the defender moving in to sweep the supporting leg with a throw similar to judo's o-uchi-gari (inner-leg hook). Pankration contests were held under strict supervision, the referees using a long rod to strike the fighter who violated the rules. It was this form of empty-handed Greek art that most closely resembled Asian karate.
The pankration was not considered to be a "gentleman's sport" in the same way that Greek boxing was. In Plato's Laws (c. 350 B.C.) it may be observed that the "upright posture" was highly regarded.4 Since the pankrationist had to leave his feet and assume the contrary poses in his fighting, Plato did not see the sport as beneficial to the correct development of young men. Indeed, he even criticized the use of such throwing and grappling techniques in the pankration by the fighters Antaeus and Cercyon as being useless in actual fighting and "unworthy of celebration." A young man should stand on his feet, not roll in the dust. This idea was a popular one and by the second century A.D. it was common to prohibit all wrestling techniques.
Some historians have discovered written evidence which, they claim, suggests that an early form of boxing existed in China. This ancient sport resembled more the pankration than the modern sport of boxing. E. Norman Gardiner mentions a boxing match between the marquis of Chin and the viscount of Chu in 631 B.C.5 Apparently, the techniques used were not limited to punches, but included kicks and throws.
Still another method of training young men, also similar to karate, existed in ancient Greece. In The Laws, Plato described a dance called the pyrrhic as a mock battle in which the performer simulated the attitudes of attack and defense. The emphasis was on correct form and good posture. The dance was used as a means to train young men for fighting, but whether or not this Greek art had any influence on the fighting techniques of Asia is a matter for speculation. However, the descriptions of the pyrrhic by Plato might well be used to describe the traditional karate kata, or formal exercise. One thing that may be noted is that the pankration and the pyrrhic both antedate the Indian statues.
Although the discussion above indicates the existence of karate-like fighting arts in Greece, it is quite difficult to make any definite or substantial connection with present day martial arts in the Far East. Since the Greeks did maintain control of portions of the Near East that border on India, it is possible that elements of those two arts may have been introduced into India at that time. However, most historians seem content to trace the art of karate to the Indian vajramushti system. Even that investigation is hampered by a lack of evidence. Indeed, information about the Indian origins of karate is found only in legend and oral tradition.
FROM INDIA TO CHINA
India and China have a common border, so it is quite possible that the Indian vajramushti system was transmitted to China along with Buddhism. However, empty-handed fighting systems existed in China prior to the introduction of Buddhism, and any connection between Indian and Chinese fighting systems is difficult to prove. An examination of the legends of Chinese Buddhist monasteries, however, does seem to indicate a link between the Indian arts and the Chinese style of weaponless fighting known as ch'uan-fa (lit., fist way).
Perhaps the best-known branch of Buddhism in the Western world is the Zen sect. Called Dhyana in Sanskrit and Chan in Chinese, its teachings stress meditation as the way to achieve enlightenment. The founder of the Chan school in China is a fascinating, semi-legendary figure by the name of Bodhidharma (Daruma Taishi in Japanese). The myriad tales of his adventures and accomplishments in China are part of the folk legends of that country and make it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.
Bodhidharma was born in India as a member of the Kshatriya caste. He was the third son of King Sugandha and was the twenty-eighth patriarch of Indian Buddhism. His real name was Bodhitara, which was later changed to Bodhidharma by his Dhyana master, Prajnatara. Bodhidharma remained in India studying under Prajnatara until the master died. It was at that point that he set out for China. Upon his arrival there Bodhidharma was invited to the court of Emperor Wu in Nanjing. The emperor had already developed a great interest in Buddhism and told Bodhidharma of the many good deeds he had performed. He described in detail the many Buddhist temples he had constructed, the Buddhist scriptures he had ordered his scholars to copy, and the favors he had granted to monks and nuns. Apparently, he felt that these material accomplishments would bring him merit. The emperor thereupon asked of the sage the extent of the merit due him. Bodhidharma immediately replied, "None at all." At that the emperor was surprised. He then asked his guest what the First Principle of Buddhism was and received the reply "nothingness." Somewhat annoyed with the monk, the emperor asked Bodhidharma who he thought he was. Bodhidharma said, "I do not know," and left. The emperor, after contemplating the monk's behavior for a while, sent a messenger after him to request his return. The envoy caught up with Bodhidharma just in time to see him cross the Yangzi River, supposedly standing upright on a reed. The legend then states that Bodhidharma traveled north from there to Henan Province where he took up residence at the Shaolin monastery in Sung Shan and began teaching the tenets of Chan Buddhism to the monks. According to another story, it was at that temple that Bodhidharma sat facing a wall for nine years in silent meditation, a feat which caused his legs to atrophy.
Still another tale, popular in martial arts circles today, concerns the connection between Bodhidharma and the founding of the form of ch'uan-fa of the Shaolin monastery. According to the legend, Bodhidharma was attempting to teach Chan to the monks at the Shaolin temple, an endeavor which subjected them to long periods of meditation. Many of them were in poor physical condition and the vigorous training of Bodhidharma left them on the verge of collapse. As a youth in India, Bodhidharma had learned the vajramushti fighting system. In order to strengthen the monks at Shaolin, he began teaching them this combat form. Soon the monks became known as the most formidable fighters in all of China. Supposedly, the system of physical exercise developed by him was the basis of the well-known Shaolin ch'uan-fa system, with succeeding masters adding to and improving upon original techniques until the more modern schools developed. (As mentioned previously, fighting forms existed in China before the introduction of Buddhism there. Thus, some Chinese martial arts exist which cannot trace their origins— historically or by legend—to Bodhidharma or the Shaolin temple.)6
The exercises that Bodhidharma taught his monks are said to have been written down in the Hsien-Sui Ching and I-Chin Ching. The former book has been lost, but the I-Chin Ching has supposedly been passed down through the ages. Some feel that none of the current versions is authentic; perhaps many of these texts were designed to perpetuate the myths about the monk. In spite of all the legends about him, however, it is generally accepted that he was in China sometime around A.D. 520 and did spread the Dhyana school of Buddhism there.
Chinese martial arts became increasingly popular during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). However, with the rise to power of the Manchu, a Mongoloid people, many of the practitioners were forced to flee southward. They joined secret societies in order to help fight against the Manchu rulers and restore Chinese sovereignty. Opposition to the Manchu led to an increase in the number of boxing schools and secret Chinese societies, thus helping spread the arts throughout the country. Since the societies were instituted for the purposes of combat, it became necessary for the pugilists to become masters of Chinese weapons—the broad sword, the hooking sword, the plum-blossom sword, and the halberd—as well.
The customs of the boxers were not unlike those of the medieval Japanese fencing schools. The town boxing master taught selected students in private training sessions. Many students, in order to improve their proficiency, toured the country challenging