Okinawan Karate Song

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" background="05d785a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Isshinryu Karate Do, Stamford Dojo</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |   </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id155.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Concepts"><U><B><IMG SRC="03b0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>   </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="14" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="14"><B>     </B><A HREF="id178.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Use Mind (Heart) Not Force"><U><B><IMG SRC="02f0e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A><B>  </B><A HREF="id232.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Karate Masters of Tatsuo Shimabuku"><U><B><IMG SRC="0300e0e0.png" border=0 width="14" height="14" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="1d8c5bc3.jpg"> <div> <B>Okinawan Karate Song</B></div> <div> This song is treated like an Anthem in Okinawa and refers to the admiration that the Okinawans have for Karate.  It also tells of their dedication and training spirit.</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id155.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Concepts"><U><IMG SRC="482641e0.jpg" border=0 width="100" height="30" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="84816593.gif"> <div> <I><B>The Okinawan Karate Song and the English Translation</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Aa sanjento hi no hikari </B></div> <div> <B>Myo gunjorno umi no iro </B></div> <div> <B>Saekeki shima no tokonga </B></div> <div> <B>Saegigaumishi mute no ken. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Kokoro o Kitau, mi o kitau </B></div> <div> <B>Aa, Okinawa no, Karate-do ! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Aa ware osou tekki araba </B></div> <div> <B>Shurei no kuni ni shingiari </B></div> <div> <B>Tetsu no kobushi wa kanzento </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Niku o kirasete, hone o utsu </B></div> <div> <B>Kokoro o mamaru, Mi o mamaru. </B></div> <div> <B>Aa, Okinawa no Karate-do ! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Aa tensenshi kodai yori </B></div> <div> <B>Hewa no kane wa naritsutau </B></div> <div> <B>Semeru ni arazu fusegu waza </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>Gotai ga bukizo kono karate </B></div> <div> <B>Kokoro o tadasu, mi o tadasu </B></div> <div> <B>Aa Okinawa, no Karate-do !!</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>ENGLISH</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Ah, beautiful islands of sunlight </B></div> <div> <B>and the color of the sea </B></div> <div> <B>the proud fighting spirit of the </B></div> <div> <B>islanders and the empty handed </B></div> <div> <B>sword of Justice. </B></div> <div> <B>Training spirit and training body </B></div> <div> <B>This is Okinawan Karate-do ! </B></div> <div> <B>O, but if an enemy should happen to </B></div> <div> <B>attack us, and the method of </B></div> <div> <B>courtesy prove to no avail, if he </B></div> <div> <B>should cut our flesh with </B></div> <div> <B>his iron weapon, even then </B></div> <div> <B>we will punch through to his bone. </B></div> <div> <B>Courtesy and defense together </B></div> <div> <B>this is Okinawan Karate-do ! </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>O ! Ever since the mythical </B></div> <div> <B>ancestry of Japan, the bell of </B></div> <div> <B>peace has been ringing continually </B></div> <div> <B>in Okinawa. The way of courtesy </B></div> <div> <B>and the five bodily weapons of </B></div> <div> <B>Karate together, to make a straight </B></div> <div> <B>character and good etiquette, </B></div> <div> <B>This is Okinawan Karate-do !!!</B> </div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="582" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#0000FF HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="578"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="578" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="584" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER BGCOLOR=#0000FF HEIGHT= 513 WIDTH="4"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="513" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="4" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="0"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="513" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="0" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="570"><div> <B>This song, "Karate-Do Sanka", attempts to epitomize some </B></div> <div> <B>of the most important aspects of Karate. The most important </B></div> <div> <B>lines of the three verses are: </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Kokoro o kitau, mi o kitau"; "Kokoro o mamaru, mi o Mamaru"; </B></div> <div> <B>and "Kokoro o tadasu, mi o tadasu". </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>"Kokoro" means spirit, heart, mind, or feeling. "Mi" is the body. </B></div> <div> <B>Since the word "Kitau" means training or practice, the first line </B></div> <div> <B>may be translated as, "Training spirit and body", i.e. making not </B></div> <div> <B>only the body strong through the many repetitions of years of </B></div> <div> <B>continuous practice, but also strengthening the spirit to be able </B></div> <div> <B>to tackle the most difficult tasks, both physical, mental and spiritual. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The second line combines with the word for defense, "Mamaru". </B></div> <div> <B>Hence the total meaning is defense with body or the blocking and </B></div> <div> <B>attacking method of the Karate-jutsu, and more importantly the </B></div> <div> <B>ability to avoid fighting even when it means walking away from the</B></div> <div> <B>insult or some other difficult situation, in other words, defense with </B></div> <div> <B>the spirit, or in a rough approximation, courtesy. </B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The third line builds us up to the most important and difficult of the </B></div> <div> <B>three concepts, character and etiquette. "Tadasu" means to make </B></div> <div> <B>straight and so the literal translation of this is, "Make a straight spirit </B></div> <div> <B>and a straight body." In other words, to correct and perfect the very </B></div> <div> <B>way in which each individual thinks and acts on a moral basis, as determined by his society and religion. </B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>