Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Ancient Greek astronomy wikipedia , lookup
Pontic Greeks wikipedia , lookup
Greek contributions to Islamic world wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek warfare wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Indian campaign of Alexander the Great wikipedia , lookup
History of science in classical antiquity wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek literature wikipedia , lookup
n Peter Lockhart Many exponents of Karate or Taekwondo or Kung-fu will tell you that an Indian Buddhist called Bodidharma, (or Dharma) introduced what were to become Kung fu, karate and a slew of other martial arts to Chinese Shaolin monks in the 6th Century AD. Bodidharma came from India and for this reason, many martial arts scholars of today argue that karate’s roots originated in India. The trouble with this theory is that there is no archaeological evidence to suggest that a kicking and punching style originated with, or was actually invented by the Indians. Evidence does suggest that it was in India for centuries, but only after a certain Greek fellow had visited. That one Greek lad and his one particular visit to India are still talked about in that part of the world. Towns, cities and people are named after him, and even now, some mothers frighten the daylights out of their troublesome children by telling them that this Greek fellow is on his way to see them – which petrifies them and brings on instant good behaviour. Sounds like fiction doesn’t it? But not only is it true, it is history. This Greek was Alexander the Great and he also knew karate (although he did not call it karate). This similar style was so hard that death was a frequent and well-documented 44 | SHIMBUN event among the men who practised it. In fact, evidence shows that prior to Alexander the Great’s visit to India, the Indians and other Oriental people only wrestled. » The Greeks in ancient times were extraordinary people actually. Anyone who thinks of the ancient Greeks as wimps, swanning around in their togas, should think again. Alexander the Great had an army of very hard men who had to march 30 or 35 miles every day, loaded up with their weapons, shield and armour. Evidence shows that on one occasion, in present day Uzbekistan, Alexander’s army ran 300 miles in 3 days, in 40 degree heat. Not only were the ancient Greeks tough men, but they were also very smart. They invented many things we still use today such as the Olympic Games, boxing, wrestling and many of our track and field events. They also invented democracy, philosophy, mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, astronomy, medicine, science, biology, art and literature. The ancient Greeks were highly advanced, civilised and quite extraordinary people who also amongst other things, spoke of atomic theory and were in 120 BC, experimenting with building a steam engine. Who knows how different world history would have been if the ancient Greek called Heron had managed to build that engine, more than two thousand years before James Watt in 1780? » The Greeks were also war-like people in those savage days. In order to survive and thrive 3,000 years ago, they thought up a few innovations to give them an edge over any army that may have wished to attack them. They invented sport and physical fitness as an edge over unfit foreign soldiers. At the battle of Marathon for example, the Athenians were out numbered six to one, yet 10,000 fit, smart and tough Greeks, wiped out 60,000 unfit and untrained Persians. » When the Olympic Games began, they were actually massive martial arts tournaments. Back then, the games consisted of: three kinds of running races: Short-distance, middle-distance and long-distance, and runners competed in full armour. There were also horse races, chariot races, boxing, pankration and pentathlon and trumpeting events. Every one of these events had something to do with battle. The ancient Pentathlon consisted of boxing, wrestling, long jump, discus and javelin. » Many of you may be unfamiliar with the term ‘Pankration’. It means “all powers”, and it was full contact, bare knuckled, no holds barred, unarmed combat. ‘All powers’ refers to punching, kicking and if need be, wrestling. In other words, all-in fighting with few rules and sometimes to the death! Pankration exponents also broke stone with their bare hands to demonstrate their inner-strength. » Was karate therefore essentially a Greek invention, because they invented and used Pankration in their games and in battle 3,000 years ago? They precede anyone else in the World in this particular activity (Although it is important to note that the Assyrians, Sumerians and Egyptian civilisations used similar fighting arts and are thought to have greatly influenced Hellenic culture). Most accept that the Greeks invented boxing and a branch of wrestling, but why not Karate? Pankration was certainly used by the Greeks. In fact, it first became an Olympic event in 648 BC. » It is as though some ancient Greek thought: “What do I do if I break or lose my weapon?” The answer was to kick, punch and wrestle his opponent to death. They worked out basic techniques and practised them and competed with each other until Pankration came into being. Soldiers were taught to kick to all angles (front, round, back and side), to punch, shape their fist and use knife hand strikes. This all sounds like Karate to me, but I suppose you are wondering how it got to Japan, China or India in the 6th Century AD. This then, brings us back to Alexander. He was called “the Great”, because in his whole life, he never once lost a single battle. That is something of which very few military commanders in history can boast. All of Alexander’s Greek and Macedonian forces knew, practised and were proficient at pankration. When he took his army all the way to India (even as far as Tibet in 325 BC), Alex settled a few old scores known historically that some of these camp followers were athletes. Many, some 30,000 men, were Alexander’s own discharged Greek soldiers. The function of the camp followers was to people the many colonies Alexander set up as he conquered the East. Alexander, on his one and only trip to the Orient, founded over seventy colonies. Many of which he named after himself. In this way he was expanding his empire and spreading Greek civilisation. Then, only after his army begged him to go home, Alexander returned to the West. While on the way home, he went on a bender, threw a big party that lasted several days, promptly got blind drunk, caught a fever and died. Thus his second tour of the East had to be cancelled. Some 900 years after Alexander, an Indian warrior prince named Bodidharma, skilled in the Greek pankration, went to live in China and trained Shaolin monks with some exercises and self-defence techniques. with the Persians on the way, defeating in battle every army that dared to defy his Empire building tour. It is known historically that along the way, Alexander regularly held games for two reasons: Firstly to amuse his men and secondly to stop his men from becoming soft through inactivity. He held the games just about everywhere he went on his conquests. The Greek soldiers simply loved watching and competing in these games and they regularly trained hard to be fit enough to compete. » Tagging along behind the army of Alexander was a group of several thousand people who were known collectively as “camp followers”. It is well » His demise came as quite a shock to his supporters and most of the colonies he founded immediately fell over. The Greek and Macedonian colonists simply packed up and went back home. Most fell over, but, not all of them. Some of the Greek colonies started up by Alexander remained, while some that fell over were soon recolonised and these Eastern colonies flourished and remained in existence for centuries after Alexander died. Two of these colonies, Bactria and Kandahar, in present day Afghanistan, had a huge cultural influence on India and China for hundreds of years. So too did Merv, in present day Turkmenistan. A city is a place of culture where people go » Continued on page 50 SHIMBUN | 45 BREATH TAKING KARATE » continued from page 29 KARATE & THE GREEKS » continued from page 29 for entertainment, education, trade and politics. These things still happen today in our cities just as they happened then in the ancient Greek cities of the Orient. » These cities were like islands of civilisation in a sea of barbarism. A classic example of the influence of these Greek cities is the very fact that the bible was written in Greek. The word “Bible” itself is Greek, as is the word “Christ”. So too is the word “Synagogue”. The city of Alexandria in Egypt, founded by Alexander, dominated all of the Levant for centuries. Both Judaism and Christianity have many legacies from and, owe much thanks to, Alexander the Great. » India was so impressed by Alexander, that the Indian Satraps emulated him by having armies like his army. These Indians certainly learned military methods from the Greeks and recruited many Greek mercenaries to train and upgrade their Indian troops over the next few hundred years. Consequently India, specifically because of Alexander, became and remained a militaristic society for a long time - hundreds of years in fact. Greek Pankration - punching, kicking and wrestling forms of unarmed combat - proliferated and was widespread throughout all of India during this period. » Then, some 900 years after Alexander, an Indian warrior prince named Bodidharma, skilled in the Greek pankration, went to live in China and trained Shaolin monks with some exercises and self-defence techniques. Buddhism is a religion that originated in India while it was militaristic. Sidharta who became the Buddha was also an Indian warrior Prince and it is possible that Sidharta also knew pankration. All throughout Asia, where there is Buddhism, there is kicking and punching Martial arts. In Thailand, a Buddhist country, there is of course, Muay Thai. In Japan, Karate is associated with Zen Buddhism. This link with Buddhism clearly indicates an Indian association and also a Greek association with Oriental Martial arts. Either way, it makes for a good theory and an interesting story. 50 | SHIMBUN than you are able to endure. But as with anything, just practise, stay committed and you will become more proficient at paying more attention to controlling your breath than allowing yourself to be controlled by the pain in your legs. In shiko dachi (sumo stance), try breathing in for 5 full seconds, and out for 5 full seconds, for a total of 30 seconds. See if you can build up to 7 seconds, each inhalation and exhalation, then to 10 seconds etc and keep increasing the total length of time you remain in stance up to 1 min, then 1 min 10 secs etc. » Eventually, the pain in your legs will be all too apparent and you will need to exhale through your mouth. Just like in our endurance training, there’s waste in the body that we must expel so our body is pushing us to breathe out. Still inhale through the nose, but now you can exhale through the mouth, and continue as best as possible to keep your breathing slow, relaxed and steady. Breathe Your Way To Flexibility Anyone, and I mean anyone, can improve their flexibility. Many karate-ka find stretching difficult and believe that you should find stretching a struggle. I come from a different perspective and believe a great way to maximise flexibility and reduce injury to your body is to relax whilst stretching. When we stretch, we are attempting to lengthen our muscles, our tendons etc. Now consider when you are tense, the natural instinct is for the muscle to contract i.e. to get smaller. This is the exact opposite of what we want. So then how can we lengthen our muscles and improve our flexibility if we are tense, pushing ourselves and causing pain, holding our breath and struggling? No wonder people think stretching is constantly an uphill battle. When we exhale, that is when the muscles release their fear and stress. This is exactly when we are more relaxed so that’s when we can push the stretch a little further. We exhale, let go of a bit more tension, and we have become a half a centimetre more flexible. It is seriously that easy! If you can learn to let go and relax as you exhale, you can always stretch further. Hold the stretch, wait until you can control your breathing again in the deeper stretch, and repeat, Exhale, push the stretch a little further, and continue to repeat the process. Relax the mind, and the body will follow. Meditation- How To Free Your Mind Through Breathing In t’ai chi, it is said that you should be able to hold a candle under your nose and the flame would not even flicker as your breath is so light. Consider how serenely the t’ai chi practitioner executes their techniques, with total grace and fluidity. There is little, if any, thought in their mind. » When the mind is clear, we are free of fears, doubts and noise. This freedom and peace of mind is really an incredible place to be. Those of us who have experienced even just one minute of total clarity would agree. After clearing the mind of distractions and fears, our focus is so much stronger. Our intuition is so much stronger. We have tapped into a deep, infinite well of inner power that exists with all of us. When training gets hard, or when life gets hard, we can learn to tap into this incredible source of power. It can provide us with the intuition, knowledge, and answers we seek during life. It can also just help you to feel really centred and happy. How To Meditate Basic- Sitting or lying down, place your hands over your stomach. Close your eyes. Breathe in, feel your stomach expand. Exhale, feel your stomach flatten. Repeat. Breathe as slowly and deeply as possible. Even doing this exercise for just 2 minutes and you will notice a difference in your state of mind immediately. » Advanced- Sit comfortably (crossed legged is best), about 2 meters from anything eg a tree, a chair, a wall. Choose a spot the size of a pinhead and stare at it. Do not look anywhere else for 2 minutes. Just focus on the pinhead sized point. Try to not think of anything. Inevitably, your mind will chatter and you will trickle out lists and things on everything! Breathe. Silence the chattering monkey talk by inhaling and exhaling slowly through your nose. I can guarantee unbelievable results for anyone who has the discipline to hang in there with this exercise, but it must be done regularly (aim for just 2 mins a day). Even if it seems you can’t seem to shut up your mind, relax and trust that you can clear your mind by staying focused on your breathing. Of course you can. Breathe easy, life’s great.