Okinawan Te, Karate & ‘Te’; The confusion.
‘Udun-di’ (Palace-hand’).also known as’Te’ (var’ ‘ti’ or ‘di’), literal translation ‘hand’ or ‘martial skills’. Okinawan Te started evolving somewhere after 600 ad. It was, and still is, the original, and premier, martial art of Okinawa, developed long before the Ryukyu Kingdoms (the Three Kingdoms) emerged, or the adoption of tode/karate. It is the sister art of mainland Japan’s iai-jutsu …
Kyusho & kyusho-jutsu
‘Kyusho’ is the martial term for pressure-points and ‘kyusho-jutsu’ means ‘pressure-point fighting’. In Te exercises pressure-point strikes are substituted for safety reasons with ‘feints’, but the pressure-points themselves are nevertheless used continuously in a less damaging way. For example, a firm, but compelling, ‘prodding’ or ‘kneading’ action with a thumb or knuckle, or a firm ‘shunt’ to the outside-leg with …
A Lexicon of Te
Te is taught very differently to many martial arts, focusing not on endlessly practising techniques by rote, but on grouping things together by principles and practice modes. This approach encourages trainees to reach for the principles behind techniques rather than for the techniques themselves. Te has relatively few quantifiable ‘techniques’ so you will not find lists and definitions of them …