![]() Gunja literally means someone of nobility. while the second Chinese symbol means Child, Son or Seed. The first Chinese symbol means Prince, Sovereign, Ruler, etc. So let's look at this word, Gunja (kunshi). "Karate is the martial art of gentlemen." And of course Funakoshi Gichin was in the Shizoku class. Motobu Choki was in the Aji class and had direct lineage to the king. Chatan Yara who was in the Chikudun Pechin class. Some notable indivuduals being Matsumura Sokon who belonged to the Pechin class. Some masters even belonged to the “oyakata” (lord), which was the highest of the privileged classes. Most founders of Karate belonged to the noble class (“shizoku”) of warriors (“pechin”), ranging from the low warrior caste (“chikudun”) to the high (“peekumi”). The Shinobi ("ninja") were Samurai (or employed by samurai), the most famous being Hattori Hanzō during the Sengoku era. ![]() Instead, we find that all of these martial arts were created by higher class individuals. Certainly not enough free time in there to train in secret to create a deadly fighting system. Most of them working more than 10-12 hours a day in the fields. Not only did the farmers have very little money, they also had very little time. Of all the things I get asked in regards to the history of martial arts, one of the most prevalent has to deal with the notion that Tangsoo / Karate, and even Ninjutsu were developed by poor farmers to defend themselves against the Samurai or other higher ranked warriors. Gunja "君子" (pronounced "kunshi" in Japanese) - Gentleman
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