Goju Ryu Poem: Eight Great Points of Principle for Fist Fighting
(Translated by Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD)
Translator's Note: I have translated this poem from the original Chinese text entitled '白鹤武备志 白鹤拳起源', or 'White Crane Martial Perfection Record - Origins of White Crane Fist.' It is a poem famous within Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate-Do, and bridges Chinese and Okinawan martial cultures. Many extant translations simply copy one another and mistranslations, errors, and misunderstandings are perpetuated without checking primary Chinese sources. ACW 22.02.14
Eight Great Points of Principle for Fist Fighting
The mind of humanity is one with the Divine Sky and the Broad Earth.
The blood flow resembles the interchange of sun and moon.
The law of rigidity and flexibility is like swallowing and spitting.
The body follows and adapts to the times.
The hand encounters (and enters) emptiness.
Advance and retreat an exact distance – leave and return.
It is essential to observe and sense the four directions.
The ear listens and hears in all directions,
The Eight sentences are essential for the acquisition of the Fist Law.
