Etymology of ‘Gedan Barai’ (下段払い) - or ‘Gedan Hara-!’ Dissecting the ‘Lower Block' of Karate-Do!
By Shifu Adrian Chan-Wyles PhD
Shifu Gee Yau - The Hakka Family Gongfu Contains Many Similar (But Not 'Identical') Karate-Do Techniques!
Some years ago, a gongfu student of mine attended a Japanese language lesson regarding the philosophical meaning of Karate-Do terms – which had been hurriedly transliterated into a ‘literal’ English translation – a process that had omitted the cultural background of the Okinawan people. Each Karate-Do movement or stance, etc, was simply rendered into its material, surface appearance. The ‘Gedan Barai’, for instance, was correctly termed the ‘Lower Block’, but an ethnic Japanese language teacher explained that the ‘real’ meaning of this movement is linked to the ancient system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) - and involves an arm ‘moving’ to ‘cutting through’ what is termed the ‘Conception Vessel’ (任脈 - Ren Mai).
The Bodyweight is 'Dropped' and 'Projected' Down and Forward! This is Both a 'Punch' to the Opponent's Leading Thigh and a 'Deflecting' Movement!
The ‘Gedan Barai’, therefore, should be understood as a lower defensive (sweeping) movement which involves the ‘Cutting Through of the Conception Vessel’ using one or both arms – with either ‘open’ or ‘closed’ hands (deflecting a low-level attack). The problem that existed post-1945, (as the US hastily propagated Japanese martial arts in the West after 1949 as a replacement for their Chinese equivalents), was that the average Westerner possessed little (or no) genuine knowledge of Asian medical or martial culture. This led to the situation where sophisticated and profound philosophical implications were left out whilst translating Karate-Do techniques into the English language - and replaced with literal (mechanical) explanations that although ‘correct’ - by-passed inconvenient and unfamiliar non-Western concepts.
The Alignment of the Shoulders Hips, Elbow and Knees, Hands and Feet - Generates 'Effortless' Power!
What I intend to achieve in this short article is a no-nonsense explanation of the Japanese term ‘下段払い’ which is transliterated in the Japanese ‘Romaji’ system as ‘Gedan Barai’ – explaining the meaning of each ideogram within its proper (and correct) Chinese and Japanese cultural context (this is an extension of my professional academic function as a ‘Forensic Translator’ specialising within Asian languages – primarily focused upon China - but also including Japan and Russia in recent years). Where applicable, I give the original ‘Chinese’ ideogram followed by its Japanese equivalents, together with ‘general’ and ‘specific’ meanings gleamed from all the current Chinese and Japanese language dictionaries and historical databases, etc:
1) 下 (xia4) - Japanese Hiragana ‘げ’ and Katakana ‘ゲ’ - pronounced ‘Ge’ = lower, underneath and inferior. The original Chinese ideogram is comprised of the top element of ‘一’ (yi1) or ‘one’ - whilst the lower element is ‘卜’ (bu3) - meaning a ‘crack’ indicating the notion of ‘below’. Therefore, 下 (xia4) is obtained through the ancient divination process of applying a hot poker to an ox scapula or the plastron of a tortoise shell – causing a ‘split’ to appear. A correct (literal) English translation of 下 (xia4) should read ‘one should look below’ for a solution.
2) 段 (duan4) - Japanese Kanji ‘だん’ - pronounced ‘Dan’ = position, rank and level (as in ‘up and down’). The left-hand element of the original Chinese ideogram is ‘丨’ (gun3) which suggests a ‘movement’ (through an object or space) which travels ‘up and down’. Within the Japanese language this element can be used to denote a ‘rod’, the number ‘one’ and also a ‘line’ - all interpretations not included within the Chinese language dictionaries (either contemporary or ancient). The middle element of ‘亖’ (si4) is an ancient way (pre-Western Zhou) of writing the contemporary ‘四’ - which means the number ‘four’. The right-hand element of 殳’ (shu4) suggests the handle of a ‘halberd’ or ‘pike’. Within Karate-Do - the Chinese ideogram of 段 (duan4) is used by the Okinawan and Japanese peoples to denote ‘Black Belt’ (Dan) grades from one to ten – and then the rarely given ‘Mu Dan’ (No Rank) - represented by a plain ‘White Belt’ - usually bestowed by the Japanese government upon people declared ‘National Treasures’. The meaning of 段 (duan4), therefore, is an ancient ideogram that tells the story of a ‘halberd’ being swung ‘downward’ through what must have been the ancient martial concept of the human body being divided into ‘four’ levels of defence. It is interesting that today the conventional thinking (often linked to ‘trigrams’ of the Chinese ‘Book of Change’) suggests that the human body is comprised of ‘three’ levels of defence. This finding supports the modern Chinese scholarship which suggests that the ‘trigrams’ of the ‘Book of Change’ - although assumed to be present at the book’s inception – were in fact ‘later’ developments ‘projected’ historically backwards to form a (later derived) coherent developmental theory.
1) 下 (xia4) - Japanese Hiragana ‘げ’ and Katakana ‘ゲ’ - pronounced ‘Ge’ = lower, underneath and inferior. The original Chinese ideogram is comprised of the top element of ‘一’ (yi1) or ‘one’ - whilst the lower element is ‘卜’ (bu3) - meaning a ‘crack’ indicating the notion of ‘below’. Therefore, 下 (xia4) is obtained through the ancient divination process of applying a hot poker to an ox scapula or the plastron of a tortoise shell – causing a ‘split’ to appear. A correct (literal) English translation of 下 (xia4) should read ‘one should look below’ for a solution.
2) 段 (duan4) - Japanese Kanji ‘だん’ - pronounced ‘Dan’ = position, rank and level (as in ‘up and down’). The left-hand element of the original Chinese ideogram is ‘丨’ (gun3) which suggests a ‘movement’ (through an object or space) which travels ‘up and down’. Within the Japanese language this element can be used to denote a ‘rod’, the number ‘one’ and also a ‘line’ - all interpretations not included within the Chinese language dictionaries (either contemporary or ancient). The middle element of ‘亖’ (si4) is an ancient way (pre-Western Zhou) of writing the contemporary ‘四’ - which means the number ‘four’. The right-hand element of 殳’ (shu4) suggests the handle of a ‘halberd’ or ‘pike’. Within Karate-Do - the Chinese ideogram of 段 (duan4) is used by the Okinawan and Japanese peoples to denote ‘Black Belt’ (Dan) grades from one to ten – and then the rarely given ‘Mu Dan’ (No Rank) - represented by a plain ‘White Belt’ - usually bestowed by the Japanese government upon people declared ‘National Treasures’. The meaning of 段 (duan4), therefore, is an ancient ideogram that tells the story of a ‘halberd’ being swung ‘downward’ through what must have been the ancient martial concept of the human body being divided into ‘four’ levels of defence. It is interesting that today the conventional thinking (often linked to ‘trigrams’ of the Chinese ‘Book of Change’) suggests that the human body is comprised of ‘three’ levels of defence. This finding supports the modern Chinese scholarship which suggests that the ‘trigrams’ of the ‘Book of Change’ - although assumed to be present at the book’s inception – were in fact ‘later’ developments ‘projected’ historically backwards to form a (later derived) coherent developmental theory.
Within the Calm Awareness of the Mind the Body Manifests...
At this juncture it might be helpful to state that the research so far contained within parts ‘1’ and ‘2’ now explain the Japanese concept of ‘Gedan’ - expressed within the Chinese language as ‘下段’ (Xia Duan) and the Japanese language of ‘げ だん’ or ‘ゲ だん’ (or ‘Ge Dan’) - which denotes a ‘militarised’ and ‘downward sweeping’ of a ‘halberd’ (or ‘pike’) through what was once understood to be the ‘four’ levels of bodily defence.
3) 払 (fan3) - Japanese Kanji ‘はら’ pronounced as ‘Hara’ = stomach, womb and lower mid-section. A more elaborate version of 払 (fan3) is the Chinese ideogram ‘拂’ (fu2) which can be assessed into its constituent parts. The left-hand element of ‘扌’ is a contraction of ‘手’ (shou3) - meaning an ‘open-hand’. The right-hand element is ‘弗’ (fu2) which is a picture denoting ‘two arrows’ tied together so as to ‘straighten’ their shafts for accurate firing (as in ‘no deviation’ being allowed from the expected norm). In ancient times - ‘弗’ (fu2) - was used originally to mean ‘no’, but in this context it is assumed to imply the action of ‘stopping’ or ‘preventing’. Therefore, 払 (fan3) - or ‘はら’ (Hara) suggests a move made with the hand which ‘protects’ the lower mid-section (Hara) of the body – an area which includes the ‘丹田’ (Dan Tian) - or ‘Centre for Energy Field Transformation’ (approximately positioned two-inches below the navel) forming part of the ‘Conception Vessel’ mentioned above.
4) い (I) - Japanese Hiragana ideogram – with the Katakana version being ‘イ’. This ideogram is often used within the Japanese language to emphasise a ‘verb’ as in a ‘doing’ action. In relation to this discussion, い (I) is used to ‘confirm’ and ‘validate’ the actions explained above. Within Japanese martial culture - い (I) - is used to bring together all the psychological and physical attributes required to correctly perform the relevant combat-related movement with the utmost ‘dedication’ and ‘spirit’!
3) 払 (fan3) - Japanese Kanji ‘はら’ pronounced as ‘Hara’ = stomach, womb and lower mid-section. A more elaborate version of 払 (fan3) is the Chinese ideogram ‘拂’ (fu2) which can be assessed into its constituent parts. The left-hand element of ‘扌’ is a contraction of ‘手’ (shou3) - meaning an ‘open-hand’. The right-hand element is ‘弗’ (fu2) which is a picture denoting ‘two arrows’ tied together so as to ‘straighten’ their shafts for accurate firing (as in ‘no deviation’ being allowed from the expected norm). In ancient times - ‘弗’ (fu2) - was used originally to mean ‘no’, but in this context it is assumed to imply the action of ‘stopping’ or ‘preventing’. Therefore, 払 (fan3) - or ‘はら’ (Hara) suggests a move made with the hand which ‘protects’ the lower mid-section (Hara) of the body – an area which includes the ‘丹田’ (Dan Tian) - or ‘Centre for Energy Field Transformation’ (approximately positioned two-inches below the navel) forming part of the ‘Conception Vessel’ mentioned above.
4) い (I) - Japanese Hiragana ideogram – with the Katakana version being ‘イ’. This ideogram is often used within the Japanese language to emphasise a ‘verb’ as in a ‘doing’ action. In relation to this discussion, い (I) is used to ‘confirm’ and ‘validate’ the actions explained above. Within Japanese martial culture - い (I) - is used to bring together all the psychological and physical attributes required to correctly perform the relevant combat-related movement with the utmost ‘dedication’ and ‘spirit’!
The Incoming Power is 'Absorbed' and Rebounded Back into the Attacking Limb!
Parts ‘3’ and ‘4’ suggest that the Japanese ideograms ‘払い’ should be pronounced ‘Hara-I' - and this is exactly how ALL Japanese dictionaries explain these two characters (usually presented as ‘harai’). When all this research is correlated and logically presented, the Japanese Karate-Do term of ‘下段払い’ should be transliterated into Romaji as ‘Gedan Harai’ and NOT ‘Gedan Barai’. This being the case, why is there this difference in translation? Why did ‘Bara-I' replace ‘Hara-I? As Japanese spiritual and martial culture has evolved away from Chinese culture – the Chinese ideograms are only of partial assistance. The profound Japanese concept of ‘Hara’ (はら), for instance, means nothing when expressed in the Chinese language as ‘払’ (fan3) or ‘弗’ (fu2) within Chinese philosophy – as it represents a unique Japanese language re-interpretation of the Chinese ‘丹田’ (Dan Tian) principle. Until I can find further (reliable) data upon this subject, I can only assume that in the Okinawan language-dialect it might be the case that the Japanese concept of ‘Hara’ was pronounced ‘Bara’ (making this version ‘correct’ within the context of general Ryukyu culture) - or that when the initial translations were made in the early 1950s – slight errors of interpretation were made by the US linguists. As matters stand, ‘Gedan Barai’, or ‘Gedan Harai’ certainly does mean to traverse the hand (and arm) in a downward direction toward the lower part of the body – cutting through the ‘Hara’ (and ‘Conception Vessel’) - forming a ‘Lower Block’ as a martial arts technique of self-defence.
A Section of the Long (Old) Temple' 'Yang' Style We Practice - Low-Punch to the Thigh of An Opponent!
Author's Note: Below is an 'email' written by myself (dated 9.3.2023 to a highly-ranked Goju Ryu Instructor in the UK. The content of this email explains the cultural context of the photographs we have decided to include in this article - which are typical of our 'Chinese' cultural attitude. We are NOT Karate-Do practitioners. These movements appear in our Hakka Family System - and are used in various and diverse ways too numerous to explain here - but are 'similar' in structure (and usage) to many versions of the Karate-Do 'Lower Block' now practiced within Okinawa, Japan and the outside world:
An 'Arm-Lock' Performed To An Opponent 'Behind' the Right Shoulder!
'Thank you Tony! I appreciate and value the very kind offer of your good self correcting our poor technique - but unfortunately, I believe we stuck with it! This is how we perform a similar movement from the Old Yang (Long) Taijiquan Style we practice - although in this Form it is presented as a 'reverse' lower punch to the top of the opponent's front (leading) thigh (i.e. the top 'muscle mass') designed to deaden the leg (and bring-down the attacker) - and is NOT a Goju Ryu Lower Block (although similar movements recur throughout out Forms that do involve various types of 'deflecting', 'checking', 'parrying' and 'dead-stopping[ movements that similar, etc! If you had to correct our poor and bad technique - you would be here all day (and probably far longer)!
Moving Into the 'Rounded' Joints Loosens An Opponent's Grip and 'Uproots' Their Stance!
I think the point is twofold - the translated name of this Karate-Do 'Block' is incorrect - and that in China movements like this are diverse and are not limited to the understanding of the Goju Ryu transmission - or any Japanese developments of the Karate-Do art (this point is important as we do NOT practice any Fujian White Crane Fist and have no practical knowledge of it). We can defend ourselves and are still alive - thank goodness (this would make Master Chan Tin Sang happy)! In fact, I will add this 'email' as a 'Note' explaining that our family pictures are NOT the Goju Ryu 'Lower Block' (which we do not practice) - thanks for the nudge! Apologies for the misunderstanding!'
Downward Reverse Punch Delivered at a 45° Angle - Similar to a 'Gedan Hara-I' in Karate-Do!