The Shuri Crucible

Taken from the book "Shotokan's Secret: The Hidden Truth Behind Karate's Fighting Origins"

Before reading: The "door" is metaphorical. It symbolizes the window of opportunity for the Shuri bodyguards. Look for references to Passai, Naihanchi, and Pinan Sandan.

Matsumura's rescue plan was very simple, as all such plans must be. the elements were: react, extract, retreat. He had to disrupt the attack, extract the principal from the hall, and then run for it. We may imagine it this way...

The scene is the reception hall at Shuri Castle. The regent and a few dignitaries face the U.S. commander and his troops. Matsumura and his troops stand stoically among the Okinawa officials, studying their enemies.

The barbarian commander at last grows tired of the fruitless negotiations. He decides it is time to alter the balance of power by taking a few hostages. He points at the regent and barks, "Mister Anders, put that man in irons!" A mob of determined naval officers closes in on the poor, defenseless Okinawans.

Matsumura and his agents step quickly to the front, forming a human wall between the Americans and the elderly ministers. The odds are about 5-to-1, since the ministers are not fighters. They must all be protected and extracted.

The barbarians impatiently lay hands on the agents to drag them aside. At a signal from Matsumura, the struggle begins.

In the first phase of the fight, the American troops seek only to capture and restrain. They want to take prisoners. In fact, they really want only one prisoner: Sho Taimu himself. The barbarians expect that sheer numbers will carry the day, especially against these pitiful islanders who know nothing about weapons and fighting.

In the first five seconds of the fight, the security agents free themselves from the grip of the American officers. The closest troops reel back in shock, with dislocated shoulders and broken elbows.

Three men, led by the bear-like Itosu, grab the regent by the collar and yank him back to the wall. They put their backs against him and face the crowd. Keeping the elderly regent safe against the wall, they struggle toward the escape door. Itosu stuns one sailor with an elbow strike, then spins him around and crushes the man to his chest as a human shield. The struggling sailor can not break out of Itosu's powerful grip.

The other agents leap directly into the crowd. Their mission is to break the momentum of the troop attack by creating panic and confusion. The slide between the struggling troops, stunning as many enemies as possible in the opening seconds of the fight. Moving like adept swordsmen, they sidestep, parry, and avoid the incoming blows. They seek to cripple each opponent with a single strike, if possible.

More troops are pouring into the room from outside, responding to the cries of their fellows. The fight has been in progress for 10 seconds.

Matsumura quickly dispatches the naval officers near him and looks for a new target. Voicing his battle cry, the legendary bushi leaps straight toward the American commander. Each man in the bushi's path goes down in a single, sickening impact. Some of them fly backward so hard that they knock down the men behind them.

Reaching the enemy commander in a few short steps, Matsumura will stun the man with simultaneous blows to the throat and the groin and catches the officer's collapsing body over his shoulder. If circumstances permit, he will carry the enemy commander away as a hostage. If this is not possible, he will break the commander's neck and leave his body behind.

Fifteen seconds have passed.

Itosu and the extraction team have reached the door. They push the regent through the door and turn to face the crowd. Itosu roots himself to the floor in front of the door as a living barrier. When his assistants have herded the last minister through the door, he shouts the signal to withdraw. "To me! Shuri warriors to me!"

At this shout, the embattled agents shift into the second phase of the fight. Their new goal is to fight their way through the crowd to the door and escape. They don't dare be late. They have to reach the door before it closes.

Getting to the door is not easy, however, because the American troops have at last realized that they are outclassed in hand-to-hand combat. Some of them have drawn their sabers. Riflemen are desperately charging their weapons. More soldiers with rifles and bayonets are forcing their way into the room. Matsumura's agents must make haste. Time is running out.

Twenty seconds have passed. Matsumura reaches the door with his heavy burden. Itosu drops his human shield as Matsumura hand off the enemy commander. Itosu ducks out the door with the naval officer over his shoulder. Matsumura shouts, "To me, Shuri!" The door is about to close.

The agents fight an increasingly desperate battle to reach the door. To win through to safety, the Shuri fighters abandon all caution. They snatch away sabers and use them. They sidestep thrusting bayonets, rip the weapons away from the astonished soldiers, and then drive the weapons point-first into the chest of their owners. They duck, leap, shift, sweep and kick their way through the clutching hands and probing weapons. Some of them use jujutsu throws to hurl one screaming soldier in the face of another, clearing a momentary path through the crowd. They leap recklessly forward, knocking down enemies with pure momentum, until they burst out of the crowd at Matsumura's side.

Twenty-five seconds...

Reaching the door at last, the senior fighters turn and make a stand. They block the doorway for the few seconds it takes to get the less experienced agents out of the room safely. One by one they dart through the door leaving Matsumura to exit last, as is his duty and privilege. The bushi glares at the nearby enemies. His ferocious eyes freeze them in their tracks.

Thirty seconds...

The barbarians are quickly fitting percussion caps to their charged rifles.

Keeping eye contact, Matsumura steps back through the door. The door slams shut. the riflemen raise their weapons but have no remaining targets. One of them fires his weapon at the door in frustration. The hall echoes with the sound of the shot.

Their is silence for a few moments as the shocked barbarians catch their breath. A surviving ship captain, cradling a broken arm, straightens up and looks around the room.

"What the hell happened?" he gasps, painfully. No one answers. "And where is the Commodore?"

After reading: The fight takes thirty seconds as a reference to the short amount of time it takes to complete a Shuri-te kata.