‘Bubishi’ literally means military (bu) preparation (bi) record (shi), or ‘a manual for military preparation’. In the context of karate it represents the patriarchal source of knowledge, providing disciples with the ancient masters’ secrets. For generations the Bubishi preserved the original precepts upon which the civil fighting traditions rest. Disclosing the original means and methods of Chinese gong fu, the Bubishi conclusively imparts both the practical and ethical values of the civil fighting traditions, and in doing so it reveals the magnitude of karate-do and identifies that which lies beyond the immediate results of physical training. Although the Bubishi is a document peculiar to Monk Fist and White Crane gong fu, it achieves an impact of more encompassing proportions. While its exact date of publication and author remain a mystery, it is nevertheless a valuable source of historical information that offers deep insight into karate-do, its history, philosophy and application.

The Bubishi served as a master reference text. Traditionally its contents were highly valued and not disclosed lightly. The knowledge it contained was passed on through oral teaching from the master and combined with constant physical training. When a disciple had reached a satisfactory level of ‘mastery’ in their own right, which included not only physical prowess but sound ethics, morals and healing skills, the master would present a copy of the Bubishi to the disciple.

Two representative and authoritative translations of the Bubishi are:

Ohtsuka Sensei’s original Bubishi is a copy of Higa Yuchoku’s Bubishi. Higa Sensei revered his copy of the Bubishi and studied it deeply, a tradition impressed on Ohtsuka Sensei by both Higa Sensei, and Ichikawa Sensei (Goju Ryu).

The four Founding Instructors of Goshu Karate-do Yonshin Kai have each received their copy of the Bubishi directly from Ohtsuka Sensei in 2007. Of all the numerous yudansha (black belt students) awarded by Ohtsuka Sensei since he formed Goju Kensha in 1970, there have been only approximately 30 who have received this honour from Ohtsuka Sensei, such is the high regard he holds for this text. In Australia there has only been one other who has received this honour, being James Sumarac Sensei. He received his copy of Bubishi from Ohtsuka Sensei in 1991. The Founding Instructors also received a shidoin teaching licence in 2007 from Ohtsuka Sensei certifying them as authorized teachers of Goju Kensha and related martial arts.

The Founding Instructors are dedicated to the teachings within the Bubishi. They spent an entire training tour in 2004 studying the contents of the Bubishi with Ohtsuka Sensei in the hombu dojo in Japan. Training included a study of the practical applications represented in the Bubishi and indepth analysis of the ethics and philosophy. Ohtsuka Sensei passed on information regarding the historical development and significance of not only the contents of the Bubishi, but of the Bubishi itself. Obviously, with the immense scope of the Bubishi, the Founding Instructors devote considerable time to develop their ongoing knowledge of the Bubishi, as well as continuing their study in conjunction with Ohtsuka Sensei particularly, and other scholars of this ancient and vital text.

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