一个练习太极、空手道和跆拳道的美国人

Talkhas increased recently of the need for deeper regional cooperation among China,Japan and South Korea, to coordinate efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic andmitigate its economic impacts on the region.

最近很多人都在建议中日韩三国加强合作抗击疫情，恢复经济。

Thehistory of the Asian martial arts demonstrates the close ties these threenations have long shared, and shows how ancient commerce nurtured thecultivation of these arts, which are now known worldwide.

亚洲的武术史彰显出三个国家长期以来的紧密联系，以及古代的商业往来如何滋养了武术发展。

Duringmy self-quarantine period, I had a chance to reflect on the historicaltrilateral relations as I practiced the martial arts of the three countries andreviewed their history.

此次疫情期间，我能有机会重新审视这些历史纽带，因为中日韩三国的武术项目我都有所涉猎。

Ihave trained since I was a teenager in the Korean art of taekwondo (I hold asecond-degree black belt). I later learned Okinawan karate before eventuallyfurthering my longtime study of tai chi by training in China.

我从少年时期就练习跆拳道，是黑带二段，之后又学习了冲绳空手道，最后在中国开始了长期的太极拳训练。

Theinterconnectedness of these arts highlights the enduring relations of the threecountries. 

这些武术门类的关联加强了三个国家的关系。

Inthe late 18th and early 19th centuries, Chinese martial arts practiced inFuzhou, Fujian province, spread to Okinawa, once part of the Ryukyu Kingdom(but now a Japanese prefecture) that relied heavily on trade with China. 

十八世纪晚期和十九世纪早期，中国福州的武术技艺传播到了日本冲绳。当时冲绳还是琉球王国，严重依赖中国贸易。

TheChinese arts were enhanced with elements of Okinawa's indigenous martial artsbefore reaching Tokyo in the early 20th century. There, they became knowngenerically as karate (at first translated as "China hand" but later,using the same Kanji characters, interpreted instead as "empty hand"to reflect the art's weaponless nature).

中国武术与当地武术融合，最终在二十世纪早期传播到东京。演变成空手道，“空手”即不带武器。

Beforeand just after World War II, the Japanese version of these arts of Chineseorigin found their way to Korea, where they were further modified to includeelements of indigenous Korean arts. This led to the creation of taekwondo inthe mid-1950s.

第二次世界大战前后，日本空手道传播到韩国，与当地武术融合，在上世纪五十年代中期形成跆拳道。

Acommon love for the character-building nature and physical strength engenderedby these martial arts, as well as their deep-rooted spiritual elements, haslong bound the nations together.

中日韩三国都欣赏武术中的修身养性和强身健体的本质。对深层次精神力量的追求一直把这三个国家紧密联系在一起。

Instancesof political strife between the countries caused gaps in the historicalnarrative of the martial arts, but through the years I was able to discoverclues that completed the picture.

政治冲突导致对武术历史的不同解读，但这些年我愈发完善了对武术的整体理解。

Forexample, I attended a large global gathering of karate enthusiasts in 1989 inSan Diego, California, that was hosted by my Okinawan karate teacher, thefamous Sensei Morio Higaonna. It was here that I met his teacher, the heir of(but no relation to) Chojun Miyagi, the founder of Goju-ryu karate and thenamesake of Mr Miyagi in The Karate Kid.

我在1989年参加了圣地亚哥的大型空手道大会，召集人是我的师父东恩纳盛男。在那里我见到了他的师父，宫城长顺的继承人。宫城是刚柔流空手道的创始人。电影《龙威小子》里就有一个角色叫宫城先生。

Alsoamong those in attendance was Hirokawa Kanazawa, a celebrity in Japanese karatecircles and a personal hero. While just 12 years old, when I was often bulliedat school, I came into possession of a book about karate that featuredKanazawa's impressive techniques. I was greatly inspired to learn this art,hoping to vanquish the bullies (which I eventually did).

日本空手道名人金泽弘和也参加了这次大会，他也是我崇拜的英雄。我十二岁时经常被同学欺负，后来看了一本介绍金泽弘和的书，对空手道产生了浓厚兴趣，希望借此摆脱被霸凌的命运，最后我也确实实现了这个目标。

Kanazawa,I learned much later, had not only studied with Gichin Funakoshi, known as thefounder of modern karate, but at one time had accompanied the aging master onhis travels to various universities where he taught in Japan.

后来我才了解到，金泽不仅师从现代空手道创始人船越义珍，也陪伴年迈的船越在日本多所高校授课。

Atthat same San Diego event, I also spoke with a noted karate master who had beena kamikaze pilot at the very end of World War II (his barely airworthy planehad crashed after takeoff, badly injuring him). I asked him why the practiceroutines of my Korean taekwondo style were so similar to those of Funakoshi'sShotokan style from Tokyo.

在那次大会上，我还和一位空手道大师聊了一下。他曾是二战后期的神风突击队飞行员。他的飞机起飞后就坠毁了，自己也受了重伤。我问他，为什么我练习跆拳道的常规动作，非常类似于船越义珍的国际松涛流空手道。

Themaster, who also had studied with Funakoshi, was most helpful. He told me theKorean masters of the time, including the teacher of Duk Sung Son (who awardedme my first-degree black belt and was one of the founders of taekwondo), hadgone to Japan to study with none other than Funakoshi himself. This wassomething my own Korean master had never mentioned.

这位也曾师从船越义珍的大师告诉我，当时的韩国跆拳道大师，包括孙德成的师父，都曾去日本和船越大师学习。我的跆拳道老师可从未说过这些历史。孙德成是跆拳道的创始人之一，也是我的跆拳道黑带一段授予者。

Everythingcame full-circle during my Beijing self-quarantine when, in the search for arobust exercise routine, I renewed my long love for the aggressive practiceform known as the Iron Horse. This powerful, traditional training routineoriginated in China, was embraced in Okinawa 200 or 300 years ago, became a keypart of Japanese karate, then worked its way to the training halls in Seoul(and eventually was taught to me in the 1970s in Omaha, Nebraska).

在北京的自我隔离期间，我想强身健体，所以又开始练习空手道的“铁骑”招式。这个强有力的传统招式起源于中国，在二三百年前流传到冲绳，成为日本空手道的主要部分之一。后来这个招式传到了韩国，最终在上世纪七十年代传授给了我这个美国人。

It'sabundantly clear, even to an outsider like myself, that the roads connectingChina, Japan and South Korea, though paved long ago, were solidly laid. So itshouldn't be difficult to rediscover the astounding depth of the trilateralties, and their global reach, as the three nations rally to weather thecoronavirus storm and its aftermath.

即使对于我这个美国人而言，很久之前就存在的连接中日韩三国的道路已经铺好，很容易就能看到这三个国家的悠久关联和联合抗疫的合作。