Black Belt – August-September 2019

current — just like those monkeys

that live and play in trees all day long

can sometimes take a tumble.

THESE PROVERBS can be heard in

the Japanese dojo when a skilled

exponent makes a mistake. I have

been fortunate over the years to see

a great many such mistakes made by

K

APPA ARE CURIOUS BEASTS

of Japanese mythology.

With the body of a human

and the shell and beak of a

turtle, they live — legend has it — in

streams and rivers. Kappa attack

people, particularly children, the

stories go, and disembowel them in

a particularly gruesome fashion.

You can envision the origin of

such creatures: to serve as a deter-

rent to children who are tempted

to go swimming or wading. The

proverb about kappa being taken

downstream, like the one about the

monkey, is a reminder that even

something that lives in streams can,

on occasion, be swept away by the

Even Monkeys and Kappa ...

“Even monkeys fall out of trees” is a familiar Japanese proverb. One related in sentiment yet less well-known is that kappa

can be swept downstream.

BY DAVE LOWRY

22 BLACKBELTMAG.COM § AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019

KARATE WAY