Jupiter's Moons

                                Year of Discovery: 1610

Galileo discovered that other planets have moons and thus ex tended human under standing beyond our own planet. His careful work with the telescopes he built launched modern astronomy. His discoveries were the first astronomical discoveries using the telescope.
Galileo proved that Earth is not unique among planets of the uni verse. He turned
specks of light in the night sky into fascinating spherical objects—into places—rather than
pin pricks of light. In so doing, he proved that Polish astronomer Nicholaus Copernicus had
been right when he claimed that the sun was the center of the solar system.
With his simple telescope Galileo single-handedly brought the solar system, galaxy,
and greater uni verse within our grasp. His telescope provided vistas and understanding that
did not exist be fore and could not exist with out the telescope.

                                How Was It Discovered?

This was a discovery made possible by an invention—the telescope. Galileo saw his first
telescope in late 1608 and instantly recognized that a more powerful telescope could be the answer to the prayers of every astronomer. By late 1609 Galileo had produced a 40-power,
two-lens telescope. That 1609 telescope was the first practical telescope for scientific use.
A pa per by Johannes Kepler describing the or bits of the planets convinced Galileo to
believe the theory of Polish astronomer Nicholaus Copernicus, who first claimed that the
sun was the center of the uni verse, not the earth. Believing Copernicus was a dangerous
thing to do. Friar Giordano Bruno had been burned at the stake for believing Copernicus.
Galileo decided to use his new telescope to prove that Copernicus was right by more accurately charting the motion of the planets.
Galileo first turned his telescope on the moon. There he clearly saw mountains and valleys. He saw deep craters with tall, jagged rims slicing like serrated knives into the lunar
sky. The moon that Galileo saw was radically different from the perfectly smooth sphere
that Aristotle and Ptolemy said it was (the two Greek astronomers whose teachings still
formed the basis of all science in 1610). Both the all-powerful Catholic Church and every
university and scientist in Eu rope believed Aristotle and Ptolemy.

In one night’s viewing of the moon’s surface through his telescope, Galileo proved Aristotle wrong—again. The last time Galileo’s observations had contradicted Aristotle’s
teachings, Galileo had been fired from his teaching position for being right when he proved
that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of their weight.
Galileo next aimed his telescope at Jupiter, the biggest planet, planning to care fully
chart its motion over several months. Through his telescope (the name is a com bi nation of
the Greek words for “distant” and “looking”) Galileo saw a magnified view of the heavens
no human eye had ever seen. He saw Jupiter clearly, and, to his amazement, he found moons
cir cling the giant planet. Aristotle had said (and all scientists believed) that Earth was the
only planet in the uni verse that had a moon. Within days, Galileo discovered four of Jupiter’s moons. These were the first discovered moons other than our own.
Aristotle was wrong again.
Still, old beliefs do not die easily. In 1616 the Council of Cardinals for bade Galileo
ever again to teach or pro mote Copernicus’s theories. Many senior church officials re fused
to look through a telescope, claiming it was a magician’s trick and that the moons were in
the telescope.
When Galileo ignored their warning, he was summoned to Rome by the Church’s
all-powerful Inquisition. A grueling trial fol lowed. Galileo was condemned by the Church
and forced to publicly recant his views and findings. He was placed under house arrest for
the rest of his life, dying in 1640 with out hearing even one voice other than his own pro -
claim that his discoveries were true. The Church did not rescind the condemnation of Galileo and his discoveries until October 1992, 376 years after they incorrectly condemned him.

History Of Karate

The history of Karate is a long and meandering path of development, across seas from Japan and Okinawa, through the heart of long-ago China and over the mountains into ancient India.

For many karateka training in a traditional, style, there is a certain satisfaction in making a connection to the past through training as their predecessors trained (or close to it) and, by observing tradition, carrying on values and practices still considered useful and important. But what is traditional? Through the ages, martial arrs undergo many changes: they adapt to new circumstances, they branch-off and are altered, they are lead by new people. Others die with their inheritors. In the end, what we have may be likened to the message in a game of Chinese whispers; altered from its origins by so many people that any obvious links to its beginnings may be hard to find.

The many stories that make up karate's history have not escaped the Chinese-whisper syndrome. Modern karate's origins have been the subject of research and debate for so long that the history of karare now has its own history! This is partly because unearthing karate's earliest predecessors requires mapping the entire history of the martial arts in the East.

Many know Okinawa, an island 550 kilometres south of the Japanese mainland, as the birthplace of karate. But let's look first to Japan, considered home to most karate systems existing today. Karate is now practised in an estimated 120 countries and takes many forms. Of these, some of the most famous were founded in Japan after World War II, prominent examples being Mas Oyama's Kyokushin and Choiro Tani's Shukokai. At the same time in Okinawa, the dominant schools (Ryu) were Shorin-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Uechi-Ryu and Matsubayashi-Ryu. Although there had been karate demonstrations outside Japan in the late 1920s and '30s, it was in the post-war years that karate arrived in European and Western countries like Australia. The Japan Karate Association, formed in 1948, assisted in spreading karate world-wide.

The many styles that developed inside Japan all grew from various Okinawan karate systems introduced to Japan early in the 20th century. Around 1902, karate was added to Okinawan schools' physical education programs and the secrecy that had surrounded the art lessened. However, some changes were made to kata for the purpose of teaching children and giving public demonstrations, and it is said this contributed to the loss of some knowledge concerning kata bunkai (applications) and thus the hiding of some of karate's deadliest defences.

Shuri-te karate master Anko Itosu (1830-1915) pioneered this development and, though not alone, his student Funakoshi Gichin is the Okinawan most often credited with the establishment of karate in Japan. In the early '20s, Funakoshi impressed Japan's Crown Prince with a karate demonstration and his art was later given support by Judo's famous founder, Jigaro Kano, securing karate's acceptance by the Japanese.

Many Japanese held racist attitudes toward things Chinese or Okinawan, so these events were vital for Karate's growth. The Okinawan's originally called Kara?te tou-di, meaning China-hand. 'Hand' is a literal translation of te or di, which was used to describe Okinawa's fighting arts just as the Chinese used the word for fist. To help karate blend into Japanese culture, the character tou was changed to a Japanese one meaning empty, hence we now have kara-te-do, 'the way of the empty hand'.

From there, Kenwa Mabuni founded Shito-Ryu (1928), and Chojun Miyagi established Goju-Ryu (1930). Funakoshi founded Shotokan in 1938 and Hironori Otsuka blended jiu-jitsu with karate (learned from Funakoshi) to form Wado-Ryu in 1939. Universities in Tokyo and Osaka formed karate clubs and the art of Okinawan China-hand soon became Japanese. The Butokukai, Japan's top combat-arts organisation, also helped Japanise karate, creating standards for teaching and developing ways to competitively test the arts. These were the beginnings of sport-karate.

The various Okinawan karate schools had always been scattered and disorganised, divided into closely guarded regional and family groups (much like the arts of China). Many styles existed but the primary three schools were all concentrated in a small area of southern Okinawa and named after their towns of origin: Naha, a town of merchants, Shuri, home to royalty, and Tomari, inhabited by farmers and fishermen. Variation between the styles is partly attributed to the distinct influences of these different classes of society.

Shuri-te featured long, low stances and an offensive approach, considered derivative of Shaolin Temple kung fu, while Naha-te is considered the most Chinese, incorporating hard and soft methods, breathing techniques and ki, (Chi or vital energy) control. Tomari-te (which focused on using the arms) developed from these two and together they were the basis for the Japanese styles; Naha-te became Goju-Ryu and Shorin-Ryu is a product of both Naha-te and Shuri-te. From the Goju and Shorin schools emerged Shito-Ryu, and so on.

The facts concerning Okinawa's sources of martial arts influence are often vague and unverifiable, some say because WWII bombs have destroyed much of the evidence. Still, aside from the continual development of self-defence methods among Okinawans, it is accepted that Chinese martial arts have most greatly influenced present-day karate. In fact, Chojun Miyagi said a style of kung fu that arrived in 1828 was "the source" of Goju-Ryu.

This passage of combat knowledge from China is closely linked to a book of Chinese origin called the Bubishi, the subject of Kyoshi Patrick McCarthy's book, The Bible of Karate. Published sometime during China's Qing dynasty (1644-1911), it details Chinese kung fu history, technique and philosophy. It's believed the Bubishi was written by a White Crane boxer, Fang Qiniang, the daughter of an Eighteen Monk Fist kung fu stylist who escaped the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by government forces (Shaolin was known to house and train revolutionaries) and settled in Fujian, China. Both feature in the Bubishi, as do their systems. This book was kept secret and hand-copied by generations of Okinawan masters; Funakoshi's books even contain chapters taken directly from the Bubishi.

McCarthy's extensive research exposed 10 more-or-less plausible theories as to who brought the Bubishi to Okinawa. Featured among them are some Okinawan masters who trained in China, including Uechi-Ryu founder Uechi Kanbun, who studied Shaolin Tiger kung fu in Fuzhou around 1897. Yet, while the Bubishi is of great importance to Okinawan karate, it did not arrive in Okinawa until sometime in the 1800s and was preceded by many more influential exchanges.

Common folklore tells of karate's development by downtrodden peasants, their weapons confiscated by Japanese invaders, who developed secret fighting traditions while their rulers slept. Legend has it that this is why karate gis look like pyjamas: because they once were, and the tradition has carried on. However, these romantic origins are considered unrealistic by most historians, as Okinawan combative traditions go back much further.





In the 800 years between 600 and 1400 A.D., Okinawa experienced territorial fighting under the rule of warrior-chieftans and in the 10th century military power struggles in Japan saw some warrior clans move to Okinawa. From 794 to 1185, Japan's methods of war were introduced, including grappling, swordsmanship and other weapon-arts.

Okinawa's regional warring continued until 1429, when the rival groups came under one rule as the Ryukyu Kingdom. In 1507, feudalism (a system whereby peasants farmed for a wealthy lord and fought in his army) was abolished and private ownership of weapons was outlawed. This, says Kyoshi McCarthy, "explains why the Uchinanchu [Okinawans] began intensively cultivating an unarmed means of self-defence".

So, long before karate was exported from Okinawa to Japan, the Japanese were bringing their own combative arts to Okinawa. However, Chinese kung fu's influence was more recent and is more evident in the Okinawan karate that exists today. Again, there are many theories explaining how it got there.

Okinawa established trade with China during the Ming Dynasty and by 1393, a group of Chinese referred to as the 36 Families was settled in Naha, Okinawa. There, Okinawans were taught Chinese language, culture and, it is assumed, martial arts. During this period, Okinawan students also travelled to China to study and possibly learn martial arts. Another likely source are the sapposhi (representatives of the Chinese Emperor) who, in the 1400s, came to Okinawa for months at a time with many multi-skilled people in tow, including security experts. The Chinese kung fu that arrived in Okinawa, possibly by one or all of these means, was then used to police the island. After 1509, with even government officials barred from carrying weapons, these civil-defence methods went underground, but were secretly practised and developed by the middle-level samurai class known as pechin, whose responsibilities included law-enforcement. In 1609 Japan's Satsuma clan captured the Ryukyu Kingdom and until Okinawa became part of Japan in 1879, eclectic fighting traditions grew. Due to the weapon bans, kobudo evolved through Okinawans making use of domestic and farming implements instead, of which the sai is an example (it is said to have once been a hay-fork).

Some pechin also visited Satsuma and learned the Jigen-Ryu ken-jitsu of the Satsuma samurai; it is thought that the six-foot staff techniques of Okinawan kobudo originated there. One example is Matsumura Sokon, an important figure in Shuri-te who was a security agent for various Ryukyuan kings and studied martial arts in Satsuma and Fujian, China.

However, there is evidence of strong warrior traditions existing in China long before the arrival of Daruma (the first emperor to unify China, Qin Shi Huang, for example, left terracotta replicas of his entire army in Xi'an in 210 BC). It could also be logically concluded that fighting methods and traditions existed to an extent in all human societies, just as surely as quarrels and aggression existed. Texts discovered in China, reportedly 4,000 years old, detail systematic physical training, while 2,800 year-old writings describing unarmed combat have also been found in Europe. That aside, the previously mentioned systems of Monk Fist and White Crane kung fu can be traced to Shaolin.

While it is uncertain how much of Daruma's story is true, the legend is strong and there is little doubt that the texts and exercises introduced to Shaolin have been influential there. However, there have since been many other developments in the kung fu of Shaolin, with various influences flowing into and out from the Temples, leading to the creation of many different styles.

Keeping in mind that traditions are ever-changing, the predecessors of Shaolin martial arts are not necessarily the true origin of karate, just as one person in a game of Chinese whispers has only a small influence on what is whispered at the end of the line. Due to Okinawa's location (just 740 kilometers east of China and 550 north of Taiwan) it attracted the attention of pilgrims, traders and pirates of many races and has therefore had centuries of cultural exchange with Korea, Laos, Cambodia and numerous other Asian cultures with martial traditions. Some karate historians even say that the need for Okinawa's sailors to protect themselves against pirates played a part in the development of Okinawan te, which has existed in various forms for at least 1,000 years.

Bruce Lee "THE ORIGINAL ACTION HEERO"

Before Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme, there was Bruce Lee. In a way, it is a real shame that many of today's generation of action film fans have never been exposed to Bruce Lee because he was perhaps the greatest martial arts action hero of all time. His martial arts on film may not have been as fancy as say Jackie Chan's or Jet Li's but his on screen ferocity and charisma are unequalled. Even more important was the impact on martial arts that Bruce Lee had which still endures today even over 30 years since his passing.


Bruce Lee always considered himself a martial artist first and an actor second. As a martial artist, he was way ahead of his time in developing his own style of martial arts he called jeet kune do. His martial arts incorporated the most practical techniques from various combative disciplines as he moved away from the traditional and classical techniques. His martial arts abilities were real and
respected by other prominent martial artists like Jhoon Rhee, Chuck Norris, Ed Parker and Joe Lewis. His name was inducted into the prestigious Black Belt Hall of Fame twice, once while he was alive and the other after his death. These are honors that no other martial arts action hero has ever come close to. Martial arts schools in North America enjoyed a huge growth in enrollment because of Bruce Lee.

North America got an early glimpse of Bruce Lee when he played Kato in the Green Hornet television series and a bit role in the movie Marlowe. He went to Hong Kong and made a few films like Fists of Fury (called the Big Boss in the Asia market) and the Chinese Connection which made him a huge star in Asia. Bruce Lee also wrote, directed and starred in his own movie production called the Way of the Dragon which featured perhaps one of the greatest martial arts fight scenes ever. This scene took place in the Roman Coliseum and was with Chuck Norris which gave Norris his first film start. It was Enter the Dragon that broke him to North America. Unfortunately, he died tragically at the age of 32 in 1973 before he was able to witness the success of that movie. At the time of Lee's death, he had completed the fight scenes for another movie called Game of Death which featured basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabber, who was actually one of his martial arts students. Other students of Bruce Lee included actors Steve McQueen and James Coburn. Game of Death was completed with look-alike actors later on

One of the most significant contributions Bruce Lee made is that he opened the door for other Asians in the entertainment industry worldwide. He was the first Asian to achieve any significant success in the North American entertainment scene. He became a star in North America and the rest of the world by playing heroes rather than past stereotype roles for Asians such as like servants, gangsters, laundry workers or other 'pigtail coolie' characters. On an even greater scale, Bruce Lee gave Asians, particularly the Chinese people worldwide, a reason to be proud. Bruce Lee influenced them to be confident in pushing forward to achieve their goals no matter what field they were in.