About 600 AD, the Indian monk Bodhidharma left his country to spread Buddhism. His travels took him to China where he started to teach the monks of the Shaolin Temple. Bodhidharma developed exercises to improve the monks physical condition and these evolved into a fighting style called Kempo or Shaolin/Chinese boxing.
In 1609 the island of Okinawa was invaded by the Japanese Satsuma Clan and all weapons were banned. As a result the native fighting style (te, tode or Okinawa-te) developed as a means of unarmed self-defence. Due to strict laws this was practiced in secret. Okinawans also came into contact with other oriental martial systems including kempo (Chinese boxing) and styles from Japan and the Ryukyu islands. These fighting methods were brought to Okinawa through the trading that took place between these countries.
These combat styles were combined to form different styles of te. Three styles were developed around the main towns: Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te. From 1879 Gichin Funakoshi Sensei learned Shuri-te and Naha-te from Yatasune Azato Sensei and Yatasune Itosu Sensei respectively. They were eventually refined into two styles of karate: Shorei-ryu and Shorin-ryu. Shorei-ryu placed the emphasis on very powerful, but slow techniques. Shorin-ryu relied on faster and versatile but less strong attacks. Funakoshi Sensei combined the 'best' aspects of each art into a new style that would later become known as Shotokan ('Shoto' or 'Pine Waves' being Funakoshi Sensei's pen-name and 'Kan' meaning building or house.)
In 1917 and 1922 Funakoshi Sensei was invited to demonstrate his style of karate in Japan. By 1935 karate dojos were established at most of the leading Japanese universities and karate was becoming widely practised. In 1936 Funakoshi Sensei established the 'Shotokan' in Tokyo, and this led to the start of the Japan Karate Association in 1955 with Master Funakoshi as Chief Instructor. In 1965 karate was brought to the UK by Henry Plée and Vernon Bell. They were accompanied by four Japanese instuctors, including Hirokazu Kanazawa Sensei and Enoeda Sensei.
China
Although the ancient origins of karate are extremely vague, we do know that about 1400 years ago, Daruma (Bodhidharma), the founder of Zen Buddhism, used techniques basic to karate. According to legend, Daruma traveled from India to China to teach Buddhism. His training methods were so demanding that his disciples dropped from exhaustion. In order to build up their strength and endurance, he developed a method of training the mind and body. His training was taught in the monastery of the Shaolin Temple in China, where the techniques were refined and developed into fighting forms known as Shaolin Boxing.
Okinawa
In the 16th Century, Shaolin Boxing found its way to Okinawa from China. It combined with native Okinawan techniques to develop into several Okinawan styles. During several periods of Okinawan history, the owning and carrying of weapons was banned. Each ban resulted in great advancements in the techniques of unarmed combat. Secret training flourished, and the styles became more efficient and deadly. This fighting system became known as Okinawa-te (Okinawa hand), then karate (empty hand), and finally karate-do (the way of the empty hand). There were originally three styles of Okinawa-te, named for the towns where they were located: Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te. Shotokan karate is a modern Japanese style, descended from these traditional Okinawan styles.
Gichin Funakoshi is widely regarded as the father of modern karate and is certainly the father of Japanese karate. He was an Okinawan schoolteacher and an enthusiastic karate-ka. Born in 1868, he began to study karate at the age of 11, and was a student of the two greatest masters of the time, Yasutsune Azato (1827-1906) and Yasutsune Itosu (1830-1915). He grew so proficient that he was initiated into all the major styles of karate in Okinawa at the time.
Japan
In 1916 he gave a demonstration to the Butokuden in Kyoto, Japan, which at that time was the official center of all martial arts. On March 6, 1921, the Crown Prince, who was later to become the Emperor of Japan, visited Okinawa and Master Funakoshi was asked to demonstrate karate. In the early spring of 1922 Master Funakoshi traveled to Tokyo to present his art at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo organized by the Ministry of Education. He was strongly urged by several eminent groups and individuals to remain in Japan, and indeed he never did return to Okinawa.
Master Funakoshi taught only one method, a total discipline, which represented a synthesis of Okinawan karate styles. This method became known as Shotokan, literally the clan or the house of Shoto (which was the Master's pen name for his poetry and calligraphy). Shoto means waving pine. Funakoshi selected this name as a pen name because he enjoyed hearing the sound of the wind through the pine trees as he took evening walks in Okinawa.
In 1936, Funakoshi built his first dojo in Tokyo. His students named it the Shotokan, meaning Shoto's club. Funakoshi did not actually name his style of karate, but the name of the dojo came to be associated with the style itself.
Master Funakoshi died on 26 April 1957. During his lifetime, he trained many famous students, including Shigeru Egami, Masatoshi Nakayama, Keinosuke Enoeda, Tsutomu Oshima, Hidetaka Nishiyama and Teruyuki Okazaki.
Karate Styles
There are four major styles of Karate today: Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu, Shotokan-ryu, and Wado-ryu.
Shotokan-ryu, which was founded by Funakoshi, came from Shorin-ryu (from Shuri-te), and utilizes long linear stances and physical power. This style was one of the first styles to be introduced to Japan in the 1920's. Powerful kata such as Bassai (Shuri-te) are typical of this style.
Goju-ryu was founded by Miyagi. It came from Shorei-ryu (from Naha-te and Tomari-te), which utilize up and down stances and internal breathing power (known as "hard and soft" techniques). Kata such as Sanchin (Naha-te) and Rohai (Tomari-te) demonstrate these techniques well.
Shito-ryu was founded by Mabuni. It is a combination of Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu, which makes this style a lot like a combination of Goju-ryu and Shotokan-ryu. Shito-ryu is fast, but is still powerful and artistic. Its kata include the same kata as Shotokan-ryu and Goju-ryu, as well as some artistic Chinese white crane kata such as Nipaipo. Shito-ryu also practices with Kobudo (weapon arts) and sometimes Iaido (sword arts) as part of the style, which makes Shito-ryu fairly unique among the modern Karate styles.
Wado-ryu is a derivative of Shotokan-ryu. It was founded by Ohtsuka, a student of Funakoshi.
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