Karate,
martial art of unarmed self-defense. Karate emphasizes self-discipline, positive
attitude, and high moral purpose. It is more than
1000 years old and originated from the Shaolin temples, first as monastic
training and later as a defense method. During the 17th century it became
developed on the island of Okinawa, Japan. In 1922 it was introduced to the
Japanese public, and the art is today chiefly associated with Japan. It was
introduced into the United States after World War II (1939-1945).
Karate comes from the same base as all
martial arts, Kempo or Shaolin Chuan-Fa just like Aikido, Judo and Jujitsu, but
it stresses techniques for striking rather than for wrestling or throwing an
opponent. Great attention is given to knowing vulnerable points of the human
body, which can be attacked by the hands, elbows, knees, or feet. In ordinary
karate competitions or exhibitions, all blows must be above the waist and are
pulled. The most common blows used are chops, knuckle punches, finger jabs, and
various kicks. Deep-breathing exercises are also useful because exhalation
and sudden shouts accompany the directed blows.
Modern
karate was first demonstrated in Japan in 1922 by Gichin Funakoshi, the founder
of modern karate. However the history of karate stretches further back than this
to the Ryukyu Islands off the coast of Japan, today known as Okinawa. In these
islands the predecessor of modern karate Okinawa-te was performed. The origins
of Okinawa-te are not fully known but it is believed that some of the influence
for this came from China and its development brought about by the ban of weapons
in Okinawa in the 15th century. There were two main styles of Okinawa-te,
Shuri-te (Shorin) and Naha-te (Shorei). Shorin was the style practiced in Shuri
(Shuri-te) and Shorei was the style practiced in Naha (Naha-te). Styles of
karate such as Shorin-ryu where derived from Shuri-te, whilst styles such as
Goju-ryu were derived from Naha-te. It is often said that Gichin Funakoshi
merged Shorin and Shorei to form his style of karate which became known as
Shotokan. However Gichin Funakoshi never studied Naha-te and all of the kata
which he eventually included in Shotokan were from Shuri-te suggesting that the
combination of these styles is not correct.
In 1922 Gichin Funakoshi traveled to
mainland Japan to give a demonstration of karate to the All Japan Athletic
Exhibition in Tokyo. Soon after this demonstration he was asked to give a
demonstration at the Kodokan Judo Hall to Jigoro Kano (The founder of Judo) and
his senior instructors. This demonstration was well received. This was a turning
point in the history of karate and helped lead to it's introduction into Japan.
Soon after this Master Funakoshi was able to start teaching karate in a small
dining hall in the Meisojuku. Gichin Funakoshi continued to teach karate and
after a couple of years he began teaching at other institutions and karate clubs
were opened at several universities. During this time karate was changed and
made more Japanese to encompass concepts such as Budo. Also the name Kara-te was
changed from the original meaning of China-hand (the character for China
originally being Kara being changed to mean empty) to Empty-hand and the kata
renamed. The Shotokan of this time was different to modern Shotokan encompassing
a large number of throws which were eventually removed from the style.
Shotokan continued to develop and in the
mid 30's Gichin Funakoshi had more or less retired and handed control of his
Dojo's to his son Yoshitaka also known as Gigo. A large number of the changes to
the original Shotokan style which led to the modern style of Shotokan are
attributed to Yoshitaka. In 1939 due to the success of the clubs a new central
dojo was formed and
opened by Master Gichin Funakoshi, over the door was hung a plaque which read
"The hall of Shoto" - Shotokan, Shoto being the pen name Gichin
Funakoshi used to sign his poetry. During the Second World War Yoshitaka was
killed and the Shotokan dojo destroyed. After the war Japan was devastated and
Japanese martial arts banned by the occupying allied forces. During this time
some of the senior students of Master Funakoshi began to reorganize karate and
get the ban on karate lifted under the guise that it was Chinese boxing,
therefore from the end of the war until 1949 karate was the only martial art
that was allowed to be taught in Japan. In 1949 the Japan Karate Association was
founded with Master Funakoshi as the chief instructor and the late head of the
JKA Masatoshi Nakayama on the committee as principal active instructor. Master
Funakoshi died in 1957 at
89 years of age.