History of the Martial Arts

The beginnings of karate is believed to have its origins in India with a man named Bodhiharma. Fourteen hundred years ago he traveled to the Shaolin Temple, in China, to give a lecture on his religion to the monks. Many of the monks fell from exhaustion due to his vigorous training regime. It is said that the next day he gave the monks exercises to learn and practice so that they would strengthen themselves physically. These exercises and this level of training would better prepare Bodiharma's followers to learn their religion. Bodhiharma felt the soul and body were inseparable. Thus, the need for good physical conditioning. Later these very exercises were spread to many other places and became known as Shorinji Kempo.

Around 500 a.d., the great Ta Mo came to the Shaolin Temple and ended up teaching a form of exercise which he had brought with him from India. These exercises originally were for physical fitness only but later became a form of self defense as well. In addition to Ta Mo's exercises, the Chinese learned much by observing nature. Having the idea of being one with nature, similar to Native Americans, they mimicked the animals as they stretched and exercised. Later when examining the philosophy of self defense they once again chose to watch the animal kingdom. The 5 major animals for self defense at the Shaolin Temple were the Tiger, the Crane, the Leopard, the Snake and the Dragon.

The Tiger

The Tiger - Known for its power and strength, the tiger stylists were known for their ripping and tearing techniques. Hands held like tiger claws, these fighters would strike and claw with tremendous speed and power.

The Crane

The Crane - The crane was known for its grace and beauty. Known to stand on one leg for long periods of time, it is no wonder that the crane stylists had excellent balance and were known for their awesome kicking ability and long range techniques.

The Leopard

The Leopard - The leopard was known for its tremendous speed and cunningness in battle. Unlike the tiger that doesn't mind frontal attacks, the leopard stylist prefers to attack only when the odds are in his favor. The only time he shows he is hurt is when he is not. He acts like he is running away in order to come back with an attack on his own ground. These are the strategies of the leopard stylist.

The Snake

The Snake - The snake is known for its speed once an opponent is in striking range. The snake raises its head and waits patiently until the unsuspecting opponent gets too close. The snake stylist, too, concentrates on waiting until the time is right and with his fingertips, strikes to a vital spot in a blink of an eye. Knowing how to use one's internal energy or chi is a major part of the snake system.

The Dragon

The Dragon - The dragon is the mysterious animal of ancient China. All the flying and floating qualities associated with the martial arts are given to the dragon. As the dragon floats through the sky he twists and coils, flipping his tail as he turns. The dragon stylist uses turns and circular motions to throw and strike his opponents.

As time went on many of the Shaolin monks learned each other's style of fighting and traded techniques. Thus hybrid styles developed using principles of two or more animal systems. One famous example is the Tiger-Crane style still taught around the world today This system teaches the grace and smoothness of the crane and the power of the tiger. It teaches the long range techniques of the crane and the close in fighting techniques of the tiger. Many of these hybrid styles flourished and eventually traveled around the world.

In the 1300's, official relations were developed between China and the island of Okinawa. We know that in 1392, 36 official families were sent to Okinawa to help develop relations with the islanders. These Chinese also taught their form of Shaolin Chuan Fa (the fist method) to the Okinawans. The local Okinawans called this art Kempo. The word for the Shaolin Temple in the Okinawan language was Shorin: thus was born the art of Shorin Kempo. Combined with the local fighting art, a new art developed that has become known around the world as the deadliest fighting art in the world. This art later became known as Kara-te (Kara meant China, and Te meant hand) or the way of the China Hand.

In the late 1500's, the Shaolin Temple was burned to the ground by the Imperial Army. The few monks that survived the battle fled for their lives and went to different regions of the country. Many in fact traveled to other countries in fear of their own safety. These monks, along with their disciples that they had trained, kept true to the Shaolin principles and taught only those individuals that were honest and would use their skills for the benefit of mankind. Many of these disciples ended up traveling to the small island off the east coast, Okinawa.

Originally there were three styles of Okinawan Karate named after the villages they came from: Shun, Tomari and Naha village. The locals simply added Te to the end of the village's name to recognize where each style came from: Shun-Te, Tomari-Te and Naha-Te.

Many events and places contributed to the development of karate as we know it today. The island of Okinawa became a common port for travel and communication for centuries. By the 7th century many people were traveling between the China mainland and Japan. Karate may have been introduced to Okinawa from these travels. At the same time of these influences, there was also an indigenous fighting style in Okinawa called "te" or "tode" in 1372, Okinawa was a Chinese satellite country. More cultural exchanges resulted in Kung-Fu mixing with Okinawan fist-fighting. The developing art of karate spread further when the Chinese emperor Hung Wu-Ti sent a large mission of Chinese officials to Okinawa. in 1392 a group of 36 families moved from Fukien Province, China, to Kume-Mura, a suburb of Okinawa. The community established was called ('thirty-six families." Here, Chinese boxing was taught to the Okinawans. Then in 1477, King Sho Shin re-imposed the Okinawan weapons ban, thus increasing the emphasis of weaponless fighting.

In 1609, Japan conquered Okinawa, and again weapons were denied the Okinawans. Therefore, in the fights between the dominating Japanese versus the Okinawans, the Okinawans used only their hands and feet. Thus, the Okinawans had a great incentive to train hard in their art of weaponless warfare. They had to study and practice in secret, usually at night and at remote locations. The Okinawan martial artists did not share their knowledge, and often fought each other. Different strategies and techniques were tried and tested on the real battlefield -- the loser usually died. Thus, the surviving warrior's techniques were kept, and the loser's techniques were discarded. Okinawan karate improved at the expense of human life. Finally in 1629, the Okinawans stopped the unproductive fighting with each other. The fighting style that they had developed was a mixture of Okinawa-Te and Chinese Ch'uan Fa.

Also during this time, many Okinawans were secretly sent to China to learn other fighting styles. They learned from famous Chinese masters such forms as: Saifa, Sejunchin, Ason, Waishinzan, Ananku, Chinto and Kusanku. The Chinese lion and tiger styles of boxing were brought to Okinawa in 1692 probably by a shipwrecked Chinese boxer, Ko Sokun.

Before the 18th century, there were three main styles of Okinawan unarmed fighting: Naha-te, Shun-te, and Tomari-te each named after the main cities from which they were practiced. By this century, Okinawan karate was developing into its current form. The basic differences between these two styles is that Naha-te relies more on flexibility in movement, while Shuri-te relies more on speed. Karate historians agree that the secrecy of karate lasted until either 1875 when Okinawan occupation ended, or until 1903. From about 1915 to 1940, Okinawan karate grew in popularity. In this time frame, almost all major karate styles were established.

Shorin-Ryu is a popular karate style in Okinawa and has historical links through distinguished Chinese fighting systems. The two ancient Chinese masters of Shorin-Ryu were Iwah and Wai Shin-Zan. Sokon Matsumura was a student of these masters. Another influential master was Kusanku who learned the Chinese art of Ch'uan Fa from a Shaolin monk. In 1761 he was sent to Okinawa to teach this martial art. "Tode" Sakugawa was a student of Takahara, but then studied under Kusanku. He combined Ch'uan Fa and Tode, resulting in Okinawa-Te. After Sakugawa, there were three other masters before the founder of Shuri-Te karate, Sokon Matsumura. A political leader in Okinawa became friends with Sakugawa. The political leader died in 1799, but had asked Sakugawa to raise his three year old son, Sokon Matsumura. Matsumura learned karate from Sakugawa and is credited with creating all of the Shuri-te katas which include: Seisan, Nalhanchin, Ananku, Wanshu, Gojushiho, Chinto, Passal and Kusanku. In 1884, Sokon Matsumura died. However, he left many students, the most notable being Yasutsune Itosu and Yasutsune Azato.

Yasutsune Itosu (1830-1915) created the Pinan katas and the Naihanchi kata. Itosu was also nicknamed "Iron Horse" due to his strong stances. After Itosu's death his senior student, Kentsu Yabu took over. Yabu soon retired, and Itosu's second ranking student became the leader. However, many of his students thought they should be the number one leader. These disgruntled students formed their own separate schools, thus, several different types of Shorin-Ryu styles were established. Yabu's successor was Chosbin Chibana (1887-1969). Chibana was a very well respected karate grand master, and was first to name his style Shorin-Ryu in 1928. At Chibana's death, again there was a disagreement between two of his students over who should take over as leader. Currently, Katsuya Miyahira leads the Kobayshi Shorin-Ryu (small forest Shorin style) and Shugoro Nakazato leads the Kobayashi Shorin Kan Shuwakai (small forest Shorin school of all Shugoro's students.) The present head of Matsubayashi Shorin-Ryu (pine forest Shorin style) is Shoshin Nagamine. Nagamine studied with Chotoku Kyan. His style emphasizes a faster, lighter movement while the Kobayashi styles use more power and less mobility.

Chotoku Kyan (1870-1945) was a great karate master. He studied Shuri-Te from Sokon Matsumura and Master Itosu. He studied Tomari-Te from Peichin Gyadamari, Peichin Maeda and Kosaku Matsumora. The Shorin-Ryu style that he passed on to his students combined Shuri-Te and Tomari-Te. His style was known as the Sukunaihayashi style of Shorin-Ryu karate.

Zenryo Shimabukuro was one of Kyan's best students. He first called his style Shorinj-Ryu after the Shaolin Temple. Later, however, he changed the name of this style to Seibukan. His style taught the full combative techniques. His son, Zenpo, is Zenryo's successor. His style is also known as Seibukan.

By 1880, the term karate had replaced the word," te" (hand) in Okinawa. In 1905, Chomo Hanashiro used this new karate character meaning "empty hand." Later, Gichin Funakoshi also used this karate character. Funakoshi was one of the most well known Okinawan karate masters. He was the first to formally introduce Okinawa karate to Japan in 1922. He was born to a government official in the year 1868. His father was a member of a privileged dass in society called "Shizoku." He was quite small and in poor health as a child so his father thought he would benefit by training in karate. He began training in his primary years with Master Azato, who trained under Matsumura, Sokon. Azato encouraged him to train with other masters and introduces him to Anko Itosu.

Funakoshi was invited to Japan in 1902 to perform his technique to the commissioner of schools. As a result of this demonstration, karate was installed as a part of the physical education program at the Dai Chi Middle School and the Men's Normal School in Shuri. In 1913, Funakoshi formed a team of karate masters to demonstrate publicly in Japan. The first demonstration of karate ever given outside of Okinawa was in 1917 at the Butokuden, the center for Japanese martial arts. In 1921, he gave another demonstration at Shuri Castle for the Crown Prince Hirohito. Hirohito was so impressed, he mentioned it in his report. Shortly after this demonstration, Funakoshi was persuaded to stay in Japan giving lectures and doing demonstrations. He never returned to Okinawa and by 1936 established a permanent Dojo in Tokyo known as Shotokan; Shoto after his pen name meaning pine waves and Kan meaning house. Through his writings, the meaning of karate changed from "Chinese hands" to "empty hands." This served two purposes.

The Japanese and the Chinese had extreme political tensions and were at war by 1937, so this served to disassociate the art from its Chinese origins. Plus, Funakoshi, who did not like Kumite and the use of force as he thought it degraded the art, wanted the meaning of empty hand and it implied not using weapons and more of a defensive sport instead of offensive. Funakoshi is also responsible for developing the Heian Katas 1 through 5 which were derived from the Pinan Kata 1 through 5, developed by Master Itosu. Okinawan karate clubs began to form in 1927. Today there are about 200 karate schools in Okinawa.