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.
