Martial arts throughout the world arose out of the basic human instinct of self preservation. The manner in which the various arts of self defence developed took many forms. Boxing and wrestling for example were created in the West. Kempo came out of the East, while Judo, Yawara, Kendo and Aikido originated in mainland Japan. Likewise the Okinawans developed their own unique form of self defence which was called Te; literally meaning hands.

About fourteen hundred years ago Daruma (Bodhidharma), the founder of Zen Buddhism, left western India to travel to China to present lectures in Buddhism. To take on this difficult, several thousand mile journey alone was in itself a remarkable achievement. In later years, as he travelled to the Shaolin temple (Shorin-ji) in Hunan Province in China, again to lecture on Buddhism, many of his followers collapsed in exhaustion from his harsh training regime. Daruma then devised a method of developing the mind and body. By following this method the monks were able to recover their spiritual and physical strength. In later years these monks of the Shaolin Temple came to be known throughout China for their courage and determination.

Later Daruma’s method came to bear the name of its origin and was called Shorin-ji Kempo. It was this method that eventually reached the Ryukyu Islands and developed into To-te.

In 1429 Hashi – the ruler of Chuzan united the three independent principalities and became King of Okinawa, establishing his capital at Shuri. Trade was increased with Southeast Asia, Africa and the Indies beginning a period of prosperity which was to last for a considerable time.

A successor of Hashi, Sho Shin, was determined to preserve the peace and prosperity on Okinawa, especially as many other Pacific nations including Japan, were in internal turmoil. He prohibited the use, or ownership, of swords and other weapons which as a result were confiscated by the Government and stored in a sealed warehouse in Shuri, to be issued only in times of national emergency.

This ban on the use of orthodox weapons was primarily responsible for the creation of increased interest in unarmed combat such as To-te. This also led to an increased study of Chinese martial arts with techniques being borrowed from Southeast Asian sources, such as the kicking techniques of Siam and Cambodia. All of these techniques were incorporated into the ‘To-te/Ch’uan fa’ mixture around at this time. The innocently titled To-te cloaked the widespread nightly practice of a devastatingly effective fighting art.

Three Main Regions

During this ‘Golden era’ of Te, 1609-1870, many of the great names of Okinawan Karate lived, trained, fought, taught and died. Oral tradition has passed down to us such names as: Miyari, Chatan, Chinen Shikuyachu, Tensaki, Wanshu, Matsumura and perhaps greatest of all Sakugawa. Many of these masters have left a legacy for modern students in the form of Kata which they created as a result of their research experiences.

Peace could not be maintained however as in 1609, Okinawa became a pawn in Japanese power politics. The powerful Satsuma clan of Kyushu were a constant threat to the security of the ruling Tokugawa ‘Shogunate’. To provide a diversion for Satsuma dissidents and an outlet for their pent-up militarism the Tokugawa rulers encouraged a Satsuma invasion of Okinawa. The island defenders were, of course unskilled in the use of arms due to the continuing ban on weapons.

Around 1669 the Satsuma clan again banned the use of all weapons by the Ryukyuans as well as the practice of martial arts. Despite the enforcement of this second ban being maintained for over 300 years the art of Te was not lost. The forbidden art was passed down from father to son among the Samurai class in Okinawa. Secret training was the norm. Students practised in secret, hidden and remote places, meeting generally between midnight and dawn, so as not to attract attention from informers. Strangely, this did not discourage the practitioners but only served to enhance their resolve.

The immediate result of Okinawa’s occupation by the Satsuma clan was another upsurge of interest in acquiring fighting skill. Once again it was China’s martial arts expertise that was highly sought after. Visiting Chinese were questioned for any useful hints on technique, while many locals undertook missions to the Chinese mainland in order to be able to bring back ‘Ch’uan fa’ skills. There is no doubt that the many experts who travelled between Okinawa and China also contributed heavily to the bringing of Karate to its present level and after some years a distinctive art emerged. It was a blending of traditional To-te with ‘Ch’uan fa’ practiced under pressure of combat necessity. This art was known as ‘Te’.

Because of the secrecy in which Te had to be practised, there exists no evidence to indicate any clear cut classifications of the various styles and types of Karate during its formative years in the 18th century. Gradually, however, Karate was divided into two main groups or types, Shorin-ryu or Shuri-te/Tomari-te and Shorei-ryu or Naha-te. Shorin-ryu developed around Shuri and Tomari while Shorei-ryu came out of the vicinity of Naha.

During the 19th century, Shuri-te, Tomari-te and Naha-te developed further and became the unique forms of Okinawan Karate. The study of Karate was still confined to the Samurai class and carried on in the strictest secrecy. With the end of the Satsuma occupation in 1875 and official recognition of Okinawa as part of Japan the need for secrecy ended. Although Okinawa had been a province of Japan for over twenty years there was still a large degree of mutual antipathy. The Japanese largely regarded the Okinawans as ‘second class citizens’ and practised numerous forms of discrimination against Okinawans living in or visiting Japan. Characteristic Okinawan modes of dress, language and diet were subjects of derision.

Military conscription had been instituted for fit Okinawan males in 1898. The people of course felt no patriotic urges to fight for Japan. Anticipating the Russo-Japanese conflict of 1904 conscription increased and a fanatical spirit was introduced into military training. Many facets of daily life were imbued with militaristic or nationalistic themes in an attempt to increase the standards of recruits. Sport was stressed; athletics Judo and Kendo were introduced to boost fitness.

Karate was thought of as an art by the Okinawan practitioners therefore the term ‘Jutsu’ (art) was appended giving the complete title ‘Karate-jutsu’ which can be translated as ‘Art of the Chinese hands’. Under the stimulus of S Ogawa and M Nishimura “Karate-jutsu” gained official acceptance as a splendid physical endeavour and was introduced into the curriculum of the Okinawan school system in 1902 as a standard physical education subject. Many great Karate sensei were to become involved with the teaching of the art in schools. Anko Itosu, one of the greatest contemporary Karatemen and Yabu taught at the Shihan-Gakko (teacher training college). Gichin Funakoshi was prominent in education and several years later Chojun Miyagi taught at several schools. Itosu trained a number of imminent Karatemen, among whom were, Gichin Funakoshi the founder of Shotokan and Kenwa Mabuni the founder of Shito-ryu.

Map of Japan

Funakoshi received another invitation to perform in Japan, this time at the first All-Japan Athletics Exhibition at Ochanomizu, Tokyo in May 1922.His acceptance of this invitation changed his life and the future of Karate. Following the demonstration, Funakoshi who was deeply involved in Japanese culture particularly “Shodo” (calligraphy), decided to stay on in Japan and teach Karate to the Japanese people. Eventually he introduced Karate into several Universities as well as numerous military academies and commercial organisations.

In 1928 another Sensei Kenwa Mabuni settled in Japan and began to teach his distinctive style in the Osaka area. Mabuni had studied two diverse styles: Shorin-ryu under Itosu and Naha-te under Higaonna. His personal style combining the two he first termed Hanko-ryu, he later changed this to the designation Shito-ryu which together with its many sub-schools still flourishes today. Like Funakoshi Mabuni taught mainly at Universities plus several local police departments.

At about the same time another Okinawan, who had been resident in Wakiyama near Osaka, since 1924, began to teach Karate to the public. This was Kanbum Uechi who had studied “Pan-gai-noon” in Fukien, China for many years. This system is now famed as Uechi-ryu in honour of Kanbum.

Chojun Miyagi introduced his Goju-ryu into Japan in late 1928. Based mainly in the Kyoto region he taught at Teikoku, Kansai and Ritsumeikan Daigaku (universities).

Karate was introduced into a Japan that was becoming increasingly nationalistic and militaristic. However the Karate-jutsu they were attempting to introduce was identified by many Japanese as being foreign and heathen. Following the Manchurian incident of 1931 (a prelude to the occupation of the region) anything of Chinese Origin was proscribed in Japan and in 1936 war broke out between China and Japan. Yet the Okinawans (who were themselves still not fully accepted) were attempting to introduce their ‘Chinese-Hands-Art’. As one can imagine it would be obviously bad for moral to arm these future soldiers and occupation forces with a combat art identified with the very country they were occupying. . In the increasingly expansionist atmosphere pressure was on the Karate masters to bring their art into line with national sentiments. Accordingly in 1936 the now famous meeting of masters; Miyagi, Yabu, Motobu, Hanagi and Kimayu was held in Naha. It was decided at this meeting to follow the example of Master Funakoshi and use different terminology to identify their art. The ‘Kara’ character previously read as Chinese was given its alternative reading as ‘Empty’. Thus ‘Chinese Hands’ became ‘Empty Hands’. Additionally the term ‘Jutsu’ (art) was replaced by ‘Do’ meaning ‘way’. Discussion regarding Jutsu and Do forms had been popular amongst Karate masters for some time. Although some teachers continued to use the traditional terminology gradually the Okinawan fighting entity became known by its present name ‘Karate-Do’.
In the period 1935 to 1945 there was almost a revolution in the Shotokan style of Karate mainly brought about by Yoshitaka Funikoshi (son) but with the full approval of his father. After looking around at the other martial arts - judo, kendo and so on, Yoshitaka came to feel that Karate needed to change and be developed as a modern Japanese martial art. Changes were made throughout the whole range of the karate technique. In a fundamental development, stances were stressed as the basis for strong Karate technique and they were progressively made much deeper and firmer. Yoshitaka was also the first Karate-ka to emphasise the thrusting of the rear leg and hips in performing techniques with the idea of delivering an attack with the whole body. He was also instrumental in developing the modern styles of kicking, Yoko-Geri, Mawashi-Geri and Ushiro-Geri. There was also a greater development of Kumite beyond the prearranged Ippon Kumite and semi-free Kumite to include Jyu Kumite (free sparing). As for the Kata their sequence and techniques remained pretty much the same, however their Chinese names were changed to good Japanese sounding ones. This helped to identify Karate as a modern Japanese martial art and also the old Chinese names did not seem appropriate at a time when disturbances between China and Japan were frequent.

Karate survived the holocaust of World War II and emerged to become international in scope which was a truly remarkable achievement.

When World War II ended, the USA Administration in Japan issued an order prohibiting the practice of judo and kendo which were thought to foster militarism. As a result Karate-Do and Aikido were much sought after as a safety valve for young people’s energies. Another and more important reason for the increasing interest in Karate-Do and Aikido was that both can be practised without any implements. This gave an advantage under the social conditions of that time when equipment not only for martial arts but for any other sports, could not be obtained. Thus time and the tide were favourable for Karate-do’s arrival into a new era and the popularity of Karate greatly increased.