Karatedo - A Brief History
As legend has it, the evolution
of karate began over a thousand years ago, possibly as early as the fifth
century BC when a Buddhist Monk named Bodhidharma traveled from India
to China,eventually teaching at the Shaolin-si (small forest temple) and
taught Zen Buddhism. He also introduced a systematized set of exercises
designed to strengthen the mind and body, exercises which allegedly marked
the beginning of the Shaolin style of temple boxing. Bodhidharma teachings
later became the basis for the majority of Chinese martial arts.
It was on the island of Okinawa,
the traditional point of contact between Chinese and Japanese cultures,
where the development of Karate as we know it began. In its earliest stages,
"karate" was an indigenous form of closed fist fighting imposed
on the Okinawan people at various points in their history, first by the
Chinese and later by the Satuma Clan of Kyushu, Japan, encouraged the
refinement of empty-hand techniques and, for this reason, was trained
in secret. Further refinement came with the influence of other martial
arts brought by nobles and trade merchants to the island as well as the
occasional shipwrecked sailor.
Te developed primarily
in three Okinawan cities: Shuri, Naha and Tomari. Each of these towns
was a centre to a different sect of society: kings and nobles, merchants
and business people, and farmers and fisherman, respectively. For this
reason, different forms of self-defense developed within each city and
became known as Shuri-Te, Naha-Te and Tomari-Te. Grouped together they
were called Okinawa-Te or Toode, "Chinese hand". Gradually,
karate was divided into two main groups: Shorin-ryu, which developed around
Shuri and Tomari and Shorei-ryu which came from the Naha area. The towns
of Shuri, Tomari, Naha were only a few miles apart so the differences
between their arts were essentially ones of emphasis, not of kind. Shorin-ryu,
was quick and linear with natural breathing while Shorei-ryu emphasized
steady, rooted movements with breathing in synchrony with each movement.
The Chinese character used to
write Toode could also be pronounced "kara" so
eventually the name Te was replaced with Karate of "Chinese
hand" by the Okinawan Masters. This was later changed to Karate-do
by Gichin Funakoshi who adopted an alternate meaning for the Chinese character
for kara, "empty". From this point the term "karate"
came to mean "empty hand". The Do in karate-do
means "way" or "path" and is indicative of the discipline
and philosophy of moral and peaceful values.
Over the years the prohibition
against karate training began to diminish and many great teachers began
to emerge. The most notable would definitely include Sokon Matsumura who
was also called "Bushi"(Samurai) Matsumura, who taught many
great instructors including Azato and Itosu who became the instructors
of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan.
The first public demonstration
of karate in Japan was in 1917 by Gichin Funakoshi, at the Butoku-den
in Kyoto. This, and subsequent demonstrations, greatly impresses many
Japanese, including the Crown-Prince Hirohito, who was very enthusiastic
about the Okinawan art. In 1922, DR Jano Kano, the founder of Judo, invited
Funakoshi to demonstrate at the famous Kodokan Dojo and persuaded him
to stay in Japan to teach Karate / The fact that DR Kano gave his endorsement
helped to make the establishment of karate in Japan easier, as the Japanese
did not take readily to "rough Okinawan peasant arts" as compared
to the more refined traditional Japanese Martial Arts.
However, as a result of this
and further demonstrations throughout mainland Japan, Karate earned the
approval of the ministry of Education and was introduced into public school
curriculums and also became an institution in Japanese youth organisations,
the military, colleges and with the general public. Funakoshi was extensively
sought after as an instructor and thus permanently relocated to mainland
Japan to teach Karate to the Japanese people.
His students initiated the building
of the first public karate dojo (training hall) opening in 1939
which was named the "Shoto-Kan" (using Funakoshi's pen name
of "Shoto" and "Kan" for hall)
To Funakoshi, karate was a martial
art, but it was also a means of building character. He wrote: "As
a mirror's polished surface reflects whatever stands before it and a quiet
valley carries even small sounds, so must the student of karate render
his mind empty of selfishness and wickedness in an effort to react appropriately
toward anything he might encounter. This is the meaning of 'kara', or
'empty', of karate."
As the study of karate in Japan
became increasingly popular, many other experts from Okinawa and China
came to give instruction. At the same time, the ancient Japanese hand-to-hand
fighting techniques of Juijitsu and Kendo (sword fighting) were being
widely practiced. Karate soon took over elements from both of these arts
and the basis was laid for Japanese-style karate.
The role of Karate is multiple.
As a practical means of self-defence, it is widely taught in Japan as
part of the training programe in the police force and for members of the
armed forces. A great number of colleges and high schools now include
karate in their physical education programs and women and children are
now learning karate as an effective form of self-defence as well as a
competitive sport.
Karate is gaining great popularity
throughout the world as a competitive sport which stresses mental discipline
as well as physical prowess. Over 160 countries (and 10 million practitioners)
belong to the World Karate Federation which holds Junior and Senior world
Championships alternating every year. The federation is dedicated to making
karate and Olympic Sport and has made huge progress towards this end in
recent years.
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