KARATE HISTORY FROM EARLY RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES

 

TO PRESENT DAY KARATE 

 

Buddhism

Buddhism has had a profound effect on the history of martial arts, the birthplace for both is in India from where it all began.  The religion has been transmitted to both China and Japan as were the martial arts which began as excercises to strengthen the body and maintain good health not unlike Tai Chi.

Buddha's life is subject to much speculation but the records of him that are known is that he came from an area of the Himalayas and died in 544 BC. Being the third son of a king he was protected from seeing the suffering and plight of the common people. By chance, one day, he saw around him human suffering, dead people and rotting corpses. When he was 29 years of age he left home and went in search of a truth that would remain for ever.

 After six years, whilst meditating under a tree, he experienced profound enlightenment

and founded his religious teachings.  His enlightenment was of four noble truths: understand suffering, origin of suffering, extinction of suffering and the path that leads to that extinction.

It was through Buddhism as well as Confucianism and Shintoism, that a structure and philosophy was being established for the fighting men of the Far East. 

These philosophies and religions became a uniting force that developed the ideals of martial traditions such as "fighting for a cause", defending virtue, faith, humility, purity and forging the "warrior spirit".  This can still be found in certain styles today who maintain the spiritual route within their training.

With any warrior his success will rely on his total belief in victory, the Samurai are a good example of this.  Therefore any self-doubt would leave him open to weakness which in the face of an enemy, this would result in his death. 

This hidden inner strength needed a strong philosophy, normally based on religious teachings. Therefore, a warrior needed to develop a strong, personal moral discipline in order to survive.  In physical terms the warrior had to be well trained, but strength alone would not be enough, various "tricks" and clever strategies had to be developed to overcome an enemy.  If these "tricks" worked they would be passed on and knowledge wasgained by someone who had been tested in battle and hence the beginning of disciples or apprentices.  These disciples are likely to have been trained with weapons and empty-hand techniques the early days of budo and karate, others will suggest jujitsu, regardless of any direct link the principle route for most Eastern martial arts was through this method.

TRADE LINKS

Much knowledge was spread via trade routes established between the far eastern countries (especially in the silk trade of 2000 BC between China and India). However,these journeys were fraught with danger and sometimes took years to complete.  Before a merchant, explorer or knowledge seeker set out, many factors would need to be considered.  Apart from the necessity of having guides and protection of some kind, these had to be high on the list.  Traders were an easy target, being susceptable to robbers, many of whom were skilled fighters, protection was needed.    Knowledge of some form of self-defence was necessary.  This ideal is still applicable today, individuals from all walks of life would benefit from learning a little self defence/personal protection.  It is clear that in these times that anyone undertaking a long journey would have employed bodyguards or learned to defend themselves. Monks and pilgrims, often not wealthy enough to use the services of a bodyguard, would have had to learn martial arts in order to survive and protect their monasteries. Such as the Shaolin Monks as seen on the television and martial arts showcases.  They were one of the first to learn the systems brought from India and today are highly skilled. 

 

ZEN

There is little evidence to indicate when martial arts were first mentioned but it is possible to look back as far as the sixth century AD to find martial arts as more than just fighting or self preservation. The fighting skills of a martial artist in the Far East was quite often combined with religion, philosophy and also of healing. (Quite often many religious teachings were combined with that of a physician. It was important to understand the anatomy and physiology of a person in order to exploit weaknesses as well as effecting a cure!)

Around 520 AD a monk named Bodhidarma, third son to King Sugandha in Southern India, brought a new aspect of the buddhist religion from India to China. He brought to China Zen Buddhism. It is claimed that the emperor of China (emperor Wu) allowed Bodhidarma to stay in China where he then traveled to the Honan province and to a Buddhist monastery named the "shaolin" (or young forest). It was here that Bodhidarma instructed the monks in his way of Buddhism.

Bodhidarma found that the monks were weak from their inactive lifestyle and would quite often fall asleep during meditations he was trying to teach them, so he decided to give them certain exercises to make them healthier and stronger so that their spiritual side could become stronger. It was the sixth century that saw the birth of Shaolin boxing, the fighting system of these Zen priests. However, it is likely that their fighting skills had existed before Bodhidarma arrived, but he brought with him the development of a spiritual side in order to strive for a state of "enlightenment" and it was the development of a pure mind and spirit that was of more importance.

 

Moral Code

Through the physical training the monks were better able to defend themselves against unprovoked attacks and a moral code was being established. As Buddhists they followed certain ideas of loyalty, respect and honesty toward each other and strove for attitudes of unselfishness and benevolence toward the world at large. It was considered wrong to fight indiscriminately. One was not supposed to use fighting skills to steal or to show off. Instead, fighting was to be used for self defense or to help others.  These new concepts and a moral code soon spread to other monasteries and Shaolin orders of nuns and monks. The fame of these monasteries spread across China and people came from all over came to be accepted for special training in the martial arts.  Nuns and monks traveled far and wide to spread their teachings in a country racked by civil war and unrest. The people were taught Shaolin fighting styles so that they could defend themselves against injustice and spread Zen Buddhist teachings in the hope of bringing peace to China.

In time the Shaolin nuns and monks traveled to Okinawa, Korea and Japan, spreading

their philosophy and with it their martial arts knowledge. This knowledge was adapted by

the different cultures to fit their own needs and various forms of martial arts were being

established and developed. What all the arts retained, however, was the underlying 

philosophy of Shaolin - that the martial arts are a means for developing physically,

mentally and spiritually and not just a means of defeating one's enemies.

 

Chuan Fa (kung Fu)

In the field of weaponless combat, China undoubtedly was the catalyst in producing the techniques that have eventually come to be named karate. While the major Chinese precursor to karate is chuan fa, in Mandarin Chinese it is more commonly known as kung fu. It is doubtful that kung fu can be credited wholly to the Chinese as Bodhidarma undoubtedly brought some of his own fighting ideas from India to the Shaolin. Bodhidarma is thought to have come from a warrior caste in India (his father was King Sugandha of Southern India and member of the warrior caste known as kshatriya). From this caste of fighting men, Bodhidarma must have brought some of these ideas to the Shaolin.  Bodhidarma taught his monks the "Eighteen Hands of the Lo-Han", the Lo-Han designating the disciples of the Buddha.  It is this Lo-Han that is the basis for the Shaolin Kung Fu. It is evident that from these times and onwards, especially throughout Asia that a gradual development of the lo-han and chuan fa (kung fu) as a whole was being effected. Martial art development is largely based on imitation followed by periods and degrees of refinement. Few peoples have been inventive enough to develop original concepts of combat, especially in the realms of empty hand fighting. Over the past 1500 years since Bodhidarma and with the influences of the Shaolin across China and India as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand that Chuan Fa became a source of knowledge that each culture borrowed from to develop their own type of unarmed combat.

 

                                                         

Okinawa

The heart and soul of karate seems to emanate from this island in the Ryukyu chain of islands in the Pacific. In the seventh century China had recognized Japan as being an independent political entity and at various times, Japanese priests, soldiers and statesmen passed between the Japanese mainland and China. Some of these "missions", however, went missing! It is probable that some of these "missions" became shipwrecked and the survivors ending up becoming inhabitants of the Ryukyu islands. Could these shipwrecked survivors brought a karate like art to Okinawa? It seems likely.

Also likely is that Buddhist monks commuting between Japan and China who were quite often skilled opponents in unarmed combat, shared their knowledge of self defense techniques with the islanders. It is the Japanese encyclopedia, sekai Dai-Hyakkajiten states that a type of chuan fa or karate was brought to Okinawa from China during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618 - 906).

It was in 1372, when Okinawan's King Satto expressed his allegiance to the Ming Emperor of China opening up a floodgate of Chinese influence. Okinawa became a Chinese satellite. Chuan Fa established itself along the ryukyu islands as a dominant system of self defense based around the Okinawans own forms of fighting with fists.

 

 

                                     

Tode

The Okinawans had a system of combat known as tode [tow-day] and it is believed that this was indigenous to the Ryukyu islands and is the basis from where karate truly evolved. Chuan Fa is believed to have had an important role in the structure of Okinawan Karate. It is in the 14th century that a karate like art began to be practiced generally on the island. This growing art was greatly stimulated by the large mission of Chinese officials and their entourage, sent by Emperor Hung Wu-ti in 1372 and it was the chuan fa exponents on these trips that made a positive impression on the Okinawans.

In 1393 a sudden migration of Chinese people to Okinawa occurred as a result of a "gift" from China in the form of 'thirty-six families' of skilled artisans and merchants. It is these 'families' that brought chuan fa with them which spread significantly throughout the Ryukyu's.

1429

This year saw Okinawa become a unified kingdom under the leadership of a man named Hashi. The Okinawan people (anji) lived on a bare existence  during these times but this soon changed with Hashi's knowledge of how to improve economic conditions in his country. His first major role was to utilize the trade links that Okinawa had been China and Japan and since the islanders were able seafarers, a new role of commercial sea traders and during the next two hundred years two of the largest towns in Okinawa, Shuri and Naha, became famous as centres  of increasing profitable traffic. Most of this traffic came from the Indies and Southeast Asia and shipped to China, Korea and Japan.

It was this trade as well as cultural interaction with Arabs, Malays, Indonesians, Thai especially amongst sailors that an exchange of weaponless fighting systems must have occurred. It was during these times that the Okinawans must have gained a great insight into many forms of unarmed combat. During 1432 and 1570 Okinawa had established forty four official embassies in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaya and Java. It is this connection that may be where modern karate kicks were imported from.

1609

The great Satsuma clan, lead by the Shimazu family, who were based in Southern Japan(Kyushu) marched against the Ryukyu islands as a result of being on the losing side in the Japanese civil way of 1600 and in a bid to reclaim its feudal territories. The main aim was to punish Okinawa for refusing to supply Japan with materials needed for her attack on China in 1592 which subsequently never happened. In 1609, Okinawan independence ended and Satsuma took control over the island.

A complete ban on weapons and owners of weapons were severely punished. The islanders, however, could not lie back and let the Satsuma clan take control and many skirmishes took place with the Okinawans forced to use only their hands and feet.This resistance proved futile and after secretive meetings in 1629 the various Okinawan chuan fa groups and tode groups banded together as a united front against the enemy. 

 The result was a new fighting style developed from this combination of tode and chuan fa which was simply called "te" and translated means "hand". This 17th century development is the first recorded instance of an art that closely resembles modern karate.

There are many interpretations of what the exact history is regarding the foundation of many styles.  Many thousands of historical documents were burnt during 2 World Wars and this is very sad.  There we have it.  If you accept what is written and it fits your agenda thats fine if not find out what you can and do some research for yourself.You may enjoy the trip especially if it means going to the places mentioned above.

Continue the trip below for now.

                                                                           

Te/early karate. 

Because of the Satsuma dominance in Okinawa, te was shrouded in secrecy as it was the Satsuma clan that wanted to destroy all trace of the martial arts on the island. The three leading schools of te on the island; Shuri, Naha and Tomari, all went underground to avoid detection by the samurai of the Satsuma. Due to this turn of events, te became an esoteric art due to its secrecy, but it also became more dangerous as its sole purpose came to maim or kill. During these times certain "legends" from Okinawa were being born.

Sakugawa & Kushanku

From Shuri, Sakagawa made a trip to China in 1724 to be initiated into the chuan fa arts.  His family never heard from him for many years until one day he returned to Shuri a greatly changed man. His apparent mastery of his body and the skill with which he performed complex chuan fa kata resulted in many Okinawans wanting to become his pupils. Subsequently, he formed the Sakugawa School of Karate.

Another Shuri resident and a Chinese friend, Kushanku who had lived abroad for many years returned to Okinawa in 1784 to popularize another form of chuan fa.

                                       

Karate

 It was between 1784 and 1903 that "karate" took over from the word "te" to designate the major form of weaponless fighting in Okinawa.  In 1875 when the Satsuma clan ended their occupation of Okinawa, the island became a part of the Japanese empire. The secrecy surrounding karate persisted until 1903, however, with the fact that secret societies as were established in Okinawa, were reluctant to change. The three schools of karate that had formed of Naha, Shuri and Tomari had also developed an intense rivalry after the Satsuma clan had left which was probably due to having a lack of enemies and each school began vying with each other for supremacy in these arts.

In 1915 karate was brought into Japan by Gichin Funakoshi when he demonstrated the art at the great Japanese martial art headquarters in Kyoto called the Botokuden. During the years following 1915 a number of other famous Okinawan karate masters journeyed to Japan to teach their art, thus formally informing the world abroad that it, too, was deserving to be added to the list of progenitors of an effective and well developed system of weaponless hand-to-hand combat.

Japan

It is quite likely that the Japanese were subjected to chuan fa well before Gichin Funakoshi came to Japan.  How much impact it had though is hard to say. If, however, the Okinawans, more often by accident from shipwrecked Buddhist priests, learned of

Chinese weaponless martial arts then the same could be said for the Japanese. The Japanese priests would have had to develop some self defense systems for their own travels. Japanese students of Buddhism in China during the seventh and fourteenth centuries would have been exposed to chuan fa as it was close to Buddhist philosophy. Some of these priests would have brought some of this knowledge back home with them.

Between 1500 and 1868, the martial arts were predominant in Japanese society and chuan fa (or "Kem-po" in Japanese)the main exponents were made up of Buddhist monks.

In 1592, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, warlord general of Japan, planned the complete conquest of China, transporting a massive army to Korea in a campaign that was to last for six years. A bloody war ensued with the Koreans and Chinese putting up massive resistance and when Hideyoshi died in 1598 his shattered army returned without setting foot on China soil. It is widely believed that Hideyoshi's surviving samurai brought with them a working knowledge of chuan fa (or kempo) and that from the 16th century onwards part of the samurai's armaments,  included punching and nerve striking techniques based on Chinese chuan fa.

 

There are now many instructors touring all over the world doing seminars on

pressure point strikes, some of them will have learned the techniques they

 are expert at through a teacher by the name of Hohan Soken who explained 

 to them that many of the secrets regarding kata and pressure point striking

had been lost to those in and around the martial art's.

This had been brought about through the war's that Japan and Okinawa

 fought with the WEST.  The majority of books were burned during war time

 to avoid them being found by the wide eyed westerners.

 

Hohan Soken's allowed some of those who he felt would promote the ways

 to  learn the techniques previously lost.  Unfortunately his name now

appears to have been forgotten by some of those who owe him copious

 amounts of thanks and praise.

 I heard about him Hohan Soken some time ago and the literature back then

 gave credit to him, this now appears to have been dropped.

To those martial artists who have been helped by his teaching who are now

making a good living from pressure point application in kata I hope that this

corrects some of those anomolies or oversights on your part slightly.

 

Kata are the formal patterns that are the back bone of martial arts training.  It develops form, style, balance, speed, control, and power. What does this have to do with science? This is the "Blue Print" formula and basis for developing skill in tuite from a life protection and healing perspective but only under the guidance of a qualified teacher.

 What initially appears to be "wax on wax off" takes on the form of a block which is also a nerve cavity strike, joint lock, submission or throwing technique.
The precision required to learn from kata should be taught from the start, with good basic kihon, then should follow the basic kihon bunkai that will begin the journey in kata bunkai analysis and understanding of the potential held within kata. 

To master traditional karate after good basic kihon has been aquired the kata will aid the practitioner with proper body alignment for working tuite techniques.  The focus and good form should be an instinctive part when doing kata.

 

Kata is often misunderstood as simple and impractical movements that will not be practical in life threatening situations.  However, this is actually were the disguise has been convincing.  The moves in each kata could not be seen as killer techniques by the Japanese who ruled at this time.  The secrets within kata will aid the correct way to defend oneself by disabling or killing an opponent should the situation call for such measures.  These being life threatening situations.

The application of these kata moves or techniques are known as BUNKAI. There are actually four levels of bunkai.  Basic Shoden, intermediate Chuden, and upper level Okuden or advanced bunkai analysis and application.  Beyond this we have the rare Kaiden or Oyo level which is highly advanced and is kept alive today, Oyo and bunkai are different ways or interpretations of the same kata.

White Tiger bunkai analysis is a highly advanced system of analysis and application, it does not follow the Oyo route.   Those who train with us will understand the difference.

  Oyo exponents such as Shotokans Simon Oliver have made great advances in Oyo whilst some other schools still teach what I can only describe as sorry to say, bad explanations and demonstrations of bunkai.  Please forgive them for they know no better, but still take money from students for seminars.

 

Now to continue with the next history section, my apologies to the reader for this short interruption, this is due to my love of bunkai and it's inbuilt self defence techniques for individuals of all sizes.     

Bushi

A Japanese feudal warrior was predominant in Japan's history, normally skilled in personal combat with daring displays of daring and tenacity; they were the bushi or more commonly, the samurai. The bushi's trade was known as the "martial arts". By tradition a serving bushi considered his armour and weapons as sacred objects and to keep them in perfect order was an obligation. Neglected the warrior believed that misfortune would become of him in combat.  The bushi were men of action brought up to fight. Their lives belonged to their masters to whom they swore undying allegiance.

 But besides martial accomplishments, the bushi mastered cultural objects such as flower arranging, tea ceremony, calligraphy, poetry and painting. 

Bushido

Bushido, the "way of the warrior" was the natural development of centuries of military experience, integrated by ethical and philosophical influences from the Asian mainland. The original concept of bushido furnished a moral standard in feudal Japan around the twelfth century under the military rule of Yoritomo. As a code of feudal ethics it permitted the bushi to apply their martial skills within the limits of a strictly defined "right and "wrong".

Bushido was never a written code and it was communicated normally from leader to follower. Its early development incorporated Shintoism and Confucian ideals. Buddhism, with its concepts of trust in fate, submitting to the inevitable and composure in the face of adversity was another cultural root. 

During the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333) the concepts of loyalty and bravery came to be particularly valued by the bushi. Under the Taira and Minamoto families, loyalty and bravery became necessary virtues for every warrior. Women were given no special exemption; they were expected to exhibit the same loyalty and bravery as men. Zen gave the warrior a firm foundation of spiritual strength on which he was able to build his loyalty and bravery. Zen also brought to bushido the method for which the warrior could die well and was included within the bushi's sphere of duty and brought about the regulation of his life.

Tokugawa Period (1600 - 1868)

Relative peace and stability occurred in Japan in this era and the bushi had very little use. The bushi, however, kept their privileges such as the wearing of the two swords for status and exemption from tax. Their idea of honour forbade them from work or business and their only duty, to watch over their lord's residence. Compared to earlier times the bushi entered a life of ease and idleness, but such easy living only served to bring out the dangerous qualities in some members of this class of armed idlers.

Some bushi undertook the serious development of "self-perfection" rather than "self-protection", others spent their time in eating, drinking in teahouses, or in brothels, some even entering a life of crime. When so disgraced, a bushi would leave the service of his lord and roam at large a "ronin" ("wave man"). The ronin were mercenaries and considered any deed of blood fair. The majority of bushi, however, turned their energies of developing their "self" and the warrior's energies were being turned subversive.

Wisdom to the bushi meant knowledge that could be absorbed so as to become part of the person as a means of self-perfection. It is this level of knowledge that would bring about the maturity of budo. The budo of the bushi contained seven distinct virtues; justice, courage, benevolence, courtesy, honesty, honour and loyalty. It was through Zen Buddhism that the bushi learnt the concepts of "emptying" their mind to become immune to outside disturbances, implying a mind that is always active, pliant and able to act without hindrance. It establishes more than just physical technique but something more spiritual and like a "sixth sense".

Meiji Restoration (1868)

The Japanese martial arts systems (bugei) have a parallel with te being practiced in Okinawa but the bushi's sense of depth and mental discipline was quite unique. The Okinawans secret te training was restricted to empty hand training and the use of weapons that could be passed off as farming implements. Even after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, Japanese overlords prevented the Okinawans from practicing martial arts. Between 1890 and 1940 Okinawa underwent complete assimilation by Japan and judo and kendo were introduced to the islanders.

The purpose was to improve the fitness of the Okinawan conscripts. A military doctor from Japan noticed that the islanders had splendid physiques and attributed this to the practice of te. Impressed the Japanese government authorized the inclusion of te as physical education in Okinawan schools (1903).

Gichin Funakoshi  The Okinawans chose the name karate-jutsu to replace the word te. Kara from the Tang dynasty in China where te has its origins, jutsu from the Japanese word meaning "art" and te from Okinawa.

The Japanese found that they could strengthen their military through the study of karate-jutsu. Crown Prince Hirohito after watching a demonstration in Okinawa was so impressed that his report brought about a detailed study of the art in Japan. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited an expert of karate-jutsu to Tokyo to give a demonstration. The well educated Funakoshi gave impressive demonstrations, mostly at Japanese universities. By 1924 the persuasive Funakoshi had shown that karate-jutsu should be included in physical education curricula. Keio University in Tokyo became the first Japanese university to officially adopt it by organizing a dojo. Tokyo, Shoka, Waseda and Hosei universities soon followed suit and with strong backing karate-jutsu rose in popularity. It was not long before it had a larger student membership existed in Japan than in Okinawa.

By 1932 all Japanese universities had dojos for the practice of karate-jutsu.

Yoshitaka Funakoshi

The development of modern day shotokan can be in large part accredited to Gichin Funakoshi's third son, Yoshitaka. It is largely believed that Gichin Funakoshi taught karate to his son but this does not seem to follow the Okinawans ideals of not teaching their own offspring, preferring some other teacher to do this. It is more probable that Yasutsune Azato was the main instigator behind Yoshitaka's early development.

 

It is Yoshitaka that has resulted in the karate that Shotokan exponents today practice although his father received most credit. Yoshitaka is known to have developed longer, deeper stances to create more strength, his kicks were more vigorous and the attacking techniques were developed even further all with the backing of his father. Around 1930, Yoshitaka took over the running of his fathers main dojo in Japan and carried on until 1944/45. Yoshitaka was instrumental in introducing many more katas to the Shotokan system which he had learned from Azato and katas which he had devised himself that was based on his dynamic style. He was also instrumental in developing katas such as Ten No Kata, Chi No Kata, Hito No Kata, the five Heian katas, the three Tekki katas, Kanku Dai, Kanku Sho, Empi, Gankaku, Jutte, Hangetsu, Jion, Meikyo, Hakko, Kiun, Shoto, Shoin, Hotaku and Shokyo. (Some of these katas are "lost" in history or were discarded as being irrelevant).

Yoshitaka was seriously ill, however, and was told when he was a boy of around 13 that he would not live beyond his twenties due to tuberculosis. However, through hard training he lived to the age of forty seven. Yoshitaka taught at the Shotokan dojo until 1944/45 but by 1945 he was seriously ill and much of the teaching was carried out by Genshin Hironishi. During a class Yoshitaka would instruct and supervise but generally he would go to the corner of the dojo and train alone. From time to time he would ask a senior to attack him and Yoshitaka would use his open hands to fend off his opponent seemingly playing with his attacker.

 

 

Without a doubt from 1932/33 until 1945, Yoshitaka had a massive influence on the way shotokan karate progressed and created a "bigger" system than what had existed before. However when he died in 1947, Gichin Funakoshi had to come out of "retirement" to take over from where his son had left off to oversee the training.  Further information about the many great instructors who heralded from the Japanese University School Karate system and the JKA can be found by searching on the internet. This section has focussed on the Shotokan system the Goju version of karate history will follow next. Compare and contrast the history above and below, the next version is different again and still very interesting.

What is Karate?

Karate is an intangible cultural inheritance that represents a unique creativity to the Asian Martial Arts. Though its origins it can be traced back to East India in 200-300 BC, the majority of its system was established in China during the next two milleniums.

 

Japanese modifications in the 19th century transformed the system from the art of Kang Fu, Tai-Chi Chuan and other precedent Chinese art forms that varied its name depending upon its time and place. To "Karate",named in Japan, the art now was a complex reformed Chinese art, mixed with a similar system that existed in Okinawa, an island of 454 square miles at the South West of mainland Japan.

Like a folk dance, the art has been practiced as a form of performing arts. However, unlike dance the art inherited actual tactics of the hand-to-hand combat, although they were formalized and recreated into aesthetic compositions that became known as kata. The art also inherited ritualistic and ceremonial nature of tradition and discipline that is implicated with the physical confrontations, as students and competitors do today, bowing to each other before competing in kumite.

Anthropologists often define humans as a peace loving being for nature. Psychologists also refer to the complexities of human anxiety toward the physical confrontation thus to avert its intensity. It appears that human ability to engage in duel confrontation is a learned trait through training rather than by a genetic nature. The art, hence, adopted by the educational institutions to utilise the art as for an educational tool not only for a physical fitness programs, but also for a form of discipline for the Japanese youth to cope. As for a principle, the art of karate applies only a pair of bare hands and legs because the art was developed at a peculiar social environment where the majority of the people had no access to ammunitions or weapons.

In the beginning there were some sets of composition named KATA.  Some of the kata are very some of them have been traced to their origins whilst others are still unknown.

Practitioners/students were to drill the choreographed compositions for precision in terms of executing the serial forms of strikes, kicks, joint-lock, grabbing and throws.

Due to its nature of movements, every form requires execution in isotonic tension on limbs as well as an aerobic motion. Consequently its drill contributes to the cardiac maintenance, and building up motor skill for both the old and young. For that reason in Okinawa, the art was a part of the physical education program in the various communities.

It was the  main-land Japanese who developed the dual combative application reviving the formalized tactics in kata into a free sparring form, named kumite.  Eventually the Japanese attempted to reform the art into a sport and they were successful.  Like as western fencing, a judging criterion was established by using scoring point.  As a sport, Karate became major body of activity in the art after the end of Pacific War.  The above section and the next are similar but different in the explanation, reading both will allow you to obtain an overall view.  Okinawa was also called Ryukyu and was once a small kingdom free from Japanese and Chinese occupation.  Since this small tropical island is located right between Japan and southern part of China, it consequently experienced severe political trauma in its history, especially when a southern end Japanese clan Satsuma, invaded Okinawa in 1607 and occupied its administration by force. No islanders except the authorized royal class members were allowed to arm in their daily life. Prior to the Satsuma invasion, the islanders had similar experiences by their own King at the end of the Civil War in 1422.

 In both occasions, the islanders learned to train, in secret, the hand to hand combat tactics which developed into the art of Karate later.At this time, the art lacked its Chinese sophistication and offered more practical application of the system by using bare hands and legs. For example, the hands were trained on finger's tip, the knuckle and at both sides and at the tail of the palm by pounding against hard objects daily. Likewise the elbow knuckle, toes and the ridge of the foot were also trained as for to use them like weapons. Japanese instructors now eliminated such an old training system due to its risk to damaging the hands.

At the beginning in Okinawa the system was called 'Te', meaning 'hand'. The arts of Te, however, appeared to differ its system depending upon geographical locations and instructors. The islanders therefore distinguished its school by identifying a name of city such as Naha-Te, Shuri-Te, Tomari-Te, and so on. Naha and Tomari were known to be the popular port cities. Shuri once was a capital city where the king resided. Other than that, there was the systems called To-De or Tote of which alternative pronunciation is "Karate"; meaning Chinese hand. Of the local historians appeared to distinguish To-De and Te as for different form. However, Japanese called the art, in general, 'Karate'.

During this transitional period of time when the art was becoming more popular in main land Japan, the art was called "Karate Kempou" which meant Chinese Hand Fist System. Later during 1930s Japanese practitioners changed the written characters . First word means "kara means" vacant, absent or empty and second word "te"means hand.

Its implication is to symbolize a pair of bare hands combat for the sake of self defence against the armed hands. There existed in Japan for fifteen to twenty century an incorporated field of martial arts as for a traditional institution named 'Budo'.  Ever since Okinawa was forced to become one of the provinces of Japan in 1871, there had been a political upraising by both the Japanese and the local citizens to promote the art to be recognized in the field of Budo.  Hence, the practitioners of the art started to call it Karate-Do by applying the suffix -do to Karate. "Do" or “¹ literally means "way" as for "a way of life."  One of the branch doctrine from Confucianism, once strongly influenced the Japanese intellects and Samurai class during the feudal time in the tenth century. The concept of -do or way of life came from the doctrine. All of the arts categorized in the Martial Arts, thus, are named with -do, like Judo, Kendo, Aikido and so on.

The Art of Karate-Do, is what the official name was during the 1930's in the mainland Japan. Traditionally, all the martial arts that were recognized among the field offered to claim their specific name of school or style in order to identify their lineage within the art. Unlike its custom, the art of Karate-Do in Okinawa thus started claim to its name of style such as Goju-Ryu, and Shito-Ryu, literally means stream which indicates lineage of branch.  Among the various styles of Karate originally practiced on Okinawa island, Goju-Ryu is known as the earliest institute of Karate that named its school by its specific

 style.

 ORIGIN OF GOJU-RYU KARATECurrent capital city Naha in Okinawa was a principal port city. It was Shuri where the king presided and was old capital city before a US military base occupied the island. There were three epochs mentioned with three masters respectively in their evolution in the history of Goju-Ryu school.  First was the time when the school was known only as Naha Te of Kanryo Higaonna during 1870s of which time the islanders were forced to surrender their nationality as Japanese.

Second was when the school was named Goju-Ryu by the group headed by Chojun Miyagi during 1930s of which time Japan engaged in the World War II.

 The third and final time period was when the national structure of Goju-Ryu organization was established in mainland Japan by Gogen Yamaguchi during the post war period. The organization has been called Karate-Do Goju-Kai since that time. Go,means "hard" and Ju, means soft, thus Goju, suggests there are variations of hard and soft aspect in that school.  As for a historical point of view a major body of system was imported from Fukien Province in China. That system called itself one half hard and one soft style in Chinese. The system also called Fukien Crain Chuan, which was a branched of school from Five Ancestor Chuan. Kanryo Higaonna,(1852-1915) may be the earliest master who can be traced back in the history and who founded a background of Goju-Ryu system. The system was called Naha-Te. Prior to Higaonna, there was another master named Seiso Aragaki,(1840-1920) recognized as a Naha-Te master. He was known as a master introduced kata Seisan.

 CHOJUN MIYAGI (1888-1953)

Among the Okinawan surname, there are many names that end with Gi, which means "a castle." Once in Okinawa, the word was prononced "Gusuku", thus Chojun's surname was called Miyagusuku then.  Chojun was born April 25, 1888 at Naha City.  He was born to a pharmacist who had access to the royal family.  He was named Matsuu. 

He was adopted by his uncle who did not have son for his successor. 

Chojun was named when he was three years old by the adopted family of Miyagi.  Starting September 1902, Chojun begun Naha-te practice with Kanryo Higaonna when he was fourteen years of age for three years.   In October, 1905, Chojun left for China at the same city Higaonna visited, Fuchou in Fukien province.

The purpose for this trip was to evade the military service tasked by the Japanese government.  Ever since the 1868 Reformation, the new Japanese government started to adopt the European parliamentarism as well as legistrative, administrative Judicial organization.  The first national legislation regarding duty of military service became law in Japan in 1873.  Japan copied the system from the French government.  

 According to revised legislation in 1889, any Japanese male citizen between 17 to 40 years of age were all subjected for the duty.   The government enforced the law in the prefecture of Okinawa in 1890.  In this first visit to the city, Chojun suported himself by making and selling bamboo wares like Higaonna did.  Chojun sold stretchers made of bamboo skins called "Mokko" in Japanese.

To defend Chojun for his acts of evasion, we must remember to point out the fact that it was understandable for Okinawans of the time to be defiant against the Japanese government because they had been the victims of a Japanese invasion.  Though the Satsuma clan occupied the island in 1609, the clan never took away of the islander's freedom of associating with the Chinese government or maintenance of its monarchic government.

In 1872, the Japanese government decided to rule the island directly and banned the island from associating with China and disbanded the king from his authority. In 1879, Okinawa became a prefecture of Japan, in which to islanders had no sense of duty being a Japanese citizens.  It was common among the islander youth to leave their home for China when they reached seventeen years of age. 

However, Chojun experienced extremely difficult times living alone in the foreign city.  Though his adopted parents were one of the wealthiest families, it was said that to support Chojun, the family almost lost of all itsfortune.  Chojun, in fact, also tried to locate those instructors of Higaonna at the city but was unsuccessful. Chojun had to came back home in 1908 and volunteered for military service to fulfil his obligation.

After his military service, Miyagi went back again to Fuchou city to locate Chinese instructors from 1915 to 1917.   According to his eldest daughter, Tsuru (currently named Yasu) his attempt was fruitless because the Chinese were not enthusiastic to cooperate with Chojun for his effort.

Fuchou City was also known as a center of underground activists against Manchu government of Chin,  after the fall of Ming  in 1664.  The headquarters of the Ten-Chi organization was based in that city.  All other revolutionary organizations fought against their own government of Manchu, including Japanese, and Western government.  The organization was known for its propagnda of "Defy Ching and Obey Ming, Destroy Manchu and Reform China"  Thus the entire city was quite hostile against foreign tourists like Chojun.  Neverthless, Chojun did in fact encounter with some local Kang Fu schools and studied Fukien version of Shaolin Chung from time to time though it was not consistant or systematic.

One of the basic training method in the Goju-Ryu called Sanchin starts with clenched fist, on the other hand most Sanchin in Fukien Crane used opened hand.  Chojun added a kata form to his school naming it Tensho from which the opening begins with opened hands.  It was possible Chojun wanted to introduce another version of Sanchin that he witnessed in China.  With his charismatic personality and devoted commitment to promote the art, Chojun succesfully took leadership in Okinawa for his school, named Goju-Ryu Karate, meaning Hard and soft style art of Chinese Hand.  It was Jinan Arazato, the oldest student of Chojun who named the style Goju-Ryu.  In 1933, in Kyoto, Japan, Arazato represented Chojun and demonstrated Chojun's program at a martial arts events.  Japanese martial arts experts suggested to him that claim a school name since it was common for Japanese to present the events identifying their school in the program menu.  Arazato temporarily used the name for that occasion and reported to Chojun about it.  Chojun agreed and authorized the name Goju-Ryu and ever since then he used the name for official events.  He was the first among the Okinawan Karate leaders who used the school name for the art.

Unlike Kanryo Higaonna, Chojun was built from a large physique.  The most significant contribution of Chojun to the art was that he introduced the arts to the public schools and  organizations such as the police department and athletic institutions. Thus the promotion of Goju continued to progress. 

Gogen Yamaguchi (1909-1989) 

Gogen Yamaguchi was born January 20, 1909 at Miyakonojou, Shonai,  Miyazaki Prefecture as the third son of Tokutaro.   He was named Jitsumi.

When he was thirteen years of age, he studied Goju-Ryu Karate Kempo with his instructor named Takeo Maruyama.  He studied Law at Kansei University in 1928 and Ritsumeikan University from 1929 to 1937 and received Law Degrees.  While studing at the University,   he initiated the Karate club and invented its free sparring form.  By this time, all karate schools in Okinawa and Japan practiced kata and pre-arranged application exercise and never attempted to practice free form of sparring.

In 1937, he received the name Gogen from Chojun Miyagi and authorized him to promote the school of Goju-Ryu Karate in Japan.

In 1950, he founded the national organization of All Japan Karate-Do Goju-Kai in Tokyo, Japan.  Gogen received 10th Degree Black Belt from Chojun Miyagi in 1951.

He was recognized as one of the greatest Karate masters in Japan.  He was the founder of what might be called modern Karate, an advanced stage which illustrates both a technical and social elevation of the art of Karate.  From a technical point of view, he had unified all Karate exercise by employing an extremly well organized method. 

As a result of the introduction of free-style sparring, the art of Karate had  become a more active and popular art in Japan as well as in other parts of the world.  Although he studied such martial arts as Judo, Kendo, Iaido, Jo-do, and Kusari-gama (art of chain) in his younger days, Karate had from the beginning captured most of his enthusiasm.  In the general development of Karate, Gogen had contributed several distinguished services.  First, he formed a group of Asian martial instructors.  He then succeeded in bringing seventy Asian instructors to Japan and traveled throughout the country, holding exchange martial arts demonstreations.  After the Pacific war, he succeeded in unifing all Karate schools into one union.  As a  result, the All Japan Karate Federation was established in 1964.

In the United States, people refer to Gogen Yamaguchi as the "Cat."  As a further recognition of merit, he was honored in 1969 by Emperor Hirohito of Japan with Ranju-Hosho, the Blue Ribbon Medal.

 

For those who are looking for a simpler martial arts understanding this section may help

Whether used to defend one's self from wild animals or human attackers, to train the body

to hunt, prey or simply to attain enlightenment, martial arts have existed on Earth since

before recorded history in forms not known as martial arts.

The ancient Chinese practiced an art known as Qigong (pronounced Chee-kung:

translated as skilled breathing) to promote health and longevity. Taoists in China were

able to use skills cultivated by this art to perform amazing physical feats, including the

use of almost super human fighting techniques. Around 1600 years ago a buddhist monk

named Boddhidharma travelled from India to China and found himself at the Shaolin

Temple. Boddhidharma realized the the temple monks were in poor physical shape and so

were falling asleep during their meditation. So he taught them a form of moving

meditation that became known as the 18 Hands of Lohan, or 18 Buddah Palms. Some

think this art was closely related to Yoga due to the fact that Boddhidharma was from

India.

At any rate, at some point in history the 18 Hands of Lohan became influenced by Taoist

 Qigong, which often times mimicked the movements of animals, and Chinese Kung Fu as

we know it today was born. This also created a duality within martial arts. Now there

were soft, or internal, styles which placed focus on breath control and proper body

positioning, and hard, or external, styles which focus more on applied force. Of course,

more often than not a martial art uses a mixture of hard and soft.

So that's great for China, but what about everybody else? Well, Japan had ancient

martial arts also rooted in breathing excercises. These were later influenced by

Chinese martial artists. In fact, it would seem that almost all of Asia had developed

martial arts from breathing excercises. Korea had the ancient art of Hwa Rang Do, Kali

in the Phillipines, and even Yoga has been developed into a martial art by some

practitioners. Perhaps there's something about over oxygenating the blood that makes a

person crave a rumble.

Of course, the ancient Greeks had their Olympic wrestling and boxing matches. But you

must also remember that the ancient Greeks were a very well travelled culture. It is my

hypothesis that these arts were either brought over by Indians, or were learned by Greeks

in India and then brought back. However, these arts as practiced by the Greeks do not

seem to be rooted in breathing exercises. The only evidence to the contrary is the idea of

a boxer exhaling as he strikes at his opponent. Greek wrestling has an even more tenuous

connection to the east, only in its similarity to the ancinet Chinese art of Zhwai Jiao. So

another very valid view point would be to assume that the Greeks, with their knowledge of

human anatomy derived from their sculpture and painting, created these very arts from

scratch for competitive purposes.

The Roman fighting arts, on the other hand, have an interesting connection to India. It

would appear that Alexander the Great required his soldiers to train in a systematized

form of combat that he called Pancration immediately upon his return from India.

 

It is commonly accepted that Native Americans migrated from Asia possibly during the

Ice Age. If so, it would appear that they left the continent when the common religion was

still shamanism as they exhibit an animal based spirituality. Thus, they would have had no

influence from the later developed breathing techiniques of Taoism. Little is known,

especially by this researcher, of their fighting arts. There is a known Brazillian martial

 art, Capoeira, but this originates in Africa and not from the natives. Capoeira came

about because the Africans who were enslaved by the European colonists weren't allowed

to practice their fighting arts for obvious reasons. So they disguised their art as a

ritualistic dance. Thus Capoeira has a very distinguishable rythym and is still often

practiced to music. It is believed that modern break-dancing is a decendant of this art.

 

So we can see that Martial Arts have been practiced by man for thousands of years. Often

times linked to religion and spirituality, or just used for competition or combat, the

Martial Arts are a part of human history and their practice will, hopefully, continue into

the future.

To finish this section I would like to  add: Like Shotokan and Goju Ryu have many variations that are not found within each other and White Tiger has a kata system drawing from both, our Shotokan Kata that were taught to the founder as a teenager and have changed little as we use those that Shihan Kanazawa chooses to use, having also trained under Shihan many times.  He is still one of the most carrismatic instructors I have ever had the pleasure of training under.

The Goju kata were originally taught to the founder by Sensei Christian many years ago and the only alterations I have are the changes in embusen as they are Japanese goju rather than the Okinawan version.  White tiger Goju kata have bigger arm movements like the tiger and the crane the strength of the tiger and big flowing wings from the crane. These are counter referenced from bunkai analysis and application.  If the move has been altered over the many decades to make it more pleasing to the eye, is it the same kata? Is it watered down? Is it wrong? We each have our questions and some have answers.  Who is right or wrong?  Bunkai often finds the answers which occasionally makes certain moves within kata very suspect of being changed by someone in the past.  Correction of these suspect moves may be right or wrong.  I will leave it to the reader to decide which.  If we alter to make them work again with bunkai in mind, are we heratics? 

Promoting the correct benefits of kata performance and understanding is paramount and ensuring the preservation of White Tiger kata is the founders task.     

Thank you for reading the history section, should anything  grab your attention please email us and we will always strive to reply as soon as we are able.

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