History of Karate-Do

The Origin of martial arts can be traced back to the very origin of man. Even with the dawn of man’s existence he was forced to learn how to defend himself against wild animals and also other men. So basically every country has its own martial art though in many cases it exists in a very crude form.

It is a fact that the art of Karate-Do can be traced centuries back to India. India is known for its cultural heritage and among the various arts the Indian martial art has developed tremendously. In ancient India the Rishis or sages were known to have made a thorough study of the human body and mind. The martial art followed in South India is called "Kalari" or "Kalari Payattu". Travelers from all over the globe came here for trade and cultural purposes. It is from here, that the highly developed forms of fighting were taken to other countries. One such traveler was an Indian Buddhist Monk, Bodhi Dharma or Dharma, the founder of Zen, a sect of Buddhism, who learnt these martial arts systems and introduced it to China in the sixth century. Both the Chinese and the Japanese trace back their roots of martial arts to Dharma. There, in the Mt. Sung Hennan Province, Dharma composed a "sutra" or collection of precepts to promote the physical development of the monks and missionaries to help protect them from bandits and criminals.

The sutra developed by Dharma was called "Ekkin-Kyo", and it evolved into the Shaolin Temple Kenpo, "the way of Fists". From here the Japanese people took these martial art systems to Okinawa and other parts of Japan. These martial arts have undergone considerable changes in the hands of the Chinese and the Japanese and are now referred to what we know today as Kung fu and Karate respectively.

In the ancient times there was no law prohibiting people from arming themselves. Weapons were standard in fighting, and most cultures have their own weapon fighting systems. Japan is renowned for its Samurai culture in the caste feudal system.

In the later part of the 14th century however, the influence of the Chinese techniques on the development of Karate-Do becomes much more apparent. Under the ruler King Hassi of Chuzan of Okinawa, a policy was enacted prohibiting the people of Okinawa from arming themselves. In the 16th century, Japan's most southern clan, the powerful Satsuma clan, invaded Okinawa. They colonized Okinawa for use as a trading post with China. These events forced the people of Okinawa to secretly develop the so-called "Te". During this era, the art of empty handed fighting became popular and the people, to be used as weapons, cleverly converted many farming tools. The Nunchakus, Tonfa and the Sai, just to name a few, were farming tools. These systems were referred to as "Te", meaning hand, techniques, or methods. In combination with the influence of Chinese techniques it was often called "Kara", referring to the Tang Dynasty of China, and "Te", techniques.

In 1868, the Meiji restoration ended the Japanese feudal system. This Meiji restoration brought the influence of western laws and values to Japan. The major reform was the abolition of the Samurai feudal system and the establishment of a centralized governing system. In short time, the new laws and customs were used to abolish the traditional carrying of the samurai sword. Hairstyles also changed to a westernized cut. The Japanese no longer wore Samurai knots in their hair, and they were encouraged to wear western suit and dress.

In this era, in Karate, there were no specific styles, names, ranks or belts that are known today. Lacking formal names, people generally referred to various labels by putting the names of masters and Katas (as instructional methods) together, like Matsumura Bassai and Itosu Bassai, creating a label for the particular school. Similarly, distinctions of Karate were also named according to their distinct districts.

The three prominent centers of Karate in Okinawa were Shuri, Naha, and Tomari. Karate masters Anko Itosu and Kanryo Higashionna were the first Karate instructors in Okinawa. The teaching methods at the time were not like today's systematic rational methods. There were only a few Katas in each location, which were taught and developed. Only a small number of people took the private lessons. Later, Karate came to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, which recorded an exhibition in 1922 of Gichin Funakoshi.

In this era many prominent Karate masters came to Japan, even though Okinawa was a part of Japan, Okinawa's history and its remote location resulted in the people of Okinawa being considered as colonized peasants and mistreated by most common Japanese. The most prominent Karate Masters who came to Japan, were; Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito Ryu, Chojun Miyagi, founder of Goju Ryu and Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan.

After the Karate Masters came to Japan in the 1920's, the present day style of karate developed, which descended from the primitive, Okinawan forms. It was not until the 1930's that a label was claimed and developed as a style, forced by the other established Japanese martial arts societies. Chojun Miyagi, a senior disciple of Kanryo Higashionna, first claimed a label to his style as Goju-Ryu (Hard Soft Style). Kenwa Mabuni named his style as Shito-Ryu. These two were very close friends and developed most of the technical bases of today's Karate. Gichin Funakoshi a student of Master Itosu labeled his style as Shotokan.

The form of Kumite as practiced in today's Karate, was also influenced by other Japanese martial arts such as Jujitsu, Judo and Kendo. Until the late 1930's, Karate-Do practice emphasized only the Kata and its applications.

The term Karate-Do also was influenced by the Japanese Zen Buddhist sect and became "Kara" (empty) "Te" (techniques) and "Do" (The way of.), The way of the empty hand. Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, established the current belt system during this era. Judo was a synthesis of Daito-Ryu and other Ju Jitsu. Dr. Kano established and created Ju (Soft) Do (The way of) from Jujitsu; these were methods for the development of ideology not just the development of technical skills.

Gichin Funakoshi aimed to teach only university students who were candidates for the governing leadership group. That young Japanese group developed today's sparring methods and later developed the basis of today's tournament systems.

Okinawan masters never even dreamt of competing with each other under established rules. They thought Karate techniques were so deadly that it would be impossible to hold any tournament. The first appearance of the modern version of a Karate tournament was held in the late 1950's in Japan. The All Japan Collegiate Karate tournaments were the first tournaments ever held in Japan including Okinawa. It went on to develop Karate-Do worldwide.