3
Original Traditional Okinawan Styles
|
Shuri-te |
Hard techniques
(Go) influenced by Kenpo, seen more
as an offensive system. |
|
Naha-te |
Softer
techniques (Ju) of Kenpo, plus strong
breath control and is regarded as more of a
defensive system, with grappling, throws, and
locks. |
|
Tomari-te |
The hard
and soft techniques of Kenpo. |
Most Western students of
Asian martial arts, if they have done any research on
the subject at all, will surely have come across references
to
Bodhidharma.
He is known as "Daruma" in Japan and as often as not,
this Indian Buddhist monk is cited as the prime source
for all martial arts styles or at the vary least, for
any style which traces its roots back to the fabled
Shaolin Temple. However, the question of his contributions
to the martial arts and to
Zen Buddhism
and even of his very existence has been a matter of
controversy among historians and martial arts scholars
for many years (Spiessbach,1992).
As legend has it, the evolution of karate began over
a thousand years ago, possibly as early as the fifth
century BC when Bodhidharma arrived in Shaolin-si
(small forest temple), China from India 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's teachings
later became the basis for the majority of Chinese martial
arts. In truth, the origins of karate appear to be somewhat
obscure and little is known about the early development
of karate until it appeared in
Okinawa.
Okinawa is a small island of the group that comprises
modern day Japan. It is the main island in the chain
of Ryukyu Islands which spans from Japan to Taiwan.
Surrounded by coral, Okinawa is approximately 10 km
(6 mi) wide and only about 110 km (less than 70 mi)
long.
It is situated 740 km (400 nautical mi) east of mainland
China, 550 km (300 nautical miles) south of mainland
Japan and an equal distance north of Taiwan. Being at
the crossroads of major trading routes, its significance
as a "resting spot" was first discovered by the Japanese.
It later developed as a trade centre for southeastern
Asia, trading with Japan, China, Indo China, Thailand,
Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines.
In its
earliest stages, the martial art known as "karate" was
an indigenous form of closed fist fighting which was
developed in Okinawa and called Te, or 'hand'.
Weapons bans, imposed on the Okinawans at various points
in their history, encouraged the refinement of empty-hand
techniques and, for this reason, was trained in secret
until modern times. Further refinement came with the
influence of other martial arts brought by nobles and
trade merchants to the island.
Te
continued to develop over the years,
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 fishermen, respectively. For
this reason, different forms of self-defense developed
within each city and subsequently became known as
Shuri-te,
Naha-te and
Tomari-te.
Collectively they were called Okinawa-Te
or Tode, '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. "It is important to note, however, that
the towns of Shuri, Tomari, Naha are only a few miles
apart, and that the differences between their arts were
essentially ones of emphasis, not of kind. Beneath these
surface differences, both the methods and aims of all
Okinawan karate are one in the same" (Howard, 1991).
Gichin Funakoshi goes further to suggest that these
two styles were developed based on different physical
requirements Funakoshi, 1935). Shorin-ryu was quick
and linear with natural breathing while Shorei-ryu emphasized
steady, rooted movements with breathing in synchrony
with each movement. Interestingly, this concept of two
basic styles also exist in kung-fu with a similar division
of characteristics (Wong, 1978).
The Chinese character used to write Tode could
also be pronounced 'kara' thus the name Te was
replaced with kara te - jutsu or 'Chinese hand
art' 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 on 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 karate with moral
and spiritual connotations.
The concept of Do
has been prevalent since at least the days of the
Okinawan Scholar Teijunsoku born in 1663, as this passage
from a poem he wrote suggests:
No matter
how you may excel in the art of te,
And in your scholastic endeavors,
Nothing is more important than your behavior
And your humanity as observed in daily life
(Nagamine,1976)
Selected References
Farkas, Emil &
Corcoran, John (1983), The Dictionary of Martial Arts,
Overlook, New York
Frederic, Lois (1991), A Dictionary of the Martial Arts,
Tuttle, Vermont
Funakoshi, Gichin (1935), Karate-Do Kyohan, Kobundo
Book Company, Tokyo
Funakoshi, Gichin (1975), Karate-Do: My Way of Life,
Kodansha International, Tokyo
Hassell, R.G. (1984), Shotokan Karate: Its History and
Tradition, Focus Publications
Higaonna, Morio (1987), Traditional Karate-Do-Okinawa
Goju Ryu, Volume l, Minto Research an Publishing, Tokyo
Maliszewski, Michael (1992), Meditative-Religious Traditions
of FightingArts & Martial Ways, Journal of Asian Martial
Arts, Volume 1, Number 3, Via Media Publishing Company,
Erie Pennsylvania
Nagamine, Shoshin (1976), The Essence of Okinawan Karate-Do,
Tuttle, Tokyo
Nakaya, Takao (1986), Karate-Do History and Philosophy,
JSS Publishing, Texas
Reid, Howard & Croucher, Michael (1991), The Way of
the Warrior, The Overlook Press, New York
Spiessbach, Michael (1992), Bodhidharma: Meditating
Monk Martial Arts Master or Make Believe?, Journal of
Asian Martial Arts, Volume 1, Number 4, Via Media Publishing
Company, Erie Pennsylvania
Wingate, Carrie (1993), Exploring Our Roots: Historical
and Cultural Foundations of the Ideology of Karate-
Do, Journal of Asian Martial Arts, Volume 2, Number
3, Via Media Publishing Company, Erie Pennsylvania
Wong, James (1978), A source book in the Chinese martial
arts: History, philosophy, systems and styles: vol.
1, Koinonia Productions, Stockton, California
This article has been written to supplement the Karate
History article in the NCCP Technical I Manual by Rick
Jorgensen
Kevin Northrup & Joy Ang
*from
http://www.karatebc.org/history/
|
