Many styles of martial arts are practiced for self-defense or include self-defense techniques. Some styles train primarily for self-defense, while other martial or combat sports can be effectively applied for self-defense. Some martial arts train how to escape from a knife or gun situation, or how to break away from a punch, while others train how to attack. To provide more practical self-defense, many modern day martial arts schools now use a combination of martial arts styles and techniques, and will often customize self-defense training to suit the participants’ lifestyles, occupations, age groups and gender, and physical and mental capabilities.

Gichin Funakoshi was born in Shuri, Okinawa in 1868. Funakoshi passed away in 1957 at the age of 88. Funakoshi-sensei is the man who introduced karate to Japan and the World.

Gichin Funakoshi was born on November 10, 1868 (refer to Karate-dō, My Way of Life by Gichin Funakoshi), the year of the Meiji Restoration, in Shuri, Okinawa, to a low-rank Ryūkyūan Pechin and originally had the family name Tominakoshi. Funakoshi was born prematurely. His father’s name was Gisu.  After entering primary school he became close friends with the son of Ankō Asato, a karate and Jigen-ryū master who would soon become his first karate teacher. − Funakoshi’s family was stiffly opposed to the Meiji government’s abolition of the Japanese topknot, and this meant that he would be ineligible to pursue his goal of attending medical school (where topknots were banned), despite having passed the entrance examination. Being trained in both classical Chinese and Japanese philosophies and teachings, Funakoshi became an assistant teacher in Okinawa. During this time, his relations with the Asato family grew and he began nightly travels to the Asato family residence to receive karate instruction from Ankō Asato.

For Sensei Funakoshi, the word ‘karate’ eventually took on a deeper meaning than just martial arts training, transforming into what is has become known as karate-do, the ‘way of the empty hand.’ He was to modify the Okinawan art by taking inspiration from traditional Japanese budo (kendo, judo, etc) and integrated their philosophical aspects into his and his student’s training. This became a total discipline, which represented a synthesis of Okinawaan and Japanese schools and in 1936 he established the ‘SHOTOKAN’ style of Japanese karate which was to be greatly influenced by his son Yoshitaka (Giko) and Masatoshi Nakayama, first headmaster of the Japan Karate Association.

Whereas his father was responsible for transforming karate from a mere fighting technique into a philosophical martial ‘do’ (way of life), Yoshitaka was put in charge of developing, helped by other important martial artists, a karate technique that definitively separated Japanese karate-do from the local Okinawaan art, thus giving it a completely different and at the same time notoriously Japanese flavour.

It is upon these concepts that in 1948, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) was founded. The establishment of the JKA lead the way to the spread of Shotokan karate throughout the world. Master Masatoshi Nakayama, one of Funakoshi’s greatest students, succeeded him as the headmaster of the JKA and during his time there he further developed Shotokan, based on his own research, into the style we know today.

It was through master Nakayama’s vision, that Shotokan has spread throughout the world by enriching many people’s lives in many countries, while other senior instructors stayed in Japan at the Sohonbu to teach the next generation of Shotokan masters.

Funakoshi’s (Shotokan) Principals

• Never forget: Karate begins and ends with rei. Rei has the meaning of respect.
• There is no “first hand” in Karate. (Meaning there is no first attack, karate is about self-defense)
• Karate supports righteousness.
• First understand yourself, then understand others.
• The art of mind is more important than the art of technique.
• The mind needs to be freed.
• Trouble is born of negligence.
• Do not think that Karate is only in the dojo.
• The training of Karate requires a lifetime.
• Transform everything into Karate; therein lies the exquisiteness.
• Genuine Karate is like hot water; it cools down if you do not keep heating it.
• Do not have an idea of winning, while the idea of losing is not necessary.
• Transform yourself according to the opponent.
• The outcome of the fight all depends on the maneuver.
• Imagine one’s arms and legs as swords.
• Once you leave the shelter of home there are a million enemies.
• Postures are for the beginner, later they are natural positions.
• Do the kata correctly, the real fight is a different matter.
• Do not forget the dynamics of power, the elasticity of the body, and the speed of technique.
• Always be good at the application of everything you have learned

Karate, the Japanese word for “empty hands,” was born in the Okinawan Islands as a form of self-defense, at a time when weapons were banned by invading Japanese forces. It began as te (hand), a fighting style used by the natives of the Ryukyu Islands, and was later influenced by Chinese kenpō, introduced through the Chinese families that settled on Okinawa after trade relationships between China and the islands were established.

From three Okinawan cities (Shuri, Naha, Tomari), each closely spaced but with very different societal demands, three separate styles emerged:

Shuri-te
Naha-te
Tomari-te

Collectively, these styles were called Okinawa-te or tode (Chinese hand), and over time, the styles merged slightly to become just two: Shōrin-ryū, developed near Shuri and Tomari, and Shōrei-ryū, near Naha.

Because of increasing Japanese influence, the label of te was eventually lengthened to karate-jutsu (Chinese hand art). It then changed to karate-do after an Okinawan master altered the meaning of the word kara (also pronounced tode) to mean “empty” rather than “Chinese hand.” karate-do translates into “the way of the empty hand.”

The Common Beliefs of Where Karate Started

Very little is known of the exact origins of karate before it appeared in Okinawa, but one popular theory states that it came from India over a thousand years ago, brought to China by a Buddhist monk called Bodhidarma (“daruma” in Japanese). As legend describes it, Bodhidarma arrived in Shaolinsi and began teaching Zen Buddhism as well, a style of temple boxing based on exercises designed to strengthen the mind and body. The historical accuracy of this legend is still a hot issue of debate today.

Significant Dates in the History of Karate

1905:     Karate is included in Okinawa’s physical education programs at the intermediate level.
1917:     Funakoshi gives the first public demonstration of karate-do.
1922:     Funakoshi is invited by Dr. Jano Kano to give a demonstration at the Kodokan Dojo, bringing karate-do to Japan.
1924:     The first university karate club is established in Japan, at Keio University.
1930s:    Karate makes its way to Canada.
1936:     Okinawan masters meet to discuss karate in Okinawa, a meeting sponsored by the newspaper Ryukyu Shimpo.
1939:     Japan opens Shoto-Kan, its first formal training school.
1945:     The first dojo is opened in the United States.
1949:     The Japan Karate Association is formed.
1950s:    Karate is introduced in the United Kingdom.
1960s:    Karate makes its way to the Soviet Union and is banned and unbanned several times over the next three decades.
1964:     France Shotokan Karate is created in France.
1989:     Karate is legalized once again in the Soviet Union.

Significant Historical Figures

Gichin Funakoshi:    Founder of Shotokan.
Dr. Jano Kano:    Founder of Japanese judo.
Sakukawa Kanga:    One of the first Okinawans to study in China.
Itosu Anko:    Often called the “grandfather of karate,” brought karate to Okinawan schools and simplified it for increased public acceptance.
Chojun Miyagi:    Named the Gōjū-ryū style.
Hironori Otsuka:    Founder of the Wadō-ryū style.
Kenwa Mabuni:    Founder of the Shitō-ryū style.

Modern Karate

Today, karate-do is taught all around the world, and though it is often modified and always changing, four distinctive Japanese styles have emerged:

Gōju-ryū
Shitō-ryū
Shotokan
Wadō-ryū

Karate has evolved into a popular and beloved sport. The World Karate Federation (WFK), the largest organization for karate as a sport, has developed a system of common rules and regulations, and though it is not yet recognized as an Olympic sport, the WFK is recognized by the International Olympic Committee and coordinates with various national Olympic committees.