Beginning
in the 6th century, Shaolin Kung-Fu quickly spread throughout the
Far East. Neighboring countries incorporated these new techniques
into their indigenous fighting systems. Okinawa, a chain of small
islands between China and Japan was strongly influenced by this
introduction of Kung-Fu early in Okinawa's history. Sometime in
the late 6th century, Chinese Kung-Fu is thought to have been introduced
to the Okinawan people.
This early form of Okinawan martial art became known as "TODE".
"TO", referred to the T'ang Dynasty, which flourished
between 618-906 A.D.. "TO" was later used as an adjective
to mean "China". "TO" was also read as "KARA",
which we will refer to later. "TODE" was now the indigenous
form of weaponless fighting of the Okinawan Islands. Very little
was known about this form of fighting until the 14th century, some
eight centuries later. In 1372, Okinawa began an official relationship
with China. This agreement allowed China to expand it's trade with
other countries, as well as bringing about the spread of Kung-Fu
throughout the region. As an Imperial gift to Okinawa, a group of
artisans and merchants were sent from China to establish a permanent
settlement. This group of people became known as the "Thirty-Six
Families". Not only did these immigrants bring their professions,
they also reintroduced a more modern form of Chinese Kung-Fu.
By the 1400's there were two forms of weaponless fighting systems
existing on Okinawa. Okinawa was originally divided into three kingdoms;
Chuzan, Hokuzan and Nanzan. But in 1429, these three kingdoms were
united under one king. This was the beginning of the new Sho Dynasty.
The first Sho Dynasty lasted until 1477, when a new Sho Dynasty
started, the Sho Shin Dynasty. The new king placed a ban on all
weapons, fearing that there would be an uprising against him. This
ban ended up driving the Tode and Kung-Fu organizations underground,
fearing that they would be persecuted for practicing their fighting
methods. Tode and Kung-Fu continued to evolve and be practiced secretly,
this is why so little is known about these ancient forms.
In 1609, samurai's from the Satsuma Clan of Japan invaded the Okinawan
Islands and ended Okinawan independence forever. The invading Satsuma
wanted to destroy all evidence of Okinawan fighting forms, in addition
they placed another weapons ban on all the inhabitants.
The samurai were now the law of the land, and they had their samurai
swords to back them up. This left the inhabitants of Okinawa at
a great disadvantage, because they had no weapons to defend themselves
against the powerful sword and jujustu techniques that the samurai
possessed.
This single action by the Satsuma directly brought about the development
of the Okinawan weapons we know of today. The Tonfa, Kama, Nunchuku,
Sai and Bo were all created from the banning of weapons in 1609.
These new weapons were originally used as farm implements, but in
the hands of Okinawan's, they became deadly weapons. Therefore,
if the Okinawan's were attacked they could quickly convert their
simple farming tools into useful and deadly weapons against the
samurai warriors.
Twenty years after the Satsuma invasion, in 1629, both the Tode
and Kung-fu societies decided to combine their fighting styles,
naming the new blend of styles "TE". "TE" translated
means "Hand". This union was an effort to take the benefits
of both styles and create a stronger more effective style that could
be used against the samurai. The Satsuma Clan lost control of the
Okinawan Islands in 1875 when Japan officially made Okinawa part
of Japan. In the years to follow, Okinawan Te would begin to reveal
itself to the world. There became three slightly different styles
of "Te". These styles were named after the cities in which
"Te" was practiced. The three cities were: Shuri, Tomari
and Naha. With the fear and suppression now lifted, Shuri-Te, Tomari-Te
and Naha-Te would soon proliferate.
By 1887 the word "Te" was replaced and given a new name,
"KARATE". "Kara" at that time meant China, as
described earlier. Karate was then translated as "China Hand".
By using the term Karate, there was still a reference to it's Chinese
origin. The birth of Karate had begun and with it a new era of openness
and sharing had begun. Karate soon found great acceptance among
the Okinawan people. By the early part of the 1900's, karate was
being demonstrated to the people of Okinawa. Soon after, karate
would be taught in the public schools. Karate was more widely accepted
now by the people of Okinawa as many students began to practice
the art. The name "Karate" soon went through another change.
In 1905, an Okinawan karate master decided to start referring to
"Karate" as "Empty Hand" instead of "China
Hand". This change in translation would finally eliminate any
reference to karate's Chinese origins and show the world that karate
was truly an Okinawan art.
The great interest in karate soon caught the eye of the Japanese
people. In 1917 the Japanese government requested a personal demonstration
of this unknown Okinawan fighting art. A gathering of Okinawan masters
took place and it was decided that Gichin Funakoshi, founder of
Shotokan, would be the one to demonstrate karate for the Japanese.
Gichin Funakoshi was a rather small and weak looking individual,
however, he was very skilled in Okinawan karate. A demonstration
between the Okinawan master an a Japanese martial artist was arranged.
Gichin Funakoshi was able to overpower the Japanese opponent with
his superior karate techniques. The Japanese people were very impressed
and eventually Funakoshi stayed in Japan and began to teach the
Japanese people.
By the 1920's and 30's, many Okinawan masters began to travel to
Japan and establish dojos. In 1927 the style of Gojo-Ryu was created.
This was the first time a style wasn't named after the city where
it was practiced. Many other styles began to emerge, including our
own Shito-Ryu. Shito-Ryu's name was created by combining the names
of the two masters from which Shito-Ryu evolved. Shito-Ryu will
be discussed in more detail later. Karate quickly found it's way
from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands. This was mainly due to the fact
that there was a large group of Okinawans living on the island at
the time. However, it wasn't until World War II, before karate started
reaching the United States. After the war, many servicemen were
exposed to Japanese Judo and Karate.
During the 1940's and 50's, judo gained greater acceptance than
karate, which lead to karate not being widely accepted until the
1960's. Since then, the number of karate styles has increased, as
well as the number of students. There are many different styles
of karate around the world. Eventually many styles may die out as
new ones are created. Evolution of the martial arts is assured,
just as styles have changed and grown, new ones are always being
formed, just like our own Shito-Ryu.
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