| History
of Karate Okinawa
Japan annexed
the nominally independent Ryukyu island group in 1874 after centuries of strong
Japanese influence over the kingdom's affairs following the invasion by the Japanese
Satsuma clan in 1609. The relationship between Okinawa and Japan is complicated.
For purposes of discussing karate, it is convenient to speak of Okinawa and Japan
as separate entities. The question of whether karate is Japanese or Okinawan is
somewhat akin to asking whether the luau or the hula dance are American traditions
or Hawaiian ones: They developed in Hawaii prior to when Hawaii became one of
the United States , and so are usually described as Hawaiian, not American. The
case is similar for karate, which is originally of Okinawan origin. citation needed
. The Okinawan martial art " ti " was practiced
by Okinawa royalty and their retainers for centuries before, and alongside, later
Chinese influences. For the most part there were no particular styles of "
ti ", but rather a network of practitioners with their own individual methods
and eclectic traditions. Early styles of karate are often generalized as Shuri-te
, Naha-Te and Tomari-te , named after the three cities in which they emerged,
although these are not concrete distinctions. Each area (and the teachers who
lived there) had particular kata , techniques, and principles that distinguished
their local version of " ti " from the others. citation needed Members
of the Okinawan upper classes were sent to China regularly to learn and study
a variety of disciplines, political and practical; this exchange was not too different
from the practice of exchange students today. The incorporation of empty-handed
Chinese kung fu occurred partly because of these exchanges. Estimates of the Chinese
influence in modern karate styles (or schools) vary considerably, and there are
no clean divisions among 'styles'. To this day karate styles from some areas bear
a striking resemblance to Fujian martial arts such as Fujian White Crane , Five
Ancestors , and Gangrou-quan ( Hard Soft Fist, pronounced "Gojuken"
in Japanese), while some karate looks distinctly Okinawan. citation needed In
1806, "Tode" Sakukawa (1782-1838), who had studied pugilism and staff
( bo ) fighting in China (according to one legend, under the guidance of Koshokun,
originator of kusanku kata ), started teaching a fighting art in the city of Shuri
that he called "Karate-no-Sakukawa" (at that time meaning "China
hand of Sakakawa"). This was the first known recorded reference to the art
of karate (written as ). citation needed
Around
the 1820 's, Sakukawa's most significant student, Sokon Matsumura (1809-1899)
taught a synthesis of te (Shuri-te and Tomari-te) and Shaolin (Chinese ) styles.
It would become the style Shorin-ryu Matsumura
taught his karate to Anko Itosu (1831-1915), among others. Itosu adapted two forms
he learned from Matsumara, namely kusanku and chiang nan , to create the ping'an
forms (" heian " or " pinan " in Japanese, as the symbols
can be read differently) as simplified kata for beginning students. In 1901 he
was instrumental in getting karate introduced into Okinawa's public schools. These
forms were taught to children at the elementary-school level. Itosu is also credited
with taking the large naihanchi form (" tekki " in Japan) and breaking
it into the three well-known modern forms naihanchi shodan , naihanchi nidan and
naihanchi sandan . citation needed Itosu's influence
in karate is very broad. The forms he created for beginners are common across
nearly all forms of karate. His students included some of the most well-known
karate practitioners, including Gichin Funakoshi , Kenwa Mabuni , and Motobu Choki
. He is sometimes known as the "Grandfather of Modern Karate." citation
needed In addition to the three early " ti " styles of karate, a fourth
Okinawan influence is that of Kanbun Uechi (1877-1948), who, at the age of 20,
went to Fuzhou in Fujian Province, China, to escape Japanese military conscription.
While there, he studied under the leading figure of Chinese Nanpa Shorin-ken at
that time. He later developed his own style of karate and brought it to Japan,
though the style itself was neither taught in Okinawa nor rooted in Okinawan. |
