Newcastle Sendai Karate Club
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Newcastle Sendai Karate Club |
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The History of Shotokan Karate
| Karate is a martial art developed in Japan from a system used on an island called Okinawa. Okinawa is the Principle Island of the Ryukyu Archipelago, laying three hundred miles to the south of Japan and three miles east of main land China. Although the roots of Martial Arts can be traced back thousands of years to India, the evolution of karate as we know it today began in the seventeenth century. |  |
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Legend has it that an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma, the originator of Zen Buddhism, brought Ch Uan-Fa to the Shaolin temple in China during the Sung Dynasty. Some historians claim this to be false, but yet it remains a popular view. Very little is known from that period, until records of the practice of Ch Uan-Fa in Okinawa in 1372 when King Satto declared his allegiance to China's Ming Emperor. In the centuries to follow Ch Uan-Fa gained a strong foothold in Okinawa, it was practised along side an indigenous unarmed fighting system known as Tode. In 1609 the Japanese Satsuma Clan marched on the Ryukyu Islands ending their independence and banning all weaponry. This brought a bond between the Ch Uan-Fa and Tode to develop a fighting method to strengthen the physical and spiritual body in a bid to survive. The union came to be known as 'Te' (hand). "Te" was practised in secret in three main centres around the towns of, Shuri, Naha and Tomari. These local variations were later known as Shuri-Te, Naha-Te and Tomari-Te. Between 1784 and 1903 "Karate" (originally meaning "Chinese Hand" and later changed to "Empty Hand" by altering the Kanji), replaced the word "Te" to describe the fighting system. In 1875 the Satsuma occupation of the Ryukyu Islands ended and they officially became part of the Japanese Empire. Karate was by now a combination of hand and foot techniques influenced by its origins; by 1903 karate it was practised openly in schools. |
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Master Gichin Funakoshi |
Gichin
Funakoshi was a teacher (and also a poet) who wrote under the pen name
"Shoto", meaning "whispering pines" and "Kan"
means "the way". Shotokan is quite simply the "way of Shoto"
and "The Shotokan" was the "place of Shoto", where
Gichin Funakoshi set up his dojo (training hall). Prominent Karate masters,
Funakoshi, Mijagi and Mabuni were instrumental in developing the three
main styles from which all others originate; these are Shotokan, Shito
Ryu and Goju Ryu. Yoshitaka Funakoshi, the 4th son of Gichin brought later
changes forming Shotokan Karate into what is recognisable today. Gichin Funakoshi
is, without a doubt, the father of Shotokan and the driving force
which brought karate into the Japanese educational system. Shotokan Karate
was officially introduced to Japan in 1917 when Gichin Funakoshi demonstrated
the art at the Butokuden in Kyoto. By 1921 popularity had grown and Prince
Hirohito was so impressed by a demonstration, it was included in his official
report to the Japanese Ministry of Education recommending it to be taught
in Universities. |
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The development of
modern day Shotokan can be in the most part, accredited to Gichin Funakoshi's
third son, Yoshitaka. It is Yoshitaka's influence that has resulted in
the karate that Shotokan exponents practice today. Yoshitaka is known
to have developed longer, deeper stances to create more strength, his
kicks were more dynamic and the attacking techniques were developed even
further. Around 1930, Yoshitaka took over the running of his father's
main dojo in Japan. Yoshitaka was instrumental in introducing many more
katas to the Shotokan system which he had learned from Sensei Azato. Yoshitaka
was ill, however, and was told when he was a boy that he would not live
beyond his twenties due to tuberculosis. However, through hard training
he lived nearly twice that expectation. Yoshitaka taught at the Shotokan
dojo until 1944/45 but by 1945 he was seriously ill and much of the teaching
was carried out by Genshin Hironishi. Without a doubt from 1932/33 until
1945, Yoshitaka had an enormous influence on the way Shotokan karate developed.
However when he died, Gichin Funakoshi had to come out of "retirement"
to take over from where his son had left off, to oversee the training
at the Shotokan. |
Yoshitaka Funakoshi |
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However, the expansion
of karate globally would not be the practiced martial art that it is today
without the efforts of Masatoshi Nakayama.Originally destined to become
a surgeon, Nakayama studied at Takushoku University (a university dedicated
to the teaching the new generation of Japanese, how to do business overseas),
where Funakoshi was teaching.Nakayama became Funakoshi's principal student
and an integral part of development of karate into what it is today. Due
to his adventurous spirit he led the expansion of Karate world wide. In
May of 1949, he helped to found the Japanese Association of Karate (JKA).
Although Funakoshi was the honorary head of the new organization, he was
81 years old at the moment of the foundation, and chose to Nakayama to
be the Main Instructor of the J.K.A. He was instrumental (along with Hidetaka
Nishiyama), in developing "competition" style kumite, (originally
against Master Funakoshi's wishes) and in 1957, the JKA held its 1st All
Japan Championships.He oversaw the deployment of JKA trained instructors
to overseas locations in the rest of the world. Nakayama also published
many books and videos, in which he stressed kihon - karate basics and
stayed essentially true to the teachings of Funakoshi Gichin |
In Great Britain we
can trace our roots through many paths back to the "beginning"
however the strongest of these links are through Sensei Hirokazu Kanazawa
and Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda. Sensei Keinosuke Enoeda attended Takashuko
University where he trained under Master Funakoshi, he developed such
a reputation, the "Tora" (Tiger), that on graduating he was
invited to attend the JKA instructors' course and trained under Master
Nakayama. He competed regularly in various tournaments and his achievements
culminated in winning the JKA All Japan Championships in 1963. Following
this Sensei Enoeda began to receive invitations to instruct in various
countries - Indonesia, South Africa, Hawaii - and eventually joined his
friend, Hirokazu Kanazawa, to instruct in England. So it was that in 1965,
Sensei Enoeda found himself in a place called Liverpool, where he was
to spend some considerable time. Thus, Sensei's 'way' has permeated through
to KUGB club Instructors and to the current generation of Junior and Senior
Squad members. It goes a long way to explaining the high standards of
Karate within the KUGB, of which he was so proud to be Chief Instructor.
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Keinosuke Enoeda |
Available here is part of an article from Shotokan Karate Magazine, entitled What is Shotokan, written by Steve Cattle. This article goes into more detail about the important people involved in the history of Shotokan Karate. This information is taken from York Kenshigkan Karate Club website. See the Links Page for more information. |
