Karate Overview

September 8, 2008

karate - Itosu Anko - father of modern karate Martial Arts: Karate Overview
Karate translates, as is generally accepted, to Empty Hand in Japanese. Karate is a martial art that uses weaponless techniques such as punching and kicking to overcome the opponent. Typically, fighters wear a white Karate Uniform (Gi) and a belt that indicates their skill level and rank.

The development of Karate began in Okinawa, an island south of Japan. Okinawans travelled to China, where they learnt the Chinese martial arts. On their return to Okinawa they set about blending their own martial arts (initially simply called Te, “Hands”) with what they had learnt in China and called it To-De, Chinese Hands.

From this, 4 main styles of Karate developed - Goju Ryu, Shorin Ryu, Uechi Ryu and Shorei Ryu.

Gichin Funakoshi, who trained under several Okinawan Karate masters, developed his own style of Karate that he named Shotokan. There are now hundreds of different styles of karate across the world, but all
can be traced back to the original four from Okinawa. Karate was founded in the 16th century and formalized into different styles in the early 20th century.

Funakoshi introduced Shotokan to Japan in the early 20th century. The other Okinawan masters soon followed him - Chojun Miyagi with Goju Ryu, and Kenwa Mabuni with Shito Ryu.
From these masters many new styles were soon developed. For example Kyokushinkai by Mas Oyama, Goju Kai by Gogen Yamaguchi, Wado Ryu by Hinonori Ohtsuka.

Karate is currently popularised by:

Shotokan Karate. Masatoshi Nakayama, Keinosuke Enoeda:
Shotokan is one of the four main schools of Karate in Japan. It is best characterized by its long and deep stances and its use of more linear movements.
Shotokan has little of the circular movements found in Okinawan styles of karate, nor does it have the body conditioning and supplementary training exercises.
Shotokon Karate is considered by many a sports style of Karate, where tournaments and point-sparring are central to the art. Many exponents of Shotokan are displeased about the way Shotokan has been portrayed and would prefer that Shotokan becomes again the traditional, non-sports martial art as conceived by Funakoshi.Origin of Shotokan: JapanFounder of Shotokan: Gichin Funakoshi (Originally an Okinawan Karate Instructor who moved to Japan)
Goju Ryu Karate. Morio Higaonna:
Morio Higaonna is the world leader and Chief Instructor of the Traditional Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karate Do Federation (T.O.G.K.F.) which has branched out into dojos all around the world. Sensei Higaonna travels regularly to instruct and grade students at these dojos and also holds regular gashuku (training camps), where students come to train with him. Sensei has his own dojos in Okinawa, Tokyo and San Marcos, America.
Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate employs hard and soft techniques with circular and linear movements and has a great variety of hand and foot techniques.Emphasis in Goju Ryu is placed on strengthening the body and mind with supplementary exercises.Origin of Goju Ryu Karate: OkinawaFounder of Goju Ryu: Chojun Miyagi 1888-1953

Goju Kai Karate. Gogen and Gosei Yamaguchi:
Goju Kai Karate is very similar in techniques and Katas to Goju Ryu. Goju Kai tends to place more emphasis on the sport side of training rather than the body conditioning and supplementary exercises of Goju Ryu. The founder of Goju Kai, Yamaguchi Gogen, is credited for introducing free sparring to Karate. Previously, Okinawan Karate styles only used Katas and pre-defined attack/defense techniques in their training.Many Goju Kai schools exist today all over the world, and the characteristic clenched fist logo of Gojo Kai can easily be recognized. The insignia was designed by the late Gogen Yamaguchi in 1932, founder of Goju-Kai Karate-Do. In fact, the clenched fist insignia is vigorously protected by U.S. and international trademark and patent laws by those that currently hold the rights for it.Yamaguchi Goju KaiOrigin of Goju Kai: Japan, 1950Founder of Goju Kai: Yamaguchi Gogen (The Cat) 1909-1989. His sons Gosei and Gosen brought Goju Kai to California, United States in the sixties.
Kyokushinkai Karate. Mas Oyama:
Kyokushin Karate, KyokushinkaiKyokushin is a Karate style that is famous for its knock-down system of fighting. The style is characterized by its tenous training, conditioning and full contact sparring. Kyokushin Karate was developed by Sosei Masutatsu Oyama who in 1964 gave the style the name “Kyojushin”, which translates to “The Ultimate Truth”. Oyama held a 4th Dan in Judo, and also studied Goju Ryu Karate, Shotokan Karate (reaching 4th Dan at the age of 20) and some Korean martial arts which he developed into his own style called Kyokushin-kai (Kyokushin Karate).Oyama was an extremely strong man who popularised his art by inviting challengers to fight him and through stunts, such as killing bulls with his bare hands. Black belt gradings in Kyokushinkai are well known for their large number of kumite (sparring fights), sometimes as many as a 100.Steve Arneil trained with Mas Oyama in Japan for five years and was the first non-Japanese person to complete the 100-man kumite.Origin of Kyokushin Karate: JapanFounder of Kyokushin Karate: “Mas” Masutatsu Oyama (1923-1994)Popularised by Steve Arneil, who in 1991 founded the International Federation of Karate (IFK) and currently holds a 9th Dan.
Shito Ryu Karate. Fumio Demura:
Shito Ryu was developed by Mabuni Kenwa, an Okinawan karate master who studied both the styles of Naha-te (Gojuryu) and Shuri-te (Shorinryu). Shito Ryu was formed by the combination of the kata and techniques of these two styles. Traditional Okinawan weapons are also taught in the Shito Ryu style of karate. Characteristic for Shito-Ryu are the square-on stances and linear strikes.The most famous exponent of Shito Ryu is Fumio Demura who introduced the style to the world and has written several books - on both Shito Ryu and traditional Okinawan martial arts weapons. Martial arts weapons that Demura has written about include the Sai, Nunchaku and Tonfa.Origin of Shito Ryu: OkinawaFounder of Shito Ryu: Mabuni KenwaPopularised by: Fumio Demura
Shorin Ryu Karate. Richard Kim:
Shorin Ryu is one of the four original Okinawan styles of karate and makes use of hand techniques more than foot techniques and uses predominately high stances. Traditional weapons are also practiced in this martial art. Shorin-Ryu kata was developed as a system of communication and defense. Since the Japanese occupiers of Okinawa forbid the Okinawans from meeting in groups, the Okinawans developed kata. An Okinawan could meet another on the road, teach him a kata and be gone. At that time, traditional weapons such as swords were outlawed, and farming tool derivatives, such as the Nunchaku, Sai and Kama were included in many martial arts systems of Okinawan origin, including Shorin-Ryu.Origin of Shorin Ryu: OkinawaFounder of Shorin Ryu: Sokon Matsumura, also known as “Miyamoto Musashi of Okinawa”.Today, Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu, as founded by Nagamine Shoshin, is often refered to as just “Shorin Ryu”. Nagamine named his school in honor of two masters of Shorin-ryu, Sokon Matsumura and Kosaku Matsumora. The Japanese kanji characters that make up the name can be prounounced either as “Matsubayashi” or as “Shorin”. This led to a whole range of names for one and the same thing, namely “Shorin Ryu, “Matsubayashi Ryu”, and “Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu”.To distinguish today’s Shorin Ryu from the original Shorin Ryu, many schools call themselves Matsubayashi Shorin Ryu.

All-Karate.com has more detailed information on the following styles: