THE ORIGINS OF KARATE

       Men have been fighting each other since the beginning of time. Humans have always had a tendency towards war. Each country or region of the world has, at some point in its history, developed techniques used for fighting. These early "martial arts" would later be refined, either for the sake of effectiveness or even simply for aesthetic purposes. Many of these arts have been combined, creating a plethora of eclectic styles of combat.
       In Japan, martial arts are referred to as budo, meaning "martial way" or "way of war." The history of all budo is very obscure. Most of the records and evidence to support any historic claim have long been lost or destroyed. Often, this history was not even recorded.  In many cases, evidence that was thought to be compelling turned out to be questionable. Much of the history of the martial arts contains more legend than fact. But even a legend can have its merits.
       The following provides a brief account of the origins of Shotokan karate. The first section presents a short history of Shaolin chuan fa (better known as kung fu), a Chinese martial art employing kicks and strikes as well as many animal-like movements. The second section reveals how the Okinawans borrowed techniques from the Chinese chuan fa and added it to their own indigenous fighting art of te (hand), resulting in tode (China hand). The Okinawan king's bodyguard, Sokon Matsumura, further developed tode into a more direct linear combat system which eventually evolved into the art known as karate. The third section describes how karate was brought to Japan by Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawa schoolteacher.


Although karate originated as an Okinawan martial art, it was eventually to become a Japanese one through the efforts of Gichin Funakoshi, born in Shuri in 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration. He was of noble lineage from a family which, in former times, had been patrons of Ryukyu nobles. Funakoshi began learning karate at an early age...
Okinawa, the largest of the Ryukyu Islands, is located south of mainland Japan, near China and Taiwan. The Okinawans had their own indigenous fighting art called Okinawa-te or simply, te (hand). Eventually by the 13th century, as trade was expanding in Okinawa and more foreigners began visiting, the Chinese art of chuan fa began to influence the development of te...
Chinese martial arts can traditionally be separated into internal styles (nei chia) and external styles (wai chia). Internal arts focus on softer movements and proper breathing in order to develop one's inner energy, called chi in Chinese (ki in Japanese). Tai Chi is an example of an internal martial art. External styles concentrate on putting the body...