At that time people used to practice karate secretly, and masters taught a few advanced kata out of all the kata only to his best disciple. We also do not know the origin of the name “karate”, but it is true that the name “karate” was made recently. Anyway, karate has been developed, modified and improved for so many years. We have a few different opinions on origin of karate, but they are popular misconceptions and not worth listening to.Īs mentioned above, so far we do not have any definite and convincing opinion yet. I think it is reasonable to consider that karate was a fusion of martial arts from China and “Te,” a native martial arts which had already existed, so karate was developed remarkably and even today it is still improved rationally and developed. The others insist that karate was not a domestic creation but was imported from China.
Some believe that karate was created spontaneously due to the cruel oppression by Satsuma.
(3) Importation in Keicho Period: In 1609 (14th year of Keicho period), the Shimazu clan of Satsuma (Kagoshima prefecture now) invaded the Ryukyu Kingdom, and they prohibited possessing weapons by people of Ryukyu.
These notes are the most reliable literature on karate. The 3rd volume of “ Oshima Notes” says: “ Koshankun, a kung fu warrior, came from China to Ryukyu (Okinawa) bringing his disciples with him.” According to the Notes, at that time people called the martial arts “ Kumiaijutsu” instead of karate. Tobe wrote down Shiohira’s interesting stories about the Ryukyu Kingdom. He was helped by Choki Tobe, an intellectual who lived in Oshima. Shiohira Pechin, a high rank official of the ship, was an intelligent person. (2) Oshima Notes: In 1762, the merchant ship of the Ryukyu Kingdom was caught in a heavy storm on the way to Satsuma (Kagoshima prefecture now), and cast ashore on the coast of Oshima, Tosa (Kochi prefecture now). At that time karate was introduced to Ryukyu by Chinese immigrants. (1) Thirty-six Chinese Immigrants: In 1392 (Ming dynasty in China), thirty-six Chinese immigrants came to Ryukyu. Simple explanations of each opinion follow. There are three main opinions, namely “ Thirty-six Chinese Immigrants“, “ Oshima Notes” and “ Importation in Keicho Period“. We have not yet come to a correct conclusion on this matter. When we consider how karate was introduced to Ryukyu ( Okinawa), we have various opinions without any historical evidence. And later, in the ages of Tang dynasty and Song dynasty, we can find many kung fu warriors at the height of their success. Shaolin kung fu is typical of Waijia, which was created at Shaolin Temple in Songshang Mountain, Henan ( Honan) province. The characteristic of Waijia is mainly hardness, and it is an aggressive fighting art. Wudang kung fu (Tai chi for example) is typical of Neijia. The characteristic of Neijia is mainly softness, and it is a defensive fighting art. Moreover, each school split into Neijia and Waijia. In the age a little later, Chinese kung fu split into Southern school and Northern school. You can see it from the styles’ names such as Tiger Style, Lion Style, Monkey Style, Dog Style, Crane Style and so on. For example, most styles of Chinese kung fu were created by mimicking fights of animals or birds. Anyway, it is not difficult to imagine that the prototype of martial arts was born by the fighting spirit for struggle which human beings possess by nature. It says that about 5,000 years ago Chinese kung fu originated at the age of Yellow Emperor ( Emperor Huang) who built the brilliant culture at the Yellow River basin. And then it was introduced to China gradually. We have few books on the origin of Chinese kung fu, so we cannot conclude immediately, but according to a theory, the martial arts originated in central Asia and the area around Turkey when the ancient civilization was developed. The name “karate” is a special term in Ryukyu. How the martial arts was introduced to Ryukyu Like other fighting arts, the truth of karate or Tao of karate can be understood and mastered at the ultimate goal which is beyond teachings and impossible to describe by words. Of course, it is not a main part of karate but a trivial part of karate.
When they see someone breaking five wooden boards or a few pieces of roof tile by his or her fist, they think it is a main part of karate. However, in some cases, in accordance with circumstances, we may also use weapons (such as Bo, Sai, Nunchaku, Tonfa, Weeku, Kama, etc.). In most cases we fight with our bodies – hands, feet, elbows, etc. What is karate? It is the art we exercise mind and body for health promotion in daily life, but in case of emergency it is the art of self-defense without any weapon.