History
of the Martial Arts
(Okinawa)
The Evolution
of TE
into
KARATE
(Empty
Hand)
History
of the Martial Arts
(Okinawa)
The Evolution
of TE
into
KARATE
(Empty
Hand)
Beginning in the 6th century, Shaolin Kung-Fu
quickly spread throughout the Far East. Neighboring countries incorporated
these new techniques into their indigenous fighting systems. Okinawa,
a chain of small islands between China and Japan was strongly influenced
by this introduction of Kung-Fu early in Okinawa's history. Sometime
in the late 6th century, Chinese Kung-Fu is thought to have been introduced
to the Okinawan people.
This early form of Okinawan martial art became known as "TODE". "TO",
referred to the T'ang Dynasty, which flourished between 618-906 A.D..
"TO" was later used as an adjective to mean "China". "TO" was also
read as "KARA", which we will refer to later. "TODE" was now the
indigenous form of weaponless fighting of the Okinawan Islands. Very
little was known about this form of fighting until the 14th century, some
eight centuries later. In 1372, Okinawa began an official relationship
with China. This agreement allowed China to expand it's trade with
other countries, as well as bringing about the spread of Kung-Fu throughout
the region. As an Imperial gift to Okinawa, a group of artisans and
merchants were sent from China to establish a permanent settlement.
This group of people became known as the "Thirty-Six Families". Not
only did these immigrants bring their professions, they also reintroduced
a more modern form of Chinese Kung-Fu.
By the 1400's there were two forms of weaponless fighting systems existing
on Okinawa. Okinawa was originally divided into three kingdoms; Chuzan,
Hokuzan and Nanzan. But in 1429, these three kingdoms were united
under one king. This was the beginning of the new Sho Dynasty.
The first Sho Dynasty lasted until 1477, when a new Sho Dynasty started,
the Sho Shin Dynasty. The new king placed a ban on all weapons, fearing
that there would be an uprising against him. This ban ended up driving
the Tode and Kung-Fu organizations underground, fearing that they would
be persecuted for practicing their fighting methods. Tode and Kung-Fu
continued to evolve and be practiced secretly, this is why so little is
known about these ancient forms.
In 1609, samurai's from the Satsuma Clan of Japan invaded the Okinawan
Islands and ended Okinawan independence forever. The invading Satsuma
wanted to destroy all evidence of Okinawan fighting forms, in addition
they placed another weapons ban on all the inhabitants.
The samurai
were now the law of the land, and they had their samurai swords to back
them up. This left the inhabitants of Okinawa at a great disadvantage,
because they had no weapons to defend themselves against the powerful sword
and jujustu techniques that the samurai possessed.
This single action by the Satsuma directly brought about the development
of the Okinawan weapons we know of today. The Tonfa, Kama, Nunchuku,
Sai and Bo were all created from the banning of weapons in 1609.
These new weapons were originally used as farm implements, but in the hands
of Okinawan's, they became deadly weapons. Therefore, if the Okinawan's
were attacked they could quickly convert their simple farming tools into
useful and deadly weapons against the samurai warriors.
Twenty years after the Satsuma invasion, in 1629, both the Tode and Kung-fu
societies decided to combine their fighting styles, naming the new blend
of styles "TE". "TE" translated means "Hand". This union was
an effort to take the benefits of both styles and create a stronger more
effective style that could be used against the samurai. The Satsuma
Clan lost control of the Okinawan Islands in 1875 when Japan officially
made Okinawa part of Japan. In the years to follow, Okinawan Te would
begin to reveal itself to the world. There became three slightly
different styles of "Te". These styles were named after the cities
in which "Te" was practiced. The three cities were: Shuri,
Tomari and Naha. With the fear and suppression now lifted, Shuri-Te,
Tomari-Te and Naha-Te would soon proliferate.
By 1887 the word "Te" was replaced and given a new name, "KARATE".
"Kara" at that time meant China, as described earlier. Karate was
then translated as "China Hand". By using the term Karate, there
was still a reference to it's Chinese origin. The birth of Karate
had begun and with it a new era of openness and sharing had begun.
Karate soon found great acceptance among the Okinawan people. By
the early part of the 1900's, karate was being demonstrated to the people
of Okinawa. Soon after, karate would be taught in the public schools.
Karate was more widely accepted now by the people of Okinawa as many students
began to practice the art. The name "Karate" soon went through another
change. In 1905, an Okinawan karate master decided to start referring
to "Karate" as "Empty Hand" instead of "China Hand". This change
in translation would finally eliminate any reference to karate's Chinese
origins and show the world that karate was truly an Okinawan art.
The great interest in karate soon caught the eye of the Japanese people.
In 1917 the Japanese government requested a personal demonstration of this
unknown Okinawan fighting art. A gathering of Okinawan masters took
place and it was decided that Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan, would
be the one to demonstrate karate for the Japanese. Gichin Funakoshi
was a rather small and weak looking individual, however, he was very skilled
in Okinawan karate. A demonstration between the Okinawan master an
a Japanese martial artist was arranged. Gichin Funakoshi was able
to overpower the Japanese opponent with his superior karate techniques.
The Japanese people were very impressed and eventually Funakoshi stayed
in Japan and began to teach the Japanese people.
By the 1920's and 30's, many Okinawan masters began to travel to Japan
and establish dojos. In 1927 the style of Gojo-Ryu was created.
This was the first time a style wasn't named after the city where it was
practiced. Many other styles began to emerge, including our
own Shito-Ryu. Shito-Ryu's name was created by combining the names
of the two masters from which Shito-Ryu evolved. Shito-Ryu will be
discussed in more detail later. Karate quickly found it's way from
Japan to the Hawaiian Islands. This was mainly due to the fact that
there was a large group of Okinawans living on the island at the time.
However, it wasn't until World War II, before karate started reaching the
United States. After the war, many servicemen were exposed to Japanese
Judo and Karate.
During the 1940's and 50's, judo gained greater acceptance than karate,
which lead to karate not being widely accepted until the 1960's.
Since then, the number of karate styles has increased, as well as the number
of students. There are many different styles of karate around the
world. Eventually many styles may die out as new ones are created.
Evolution of the martial arts is assured, just as styles have changed and
grown, new ones are always being formed, just like our own Shito-Ryu.