Martial arts Style Okinawan Karate

The begining - ancient masters It is reasonable to presume that Okinawa karate developed during XVII and XVIII century. There are very few written testimonies and it has to be base this on oral tradition. Earliest stories remembers masters such as: "Chinese fist" Sakugawa, Kushanku and Yara from Chatan .... all of them lived during XVIII century. In XIX century, most famous masters were:

Bushi Matsumura the Warrior and Kanryo Higashonna the Lion.
Seisho Arakaki, Tode Sakugawa,

During this period karate was practiced in secrecy, individually, from master to teacher. Persons who learned karate were almost all court officials or have had family relations to Shuri court. Old karate was practiced exclusively as method of self-defense, each master knew only one or few katas and each kata was self-standing method of self-defense. They all had an opportunity to travel to Fuchow (China) and to learn chuan fa methods.

Te (Okinawan Karate) continued to develop over the years, primarily in three Okinawan cities: Shuri, Naha and Tomari. Each of these towns was a center to a different sect of society: kings and nobles, merchants and business people, and farmers and fishermen, respectively. For this reason, different forms of self-defense developed within each city and subsequently became known as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te.

Collectively they were called Okinawa-Te or Tode, 'Chinese hand'. Gradually, karate was divided into two main groups: Shorin-ryu which developed around Shuri and Tomari and Shorei-ryu which came from the Naha area. "It is important to note, however, that the towns of Shuri, Tomari, Naha are only a few miles apart, and that the differences between their arts were essentially ones of emphasis, not of kind. Beneath these surface differences, both the methods and aims of all Okinawan karate are one in the same" (Howard, 1991).

Gichin Funakoshi goes further to suggest that these two styles were developed based on different physical requirements Funakoshi, 1935). Shorin-ryu was quick and linear with natural breathing while Shorei-ryu emphasized steady, rooted movements with breathing in synchrony with each movement. Interestingly, this concept of two basic styles also exist in kung-fu with a similar division of characteristics (Wong, 1978).

The Chinese character used to write Tode could also be pronounced 'kara' thus the name Te was replaced with kara te - jutsu or 'Chinese hand art' by the Okinawan Masters. This was later changed to karate-do by Gichin Funakoshi who adopted an alternate meaning for the Chinese character for kara, 'empty'. From this point on the term karate came to mean 'empty hand'.

The Do in karate-do means 'way' or 'path', and is indicative of the discipline and philosophy of karate with moral and spiritual connotations.

The concept of Do has been prevalent since at least the days of the Okinawan Scholar Teijunsoku born in 1663, as this passage from a poem he wrote suggests:

No matter how you may excel in the art of te,
And in your scholastic endeavours,
Nothing is more important than your behaviour
And your humanity as observed in daily life.

According to oral history, in the old days, the teaching policy of karate put emphasis on self-defense techniques. With just a motto of "no first attack in karate," teachers showed their students the moral aspects.

Description:

As each person has his or her distinctive character, the muscle development is different depending on his or her muscle use. Therefore, at first, we do "Preparatory Exercises" to develop our muscles so that we can practice karate exercises easier.
Each outline is as follows:

(1) Preparatory Exercises: Exercise each muscle of the body in order to enhance its flexibility, strength and endurance, and practice the fundamental Kata,

(2) Fundamental Kata: Through practicing them, you develop correct posture. Breathing by Inhale and exhale correctly. Adjusting by increasing or decreasing power harmoniously. Develop a powerful physique and the strong will of a warrior.

What is kata? (Translated it means "pattern" or "flow")

Commonly known, kata has been defined as a person “fighting against imaginary opponents.” This claim, to some extent is true, but at the same it is also misleading. It might be better to depict kata as “a handbook of self-defense techniques.” By viewing it this way, a better picture of kata will emerge.

Kata is indeed an encyclopedia of techniques, helping to recall techniques that an ancient master thought necessary to perfect. In ancient times, kata was a way to preserve techniques that might have been used to protect one’s life.

A master places in his kata ideas on how one can fight effectively against a common street fighter or armed assailant.