Although many believe Karate to have originated from Japan, this is not the case.
Pic courtesy of domodaruma.com
Developed in the tropical and lush Ryukyu Islands, Karate was born and nurtured with the means of self-defense. When the Japanese took away any weapons from the Okinawans, the Okinawans were afraid of not being able to protect themselves and their loved ones should an event arise. Influenced by a monk by the name of Bodhidharma (aka Daruma), they learned the form of martial arts which would be later named karate– “empty hand”.
Pic courtesy of pocoes.ba.gov.br
Though their weapons were taken away, the Ryukyuans had to be careful with also learning this martial art. Any type of self-defense was looked down upon with the Japanese and authorities were known to beat those who seemed to break this rule. So, while the men learned the martial art, it was usually during the nighttime or away from prying eyes. Because of this, there aren’t many records of original karate or beliefs surrounding it.
Out of this martial art came forth three styles of karate– Shuri-te, Naha-te, and Tomari-te, named after the locations where each branch was developed. Later on, Shuri-te and Tomari-te would come together to form Shorin-ryu, while Naha-te later transformed into Shorei-ryu. The differences between the two is described by The History of Karate:
Shorin-ryu was a quick, linear art that taught natural breathing whereas Shorei-ryu was more rooted and practiced breathing that was synchronized with each individual movement; according to Funakoshi, both styles also have links to the Kung Fu styles of the Wutang and Shaolin Temples.”
Pic courtesy of the-martial-way.com
Once the Japanese began to realize the value in the Okinawan marital art, an agreement was formed between the Ryukyuans and the Japanese to come to mainland Japan and teach the militia how to use this style. It was Anko Itosu in 1905 who would finally be able to convince the Japanese to let karate become publicized and set up its first big step into popularizing the martial art, by teaching it in the local schools. As Karate gained its foothold in Okinawan and Japanese culture, it rapidly became a style to be respected and recognized.
As it had previously, Karate took on different forms and branches as it began to be taught all over, with distinct differences between Japanese Karate and Okinawan Karate. The article, “10 Differences Between Okinawan Karate & Japanese Karate“, does a wonderful job explaining these differences.
Overall, karate has had a huge influence on not only Okinawa and Japan, but now worldwide and will continue to be an influence for generations to come.
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