THE KARATE ACADEMY QUEENBOROUGH

SHOTOKAN KARATE HISTORY

Shotokan is a modern name given to the style of karate that developed from the Okinawan systems, and which was introduced to Japan in 1922 by Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate. He was born in 1868, and studied karate from his childhood. His love of the art led the Okinawan to teach. Funakoshi first arrived in Japan in 1922, invited by the Japanese Ministry of Education to attend an athletic exhibition. His demonstration of karate was a great success, and while he remained unknown for a few more years, he was befriended by the founder of judo, Jigero Kano. Kano's help made a great impression on him, and he never forgot his kindness. The respect and courtesy he was shown probably influenced his own teaching and philosophy.

Between 1926 and 1930, Funakoshi developed karate further and consolidated its position in Japan. The universities were the main sites of karate study, and they were influenced by research on physiology and calisthenics. During this period Funakoshi and his son Yoshitaka added kumite (fighting) methods, the Japanese kyu/dan ranking system, and some of the traditional concepts of budo (martial way) to the system. Under Yoshitaka, the development of shotokan karate really accelerated. The stances were studied and strengthened by being made lower so as to apply dynamic controlled stress to the leg muscles, and the effect of hip rotation on punches and kicks also examined. This resulted in an ease in the power of punching and kicking techniques. This knowledge was incorporated into the kihon (basics) of shotokan karate. After 1936, the kata (sequences movements) were revised to conform to dynamic new style.

The word 'shotokan' was chosen by Funakoshi's students to name his first personal dojo, and it derives from his pen name, 'shoto', meaning 'pine waves', and 'kan', meaning hall. It soon became the name for Funakoshi's style of karate.

Yoshitaka Funakoshi died in early 1945, his death probably precipitated by the news this father's dojo had been destroyed in bombing raid. After the war, Funakoshi returned to teaching in Tokyo, and in 1952, the age of eighty four, he undertook a three-month tour of American air bases, thus ensuring the spread of shotokan karate to America. He died in 1957. His memorial bears the words 'Karate ni sente nashi' - 'There is no first attack in karate'.

Kata Names / Counting in Japanese / Words of Gichin Funakoshi

                                                   Kata Names

1.   Heian Shodan    First Level-Peace or Tranquillity
2.   Heian Nidan      Second Level
3.   Heian Sandan     Third Level
4.   Heian Yondan     Fourth Level
5.   Heian Godan      Fifth Level
6.   Tekki Shodan     Iron Horse First Level
7.   Tekki Nidan      Iron Horse Second Level
8.   Tekki Sandan     Iron Horse Third Level
9.   Bassai Dai       To Storm a Fortress
10. Jion             After the Temple Jion or Temple Bell
11. Enpi             The Flight of the Swallow
12. Jitte            Ten Hands
13. Hangetsu         Half Moon (As in half moon stance)
14. Kanku Dai        A view to the sky
15. Gankaku          Crane on a Rock
16. Kihon Kata       Basic Kata
17. Jiin             Said to be named after a Budhist temple Jion JI
18. Bassai Sho       To Penetrate a Fortress
19. Kanku Sho        A view to the sky minor
20. Chinte            Incredible hands
21. Wankan           To Crown a King
22. Sochin            So named because of the main stance used, sochin dachi
23. Meikyo/ Rohai     Polished Mirror
24. Gojushiho Sho    54 Steps minor
25. Gojushiho Dai    54 Steps major
26. Unsu             Hands like Clouds

                                                COUNTING IN JAPANESE

one     ichi
two     ni
three    san
four     shi
five     go
six     roku
seven    shichi
eight    hachi
nine     kyu
ten     ju
eleven ju ichi
twelve ju ni
thirteen ju san
fourteen ju shi
fifteen ju go
sixteen ju roku
seventeen ju shichi
eighteen ju hachi
nineteen ju kyu
twenty ni ju
twenty-one ni juichi
twenty-two ni juni

Words of Gichin Funakoshi

1. Karate is not only dojo training.
2. Don't forget that Karate begins with a bow and ends with a bow.
3. In Karate, never attack first.
4. One who practices Karate must follow the way of justice.
5. First you must know yourself. Then you can know others.
6. Spiritual development is paramount; technical skills are merely means to the end.
7. You must release your mind.
8. Misfortune comes out of laziness.
9. Karate is a lifelong training.
10. Put Karate into everything you do.
11. Karate is like hot water. If you do not give heat constantly it will again become cold.
12. Do not think you have to win. Think that you do not have to lose.
13. Victory depends on your ability to tell vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.
14. Move according to your opponent.
15. Consider your opponent's hands and legs as you would sharp swords.
16. When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you.
17. Ready position for beginners and natural position for advanced students.
18. Kata is one thing. Engaging in a real fight is another.
19. Do not forget

(1) strength and weakness of power,

(2) expansion and contraction of the body,

(3) slowness and speed of techniques.
20. Devise at all times.

"Karate is like hot water. If you do not give heat constantly it will again become cold"