Shotokan Karate

Shotokan karate is the original Japanese version of karate. It was introduced to the mainland of Japan in the early twentieth century from Okinawa under the guise of Shorin ryu. The main progenitor was Gichin Funakoshi, a former Okinawan schoolteacher and descendant of a minor official. On the mainland kendo and judo were becoming more popular, particularly among students, and Funakoshi recognized that it would be beneficial to the promulgation of his art if certain aspects of these two specifically Japanese systems were adopted. Thus a kyu and dan grading method, reflected in the wearing of different colored belts came to be introduced. Other changes came to be made over the years to the technique and training method and so the karate of Okinawa became the karate of mainland Japan. For instance, the reading of the kanji for the kara of karate was changed from 'China' (thus from the meaning ‘China hand’) to ‘empty’ (or ‘empty hand’). Such developments were recognized in 1936 with the opening of a new dojo, the Shoto kan, Shoto being the pen name Funakoshi used to sign his poetry and kan simply means 'hall'. A new style had been publicly created and acknowledged: Shotokan karate.

Gichin Funakoshi and Shotokan Karate

Initially it was the upper classes of Japanese society that were attracted to this art but it was in the universities in the 1930s that it achieved increasingly widespread popularity.

As war in the pacific approached and finally broke out more and more youngsters, destined for the front lines, trained and the technique became harsh and simple. In the months before Japan’s surrender more women and children took up training, victims of propaganda that told of an imminent and bloody allied invasion. In the years after the war Shotokan karate became more and more popular. Edicts introduced by General MacArthur prevented the practice of traditional martial arts, yet karate was recognized as a form of boxing and was able to thrive. Towards the end his life Funakoshi oversaw the tuition of American pilots in his art, useful for them if they were shot down behind enemy lines. As Americans and others of different nationalities became more accepted in post war Japan dojo opened their doors and anybody of sufficient character was admitted to the training halls. In the years following, instructors of the highest caliber, representing Shotokan karate, were sent from Japan throughout the world to further popularize the art. Most are still healthy and involved in the art on an international level in contemporary society.

Today Gichin Funakoshi is popularly referred to as being the Father of Japanese karate.

Shotokan is a mostly linear style of karate. Central to its combat ethos is the idea of ikken hissatsu – to kill with one blow. The exponent of Shotokan is inclined to concentrate his power in ending the fight with a single powerful technique rather than making use of fast combinations. He is adept at using his fists and legs to make these attacks, this power enhanced by his knowledge of weak points in the human body that can be struck to maximize damage. Practitioners study a variety of kata as they progress through higher kyu and dan grades, these kata containing the ‘secrets’ of the art. Students of this art may also strike a makiwara, a flexible wooden pole wrapped with straw at its topmost edge, to develop strength, balance and power. Nowadays, even in Japan, the use of a makiwara has been mostly replaced with the use of punch bags which are less damaging to the limbs.