History of Martial Arts - Focussing on Karate

It is generally considered that there have been three major factors in the development of karate.

• First the combination of Chinese martial arts with the local martial art called Te that had existed since ancient times in Okinawa.
• Second was that after trade began with China in 1372, many forms of Chinese martial arts were introduced, and they were formalized so that they could be adapted for the climate of Okinawa.
• Third, during the reign of King Shoshin (1477-1526), the warrior class were concentrated in Shuri, and the Order of Sword Hunt was therefore enforced simultaneously.

The International Okinawan Goju-Ryu Karatedo Federation of Australia web site summarises the history in the following manner “The historical progression of Goju Ryu can be traced back to China and like Shorin-ryu and Shotokan can define its modern roots in Okinawa. Exposure to Chinese kempo dates back as far as 1372 when King Satto of the Ryukyu Dynasty sent his brother Taiki as an envoy to China with tributes for the Chinese Emperor Chu Yuen Cheang of the Ming Dynasty.”

  The Development of Martial Arts in China

Many martial arts historians, begin their story with the legendary Bodhidharma. Bodhidharma arrived in Shaolin-si (small forest temple), China from India and taught Zen Buddhism.

Bodhidharma is credited with bringing Zen Buddhism to China and he is the First Patriarch of Chinese Zen Lineage. He was born on Oct. 5th. (Chinese Lunar Calendar) in Southern India, and was the third son of an Indian King; the royal family belonged to the Bhramin caste. Bodhidharma introduced a systematic set of exercises designed to strengthen the mind and body, exercises which the legend holds, marked the beginning of the Shaolin style of temple boxing. Bodhidharma's teachings later became the basis for the many of Chinese martial arts that have flowed across China and beyond.

The basis of Bodhidharma’s teaching was that the body and spirit were united and only when the two were united and the body prepared in a disciplined manner could the practitioner achieve Buddha hood. He brought with him from India two texts on military arts, the I-chin-ching and the Hsien-sui-ching. The former was a practical guide and formed the basis of the Shao-lin–ssu martial arts.

These books also showed that Indians had already been practicing some forms of Martial Arts three thousand years ago. It is not hard to see how Buddhist iconography shows pictures and statues with hands, arms and legs in positions that are basic to Karate.

Some schools of thought also suggest that at least some styles of Chinese martial arts may have been introduced by the invading armies of Alexander the Great. They are believed to have brought the ancient Greek art of ‘pankration’ and ‘Graeco Roman wrestling’. (The Martial Arts - Peter Lewis 1987). The principles of the Asian martial arts are believed to have spread from Turkey to India, where they were further developed into sophisticated arts.

Pancratium was a competition in which contestants were not allowed to bite or gouge but could do everything else (hitting, strangling, limb twisting). The pancratium gave rise to western wrestling. There was also a form of ancient boxing in which contestants had their fists wrapped in hide and were allowed to punch and were prohibited from throwing or kicking. This gave rise to western boxing.

Sumo is perhaps the oldest known form or system of weaponless fighting in Japan and dates back beyond the mythological era (before 500 A.D.). The earliest legends tell of two god figures, Takeminakata No Kami and Takemikazuchi No Kami, who engaged in power contests.

The armies of Alexander the Great practiced Pankration in 326 B.C., during a march over the Himalayas. This may have laid the foundations for kung fu in China. Plato and Aristatle were both Pankration fighters. Pankration was part of he Greek Olympics for over 500 years. It was introduced in 648 B .C. to the games in Olympus. There was also another Greek martial art form called Pyrrhic. This form was similar to karate and was written about in 350 B .C.

 After the death of Bodhidharma martial arts became separated from the Buddhist teachings and developed into warlike techniques used for overcoming enemies. However a few isolated priests and practitioners managed to retain the intent of the unification of body and spirit and this has survived to this day.

Since the priests of the Shao-lin-ssu often had to defend themselves against attacks from bandits, the I-chi-ching was useful not only in Zen meditation, but also as self-defence method.

The Shaolin monks developed a mixture of both, and blended their culture in the fighting arts. Later they called it kempo. Many societies grew out of the monastery, and they formed secret groups. These Chinese boxers went on to fight for freedom against the ruling houses of China, namely the Ming and Ching dynasties. When various European countries began their invasions of China, the Great Sword Society put up great resistance.

Martial Arts Spread to Ryuku Islands

The Shao-lin-ssu method of fighting spread to the Ryukyu Islands via commerce and migration, and combined with earlier methods of hand to hand combat to become an ancestor of modern Karate. From ancient times, Chinese hand to hand combat has been divided into kung-fu, and jou-fu.

Okinawa is a small island of the group that comprises modern day Japan. It is the main island in the chain of Ryuku Islands which spans from Japan to Taiwan. Surrounded by coral, Okinawa is approximately 10 km wide and only about 110 km  long.

The Ryukuans did not learn the original style shao-lin-ssu kempo. They assimilated techiques from various sources, and created their own characteristic Okinawan style, or Okinawa-te.

Around 1392, the emperor of China sent Okinawa an imperial gift of skilled artisans and merchants. These people soon formed into a community known as the Thirty-Six Families. This community was responsible for the rapid spread of Chan Fa throughout Okinawa. It should be noted that "thirty-six" often means "a great many" and may not mean thirty-six numerically.

There were two important turning points in the history of the Okinawan martial arts. The first was the 'Order of the Sword Hunt' implemented by King Shoshin (1477-1526) that placed a ban on the carrying of weapons both the general public and the warrior class.

The second was the 'Policy of Banning Weapons' enforced after the Ryukyu Invasion by Satsuma in 1609. Martial artists, prohibited to carry weapons, started to think out how to use ordinary tools or farm or fishery equipment for self-defense. They kept on studying and making inventions and that lead to the birth of the unique Okinawan martial arts with weaponry.

Ryukyu kobudo was the study of weapons largely practiced by farmers and fisherman. Practice in both armed and unarmed combat took place in private and mostly by night. These methods enabled the unarmed people of Okinawa to defend themselves effectively against armed adversaries.

 The Early Stages of Karate

 Today's concept of Ryu was developed at the start of the 20th Century. Before that, the styles were divided into Shuri-te (later Shorinji-ryu, Shorin-ryu, etc.), Naha-te (later Goju-ryu, etc.) and Tomari-te (later Matsubayashi-ryu, etc.) They were all named after the features of their kata or traditional place-names.

 Shuri-te

 One of the first great Masters was "Tode" Sakugawa (1733 - 1815). He trained with a number of Chinese martial artists and began to formalise a system of techniques. His most notable student was Soken "Bushi" Matsumura (1797 - 1889). 

Matsumura became a samurai for the Okinawan Royal Family. He trained with Chinese Masters as well as Sakugawa and formalised the first Okinawan style which he named "Shuri Te" after his home town, Shuri. While he taught many students who were later to develop their own Ryu (styles) he reserved his Family Ryu to members of his clan.

 Bushi Matsumura was born in 1797, and died in 1889. According to some sources, Bushi's family name was Kiyo (Kayo). Matsumura grew up in Yamagawa village of the city of Shuri, Okinawa. He was partly Chinese. Sakugawa began training Bushi at Akata when he was 14 years old, in 1810. According to tradition, it was at Bushi's father's request that Sakugawa teach him. Some say that to train Bushi to block, Sakugawa tied to him to a tree so he could not move. Then he threw punches at him.

He passed his Menkyo Kaiden (Certificate of Full Proficiency) to his grandson, Nabe Matsumura (circa 1860 - 1930). Nabe was very strict and traditional and only taught one student the Family Ryu of Matsumura Shuri Te. This man was his nephew, Hohan Soken (1889 - 1982).

Master Soken renamed the style Shorin Ryu Matsumura Seito. Shorin Ryu is the Okinawan - Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese writing characters called Shaolin in China. In both languages Shorin or Shaolin means "Pine Forest". Ryu simply means "Methods Handed Down" or "School".

 Master Soken broke with tradition and secrecy by teaching non family members his system of Karate. In the 1960's he began teaching U.S. soldiers based on Okinawa. In this way traditional Karate was introduced to the Western World as Soken refused to change his methods and techniques to incorporate "Sport" Karate as most other Okinawans and Japanese had done.

 Some prominent students of Bushi Matsumura were Yasutsune Itosu and Chotoku Kyan, although there were many more. Itosu's head student and successor was Chosin Chibana, who formed Kobayashi Shorin-Ryu from Itosu's version of Shuri-Te. Kyan's students formed Shobayashi Shorin-ryu from his personal brand of Shuri-te. Another student of Itosu was Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan. Once in a while, Itosu would take him to study under Bushi Matsumura. He was also a student of Azato, a Shorei-Ryu master.

 Choki Motobu (1871-1944), was master of the Tomari-te and Shuri-te style. Motobu was the third son in a great Okinawan family that had enjoyed privilege and landed nobility (Motobu peninsula), but which was largely ended by Japanese annexation of the island. A strong ox of a man with a will and ego to match, Motobu preferred the tough and tumble, practical karate over the pure practice of kata. Like many of his day, Motobu was not raised speaking Japanese nor was he schooled in the mainland's etiquette and ways.

Kanryo Higaonna (Also known as Higashionna) was born in Naha, Okinawa on March 10, 1851.

”His family earned their living transporting firewood from the Kerama islands in a small junk. At the age of 14, he began learning Chinese Kempo from a local who had studied the Fukien style. In 1866, he convinced the owner of a ship bound for China, to take him there where he longed to study.“  

“Before Higashionna went to China, as an adolescent he had studied Naha Te under karate master Sheisho Aragaki, (also Arakaki (Japanese))1840 - 1920. Aragaki himself is reputed to have studied in Fuchou with Wai Shin Zan.”

At age sixteen he left Naha for the Chinese port of Foochow where he stayed at the Okinawan settlement called the Ryukyu-kan. After almost a year Kanryo Higaonna was introduced to the master of Chinese kempo, Master Ryu Ryuko.

At age 23, the young Higaonna was allowed to become a personal disciple of Ryu Ryuko. He was also helping the master with his own business, which was the trading in bamboo. The training was extensive and very demanding, and Higaona was able to train in Sanchin and with a variety of tools to strengthen the student's grip, like the Nigiri-game (earthen jars). Makiwara and the Uki were also used. 

 Higashionna's Chinese teachers are by tradition considered to be Ryu Ryuko, the Chinese teacher of Whooping Crane (Minghe Quan) and his assistant Wai Shin Zan (also Wan Shin Zan and Wai Xinxian). Martial Art historian Patrick McCarthy in his meticulous researches into the origins of Karate has identified Ryu Ryuko as Xie Chongxian 1852-1930.

 Whooping Crane which strikingly resembles Goju Ryu definitely plays a generous role in many Okinawan as well as Goju Ryu Kata.  Defined particularly in Suparunpai, Kururunfa, Saifa, etc; those Kata brought back to Okinawa from China each demonstrate specific movements from White Crane.  This would explain as back up evidence to the current line of history, which is still somewhat fuzzy due to the destruction of material during the Second World War.  RyuKo is given credit for being the teacher of Kanryo Higaonna.

 Ryu Ryuko was a bamboo craftsman and had Kanryo learning the trade. At night they would train. Through weight training and the Kata Sanchin, night after night, the training took it's toll, but it was because of this vigorous training that he gain the reputation as one of the most skilled student of the master.

He sailed from Okinawa in 1866, at the age of 15 or 16 to entertain his studies abroad in Fuzchou China in the arts of Chinese Kempo with Sifu (instructor) Liu Liu Gung and remained there for 15 to 20 years.  He returned to Okinawa during the middle of the Meiji era (1868- 1911) and introduced a new effective school of Karate there, distinguished from other styles by its integration of Go- no (hard) and Ju-no (soft) Kempo into one system notwithstanding his small statue. It is believed that Higaonna Sensei studied the styles of Hung Gar-Shaolin Chuan, hard style Chinese martial arts of Chi-Chi and/or I-Chi as well with another master named ‘Woo’.

After 13 years of training, Kanryo Higaonna returned to Okinawa and began teaching private lessons to the son of the man who had allowed him passage on his boat to China.

For many years, he taught the martial arts to the members of the royal family as well. Many people came to Kanryo Higaonna and asked to be taken on as personal disciples. But due to the harshness of the training, only a few remained with him for long. Among his disciples was Miyagi Chojun the founder of Goju-Ryu.  Kanryo Higaonna died on December 23, 1915 at the age of 63.

It is regularly suggested that the man most responsible for developing karate along the lines we know it today was Gichin Funakoshi. He was born in Shuri, Okinawa, in 1869, and at the age of eleven began to study karate under the two top masters of the art at that time, Yasutsune Azato and Master Yasutsune.

Yasutsune (Ankoh) Azato was born in the city of Shuri, Okinawa. At the age of 16 he started to train Karate with Master Sokon "Bushi" Matsumura.

Yasutsune (Ankoh) Azato is famous for being instrumental in the introduction of Karate in the public school system. To help the teaching process he developed the Pinan kata basing himself on the advanced Kata like: Kushanku, Passai, Chinto and Jion.

“Yoshitaka began his formal training in karate when he was 12 years of age, but much before that he had been in contact with karate. In Master Funakoshi's book Karate-do: My Way of Life, he recounts how he always went training Karate with his Masters, Y. Itosu and Y. Azato together with his sons, they would watch him do the kata, and then the masters would ask the boys to do them too.”  

 In 1908, 'The 10 Articles of Karate' prepared by Anko Itosu were submitted to the Educational Affairs Section of Okinawa Prefecture. After that, karate started being introduced into the school gymnastics curriculum, thus acquiring broad accessibility, in contrast to the previously secret principles of Isshi-soden (the complete transmission of a ryu's techniques only to your heir).

During the early 20th century, karate began to be introduced throughout Japan by several masters. It has been said that the original name of Todi was changed to the name 'karate' (empty hand) around this time.

Gichin Funakoshi is credited with being the first man to introduce karate to Japan, when he gave exhibitions in 1917 and again in 1922 at physical education expositions sponsored by the Ministry of Education. The art soon caught on in Japan, and Master Funakoshi traveled throughout the country giving lectures and demonstrations. The main universities invited him to help them set up karate teams, and hundreds of persons studied under his guidance.

The founder of the Goju Ryu karate was Miyagi Chojun Sensei. Miyagi was a personal disciple of Kanryo Higaonna Sensei. Miyagi Chojun Sensei met Kanryo Higaonna Sensei at the age of 14 and together they devoted their lives to the study and advancement of the art of Naha-te. They spent thirteen years together until Kanryo Higaonna Sensei passed away in 1916.

 Miyagi Chojun Sensei’s family were very wealthy. They owned two trading ships that imported medicine from China for both the government and private individuals.  

The same year Kanryo Higaonna Sensei died, Miyagi Chojun Sensei left for China to discover the roots of Naha-te in the city of Foochow. Unfortunately he was unable to find much information as he found all had fled during the revolutionary war so he returned to Okinawa.  

Miyagi Chojun Sensei was and excellent student and worked very hard at his studies. He trained daily, often with nature in harsh elements, and practiced various exercises to develop his senses. He created several katas including Gekisai-dai and Gekisai-sho with the purpose of popularizing karate and improving the physical education of young people. He also created the Tensho kata emphasizing the softness of the art to contrast with Sanchin kata which emphasizes hardness.

 He believed a student of Karate-do should strive to develop a strong body and tough spirit, yet conduct their lives in a gentle fashion that contributes in a positive way to family and community.

 One of Chojun Miyagi Sensei disciples, Jinan Shinzato, was once on mainland Japan to demonstrate Naha-te. After the performance he was asked to what school of karate he belonged. He was unable to answer the question, since 'naha-te' was not the name of a style. At his return he told Miyagi Sensei about the occurence, who thought about the problem and decided that it should be advantageous to have a name for his martial art system in order to promote and spread it. He choosed the name 'Goju ryu' (the hard-soft style), inspired by the "Eight precepts" of Kempo, written in the Bubishi.

 In addition to his personal training and development of Naha-te, Miyagi Chojun Sensei spent a great deal of his time promoting the art. In 1921, he performed a demonstration of Naha-te in Okinawa for the visiting Prince Hirohito, Emperor of Japan, and in 1925 for Prince Chichibu.

 Miyagi Chojun Sensei wanted to develop Naha-te not only in Japan but also around the world. He felt it was increasingly important to organize and unify Okinawan karate as a cultural treasure to be passed on to future generations. In 1926, Miyagi Chojun Sensei established the Karate Research Club in Wakas-Cho. Four instructors, Miyagi Chojun, Hanashiro, Motobu and Mabuni, taught alternately some preliminary exercises and supplemental exercises.

 Miyagi Chojun Sensei often gave talks to the students about mankind, daily life, and the samurai code of ethics in order to improve their moral development.

 In 1927, Kano Jigoro Sensei, founder of Judo, saw a demonstration of a kata by Miyagi Chojun Sensei and was impressed by the advanced technique and sophistication of Naha-te. Kano Sensei’s influence allowed Miyagi Chojun Sensei to perform Okinawan karate at leading Japanese Budo tournaments sponsored by the government. In 1930, Miyagi Chojun Sensei performed at the Butoku-kai Tournament and at the Sainei Budo Tournament in 1932.

 After the second world war, Okinawan karate spread rapidly throughout mainland Japan. Miyagi Chojun Sensei taught karate in Kansai, Japan, for a short time. In 1946, however, he started teaching karate at the Okinawan Police Academy as well as in the backyard of his home in Tsuboya.

 Miyagi Chojun Sensei chose the name Goju Ryu from the Eight Precepts of traditional Chinese Kempo found in the document Bubishi and are as follows:

1. The mind is one with heaven and earth.

2. The circulatory rhythm of the body is similar to the cycle of the sun and the moon.

3. The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness.

4. Act in accordance with time and change.

5. Techniques will occur in the absence of conscious thought.

6. The feet must advance and retreat, separate and meet.

7. The eyes do not miss even the slightest change.

8. The ears listen well in all directions.

 Miyagi Chojun did not stay in Japan for long periods and it was one of his student, Gogen Yamaguchi who played a significant part in popularizing karate in Japan through his own system of goju-kai. Gogen Yamaguchi was named Jitsumi Yamaguchi at birth.  His father Tokutaro Yamaguchi was a merchant and later a schoolteacher and Superintendent, his mother Yoshimatsu was his fathers’ assistant.

 Yamaguchi was a small man, just over five feet and a mere 160 pounds, however he projected the impression of great bulk and solemnity and was first dubbed “the Cat” by American GI’s for his gliding walk and flowing hair.

 Before training in the in Karate he studied Kendo (Japanese fencing). His first exposure to Goju Ryu Karate-do wasn't until his family moved to Kyoto while he was in his teens that he began the serious study of Karate.

 Yamaguchi later studied with Miyagi Chojun in 1929 after he and his teacher Jitsuei Yogi wrote (1929) to Chojun Miyagi and invited him to come to Japan. In 1929 Gogen Yamaguchi invited Mr. Miyagi to visit Japan.

 In the early 1930’s Mr. Yamaguchi sketched out what would become the legendary signature Goju Ryu fist. It is modeled after the right hand fist of Chojun Miyagi.

 Gogen Yamaguchi was seized by the Russian military (1942) and spent significant time in a Russian Concentration camp. Gogen Yamaguchi had been slated for hard labor in the Russian POW camp. But he had impressed even his Russian captors. When they found out who he was, they had him give Karate lessons to the Russian troops.

 In 1945 after coming out of the Manchurian war camp and finishing his tour from World War II, he returned to Japan where he reopened his Karate do Dojo and posted a sign outside reading Goju Ryu Kai.

 Many people thought his school was forever closed and that he had been killed in the war. He decided to hold large week long exhibitions in Tokyo featuring all the various Chinese arts he had discovered during his years there as well as the traditional Japanese arts.

 His school reopened and began a rapid expansion through a network of independent Goju Ryu schools that went on to teach without formal leadership.

 Gogen Yamaguchi established Goju-Kai Headquarters in Tokyo Japan next to the Giho-Kai Judo Institute. Shihan Yamaguchi effectively had Goju-Ryu formally registered into the Butoku-Kai, the official governing body and ‘Government’ Headquarters for the Japanese Martial Arts.

 Prior to his death (in 1968), he was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Ranju-Hosho (Blue Ribbon Medal) and the fifth order of merit for his contribution to the martial arts.

 Master Seko Higa was born on November 18, 1889 in Naha City, Okinawa. He began training at the age of 14 with Master Kanryo Higashionna in the study of Naha-Te. In 1915 after the death of Master Higashionna, Master Higa continued his study of Naha-Te with Master Chojun Miyagi, the senior student of Master Higashionna.   

 Higa Sensei was considered the best technician of all of Miyagi's students and his favorite kata were Tensho and Kururunfa.

 Kanki Izumikawa joined Seiko Higa's dojo and trained with him until Izumikawa left for mainland Japan . Amongst others Izumikawa had a very talented student in Sosui Ichikawa who dedicated his whole life to the study of his chosen martial art.

 Ichikawa Sensei died in his dojo on 6 March 2005 . Some of the senior and previous students of Ichikawa Sensei include Kenjiro Chiba ( 10 th dan ), Masashi Sudo ( 9 th dan ), Tadahiko Ohtsuka ( 9 th dan ), and others.  

The style of Karate taught by Wellbeing Martial Arts was developed by Tadahiko Ohtsuka. Master Ohtsuka Tadahiko was the founder and chief instructor of the Tokyo based Goju Kensha (House of the hard - soft fist).

Tadahiko Ohtsuka was born in Tokyo on the 10th of June 1940. He started studying Goju-Ryu Karate in 1955 under the direction of Goju Master Sensei Sosui Ichikawa in Tokyo. A brilliant and dedicated student, Tadahiko Ohtsuka attained his 5th Dan ranking by 1965. In the same year he graduated in law from Meiji University. Two years later a meeting with Yo Meiji ("Yang Ming Shih" in Chinese) had a big impact on his life. Ohtsuka Tadahiko Sensei, passed away in the early hours of 27th November 2012 at the age of 72.  See Ohtsuka Sensei in action.  http://wn.com/master_tadahiko_ohtsuka

 As a result of meeting Yo Meiji, Ohtsuka Sensei developed a passion for Tai Chi Chuan. Then in 1968 he discovered Pakua and Hsing I through O Ju Kin (Master Wang Shu Chin) from Taiwan, who came to stay five years in Japan. At the same time he studied techniques to maximise striking power with Shorin Ryu Master Yochuku Higa Sensei of Okinawa and drew on all these diverse arts to compliment and eventually create the Goju Kensha system.

We are indeed fortunate to have been recipients of the style Ohtsuka Sensei developed.