The History of Shotokan

 

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松濤館の歴史

 

 

Origins 

 

Development 

 

Characteristics 

 

Funakoshi 

 

20 Precepts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

Shotokan

 

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松濤館

 

 

History: The Origin of Shotokan Karate

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Shotokan is a school of karate, developed from various martial arts by master Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and his son Yoshitaka. Funakoshi was the man who 'officially' brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan, although Kenwa Mabuni, Motobu Choki and other Okinawans were actively teaching karate in Japan prior to this point. Shōtō was the pen name Funakoshi used in his poetry, which means "pine waves" ([1], pg. 85), while kan means "house". Hence shōtō-kan was the name of the hall where he trained his students. Shotokan is one of the world's major karate styles (the seven biggest styles being Shotokan, Shorin-Ryu, Wado-ryu, Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu, Kyokushin, and Kenpo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

 

 

 

Origins (The early year of Karate origins)

 

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元始

 

Karate is an ancient martial art whose origins date back over one thousand years. Karate can trace its roots to the Chinese 少林 Shao Lin fighting art. 少林流 The Shao Lin style arose from the training methods introduced by Dharma at the Shao Lin monastery. Designed to build strength and endurance, these methods helped Shao Lin monks carry out their religionÕs strict discipline.

 

少林流 The Shao Lin style migrated to Okinawa, where the authorities forbade the use of weapons. The Okinawan style of "empty-hand" fighting and self-defense soon arose, combining Shao Lin with indigenous fighting techniques. This martial art was called 空手 karate in recognition of its Chinese origin.唐手 ( "Kara" means "Chinese"; "te" means "hand".)

 

Funakoshi had trained in both of the popular styles of Okinawan karate of the time:昭霊流 Shorei-ryu and 少林流 Shao Lin-ryu. After years of intense study of both styles, Master Funakoshi arrived at a new understanding of martial arts, and a simpler style was created, that combined the ideals of Shorei and Shao-Lin. He combined and modified the styles, and made his own, though he never named it, always referring to it simply as "karate". The karate that he transmitted to his students reflects the changes made in the art by Anko Itosu, including the Heian/Pinan kata series. Funakoshi himself changed the names of the kata included in his curriculum, in an effort to make the "foreign" Okinawan names more palatable to the then nationalistic Japanese mainland.

少林流 (Shao-Lin: Shorin), 昭霊流 (Shorei-ryu: Shorei-style))

 

 

 

 

 

             

 

The development (Modern karate under Gichin Funakoshi)

 

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発展(船越義珍による近代空手へ)

 

  沖縄空手の上京

 

Gichin Funakoshi (left) was born in Okinawa in 1868, the same year as Japan's Meiji Restoration. Introduced to karate as a boy, FunakoshiÕs early training took place in complete secrecy -- at the time, the Okinawan government had banned the practice of karate. Funakoshi eventually became a schoolteacher, training in karate all the while. During this time, Okinawan karate emerged from its seclusion to become a legally sanctioned martial art. In 1922, the Japanese Ministry of Education held a martial arts demonstration in Tokyo; the Okinawan Department of Education asked Funakoshi to introduce Okinawan karate to Japan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Funakoshi did not get the chance to return to Okinawa. His demonstration made a powerful impression on the Japanese public; Funakoshi was soon beseiged with requests to further demonstrate and teach his art. Eventually, he had enough students to open a modest dojo in a Tokyo dormitory's lecture hall. Local universities began to take an interest in karate, and Funakoshi became a regular instructor at a number of them. The ranks of Funakoshi's students grew.

 

Recognizing that the karate he practiced had diverged from the Chinese fighting styles, Funakoshi changed the meaning of "karate" from "Chinese hand" to "empty hand." ( "Kara" can also mean "empty".) The change was important to Funakoshi: the "empty hand" concept not only reflected the fact that its practitioners used no weapons, it also recalled the Zen process of perfecting oneself and one's art -- by emptying the heart and mind of earthly desire and vanity.

 

Funakoshi also set out to make karate more accessible to the public. He revised and streamlined the components of karate training, especially the kata, to make karate simple enough for everybody -- young and old, men and women.

 

Karate began to spread throughout Japan. In 1935, Funakoshi's supporters had pooled enough funds to erect the first free-standing karate dojo in Japan. The dojo opened the next year, with a sign over the door bearing the dojo's name: 松濤館 Shoto-kan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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( "Kan" means "building." 松濤 "Shoto" means "pine waves," which describes the sound of the wind rustling through pine trees. Funakoshi, who loved nature, was fond of this murmuring sound -- he considered it a kind of "celestial music." Therefore, he used the name  松濤 "Shoto" to sign his calligraphy.)

 

 

In 1955, 日本空手協会  the Japan Karate Association was established -- Funakoshi's art had become a full-fledged karate organization. At the time, it was a modest one, with only a few members, a handful of instructors, and Funakoshi, who served as chief instructor. Gichin Funakoshi passed away shortly, in 1957. Since then, Shotokan students have carried on his spirit and teachings. The result: the JKA now has over 100,000 active karate students and approximately 300 affiliated karate clubs worldwide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Characteristics

 

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特徴 船越義珍の空手道

 

 

「稽古は、基本・組手・形の三つをもって一つとなす。」

 

Training is usually divided into three sections: 基本 kihon or "basics", 組手 kumite or "sparring", and kata (forms or patterns of moves).

 

Shotokan techniques in kihon and kata are characterised by deep, long stances which provide stability, powerful movements and also helps strengthen the legs. Strength and power are often demonstrated instead of slower, more flowing motions. The kumite techniques mirror these stances and movements at a basic level, but progress to being more "free" and flexible at a higher level. Funakoshi is said to have found the traditional martial arts (such as sumo, jujutsu and kenjutsu) to be too focused on combat, and he put more emphasis on health, breathing, releasing energy and outstanding mind and body control.[citation needed] Shotokan can be regarded as a hard and 'external' martial art.

 

Before his students established the Japan Karate Association, Master Funakoshi Gichin laid out the Twenty Precepts of Karate, which form the foundations of the art. Within these twenty principles, based heavily on Bushido and Zen, lies the philosophy of Shotokan.

 

 

                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

Twenty Precepts of Karate

 

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空手二十箇条 船越義珍著

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  空手は礼に始まり礼に終わるを忘るな

   Never forget: karate begins with rei and ends with rei

   (Rei means courtesy or respect, and is represented in karate by bowing)

 

  空手に先手なし

   There is no first attack in karate

 

  空手は義の輔け

   Karate supports righteousness

 

  始めに己を知れ而して敵を知れ

   First understand yourself, then understand others

 

  技術より心術

   The art of developing the mind is more important than the art of

   applying technique

 

  心は放たんことを要す

   The mind needs to be freed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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  禍は懈怠に生ず

   Trouble is born of negligence / ignorance             

 

  道場のみの空手と思うな

   Do not think karate belongs only in the dojo

 

  空手の修行は一生

   Karate training requires a lifetime

 

  凡ゆる物を空手化せよ其要に妙味あり

   Transform everything into karate; therein lies its exquisiteness

 

十一 空手は湯の如し絶えず熱を与えざれば元の水に換える

   Karate is like hot water, if you do not give it heat constantly, it will again

   become cold water

 

十二 勝つ考えを持つな負けぬ考えは必要

   Do not think that you have to win, rather think you do not have to lose

 

 

 

 

 

 

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十三 敵に因って転化せよ

   Transform yourself according to the opponent

 

十四 戦は虚実の操縦如何に在り

   The outcome of the fight depends on one's control

 

十五 人の手足を剣と思え

   Imagine one's arms and legs as swords

 

十六 男子門を出ずれば百万の敵有り

   Once you leave the shelter of home, there are a million enemies

 

十七 構えは初心者後は自然体

   Postures are for the beginner; later they are natural positions

 

十八 型は正しく実戦は別物

   Perform the kata correctly; the real fight is a different matter

 

十九 力の強弱、躱の伸縮、技の緩急を忘るな

   Do not forget control of the dynamics of power, the elasticity of the body

   and the speed of the technique

 

 

二十 常に思念工夫せよ

   Apply the way of Karate to all things. Therein lies its beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2007 JKA of NY/NJ                                                                  mail to

 

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Source:

Shotokan: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Karate-do: My Way of Life, Gichin Funakoshi.

"Karate -Yesterday and Today," Dynamic Karate, M. Nakayama.