History of Karate Karate began among the Pechin class of the Ryukyuans. It was known as "ti" or "te". During the Taira-Minamoto war, some samurai from the Minamoto clan arrived in Okinawa from Japan and allied themselves with the Ryukyuan nobles. After trade relationships with the Ming Dynasty of China were established, many forms of Chinese martial arts were introduced to the Ryukyuan Islands by visitors from China. The banning of weapons enforced after the invasion of the Shimazu clan are factors that furthered the development of Okinawan unarmed combat techniques. There were few formal styles of ti but many practitioners with their own methods. One example is the Motobu Ryu School that has been passed down by Seikichi Uehara. Early styles were Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te named after the three cities that they emerged from. Each had their own particular kata, tehcniques and principles that distinguished their version from others. Collectively they were called Okinawa-Te or Tode, 'Chinese hand'. Gradually, karate was divided into two main groups: Shorin-ryu which developed around Shuri and Tomari and Shorei-ryu which came from the Naha area. It is important to note, however, that the towns of Shuri, Tomari, Naha are only a few miles apart, and that the differences between their arts were essentially ones of emphasis, not of kind. Beneath these surface differences, both the methods and aims of all Okinawan karate are one in the same. Gichin Funakoshi goes further to suggest that these two styles were developed based on different physical requirements. Shorin-ryu was quick and linear with natural breathing while Shorei-ryu emphasized steady, rooted movements with breathing in synchrony with each movement. Many karate kata bear a resemblance to Fujian Martial arts such as Fujian White Crane and Gojuken (Gangrou-quan). Okinawan karate was also influenced by Southeast Asian countries and some of the weapons such as Sai and Tonfa originated in Southeast Asia. Sakukawa Kanga (1782-1838) studied pugilism and bo fighting in China. In 1806 he started teaching a fighting art in the city of Shuri that he called Tudi. Around 1820 Matsumura Sokon (1809-1899) a student of Sakukawa taught a synthesis of te (Shuri-te and Tomari-te) and Shaolin styles. This style would later become known as the Shorin-ryu style. Matsumura taught his art to Itosu Anko (1831-1915). Itosu adapted two forms he had learned from Matsumura. These are Kusanku and Chiang Nan. He created the Ping'an forms (Heian or Pinan in Japanese). These were simplified kata for beginners. In 1901 Itosu helped to get karate introduced in the public schools of Okinawa. The beginner kata were taught to children in elementary schools. The forms created by Itosu are common across nearly all styles of karate. His students became the most well known karate masters - Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni and Choki Motobu. Itosu is referred to as the grandfather of modern karate. Itosu Anko One of Itosu Anko's students Hanashiro Chomo was the first to use the Kanji that represented 'Empty Hand' and not 'China Hand. Hanashiro Chomo Higoanna Kanryo returned from China in 1881 after years of instruction with Ryu-Ryu Ko and founded Naha-te. One of his students Chojun Miyagi was the founder of Goju-ryu. Chojun Miygi taught Seko Higa, Meitoku Yagi, Miyazato Ei'ichi and Seikichi Toguchi. A fourth style that also had Okinawan influence is that of Kanbun Euchi (1877-1948). He went to Fuzhou in the Fujian Province at the age of 20. While there he studied under Shushiwa. He was a leading figure of Chinese Nanpa Shorin-ken. He later developed his own style of Uechi-ryu. It is based on the Sanchin, Seisan and Sanseiryu katas he studied in China. Gichin Funakoshi Gichin Funakoshi is the founder of the shotokan karate style. He is generally credited for introducing karate to mainland Japan. He was a student of both Asato Anko and Itosu Anko. Kenwa Mabuni, Chojun Miyagi, Choki Motobu, Kanken Toyama and Kunbun Uechi all contributed to the development and introduction of Karate to mainland Japan. Kenwa  Mabuni In an effort to popularize karate in mainland Japan, Mabuni made several trips to Tokyo in 1917 and 1928. Although much that was known as 'Te' (Chinese Fist) or Karate had been passed down through many generations with jealous secrecy, it was his view that it should be taught to anyone who sought knowledge with honesty and integrity. The Chinese character used to write Tode could also be pronounced 'kara' thus the name Te was replaced with kara te - jutsu or 'Chinese hand art' by the Okinawan Masters. This was later changed to karate-do by Gichin Funakoshi who adopted an alternate meaning for the Chinese character for kara, 'empty'. From this point on the term karate came to mean 'empty hand'. Japanese names were given to many of the kata to ensure that mainland Japan's Dai Nippon Butoke Kai accept karate. The five pinan forms became heian and the three naihanchi forms became known as tekki, seisan became hangetsu, chinte as gankaku and wanshu as empi. The changes were mostly political but there were some changes to the forms too. Funakoshi trained in two of the popular branches of Okinawan karate of the time, shorin-ryu and shorei-ryu. The influence of kendo on his techniques led to the inclusion of distancing and timing into his style. In 1936 he built the shotokan dojo in Tokyo and the style became known as Shotokan. The modernisation of karate in Japan also included the adoption of the white uniform that consisted of the kimono and the dogi and coloured belt ranks. These are generally called karate gi. Both the innovations originated from Jigori Kano, the founder of judo and one of the men consulted by Funakoshi. Masters of karate in Tokyo (1930s) Kanken Toyama, Hironori Ohtsuka, Takeshi Shimoda, Gichin Funakoshi, Choki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni, Genwa Nakasone, and Shinken Taira (from left to right) Hironori Ohtsuka attended the Tokyo sport festival and started learning karate from Funakoshi. He later established a medical practice dealing with injuriese from martial arts. He became the chief instructor of Shindo Yoshin ryu at the age of 30 and assistant instructor to Fuankoshi. Ohtsuka was a registered member of the Japan Martial Arts Federation by 1929. During his time Okinanwan karate was mainly concentrating on kata. Ohtsuka was looking for the full spirit of budo concentrating on defense and attack. He experimented with more combative styles such as judo, kendo and aikido and blended the practical and useful elements of Okinawan karate with traditional Japanese martial art techniques from jujitsu and kendo which led to the birth of kumite (free fighting). Ohtsuka felt that a need existed for a more dynamic type of karate and he left Funakoshi and developed his own style of karate. In 1934 Wado-ryu karate was officially recognised as an independent style of karate. Ohtsuka left his medical practice and fulfilled his life ambition to become a full time martial artist. In 1938 Ohtsuka's personalised styled was officially registered after he was awarded the rank of Renshi-go. He presented a demonstration of Wado-ryu karate for the Japan Martial Arts Federation and they acknowledged him as a high ranking instructor. The next year all different styles had to register their names. Ohtsuka registered Wado-ryu and in 1944 he was appointed Japan's chief Karate instructor. Isshin-ryu is a style of Okinawan karate founded by Shimabuku Tatsuo, a student of Choki Motobu and named in 1956. Isshin-ryu karate is largely a synthesis of Shorin-ryu , Goju-ryu and Kobudo. The name means one heart method. In 1964 Masutatsu Oyama (Korean born as Choi Yeong-Eui) developed his own style of karate namely Kyokushin. The style emphasizes physical contact and physical toughness through a practical application of karate techniques to self defense situations. The federation of Japan karate do organisation recognises four traditional styles of karate: Goju-ryu developed out of Naha-te, its popularity primarily due to the success of Kanryo Higaonna (1853-1915). Higaonna opened a dojo in Naha using eight forms brought from China. His best student, Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953) later founded Goju-ryu, 'hard soft way' in 1930. In Goju-ryu much emphasis is placed on combining soft circular blocking techniques with quick strong counter attacks delivered in rapid succession. Shito-ryu was founded by Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952) in 1928 and was influenced directly by both Naha-te and Shuri-te. The name Shito is constructively derived from the combination of the Japanese characters of Mabuni's teachers' names - Ankoh Itosu and Kanryo Higaonna. Shito-ryu schools use a large number of kata, about fifty, and is characterized by an emphasis on power in the execution of techniques. Shotokan was founded by Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) in Tokyo in 1938. In 1921 Funakoshi first introduced Karate to Tokyo. In 1936, at nearly 70 years of age, he opened his own training hall. The dojo was called Shotokan after the pen name used by Funakoshi to sign poems written in his youth. Shotokan Karate is characterized by powerful linear techniques and deep strong stances. Wado-ryu was founded by Hironori Ohtsuka as taught by one of his instructors, Gichin Funakoshi. This style of karate puts a strong emphasis on softness and the way of harmony or spiritual discipline.