History

Shotokan Karate-Dō

The Way of the Empty Hand

The origin of karate-do can be traced back several hundreds of years and linked with the spread of Buddhism throughout Asia. Although considered by many as a Japanese martial art, modern-day karate was first introduced to mainland Japan from the island of Okinawa, which had close trading ties with China. The style known as Shotokan is attributed to Gichin Funakoshi. Considered by many as the founding father of modern-day karate, he was only one of a number of Okinawan masters who took their specific art of te to mainland Japan in the 1920-30′s. Globally, Shotokan is recognized as one of the most widely taught karate styles.

In Japanese, the word karate is formed from two ideograms, kara and te. Originally, the ideogram for kara meant China and te meant hand. This was then changed so that kara now means empty. So, karate means, empty hand. The suffix dō, means way. So karate-dō means empty hand way. A practitioner of karate is referred to as a karate-ka.

Karate is considered a traditional Japanese martial art. Other traditional arts would be judo, jiu-jitsu, aikido, kendo, to name but a few. Each art will usually have more than one style, which is often be attributed to a single master. In karate, there are several major styles spread throughout the world, including Shotokan, Kyokushin-kai, Shito-ryu, Goju-ryu and Wado-ryu. Also note that where dō means way, ryu is indicative of a school and usually has a long lineage.

The name Shotokan is made up of two parts: Shoto and kan. Shoto was the pen-name used by Gichin Funakoshi when writing poetry, and translated means pine waves. Kan means hall and refers to the honbu dojo in Japan where Gichin Funakoshi taught. So, Shotokan means Shoto’s Hall, or more literally, pine waves hall.

Karate is primarily a striking art (percussive by nature and therefore having a powerful impact), whereby the means of defence and counter attack rely heavily on blocking and striking with hands, forearms and elbows, along with the feet and knees. Compare this with other Japanese arts such as judo, which focuses on throwing, grappling and strangle-holds; aikido, which focuses on un-balancing, arms locks and pins; and jiu-jitsu, which combines elements of all three arts.

Martial Art

The term martial art can be said to mean the art of conducting warfare. Martial comes from the Latin root referring to the planet Mars as being the bringer of war. It’s important to understand the difference between art and science. Yes, there is a lot of science involved with learning karate, mainly centred around the body (physiology) and the mind (psychology), but, amongst other things, the term art denotes the ‘expression of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance’; a ‘superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observation’; a ‘system of rules serving to facilitate the performance of certain actions; a ‘system of principles and rules for attaining a desired end’; a ‘method of doing well some special work’.

A quotation from Bruce Lee encapsulates this very succinctly:
  “Ultimately, martial art means honestly expressing yourself. It is easy for me to put on a show and be cocky so I can show you some really fancy movement. But to express oneself honestly, not lying to oneself; that, my friend, is very hard to do.”

And that is true. To express oneself honestly is very hard to do. That’s why there are very few people practicing the martial arts these days. It’s difficult and most people prefer an easy option if it’s available.

True martial arts foster the spirit of the peaceful warrior: a warriors spirit on the inside, a peaceful citizen on the outside. This is a paradox worthy of note. You may spend a lifetime learning an art form you will never use, but by the same token, will use every day!

The Three Corner-Stones

The three corner stones of karate training are kihon (basics – line and pair work), kata (forms – set patterns) and kumite (sparring – both structured and free-form). Together, they represent the foundation of fundamental karate training. The emphasis is on learning self-defence techniques that make the best use of your body, regardless of strength or size. Prior to class we perform taiso, tai (body) and so (hardening), which is a generic term in Japanese for conditioning.

Belts

Originally, coloured belts were not used to determine grades, or ranks of experience and seniority. One trained with a white belt (obi) tied around ones uniform (gi) until one became a black belt. Today, we have a number of colour belt grades to signify rank and experience, from white to brown belt, and these are referred to as kyu grades, running from 8th kyu to 1st kyu.

Becoming a black belt moves the karate-ka to the level of Dan grade, beginning with Sho-Dan (first level). Before the world-wide spread of karate the highest rank held was 5th Dan. This was expanded to the rank of 8th Dan to accommodate the growth in the number of black belts. Today, we see the rank of 10th Dan held by those long-serving masters who are responsible for the standards we adhere to today.

The true black belt consists of a white cotton belt covered with black silk. Becoming a black belt signifies the end of basic training and the beginning of true karate learning. With regular training over many years the silk gradually wears away to expose the white belt underneath. This is seen as a symbolic return to the beginning, of completing ones journey.

A black belt is just a beginner who never gave up.