KARATE AS A SPORT

Karate in this country has grown in the past 30 years from being a little known pastime into a major sport, with 1000's of participants. The number of clubs and styles has grown to the extent that the person looking to take up karate is confronted with an overwhelming amount of information, most of which is technical and means little to a newcomer. Even the name of the style, being in a foreign language, gives no clue. As sport has played such a large part in raising karate to the level of interest it now enjoys, a large number of clubs and styles concentrate on training students to be of competition standard. To reach this level of competence takes many years of dedicated training. As with any sport if your competitors are putting in 100 per cent then just to stay level with them you must put in maximum effort as well. Of course not everyone will want to go into competitions, But you can still enjoy partaking in the sport.

HOWEVER SPORT IS ONLY ONE ASPECT OF KARATE

MARTIAL ART

Because karate and most other fighting systems from the east have at some time been used by the military, the term martial has become synonymous with Karate. However karate originated as a way for the defenceless to defend themselves. It is a way for individuals to resist domination by those who would force their wills upon anyone they considered weak or vulnerable. Sadly this human condition for people to impose their wills on other people by means of violence is just as current today as it was 5 centuries ago.
Training in traditional karate is a very good way of increasing your chances of survival if you are attacked. But there are no secrets or short cuts.
As with all aspects of karate the key is

PRACTISE

ART

One aspect of karate that is very much overlooked is as an art form. When performing karate as an art, far more detail is given to the position of your body, for example you may consider the amount a thumb is bent or the angle a foot is turned. This concentrates the mind and enables you to analyse movements and positions in a way which is not possible when trying to avoid a kick or punch during normal training.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF KARATE

Karate came from Okinawa, one of the Ryukyu islands between Japan and China. Because of it's position mid way between these two countries it became a melting pot for the two cultures. Also in Okinawa there were Chinese military and cultural missions collectively known as ' the nine villages. Occasionally they were invited to give demonstrations of fighting arts. The native occupants who already had their own system of self defence incorporated parts of the Chinese system into their own. One Chinese military attaché whose name has come down to the present is CHINTO, he is remembered by having a KATA named after him. Some sources also refer to a Chinese visitor named KU-SHANKU who also has a KATA named after him.
There arose 3 main schools of karate in Okinawa based upon the main areas of population, NAHA-TE,TOMARI-TE,SHURI-TE
TE=meaning hand
A way of referring to all three was to call them Okinewe hand.

At the turn of the century a man from Okinawa named GICHIN FUNAKOSHI opened a karate club in Japan, he was also a poet whose pen name was SHOTO so the club became known as SHOTO'S club or SHOTOKAN.
FUNAKOSHI originally called the style RYUKYU KEMPO but this led to confusion as there was already a style called KEMPO, so he chose the name KARATE. Firstly the name karate meant Chinese hand but at the beginning of the second world war there was great anti-Chinese feeling so the meaning of the word karate was changed to mean 'empty hand'.
As well as the change in the meaning of the name there were many other changes in technique and the style took on a decidedly Japanese appearance with the result that FUNAKOSHI'S karate moved quite a way from the style he was taught.

WADO-RYU
WA = PEACE or HARMONY. DO = A WAY OF LIFE. RYU = SCHOOL
WADO-RYU was created by HIDENORI OTSUKA. OTSUKA was one of FUNAKOSHI'S senior students who had trained in JIU-JITSU from his childhood. He spent ten years training with FUNAKOSHI but felt the style to be too rigid and left to create his own style. He drew heavily upon his knowledge of JIU-JITSU and merged it with his karate style. This amalgamation of the yielding principles of JIU-JITSU with the traditional Okinawan karate techniques gave a softness to the style that is unique in Japanese karate. The practice of Wado-ryu karate employs very light and fast techniques, favouring evasion rather than meeting brute force head on.

THE LESSON

The class starts with a short meditation seated on the floor, we close our eyes and concentrate on breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. On the first breath out you count to yourself one, the second breath out two and so on until four is reached, and on the next breath out you return to one.
From time to time your mind will wander from counting. That's fine, just be aware that your thoughts have drifted and gently bring your mind back to the counting. This exercise will help remove the day's stress by calming the ever wandering mind and help you to concentrate on the lesson.
Next are the warm up exercises, to prepare the body for more strenuous activities. There is much repetition of moves in basic training and the body must be warmed up and stretched to avoid damaging muscles and joints.

Basically the lesson will be divided into three separate parts.

BASICS
This will consist of kicks, punches, and blocks.

KATA
This is a long combination of moves performed in an almost dance like motion.

FREE FIGHTING
This is fighting in a controlled way, putting together the moves you have been practising in basic.

A few new words

BASIC BLOCKS
JODANUKE = UPPER LEVEL BLOCK
GEDANBARAI = LOWER LEVEL BLOCK
SOTOUKE = OUTWARD ARM BLOCK ( The arm starts level with your belt and moves up to the outside)
UCHIUKE = INWARD ARM BLOCK
OTOSHIUKE = DROPPING BLOCK
BASIC KICKS
MAEGERI = FRONT KICK
MAWASHIGERI = ROUND KICK
YOKOGERI = SIDE KICK
USHIROGERI = BACK KICK
SURIKOMI = STEPPING WITH THE BACK FOOT CROSSING THE FRONT FOOT BEFORE KICKING.
BASIC PUNCHES
JUNZUKI = LEADING HAND PUNCH
GYAKUZUKI = REVERSE HAND PUNCH
BASIC STANCES
HIDARIHANMIGAMAE = LEFT FIGHTING STANCE
MIGIMIGAMAE = RIGHT FIGHTING STANCE
ZENKUSUDACHI = FRONT STANCE OR BASIC FIGHTING STANCE

A Paradox

How can we justify karate to be a way to peace when all we are doing is learning how to fight?

Where is violence? Can violence exist in the fist that hits the face or is it in the mind that controls the fist? Of course it must be in the mind, and if you remove violence from your mind you remove violence from all your actions.

This is the ultimate goal of training in karate. Although you will be able to defend yourself, you will use the appropriate skills and expertise that you have learnt over the years and not violence.

I will leave the final word to master Gichin Funakoshi

To win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the highest skill

To subdue the enemy without fighting is the highest skill

Introduction to karate
By Peter Morrison

Return to Home Page* Club News* Etiquette in the Dojo* Japanese to English Karate Dictionary* The Martial Arts Book Shop* Guest Book* Links to Martial Arts Websites