Karate-do
空手道
BRIEF HISTORY REVIEW
Martial arts, whose techniques of defense and attack are based on blockades and blows
given with different parts of the human body, had their origin in China, from where they
gradually expanded to the neighboring countries undergoing alterations when adapting to the
idiosyncrasy of each town that incorporated them.
It was nevertheless, in Okinawa where its improvement and development reached its greatest
profit, well known as Okinawa-te and Kenpo. It was held as a secret and jealously retained for
centuries.
Okinawa is a small island of the group that comprises modern day Japan. It's the main island
in the chain of Ryu kyu Islands, which spans from Japan to Taiwan.
The Martial Art known as "Karate" was an indigenous form of closed fist fighting, which was
developed in Okinawa and called Te, or hand. "Te" continued to develop over the years,
primarily in three Okinawan cities: Shuri, Naha and Tomari. Each of these cities was a center
to a different social class: Kings and nobles, merchantmen and business people, and farmers
and fishermen respectively. For this reason, different forms of self-defense developed within
each city and subsequently became known as Suri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te. Collectively
they were called Okinawa-te.
In 1905, Kenpo arrived to Japan where it was adopted receiving the denomination of karate-
do (empty hand way).
Reference: map from www.shitoryu.org
| During the nineteenth century, the three main style of Okinawa Martial Art, te, were known as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te for the towns in which they developed. |
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