After Okinawan King Sato paid tribute to China’s Ming dynasty in 1372, trade was opened between the two countries. In 1392, 36 Shaolin martial artists from Fujian province arrived in Okinawa to teach them Chinese martial arts. This led to the development of Okinawan martial arts that were named after the villages of their origin—naha-te, shuri-teand tomari-te. From these three villages arose the various styles of karate, two of which were shorei-ryu and shorin-ryu. After studying these two styles of karate in Okinawa, Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) simplified the movements and introduced karate into Japan from Okinawa in 1921. By 1939, Gichin Funakoshi built his first official karate dojo and called it the House of Shoto (Gichin Funakoshi’s pen name) or, as it is mostly called today, shotokan karate.
The term “karate” was first used in 1722 when Okinawan martial artist Sakugawa created his martial art karate-no-sakugawa, wherein kara refers to China. Thus, karate originally meant “Chinese hand” or “Tang Hand” after China’s Tang dynasty. However, when karate was introduced into Japan, the meaning of “kara” was changed to “empty.” This is why karate today is translated as “empty hand.”
– April 2, 2013
A former tournament standout, George Dillman first learned of the role pressure points play in self-defense from Hohan Soken. Subsequent training under Seiyu Oyata opened Dillman’s eyes to the effectiveness of the art, which is known as kyusho-jitsu.
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– June 18, 2012
In the martial arts community, those who practice kyusho-jitsu (pressure-point fighting) are often subjected to criticism. It all started when their self-defense moves were first brought into the limelight and onlookers didn’t even want to believe the techniques were real. Those days are long past, however, and the reality of
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– November 29, 2011
In 1966, karate legend Joe Lewis rocketed to stardom by winning Jhoon Rhee’s U.S. Nationals in Washington, D.C. Incredibly, it was his first tournament, and he won every single point with only one technique — the side kick.
For six years, Chuck Norris ruled the karate world with his spinning kicks.
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– November 18, 2011
For many practitioners, one of the most challenging components of karate training is learning the nuances of the terms used in the dojo. Any instructor can offer a one-word definition of each Japanese word, and that can certainly lessen the complexity of what’s being taught. But often a quickie translation
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– August 26, 2011
This list is in no particular order. I could have put krav maga, haganah and others in there, but when I got to 10, I stopped. This list will piss off many instructors, but they have to realize, for example, that with a system like kyokushinkai, which came from goju-ryu
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– August 12, 2011
Editor’s Note: Because it’s impossible to defend yourself when you’re unconscious, knockouts play a critical role in any fight, whether it takes place in the ring or on the street. In our September issue, we explored the physiological effects of a knockout and why head trauma is such a controversial
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– August 10, 2011
If you want to be a good karate fighter, it’s best to go to the source. In the case of shotokan karate, the source would be its founder, Gichin Funakoshi. Enter his fifth cousin, Kyle Funakoshi, who has more than 30 years of traditional training under his belt and has
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– July 8, 2011
The power-vs.-speed debate has raged in martial arts circles for decades. As soon as a rapid-fire striker convinces you that speed is the key to victory, along comes a powerhouse prodigy who’ll bend you back toward the other extreme.
But now there’s a newcomer from Japan who’s set up shop in
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– July 6, 2011
It’s been called the edge-of-the-hand strike, the ax hand, the shuto, the thousand-hand strike and the judo chop. It can be found in virtually every martial art from karate to kung fu and in every kata from those practiced at the Kodokan to those done at Kukkiwon. So how did
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– June 27, 2011
Jeet kune do authority Taky Kimura once described Kelly S. Worden as an “American icon of the progressive arts.” For more than 35 years, Kelly Worden has devoted his waking hours to blending and integrating a multitude of martial arts concepts to form a system of cross-training he calls Natural
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