| History Funakoshi
Sensei Lineage Timeline |
HISTORY
The Martial Arts have many different facets and an individual can gain various things - from self-discipline and increased self-esteem, self-control, respect, and self-defense to improved physical fitness and stress relief.
Karate
can be traced back about 1400 years to a Buddhist monk named Daruma in
Western India. In his travels, Daruma introduced his “art” to
Northern China. Around 500 AD, his “art” was being taught in the
Shaolin temples of China. At the time there were two forms of
“karate” being taught - Shaolin (Shorin) kung-fu, from Northern
China, and the Shokei School of Southern China. The first had colorful,
rapid, and dynamic movements, while the latter was known for more
powerful, linear, intense movements. The two forms worked their way into
Okinawa and heavily influenced their fighting method, called Okinawa-te
(Okinawa hand). Karate developed very quickly on the Island of Okinawa
due to the ban on weapons. So the development of Karate in Okinawa is
the synthesis of two separate fighting techniques. The first simple, yet
very effective, and the second a more elaborate one impregnated with
philosophical teachings.Today there are still two facets of karate. The first is for the self defense aspect. Teaching the fighting techniques for use on the street in a life-threatening situation. In Self-defense one would use short crisp techniques thrown at specific targets, hoping to end the attack quickly. With the wide acceptance of karate today, it has developed into a popular sport for the American youth. Many children are turning to the discipline of the dojo as opposed to the chaos of the ball field. Competitions are held on almost a weekly basis throughout the United States.
