What is Karate?

A Brief History of our Style, by Grant Maloy Smith
The origins of the modern martial arts that we study today go back 14 centuries to India, when a warrior priest called Bodhidharma, who is credited with having invented Zen Buddhism, traveled to China. Legend has it that he made the difficult journey across the Himalayas on foot. He made this pilgrimage in order to teach Buddhism to the monks living in the Shaolin (forest) temple. But upon meeting them, was shocked by their poor health, and decided to add a physical regimen to his lectures, showing them yoga-like exercises and basic self defense.

This regimen of movements and defensive techniques, called figuratively ch’uan fa, or “the way,” evolved over centuries into today’s kung fu and tai chi. In the late 1300’s a Chinese delegation was sent to teach shipbuilding skills to the Ryukyu island chain across the China Sea, to promote trade with these strategically placed islands and build political ties with King Satto. Some of the delegates were practitioners of ch’uan fa, and they shared these skills with interested Ryukyu islanders. The Chinese form melded into the indigenous self defense called “te” or “hand,” creating something even more sophisticated, which came to be called “to-de,” or “Chinese hand.”

To-de became more of a necessity when weapons were banned from the islands in 1507. The only way that the Ryukyu people could then defend themselves was with superior hand to hand fighting skills, and rigorous conditioning. Japanese soldiers wore wooden armor, meaning that the bare hands and feet of the opponent had to be extremely tough. In addition, the islanders learned to apply their farm tools as weapons should the need arise, giving birth to a rich legacy of kobudo, still an important part of our style today. The five main items which could be used as a weapon were the staff (bo), forked truncheon (sai), the sickle (kama), rice grinder handle (tonfa), and rice flail (nunchaku).

Centuries passed. The Chinese had set up their original outpost near the town of Naha, so the martial art that developed there became known as Naha-te. The practice spread to the nearby towns of Shuri and Tomari, and their styles were similarly called Shuri-te and Tomari-te. By the 1800’s, the islands, which we now call Okinawa, were steeped in the development and evolution of the martial arts.

Each of the three main styles was unique, and reflected in some degree the character of the inhabitants. Shuri was the ancient capital, and home to nobility and the peerage, while Naha was a business mecca and commercial port, and Tomari was a village made up mostly of farmers, fishermen, and country folk.
Tomari-te has since faded away, while the other two fundamental styles thrive even now. Naha-te became known as Shorei ryu, while Shuri-te became known as Shorin ryu.
Over time, Shorei ryu was divided into Goju ryu (by Miyagi Sensei), and Uechi ryu (by Uechi Sensei). More significant to us was the division of Shorin ryu into these four: Kobayashi ryu, Matsubayashi ryu, Shobayashi ryu, and Matsumura Orthodox.

In 1809, the man we consider to be the father of Okinawan karate-do was born. Matsumura was a bodyguard for several kings, as well as a martial arts instructor. Before his death in 1899, he had trained Anko Itosu, another hugely important figure in the evolution of karate-do. Starting in the very next year, Itosu began tutoring an important student of his own: Chosin Chibana, who would go on to create Shorin-ryu! Shinpan Gusukuma was another significant student of Itosu Sensei.
Because he was teaching karate-do to Okinawan’s school students, Itosu created the five Pinan kata, breaking apart larger more complex kata into “pieces” that were easier for students to learn. Pinan literally means “piece,” or section.

Itosu passed away in 1915, but Chosin Chibana picked up the torch a few years later, opening his own school, and he continued the legacy of teaching karate-do in the public schools, a program which his master had created. In fact, a 15 year old high school student of Chibana’s was our own Miyahira. It was at this time that Chibana Sensei changed the name of Shorei ryu to Shorin ryu, to give it a more Okinawan sound.

Having been annexed by the nation of Japan in the early part of the 20th century, and seated in such a strategic locale, Okinawa was inexorably drawn into World War II, which culminated in the horrific Battle of Okinawa, during which much of the island was destroyed, and more than 200,000 people were killed. Chibana himself narrowly escaped being killed. But luckily both he and Miyahira survived to carry on.

Chibana was the first president of the Okinawan karate-do league in 1956. He finally succumbed to throat cancer in 1969, but not before leaving behind powerful leaders, each who formed their own version of his Kobayashi Shorin-ryu:

• Miyahira Katsuya Sensei– who founded Shidokan Shorin-ryu, our style, in 1935.
• Shiguro Nakazato Sensei – who founded Shorinkan Shorin-ryu
• Higa Yuchoku (deceased) – who founded Kyudokan Shorin-ryu

There were others, such as Kinjo Kensei, who blended Shorin ryu with other influences to create Kushin ryu. But the three above are the most significant to our style today.

Miyahira Sensei, who had started under Chibana in high school years before, built a wooden dojo behind his house and named it Shidokan, which means “house of the way of the warrior spirit.”

Miyahira Sensei is still the world director of Shidokan Shorin ryu karate-do. His top representative in the USA is Iha Sensei, 10th dan, who runs the Iha dojo in Lansing, Michigan. We are directly connected to Kyoshi Herten, 8th dan, and who is Renshi Gavitt’s teacher. Kyoshi Herten has been connected to both the Shorinkan and Shidokan associations over the decades, and holds master ranks in both styles. Therefore we have different kinds of connections to both Shidokan and Shorinkan, although we remain students and practitioners of Shidokan Shorin ryu karate-do.

Iha sensei is now a 10th dan hanshi, the highest ranking Shidokan Shorin-ryu master in America. Hanshi's studio is located in Lansing, Michigan. Iha sensei also studied with Gusukuma sensei.

Hanshi Robert Herten studied under Nakazato sensei in Okinawa when he was in the US Air Force. After opening his own school in NJ, and running it successfully for many years, he rose to 7th dan in Shorinkan. He affiliated with Hanshi Iha in 1990, and remained within the Shidokan system until 2002, when he formed his own style called Shin Shorin-ryu.

At Ichiban we are proud to have such a distinguished lineage, from our own Kyoshi Gavitt, to living legends like Iha sensei, Herten sensei, and Miyahira sensei. But our roots run deep - back 150 years to the early beginnings of Shuri-te / Shorin-ryu in Okinawa, and even deeper across the south China Sea to the Shaolin temples of China, and even deeper back to an amazing monk from India centuries ago.