HISTORY OF KARATE

About fourteen hundred years ago Daruma (Bodidharma), the founder of Zen Buddhism, left western India, penetrating mountain ranges including the Himalayas, and crossing unabridged rivers through complete wilderness, to travel to China to present lectures on Buddhism. Since even present roads between India and China would not be described as good, one can imagine the greatness of Daruma's spirit and physical strength so great that he should have been able to conquer with such courage this difficult, several thousand mile way alone. In later years, as he traveled to the Shaolin Temple (Shorin-ji) in Hunan Province in China to lecture there on Buddhism, a great multitude of followers fell one by one in exhaustion from the harshness of his training. Daruma then set forth a method of developing the mind and body, telling them, "Although the way of Buddha is preached for the soul, the body and soul are inseparable. As I look at you now, I think it likely that you will not complete your training because of your exhaustion. For this reason, I shall give you a method by which you can develop your physical strength enough to enable yourselves to attain the essence of the way of Buddha." The method he set forth is contained in the Ekkin Kyo (Ekkin "sutra"). With it, the    monks were able to recover their spiritual and physical strength, and it is said that these monks of the Shaolin Temple came to be known  throughout China for their courage and fortitude.

In later times, after teaching of this method originally proposed by Daruma spread to many other places, it came to bear the name of its origin and was called Shorin-ji Kempo. It was this method that eventually reached the Ryukyu Islands and developed into Okinawa-te, the forerunner of present-day karate.   In the southern part of Japan are located the Ryu-kyu Islands of which Okinawa is the largest. These group of islands is located 550 km. from mainland Japan -  Kyushu and 700 km. from China. 

Around the 12th century the famous hero King Shö Hashi united all the island under his rule. In order to assure the position of the ruling class, the possession of arms by the common people was forbidden. 
Later on about the 16ht century all weapons in the islands were confiscated by the ruling Satsuma clan of Japan. At the same time there were many practitioners of martial arts that traveled to China to learn martial arts, that were brought back to Okinawa. It is probably for these reasons that the development of martial arts took a tremendous impulse forward and developed in the Okinawan martial art that we know today. At the beginning of the 19th century, Karate was accepted by the Okinawan authorities as an official physical education program and thus the future of karate was secured. Karate spread rapidly in Japan and slowly but surely in continued its spreading around the globe. 

GICHIN FUNAKOSHI

Famous picture of Sensei Gichin Funakoshi, the father of modern karate and founder of the Japan Karate Association. He was born in Shuri-Okinawa in 1868 and died in Tokyo-Japan in the 26 of April 1957. In the year 1922 Sensei Funakoshi was requested to give a karate demonstration in Japan. Until the this fighting art was known as "Chinese hand", but Sensei Funakoshi renamed karate and change the characters to read "empty hand". With this change he indicated that with the practice of karate would be possible to develop the character of the practitioner. At this time he coined the famous sentence "Karate Ni Sente Nashi....there is no first to attack in karate". 

To Sensei Funakoshi karate was a system of self-defense and physical conditioning, not of competition. 
By the time Sensei Funakoshi died, he had seen the completion of the first instructor's course and also the first request for an Official J.K.A. Instructor, it came from the Far East University in the Philippines. Takayuki Mikami, one of the only three original graduates from the training program was given this post and he remained there for 2 years, teaching karate on a full time basis. In 1958 Hawaii was honored to count with the services of another great instructor Hirokazu Kanazawa, Mikami's classmate, and there it began the emigration of karate to the world. In May 1961 Teruyuki Okazaki, then revered by many as the best karate man ever born, arrived to the City of Philadelphia as the first official J.K.A. instructor in the USA. The same year Hidetaka Nishiyama came back to the USA to oversee the building of a new empire in North America and counted among his instructors men like Takayuki Mikami who went to Kansas City first and later on to New Orleans, Yutaka Yaguchi was assigned to Denver in Colorado after a long period in Los Angeles. Masataka Mori replaced Kanazawa in Hawaii and later on in 1967 moved to New York City. Tetsuhiko Asai and Takehiko Nozaki stayed respectively in Hawaii. Shojiro Sugiyama not an official instructor, but nevertheless a respectable karateka founded a strong organization in Chicago. Masaaki Ueki and Shigeru Takashina went to Florida, Katsuya Kisaka to New Jersey and Shojiro Koyama to Arizona. In Europe was placed Taiji Kase with his headquarters in Paris, France. Satoshi Miyazaki in Belgium, Hideo Ochi in Germany, Hiroshi Shirai and Takeshi Naito in Italy, Keinosuke Enoeda in England 

MASATOSHI NAKAYAMA

Sensei Masatoshi Nakayama was born in Yamaguchi-Japan in the year 1913. He died the 15 of April 1987 in Tokyo.

The many years spent in the practice of martial arts leaves definitely its mark in our spirit, our way of thinking and finally in the way we take care of our body. When a practitioner has the opportunity to observe a Traditional Sensei, the first thing he notices is how polite Sensei are, but not necessarily friendly. He behaves and usually talks very correctly and gently, but when it is needed, he can be very blunt and frank. Finally it is possible to observe how energetically he acts when teaching. Sharpness, power and control of his techniques are constantly clear to observe during his performance.
Of the four times that I had the pleasure to be taught by Sensei Nakayama, the one thing I will never forget is how well he used to treat everybody regardless of their rank. I was a common sight to see a long line of practitioners with some of his books in their hands waiting in line while he patiently signed them with a brush. 
Since the time of the creation of the famous "J.K.A. Instructors Course" up to the present times, Sensei Nakayama traveled quite often around the world dictating camps and seminars, writing books about Shotokan karate and its kata, and thus came the final moment, the moment to leave this world and sadly his brilliant career came to a halt on April 15,1987 when he passed away. 
 

WILLY J. ORTIZ 

Sensei Ortiz is a 7th DAN that brought officially Shotokan Karate-Do to Finland in 1975. In the same year the founded the his first dojo J.K.A. Porin Shotokan Karate-Do.
In 1980 he founded JKA Tampereen Shotokan Karate-Do and in 1984 JKA Hervannan Shotokan Karate-Do. 
Later on in 1981 he founded the J.K.A. Finnish Shotokan Karate-Do Federation together with some other clubs.

Excerpts of an interview for a local newspaper:

- Sensei: when did you begin your karate training?

"My training in Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do began in March of 1964 in New York City, U.S.A. at the New York Karate Club and under Traditional Shotokan Karate-Do Instructor Sensei Hiroshi Orito, a Japanese 4th DAN. Among the Instructors who also gave us lessons periodically, we had Sensei like Teruyuki Okazaki, Keinosuke Enoeda and Katsuya Kisaka who used to come to New York City once a month from the city of Philadelphia. They were official J. K. A. Instructors.

During the seven years that I stayed in the New York Karate Club, we received numerous visits and training camps under the direction of the most famous Shotokan karate instructors. Twice under the then J. K. A. Chief Instructor the late Sensei Masatoshi Nakayama, and also under other Sensei of world renown like the late Sensei Minoru Miyata, the creator and developer of the uniquely strong stances of Shotokan karate, Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama, Maasaki Ueki, Masahiko Tanaka, Tetsuhiko Asai and Hirokazu Kanazawa. When I look back to those years, I realize that I had been immensely fortunate; because these gentlemen were then in the prime of their youth and for us practitioners, a tremendous inspiration to be able to train under their guidance. They were then and still are, the best in the world in the field of Shotokan Karate-Do, or for that purpose, of karate in general." 

- Why did you choose Shotokan?

"Actually I didn't even know that in karate there would be styles, so my choosing of Shotokan was just by accident. A friend of mine had been practicing karate for some time in the New York Karate Club and one Saturday we were suppose to meet after his training. I had finished doing my shopping and since it was still early I decided to drop by his club and watch for a while. Well, to tell you, after a few minutes I could not believe that right in the middle of New York City could be a place like that. I was absolutely astonished by the energy of the whole group and the professionalism of the instructor; Mr. Mike Sargent, he was like from a movie. His instructions were clear and precise, he was very demanding and without any doubt everybody followed his orders. There was a tremendously strong atmosphere full of a very dynamic energy force. After the lesson, they all sat on their knees and meditated. The silence was such that even the noise of the cars and people outside did not dare disturb. I was like suspended in space. There was this great feeling running through me like wild fire. After the meditation period was over I greeted my friend and before he could ask me I told him that I was going to join his club. I did so and luckily there was a beginners group in the next hour, so I was allowed to practice in my street clothes."

- How often did you practiced?

"The first two months we were limited to three times per week, but I was there every day after I finished my work, and after those first two months I practiced every day of the week, most of the times with the group, but very often by myself. The fire was running so wildly in me that I was sorry when I had to waste my time going to work or sleep. Every evening I was the first in the dojo and the last to leave. I lived like that for seven years." 

- Was it necessary to practice so much?

"No, I just enjoyed doing it. I wouldn't recommend it, unless the person finds a very personal satisfaction in this type of life." 

- Were the trainings very strict and hard?

"I thought they were until 1967 when Mr. Masataka Mori came, then things turned completely in a different direction. I would say that -when the going gets tough, only the tough get going- it was sometimes just pure hell, but there was a bunch of us who wouldn't admit defeat and we really took it and ask for more. Really crazy." 

- How is your teaching system nowadays?

"Well, times have changed and I do not believe into following a strict Japanese form of teaching. Mostly because I am not Japanese. To different people karate has to be taught in a different way. I do not kick or punch my students, but I don't let them feel like there is no need to push. They know better than not trying their best. I would say that nowadays I try to explain more the reasons for the nature of karate being the way they are and the reasons that we must clearly understand about its close relationship to our daily life. During training I try to induce my students to give me their understanding and opinions about many other things than just karate, to illustrate some of my points I even tell them jokes or stories that amuse them and make them laugh. On the other hand, maybe I want to keep my experiences only for those who are seriously involved with the learning of this beautiful martial art."

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