# Karate from Okinawa to Japan?



## IFKQ80 (Jul 19, 2004)

Karate is a MA from Okinawa but is it still the same as it was before it moved to Japan. If an Okinawan Karateka from the past enters a Karate Dojo now days will he feel like a stranger or will he feel at home? 



If you asked me that Question I would say? I think it did change.



1- The Karate Gi we wear is from Judo.

2- We call the stance, strikes, kicks and blocks with Japanese names not Okinawan I think there are some differences.

3-  The dojos we train in looks Japanese some at least.

4- Karate being a Budo and a Do I think thats typical Japanese came from The Samurai Bushido way of thinking.

5- Karate it self was called Tode.

6- Did it have any influence from Jujitsu which has been there for a much longer time?



Im sure there are more examples I hope my point is clear, I practice Kyokushin Kai Karate and I dont know if thats only in Kyokushin did SoSai Oyama helped in making it that way or other styles in Japan such as ShotoKan which is older then Kyokushin or other styles back in Okinawa did the same?



Is it because the Karate masters wanted it to be Japanese more then Okinawan because of the Chinese roots in karate (Tode=Chinese Hand)?



Are those changes is to the better or the worst? Can we see it as developing Karate or as changing it to be accepted in Japan regardless of its effectiveness?



I hope to hear what you think about this Subject? 



Ali


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## loki09789 (Jul 19, 2004)

Consider this too:

After the imposed peace in Japan under the Shogun as the right hand/"champion"/Principle Shogun i.e. Prince under the Emporer, Samurai arts were practiced more for the perpetuation of a warrior class than for mass battle combat.  The introduction and emphasis on the short and long sword as the signature weapon of the Samurai was a direct result of that.  The spear and bow were still practiced along side the Katana a Wakisashi but they were not the 'soul' of the samurai during a time of bandit runs, individual duels and basically NON mass battle field combat for the samurai....

That said, think about the US imposed peace post WWII in Japan.  The empty hand arts would be a great vehicle to showcase Japanese warrior spirit or Samurai spirit to American forces stationed there.  It was a way to retain/regain some cultural dignity after a military lose.  The empty hand arts that came from Okinawa would be fine because of weapons bans and such in a post war country.

As far at terminology/culture, Okinawa had it's own rulers (Shurei Castle is modelled after the Emperor's Palace in BeiJing/PeiKing China) language and heritage before Japanese control.  Once Japan took control, Japanese was the commonly used language.  It would be the same as Native Americans adopting English or Spanish as the daily language (by choice or by force...).  "Okinawan" would/is still used in dialectic forms in some parts of Okinawa but I think that most/all of the Okinawan Karatedo would use Japanese terminology.

I would think that an Okinawan from times past would be very confused about some of the 'philosophical' stuff associated with the modern practice because the original practitioners were everyday people/peasant types using this stuff to defend themselves against invading/occupying Samurai as well as each other (bandits/gangs/territorial wars). IMO they would be more 'conceptually based' in some ways like FMA because of the immediacy and need for their skill to be used quickly.


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