Karate-Do: My Way of Life – Origins of Karate

There are many stories and myths describing the origins of martial arts including Okinawan karate. It’s a testament to the character of Gichin Funakoshi (1868 to 1957) that he doesn’t perpetuate any of the myths.


Master Funakoshi begins his discussion of the origins of Okinawan karate with these words,

“Inasmuch as there is virtually no written material on the early history, we do not know who invented and developed it, nor even, for that matter, where it originated and evolved. Its earliest history may only be inferred from ancient legends that have been handed down to us by word of mouth, and they, like most legends, tend to be imaginative and probably inaccurate.”

Funakoshi conjectures that karate was introduced through trade contacts with China. As late as the 1920’s the characters used to represent kara-te in Japanese were the characters for “China” (pronounced “kara”) and the character for “hand” (pronounced “te”). In later years people began to use the Japanese character meaning “empty” (also pronounced “kara”). Funakoshi witnessed this transition in his lifetime. He notes that for many years both versions of the word, “China hand” and “empty hand” were used; sometimes by the same people.

Another certainty about the origins of Okinawan karate is that the people were ordered disarmed by their government. Apparently, this order was first issued by the local Okinawan government before the island was incorporated into the Empire of Japan. So karate developed as the people’s primary method of self-defense.

Later the Japanese government outlawed the teaching of karate and the art moved underground – being taught discretely, mostly at night. Again, Gichin Funakoshi experienced this first hand. Teaching Karate was still illegal when Funakoshi started training as a child. The proscription was lifted when he was a young man.

It seems that although karate was illegal in Okinawa for many decades, it was a commonly ignored law; kind of like speed limit laws – many people violated the law and even the authorities turned a blind eye to the practice of karate as long as the training was not blatant.

In any event, by the time Gichin Funakoshi was a young man the law was revoked. Karate was practiced openly and demonstrations were soon organized for Japanese Naval officers.

Master Funakoshi tells us what he knows about the origins of karate and he tells us what he conjectures about it. He is, being a man of integrity, also careful to tell us the difference between what he knows and what he conjectures.

Link to the Special Report: "Karate-Do: My Way of Life - What All Martial Artists Can Learn From Gichin Funakoshi"