WHAT IS SHOTOKAN KARATE?
Shotokan (松濤館 Shōtōkan) is a dynamic, anaerobic style of karate, widely practiced around the world. The style was named after the first official dojo built in Okinawa by its founder, Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906-1945) in 1936. The dojo was destroyed during an allied bombing in 1945.
The word “Shotokan” is built out of a poetic idea referring to the wave-like impressions created by pine needles as they blow through the breeze. Shoto was Gichin Funakoshi’s pen name, while kan means “house” or “hall.”
The art and practice of Shotokan is based on principles of humility, compassion, respect and patience, as well as inner and outer calm.
MASTER GICHIN FUNAKOSHI (1868 - 1957)
Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate, was trained in two regional forms of Okinawan martial arts -- Shuri-te and Naha-te -- by famous masters of his day. Gichin Funakoshi melded the two styles into what later became Shotokan Karate (and what Funakoshi only ever referred to as, “karate,” or “empty hand”).
Funakoshi’s legacy is passed down by a long lineage of students and also through a number of his own writings. The most influential of these essays is his seminal publication, The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate. In this work, he sets out twenty rules of comportment (niju kun) for karate practitioners, urging them to “become better human beings” through adherence to these principles.
COMPONENTS OF SHOTOKAN KARATE
KIHON(Basics)
This is the alphabet of Shotokan Karate and the foundation for good technique. Basics are made up of blocks, strikes, kicks and stances which are used in simple combinations for lower belts and more complex ones for higher belts. Speed, sharpness and strength are tuned in kihon and you will learn to use your whole body to deliver a punch or block an attack. |
KATA(Forms Or Patterns Of Moves)
A kata is a choreographed sequence of movements (or “forms”) that is the equivalent of sentence and paragraph building in Karate. There are 26 different kata in the Shotokan style, the mastery of each marking the movement of the Karate student through belt ranks. Kata are an important part of training and normally practiced at every session. |
KUMITE(Sparring)
Kumite refers to all forms of sparring. To continue the analogy, if kihon is the alphabet and kata is the design of sentences and paragraphs, then kumite is the equivalent of improvisation or composition. Beginners will first experience 3-step sparring, while more experienced practitioners will practice Jiyu Ippon Kumite (semi-free) and Jiyu Kumite (free). Through this type of training, the karate-ka learns to read an opponent’s intentions and react quickly while exercising self-control and judgement. |