The History of Okinawan Karate – Growth
During the nonstop conflict in Europe that defined much of the nineteenth century, Okinawa remained under annexation. Napoloen Bonaparte himself, upon learning of the weaponless people inhabiting the small Asian island, remarked “no weapons, you mean they have no cannons?” When told that not only were they without a standing army, but also without personal armaments carried in daily life, he continued “you really mean they carry no weapons? I cannot understand a people not interested in war.”
The land that our dojo resides on was purchased by the Mississauga aboriginals and the major travel artery would be known as Trafalgar Road, honouring the British victory at Trafalgar in 1805. A year after the epic European naval battle ensued, Sakugawa Kanga began his instruction in Okinawan fighting and what his sensei had taught him of the Chinese arts. He would instruct Matsumura Sōkon, one of the first Okinawan karate masters, passing on kata like Bassai, Naihanchi, and Seisan; all Shuri-te karate systems can be traced back to his tutelage. Itosu Ankō, known as the “grandfather of modern karate” would formulate multiple “heian” kata from what Matsumura taught him. They were simplified forms, easily accessible and understandable for beginner students, much like CMAC’s Goju Taikyoku kata.
Another noteable figure from the 19th century in Okinawa was Arakaki Seishō, born in 1840, and we can attribute the kata Sochin, Unsu, and Seisan to him. Interestingly, Arakaki would instruct two individuals who would pioneer two different styles of karate; Kanryo Higashionna, who formulated the hard and soft Naha-te, and Gichin Funakoshi of Shotokan.
Our Okinawan karate lineage begins with the above-mentioned Higashionna, the third master on our dojo wall. As a teenager, he travelled to Fuzhou to study kung fu. He began his apprenticeship under Xie Xongxiang, known to the Okinawans as Ru Ru Ko. Under his tutelage, young Kanryo was put through domestic chores and duties before any martial training took place. It took saving Ru Ru Ko’s daughter from a flooding that Kanryo would then plead with his sifu to teach him Ming He Quan, the Calling Crane Fist. In Okinawa, the arts of te would continue to be practiced in secrecy until the cessation of the Satsuma occupation in 1875, and it was in the 1880s that Kanryo Higashionna would take this schooling back to Okinawa and instruct students in a hard/soft form of Naha-te that would develop into Goju-Ryu.
In our next instalment, we will conclude our brief series on the history of Okinawan Karate. Stay tuned.