History of Karate
From KodoKai
...and the Kodo School of Karate
Contents |
The Early Beginnings
As there is no written record of the beginning of the martial arts, we must rely on word of mouth and legend. It is believed that about 1400 years ago, a monk named Daruma (or Bodhidharma) left India to spread the word of Buddhism. One of the places he went was China. In China, he made his way to the Shaolin Temple to teach. He taught them exercises known as the Ekkin Sutra, which ultimately became known as Shorin-ji Kempo, the forbearer of karate.
It is believed that the martial arts then began to spread throughout China. And as the Chinese made contact with other foreign cultures, they would pass their arts on to these peoples. One of the cultures they made contact with were the Okinawans.
Karate moves to Okinawa
From about the mid-fourteenth century, Okinawa began heavy trading with its other island and mainland Japanese neighbors. It is generally assumed that this contact with outside peoples brought new arts into Okinawa. Then, about five hundred years ago, a ban was placed on Okinawans having weapons. This prompted the Okinawans to learn how to use everyday items (e.g. rice flails – nanchuku) to protect themselves.
It is believed that about two hundred years ago, a man named Sakugawa, of Akata, traveled to China. When he returned to Okinawa, he was a karate (China hand) master. Also, about 150 years ago, Ku Shanku, of China, came to Okinawa to teach with some of his students. Other Okinawans were also taught by various Chinese military personnel.
Gichin Funakoshi
It is said that Okinawans named Matsumura and Gusukuma were taught by a southern Chinese man who drifted ashore. These two men, Matsumura and Gusukuma were the men who would teach Masters Azato and Itosu, who ultimately taught Gichin Funakoshi.
Gichin Funakoshi began studying under Azato and Itosu in 1879. In 1902, he gave history's first formal private demonstration of karate. Then, in 1903, he introduced karate into the public school system at the Men's Normal School and the Daiichi Middle School. In 1906, he gave the first public demonstration of karate in Okinawa. In 1912, karate began being taught to the Imperial Navy. In 1914, Funakoshi began giving demonstrations all over Okinawa.
In 1917, karate eventually made its way to Japan, which already had a very rich martial history. Gichin Funakoshi was invited to Japan to demonstrate his karate at the Butokuden in Kyoto.
Funakoshi continued to travel to Japan giving exhibitions, but Shotokan's "big" break came in 1922. The Japanese Ministry of Education asked Funakoshi to participate in a demonstration of ancient Japanese martial arts at the Women's Higher Normal School in Tokyo. After the demonstration, Gichin was approached by Jigaro Kano, the founder of judo. He asked Funakoshi to stay longer in Japan and show him some basic techniques.
Months later, when he next tried to leave, Funakoshi was approached by the painter Hoan Kosugi. He also wanted instruction in karate for himself and members of his artists group. So, Funakoshi again postponed returning home and began first organized teaching of karate in Japan at the Tabata Poplar Club. While teaching at Tabata, Funakoshi decided to remain in Japan. He would spend the rest of his life teaching karate to the Japanese people.
While in Japan, Funakoshi wrote the first book ever on karate "Ryukyu Kempo: Karate." The book was designed by Hoan Kosugi, who is also credited with designing the Shotokan tiger. Four years later the book was re-released with the new title "Renten Goshin Karate-jitsu". His next book, "Karate-do Kyohan" was written in 1935.
Funakoshi continued to teach and give exhibitions. In 1928, he was asked to give a demonstration for the royal family of Japan. For Funakoshi this would have been enough but of honor, but it was made all the greater because the demonstration was done on the palace grounds.
Karate's popularity continued to grow. Karate clubs had been and continued to spring up at colleges, universities and businesses throughout Japan. All this time, Funakoshi kept a dojo at the Meisei Juku. However, a 1923 earthquake eventually created the need for a new place to train. Funakoshi was offered to use space at the kendo hall of Hiromichi Nakayama. Eventually, Funakoshi was given another great honor. Nationwide, karate practitioners chipped in to pay for the construction of a dojo dedicated to the instruction of Funakoshi's karate. In 1936, the Shotokan was born (named for Shoto – Funakoshi's pen name and Kan meaning house).
Gichin Funikoshi is widely regarded as, "The Father of Modern Day Karate."
Hironori Otsuka
Wado Ryu is a Japanese karate style founded in 1939 by Hironori Otsuka. This style combines Hironori Otsuka's early experience with classical jujutsu with the Shotokan karate he learned as a student of Gichin Funakoshi's. Wado, meaning the "way of peace/harmony."
Trained in classical bujutsu (the techniques of the samurai), Otsuka applied this outlook and experience to his teachings. He believed that the aim of Wado karate is not merely perfection of the physical techniques of self-defense, but also the development of a mind that is tranquil yet alive, able to react intuitively to any situation. In Wado, as skill and knowledge are acquired through training and concentrated effort, the student develops inner strength and calmness of character, as well as the virtues of self-control, respect for others, and true humility. Karate-do for Otsuka was primarily a spiritual discipline.
Masaru Shintani and Kitagawa
Masaru Shintani was born in 1927. Shintani's mother, Tsuruye Shintani, was a daughter of the Matsumoto Samurai family. He gained early training in a number of Japanese martial arts, including Judo, Aikido, and Kendo.
Shintani originally started karate in an internment camp for Canadians of Japanese decent in British Columbia during the Second World War. Typical of his character, he changed that nightmare into a blessing. His first exposure to karate was in this camp by a man named Kitagawa. Kitagawa had trained in the Shuri-te style karate under Sokun Matsumura and Anko Itosu, both of which also taught Gichin Funakoshi.
In the late 50's, Masaru Shintani competed in and eventually won the All Japan Karate-do Championships held in Tokyo. It was at this competition that he was noticed by Sensei Otsuka. Otsuka saw his skill, perseverance, and humility of the young Shintani that is so vital. They developed a deep friendship and Masaru Shintani became a student of Otsuka until the latter's death in 1982.
Otsuka's senior student, Masaru Shintani, continued teaching in the tradition of Otsuka, until his death in May, 2000.
Willem Reeders
Chinese/Dutch master Willem Reeders grew up on the Island of Java in Indonesia. His father was a Dutch nobleman, and his mother was of the royal Chinese Liu family. His uncle, Liu Seong, trained him in his family style of Kuntao, which was traditionally reserved for royalty and only revealed within the family from father to eldest son or next immediate male descendant.
Master Reeders also studied from many well-known Indonesian, Chinese, and Japanese instructors before the outbreak of World War II. He had extensive experience in many styles, including Gung Fu (7th degree red sash), Kodokan Judo and Jui Jitsu (10th Dan), Budozen Soundje Kempo (7th Dan), Silat, Tai Chi, and had working knowledge of 81 weapons. After the war, Master Reeders came to the U.S. where Bruce Lee sought him out to enhance his development in the martial arts.
When he was in Jamestown, NY, Master Reeders taught Judo and Shotokan Karate. The Chinese system was only for a select few. In the early sixties, the family Kuntao was taught. From around 1967 until Master Reeders left for New Mexico, it was predominately Chinese Kung Fu with Kuntao mixed in.
Kuntao transcends kata and physical movement. It involves strictly spiritual training, and this is where the deadly as well as the healing aspect lies. Anyone who started training after 1964 did not get this training, and a select few were introduced to Kuntao at all.
If you were introduced to Kuntao and followed through with it, you vowed to teach it with no restrictions. Master Reeders considered Kuntao as a means through which meditation and prayer allow one to do whatever has to be done, with conscious, consistent and paranormal results as the ultimate goal.
Grand Master Reeders held the title of Liu Seong-Dai Sensei, which translates into "Master of all Masters of all styles" or in laymen's terms the "Head Master of all styles of martial arts." At his passing in 1990, he was said to have been the deadliest man in the world.
Gerard Durant
Goshin history in the U.S. begins with Gerard Durant (1923-1991). As a small boy, Durant was introduced to Karate by his father who was a Jujitsu master. Master Durant was in the merchant marines in the 1940's when he stayed in Japan, spending the next 13 years learning Karate.
When he came back to North America he held a 6th degree ranking and he studied with a Buddhist monk in Canada for 3 years. He then settled in Erie, PA and started up Goshin Jutsu Karate in the U.S. After a few years he renamed his schools the Goshin Jutsu Kyo Jujo "school where you learn to defend the body arts". The Yudan-Shakai, or governing body, promoted Master Durant to 10th Dan in 1974 following the death of his instructor.
Master Gerard Durant created the Goshin Jutsu System, which is a combination of several styles and many techniques from various systems.
Robert Trias
In 1942, during World War II, Grandmaster Robert Trias (1922-1989) was stationed in the British Solomon Islands where he was a middleweight boxing champion for the United States Navy. During this same time a Chinese missionary, Master T'ung Gee Hsing, was seeking the conversion of the Solomon Island natives. After observing Grandmaster Trias training for an upcoming boxing match, Master Hsing offered to teach him Hsing-Yi in exchange for lessons in "American Boxing." The exchange that followed was a turning point for Grandmaster Trias, who was unable to land a single blow. He decided to pursue the art so generously offered to him by Master Hsing.
Later during the war, in 1944, while stationed in Singapore, Mr. Trias continued his training in the martial arts with his second instructor Hoy Yuan Ping at the Hock Keng Temple. Hoy Yuan Ping's instructor was Hashinosuka Fukuda, of the Tenshin Shinjo School of Kempo ju-jitsu in Japan.
Karate was first introduced to the United States by Grand Master Trias in 1945. He opened the first Karate school in the nation in 1946 in Phoenix, Arizona. Robert Trias incorporated some of the Goju Ryu Katas into the Shuri Ryu style, thus giving rise to the birth of the Shorei Goju Ryu. Grand Master Trias is therefore not only the father of American Karate but also the father and founder of the American Shorei Goju Ryu system.
The Shuto Society
The direct lineage of the Kodo School of Karate traces its roots to the Shuto Society, founded by Thomas Handest. He learned from a variety of teachers, including Willem Reeders (Kun Tao), Robert Trias (Shuri Ryu), Masuru Shintani (Wado Kai), Gerard Durant (Goshin Jutsu), and Sandy Scott (Shotokan). In creating the Shuto Society, Thomas Handest combined elements of various arts, though was heavily influenced by the Japanese lineage of Funakoshi's Shotokan and Otsuka's Wado Ryu.
One of Handest's senior students, C.M. Bookwalter started the Hollidaysburg, PA branch of the Shuto Society. When Bookwalter became ill in the mid 1980's, the school came under the lead of David Salyards, who taught Kevin Meisner. In 2000, Kevin Meisner left the Shuto Society and founded The Shinbikai, an association of martial artists dedicated to seeking the "True Beauty" of the martial arts.
Kodo School of Karate
Merrick Rosenberg and Traci Rosenberg met in Sensei Kevin Meisner's karate class at George Washington University (GWU) in January of 1986. Two years later, when Sensei Meisner left GWU to attend law school, they took over the class. Upon their graduation, they moved the school to Arlington, Virginia. They taught there for two years, then moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey and started a class at the Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill in 1991 where they have been teaching ever since. In 1998, the Rosenberg's left the Shuto Society and formed the Kodo School of Karate. In 1999, Sensei Josh Simon started the Edison Branch of the Kodo School of Karate. This class is currently taught by Instructor Scott Rosenman.
Technique/Kata History
| Belt system | Jigoro Kano, founder of Judo | Mid 1920s |
| Pinan/Heian katas | Anko Itosu created the katas and called them Pinan – Funakoshi renamed them as Heian | Late 1800s |
| Stances, block and counters, and kicks | Passed down through Gichin Funakoshi | |
| Taikyoku Shodan Kata | Gichin Funakoshi | Early 1900s |
| Naihanshi Kata (Tekki Shodan) | Sakon Matsumora | 1825 |
| Bassai Dai Kata | Kosaku Matsumora | 1869 |
| Chonan and I-Hon Katas (Power Kata) | Kitagawa learned this from Itosu, passed down through Masaru Shintani | 1940s |
| 4-Point Shuto Kata | Willem Reeders | ? |
| 12-Point Kata (Ju Ni Pon Kata) | Robert Trias learned this on Okinawa | mid 1900s |
| 4-Point Shuto Kata | Willem Reeders | ? |
| Iron Dragon or Te Lung | Passed down or created by Willem Reeders | ? |
| Banah Kata | Passed down or created by Willem Reeders | ? |
| Drop techniques | Uichi Ryu style | |
| Releases | Came from Ichikawa of Gojo Ryu passed down to Gerard Durant | |
| Live Side | Dead Side | Kitagawa | mid 1900s |
| Go Ho Ate | Jigaro Kano | Early 1900s |
| Kihon Gumite | Hironori Otsuka (& Choki Motobu) | Early 1900s |
Genealogy
Genealogy File Download : This is a larger version of the file which is easy to read and print.
