About Karate

Shotokan 

Shotokan is a school of karate, developed from various styles by master Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and his son Yoshitaka. Funakoshi was the man who 'officially' brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan, although Kenwa Mabuni, Motobu Choki and other Okinawans were actively teaching karate in Japan prior to this point. Shōtō was the pen name Funakoshi used in his poetry, which means "pine waves" ([1], pg. 85), while kan means "house". Hence shōtō-kan was the name of the hall where he trained his students. Shotokan is one of the "big four" of karate styles (the four biggest styles being Shotokan, Wado-ryu, Shito-ryu and Goju-ryu, ).[1]

Origins

Funakoshi had trained in both of the popular styles of Okinawan karate of the time: Shorei-ryu and Shorin-ryu. After years of intense study of both styles, Master Funakoshi arrived at a new understanding of martial arts, and a simpler style was created, that combined the ideals of Shorei and Shorin. He combined and modified the styles, and made his own, though he never named it, always referring to it simply as "karate". The karate that he transmitted to his students reflects the changes made in the art by Anko Itosu, including the Heian/Pinan kata series. Funakoshi himself changed the names of the kata included in his curriculum, in an effort to make the "foreign" Okinawan names more palatable to the then nationalistic Japanese mainland.