Question:
What is Shotokan Karate?
Answer:
Originally developed in China, the technique of karate spread from Okinawa to Japan in the early 18th century as a self-defense martial art called “Budo”. It was in Japan that karate became the systemized form of martial art, as we know it today. Its popularity is credited to Master Gichen Funakoshi, whom brought the art from Okinawa to Japan. Master Funakoshi is often referred to as, “The father of modern karate”. The Japan Karate Association (JKA), Shotokan is the original style of karate as taught by Master Funakoshi.
Today we follow the guidelines of Sensei Hidetaka Nishiyama, the head of our organization. Sensei Nishiyama was a direct student of Master Gichen Funakoshi.
In the beginning, Karate developed as a weaponless form of self-defense, which utilized effective total body power. First, the special skills were highly developed, followed by technical organization. The formation of karate as a martial art followed.
Through hard training, the students of Traditional Karate strength physical and mental skills while developing self-control. Further , students learn to understand the physical and mental condition of their opponents, and thereby avoid fighting.—the ultimate goal of karate. Only by avoiding fighting, can one truly win.
The physicaland mental benefit of this art form has been recognized worldwide. Through physical training, a student learns that emotions control the physical body. Karate is the mastering of the body, the mind, and the emotions. It creates self-confidence in ones’s ability to stop an opponent with a single finishing blow. Such confidence leads to stable emotions. Stable emotions eliminate negative emotions, to the benefit of physical and mental health.
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