27/09/2026
Karate did not come from one person or one place. It developed over hundreds of years through the exchange of ideas between the Ryūkyū Kingdom, China and, later, mainland Japan.
Chinese fighting methods reached Okinawa through trade, diplomatic visits, Chinese communities and Okinawans who travelled to China to study. Over time, the Okinawans took this knowledge, tested it, adapted it and made it their own. These methods became generally known as Ti.
Different areas of Okinawa developed their own approaches, which became known as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te. Shuri-te is closely connected to Matsumura Sōkon and placed great importance on speed, movement, controlling the outside position, defending and counterattacking together, and torite, the ability to seize and control an opponent.
Matsumura’s student, Itosu Ankō, later adapted parts of this older fighting tradition so karate could be taught in Okinawa’s school system. Kata were selected and changed, new kata were developed, and karate began to serve physical, educational and moral purposes. This means the karate taught in schools was not exactly the same as the older Shuri-te. It was a new educational form of karate built from it.
In the 1920s, Funakoshi Gichin and other Okinawan teachers introduced karate more widely throughout mainland Japan. As karate became part of Japanese budō, its language, structure and purpose began to change. The meaning of its name changed from “Chinese hand” to “empty hand,” separate styles became more formalised, grading systems were introduced and, eventually, competition became a major part of karate around the world.
Our message is not that karate should never change. Karate has always developed and adapted. His warning is that, as karate continues to grow, we should not lose sight of where it came from, how its original techniques were meant to work, or the values and ethical purpose behind its practice
