The story
If the initiator of the modern karate was Anko Itosu, who it has diffused it in all Japan and in the world it was Gichin Funakoshi (1868 - 1957). Funakoshi was student of A.Azato, and later on of A.Itosu. In 1922 a national exposure of physical education to Tokyo comes organized and Funakoshi came invited in order to introduce the karate of Okinawa. After such demonstration J.Kano, founder of the Judo, invited Funakoshi to stop itself in Tokyo in order to execute another karate demonstration in the Kodokan (17 May 1922).
Kano was struk by the karate of Okinawa, he invited Funakoshi to remain in Tokyo for being able to diffuse its art. Funakoshi did not return more to Okinawa. In 1938, after years of hardships and hards work, Funakoshi finally succeeded to built its dojo: the Shotokan. In the same period the master changed the ideogram of the karate modifying of the meant one from "china hand" to "empty hand" emphasizing therefore an independence from the Chinese arts and the type of techniques used (to empty hands).
During the period of the second world war some adepts, one was Yoshitaka (the son of Funakoshi), began a different type of karate introducing technical coming from the english boxe, circular soccer, protections, etc.
Funakoshi did not appreciate the introduced changes. We bring back a its speech to one of the adepts: " I understand that you are not satisfied of the kata and of the conventional exercises of combat but this depends of your lack of deepening on arts.
In the Karate, like budo, the combat means "fight or dead". Which that is your armors that you will put to point the karate ones as competition will make you to lose the way.
The karate that we know today, for sure its aspects, are perhaps more similar to that one practiced from Yoshitaka that not to that one of his father.
In the 1949 Funakoshi it constitutes the Japan Karate Association (J.K.A.) and he remained until the age of 81 years. It died in 1957 to the age of 89 years.
Teachers of the Karate courses:
Sensei P. Bolaffio B.B. 8° dan
Teacher F. Pascut B.B. 6° dan
|
