The proliferation of the boxing schools is obvious: there are over forty well-known systems extant in China today.7 In the People's Republic of China, the general classification of martial arts, ch'uan-fa, has been changed to wushu, literally, "military arts." (Incidentally, the term common in the West for these arts, "kung-fu," is from a Cantonese word meaning "to be skillful at something"; it should not be applied to Chinese fighting systems, since its meaning is so general.) National contests are held in China, the arts being as popular as ever, particularly in light of the government's emphasis on physical fitness and the individual soldier. The warming of relations between the United States and China in the 1970s has made it possible for groups of Chinese martial artists to tour the United States and give demonstrations of their art.
No student of the martial arts today questions the idea that present-day karate systems were influenced by the Chinese, even though the possibility of some earlier Indian influence does exist. As one more point of historical background, the two main systems of Chinese martial arts, the exoteric, or hard, schools and the esoteric, or soft, schools are mentioned here. The exoteric schools, in which Shaolin ch'uan-fa is grouped, are generally considered to emphasize the building of strength in technique, speed, and agility in linear, angular movements—in short, the development of primarily physical techniques. The esoteric schools have tended to emphasize the building of strength in technique coupled with exercises that develop the mental concentration which allow the practitioner greater control over his body. Although one of the schools might be predominant according to location in China, most of present-day Japanese-Okinawan karate is oriented toward the exoteric systems.
OKINAWAN KARATE
Although native fighting systems existed in Okinawa and were known simply as te (lit., hand), there is general agreement among martial arts historians that there was significant Chinese influence that generated modifications to the art. When that influence began is debatable, with some writers asserting that it may have taken place as early as the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-906).8 Others claim that the first elements of a systematized fighting form were brought from China to Okinawa during the reign of Okinawan King Sho En (r. 1470-76),9 but it is probable that the transmission began between these two extremes.
In 1372, King Satto of Okinawa established a tributary relationship with the Ming emperor in China. As a result, many Okinawans left their homes to reside in China as part of the Okinawan mission, and many Chinese went to Okinawa with the Chinese delegation. These Okinawans brought back elements of Chinese fighting arts and combined them with the existing system of Okinawan unarmed combat, producing tode (lit., Tang hands), a new, more organized system of self-defense. To that time, the Okinawan te had been characterized by the use of the clenched fist. However, the Chinese influence that produced the new art of tode saw the introduction of more varied techniques. One influence, from Taiwan, was the use of the spearhand (nukite); another, the open-hand (kaishu) techniques borrowed from Chinese ch'uan-fa. Kicking techniques in the Okinawan arts were largely the result of influences from southern Chinese systems. Most authorities agree that later karate developed as a result of influences from ch'uan-fa and tode.
In 1393 a group of Chinese craftsmen and administrators were sent to Okinawa by Emperor Hung Wu to show support for the regime of King Satto and to demonstrate to the Okinawans the superiority of Chinese administrative and shipbuilding methods. The settlement that they founded near Naha became known as the "thirty-six families," a term used at that time to designate a large group of people. Okinawan legends credit the members of this group with the spread of ch'uan-fa. Meitoku Yagi, current master of the Goju-ryu school, traces his ancestry to a Chinese ch'uan-fa master who was a member of one of those families.
Okinawa was unified under King Sho Hashi in 1429. Sea trade was encouraged, leading to the development of two great ports, Shuri and Naha. In succeeding years, Okinawans gained fairly extensive knowledge of Southeast Asian forms of combat as a result of their trade in that part of the world. Later, under King Sho Shin (r. 1477-1526), the first prohibition of weapons took place.
In 1609 the Satsuma clan of southern Kyushu, Japan, led by Shimazu Ie-hisa, took control of Okinawa. Shimazu instituted firm control over the populace, placing many restrictions on the natives, including a continuing ban on weapons. All arms found were confiscated and the owners severely punished. The Okinawans were resentful and conflicts arose between them and their Japanese rulers, resulting in the practice of weaponless fighting in earnest. In addition, the severe pressure placed on the Okinawans by the Japanese forced the diverse schools to cooperate with each other, which led to an improvement in technique. Thus, the imported ch'uan-fa was able to further influence the native forms of the martial arts. The art that arose as a result of this unification was referred to simply as te, a return to the original terminology of the region.
Since the new art had to be learned in secret, little was written about it. In time, the term was prefixed by the name of the town in which it was practiced. Subsequently, three major schools developed: Shuri-te, Tomari-te, and Naha-te. Shuri-te, an exoteric system, emphasized speed and combined techniques with rational (practical) movements. Naha-te combined the Chinese hard and soft techniques, using rational, dynamic movements and emphasizing breathing, flexibility, and strength. Tomari-te has been described as containing elements of both Naha-te and Shuri-te systems, with added stress on speed and agility. A twentieth-century karate master, Gichin Funa-koshi, would claim that Tomari-te was more suitable for men of slight build, as it matched their fighting style, while the Naha-te was more suited for self-defense, but lacked mobility.10 In time, Shuri-te and Tomari-te became known as the Shorin style and Naha-te as the Shorei style. Because it was practiced in secret, te took on a certain exotic air and became extremely violent, having the immediate extinction of an opponent as its chief goal.
Perhaps the greatest master of Naha-te in the history of Okinawan karate was Kanryo Higaonna (1851-1915). Higaonna, known as Kensei (lit., fist saint), studied in Fuzhou, China, for over twenty years under the ch'uan~fa master Liu Liu-ko. In addition, he was one of the top students of the famous Shuri-te master Sokon Matsumura.
The end of Satsuma rule in 1872 led to an intense rivalry between the Shuri, Naha, and Tomari schools, since they had no common enemy left to fight. This further resulted in open quarrels and a bad reputation for the art in general. However, in 1902 karate finally surfaced from the depths of secrecy. The Okinawans, recognizing its valuable character-building aspects, introduced it as a part of the physical education curriculum of the First Middle School of Okinawa upon the suggestion of Shintaro Ogawa, Commissioner of Schools for Kagoshima Prefecture.11 (Okinawa was officially apart of Japan by then.) The first instructor was Anko Itosu. Shortly thereafter, a number of men became well known as karate masters. Among them were Gichin Funakoshi, Chotoku Kyan, Kenwa Mabuni, Choki Motobu, Uden Yabu, Chojo Ogusuku, Chojun Miyagi, Chomo Hanashiro, Kentsu Yabu, Juhatsu Kiyoda, and Ankichi Arakaki. Many of them were responsible for the later introduction of karate systems into Japan.
Today there are five major systems of karate practiced on Okinawa: Uechi-ryu and Goju-ryu, which are descended from Naha-te; and Shorin-ryu, which is divided into Matsubayashi-ryu, Kobayashi-ryu, and Shorin-ryu. The three subgroups of Shorin-ryu are descendents of Shuri-te. All the styles are organized into the All-Okinawan Karate-Do Association, the official body governing the martial arts on Okinawa.
Uechi-ryu is the Okinawan name for the Chinese system called Pon-gai-noon. It was founded by Kanbun