FOUNDER OF SHOTOKAN KARATE

Gichin Funakoshi., known as the founder of shotokan and modern karate, was a professor at the Okinawa Teachers College in Japan and President of Okinawa Association of Martial Arts. In 1922 he was invited to lecture and demonstrate the new art of karate at the first National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo.
The demonstration turned out to be a great success due to the inspiring personality of Master Funakoshi and he was flooded with requests until he was able to establish the Shotokan, in 1936, which became a great landmark in the history of karate.

He studied under Shuri- Te Master Anko Itosu and under Yasutsune Azato. Funakoshi Sensei was not only a genius in martial arts but also a literary talent and signed his work “Shoto” his pen name. Hence, the school where he taught came to be known as “Shoto’s school” or “Shotokan”.
He combined the techniques and Kata of the two major Okinawa style to form his own style of karate. As a result modern day shotokan includes the powerful techniques of the Shorei School and the lighter, more flexible movements of the Shorin School. When the J.K.A was established in 1949, Gichin Funakoshi was appointed as the Chief instructor due to advanced skills and leadership abilities. Although Funakoshi Sensei was famous as a great karate Master, he always emphasized that the most important benefit from karate training is the development of spiritual values and the perfection of character of its participants. After training and teaching of karate for more than 75 year, Master Funakoshi died in 1957 at the age of 88.

Note: Funakoshi sincerely believed it would take a lifetime to master enough. He chose the Kata which were best suited for physical stress. A belief that karate was an art rather than a sport. To him Kata was “Kara”.

“The ultimate aim of karate lies not in victory nor defeat, but in the perfection of the character of its participants” – Gichin Funakosh