Contents:

• Shotokan History

  Suggested Reading

  My Personal History in Shotokan

  Links

Shotokan History

Gichin Funakoshi was an Okinawan school teacher, born in 1868 and died in 1957. He synthesized two forms of Okinawan Karate, shorin and shorei ryu into his own version of strong, fluid, linear style of blocking kicking and punching. He combined this with a philosophy of non-violence, courtesy, respect and tolerance. Master Funakoshi wrote much thoughtful material about his art ( a few samples of his writings).

In 1922 he introduced his art to mainland Japan where he spoke of Dai Nippon Kempo Karatedo. (The Great Japanese Fist Law Empty Hand Way). This was the first time that karate had been written as "empty hands". Traditionally it had been written as "Chinese hands".

Funakoshi-san was also a calligrapher and often signed his works with the pseudonym "shoto" meaning "pine waves'. This referred to a time in his youth when the young man's spirit would be calmed by the sound of the wind in the pine trees of his native Okinawa. In 1936 his students built the first karate dojo in Japan and called it the Shotokan. The name stuck and Master Funakoshi's karate became known the world over as Shotokan.

• KARATE DO; MY WAY OF LIFE.. Funakoshi Gichin, Kodansha

  KARATE DO NYUMON: Funakoshi Gichin, Kodansha

  KARATE DO KYOHAN: Funakoshi Gichin, Kodansha

  MOVING ZEN: C.W. Nicol ,Quill

  CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MASTER: Randall G. Hassell, Focus Publications

  SPIRIT OF THE EMPTY HAND: Stan Schmidt, Focus Publications

  DYNAMIC KARATE: Masatoshi Nakayama, Kodansha

VIDEO:

MASTERING SHOTOKAN KARATE, Vol. 1 thru 10, Kenneth Funakoshi, Panther Productions

One of my favorite books is MOVING ZEN by C. W. Nicol, a Canadian adventurer who traveled to Japan in the early 1960's to study Shotokan Karate. It is a delightful book describing, through the eyes of a gaijin, the cultural aspects of training in karate during the early years. The book was dedicated to Kanazawa Hirokazu. In 1992 I attended a seminar in London , Ontario which was taught by Kanazawa Shihan. I was very grateful and honored to have Kanazawa Shihan inscribe my copy of the book which was dedicated to him!

I was first introduced to Karate in 1973 at Centennial College, Warden Woods Campus, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. My instructor was Kim Hooi Wong who at that time was a Sandan and the Malaysian lightweight champion. Sensei Wong had come to Canada to study civil engineering. He could barely speak English. The classes were held in the gym and were very, very strenuous with lots of callisthenics, kihon (basics), kata (forms) and kumite (sparring). Sensei Wong had a delightful sense of humor and made even the hardest class seem enjoyable. He was a master technician and lightning fast.

The late Kim Hooi Wong, 5th degree black belt, President and Chief Instructor of the Shotokan Association of Malaysia, with Steve Lonsdale in 1990.

After getting a university degree he moved back to his birthplace, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and helped revamp the Shotokan Karate Association of Malaysia. He reached the rank of Godan. Work took him to Singapore and sadly, on February 14, 1993, he drowned while swimming in the ocean. I, personally, owe all I've learned to Sensei Wong and although I never knew him other than as a teacher, he remains one of the most important people in my life. His student, Ross Smith, Sandan (pictured with me, below), took me under his wing when I first joined Sensei Wong and over the years Sensei Smith has taught me much about Karate as a way of life.

Links:

Shotokan Karate Magazine

Shotokan Karate of America

Karate Net

Link List--Shotokan and many other martial arts.

Karate FAQs