Students training in the garden dojo of Miyagi Chojun (founder of Goju-Ryu)
Many people claim to teach “traditional karate,” and even advertise it as such, but what does that mean, exactly? If we define the word “tradition,” as the dictionary does, it means “a long-established custom or belief that has been passed on from one generation to another,” or “an artistic or literary method or style established by an artist, writer, or movement, and subsequently followed by others.” In terms of martial arts, both of these definitions tend to apply, although “generation” can mean “generation of students,” rather than a literal population generation. This still doesn’t clarify what “traditional karate” is, however, because by those definitions, all karate is traditional! That said, many of the traditions that karateka follow, today, are not as old or traditional as they believe. For this reason, we must consider a number of specific criteria to determine what traditional karate can be said to be. Here is mma gyms official website find the best mixed martial arts schools.
Shinjo Kiyohide of Uechi-Ryu, posing in a modern karate uniform. Photo by Chris Wilson.
Some see tradition in the uniforms of karate–clean, white keikogi (training uniforms) with belts denoting the student’s rank and level of knowledge. These can be said to be traditional, but they have not been part of karate for nearly as long as it may seem. The uniform, as we know it, today, was developed by Kano Jigoro (the founder of Judo), and wasn’t adopted by karate practitioners until the 1920s, and even then it was not universal. The belt system, too, was imported from Judo, and had nowhere near the number of mudansha (“those without dan ranks,” or colored belts) or yudansha (“those with dan ranks,” or black belts) that we see, today. Indeed, Kano, himself, was not even responsible for the addition of most of the belt colors we now see in Judo or karate. At the time, the gi and obi would have been state-of-the-art training attire, such as we might consider something like UnderArmour, today. In the long history of martial arts, less than a century of a tradition is rather brief. Some countries, such as the United States, have even developed their own traditions in relation to the uniform in the past 50-60 years, such as not washing the obi because of some superstition about “washing away your hard work.”
A chart of basic uke-waza from Shotokan
The language used to convey karate is often seen as a tradition, in that most karateka learn Japanese terminology and phrases to describe their techniques, postures, and practices, or to participate in various rituals of interaction between practitioners. In truth, Japanese is the “new” language of karate, being only a slightly older addition than the gi and obi. When the Japanese government dissolved the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879, they began integrating the Okinawan people into their society, which included teaching Japanese language, to the exclusion of Uchinaaguchi (the Okinawan language). This practice only got worse in 1902, as the language was labeled as hogen (a dialect of Japanese), rather than a language unto itself, meaning it was not protected from being wiped out. People were shamed and punished for speaking their native tongue, and forced to only speak Japanese. For this reason, Uchinaaguchi is on the brink of extinction, with several groups working to preserve and restore it. This would have been the original language of karate, and there are several concepts within karate that are still labeled with Uchinaaguchi words, such as chinkuchi or atifa.
A touch landing to score a point in WKF kumite (sparring) competition
Some may see tradition in the practices handed down to them over generations, which is reasonable, but some practices are older than others. The majority of popular kumite (sparring) practices, for example, are very new! The Okinawan masters renowned for their fighting abilities did not participate in long range point fighting, but rather engaged in close range sparring methods, like kakedameshi (crossed/hooked [hands] testing), which is much more well-suited to the methods of karate, which are contained in the kata. The modern approach to kumite was developed in the Japanese university system, as a way to make karate a competitive pursuit and encourage young men to get involved. This was heavily influenced by Kendo, which was a popular competitive sport involving hitting another person, so it made sense for them, at the time. It is that Kendo influence that gave modern kumite its long range, and emphasis on the ikken hissatsu (one strike, certain death) concept, both of which make more sense with a sword than bare hands. This type of sparring is not even as old as the addition of the keikogi to karate.
A kata bunkai demonstration in WKF competition
Other practices were added to karate during that time, as well, which do not necessarily serve the intended purposes of the art. A good example of this would be the formalized kata bunkai (forms analysis) exercises that can be seen in so many systems. These are characterized by having multiple attackers arrange themselves so that they surround the person performing the kata (typically standing in a front stance with their lead arm down as if they had just done a gedan-barai) in such a way that they will be lined up to attack the performer along the enbusen (performance line) of the kata, and then attacking with strict, sterilized karate strikes. The defense is similarly sterilized, consisting of techniques that are used in ways that are unrealistic and tactically poor, hikite (pulling hand) being pulled to the hip without anything grasped in it, postures used as formal “setups” for other techniques, and a general reliance on knowing exactly what kind of attacks the attackers will use. These can be very dynamic and precise performances, but they are merely that–performances. The only thing karateka get better at by practicing this way is performing.
Itosu Anko, considered to be the father (or grandfather for Shotokan practitioners) of modern karate, learned from at least two different masters
The concept of loyalty in karate has also changed significantly, over time. These days, people are proud to have remained loyal to a single instructor or organization, and having never trained with anyone else. In the past, however, it was incredibly commonplace for instructors to refer their students to other masters of karate and kobudo. In fact, even cross-training in non-Okinawan martial arts, such as Chinese arts, or Japanese arts like Judo, Sumo, or kenjutsu (swordsmanship) was frequently encouraged. That is not even to mention the cross-training that most Okinawans had with tegumi/muto, which was the native folkstyle submission grappling art. Most of the past masters trained with more than one instructor, and that diversity of experience would have been a significant contributing factor to their understanding and skill. The best instructors, even today, still encourage their students to broaden their horizons, and train with other instructors, and experience other martial arts, in order to really expand their karate.
Motobu Choki demonstrating tuidi-waza from Naihanchi Shodan
The popular trappings of karate are not the real tradition of the art. The tradition of karate is that of a martial art designed by people of noble birth whose jobs involved law enforcement and security work, for the purposes of defending themselves and others against violence. These methods are described by the kata, but with the newer traditions overtaking the original traditions, many of these methods have been lost, and new explanations for the kata have come to the fore that are in line with the “modern tradition” of karate. Indeed, one could make a defining line between “modern traditional” karate, as it has developed since World War 2, and the “classical” or “old-style traditional” karate that was in use before that. For those of us with an interest in practicing, preserving, and spreading karate as a practical fighting art, this is a serious consideration. It is important to remember that karate has a long history, and how we practice and teach it is going to shape the evolution of the art moving forward, as today’s training methods stand to become tomorrow’s traditions.