Karate or Karatedo as it is practiced today only dates back to the 1920s. Prior to this, Karate Jutsu, or Toshu Jutsu was a deadly form of self defence practiced by the elite fighters of Okinawa. The equivalent of the art in "mainland" Japan was the art of Hakuda Kempo practiced in the Nagasaki area. The original arts of Toshu Jutsu and Hakuda were mostly developed from 1500 to 1830. The original Toshu Jutsu masters drew from Chinese style such as Bazi Quan, Hsing-I Quan and Chang Quan to create a deadly fighting art.

In the mid 1800s White Crane Kung Fu became the dominant influence on Okinawan martial arts and styles such as Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu emerged.

At the turn of the 20th century, masters such as Gichin Funakoshi (Shotokan) and Kenwa Mabuni (Shito Ryu) took the art to the major cities of Japan and soon uniquely Japanese styles of Karate such as Wado Ryu emerged.

While masters such as Kanken Toyama oversaw the development of Karate in Okinawa and Japan, the likes of Hiroo Mochizuki, Masatoshi Nakayama and Hirokazu Kanazawa spread the art throughout the world.

   

Karate (Toshu Jutsu, Tode Jutsu, Toshukuken) has always been an eclectic art drawn from many cultures around Okinawa.

 

In the 12th century the Japanese warlord Minamoto Tametomo conquered Okinawa and established a dynasty, possibly bringing with him skills recognisable today as Aikijujutsu.

 

This line of martial arts was preserved by the Motobu family and stood alongside the Ryukyu islands' peasant arts. The peasant arts including a form of Tegumi (grappling) similar to Sumo; a sort of arm-wrestling game and, according to P.McCarthy, a crude form of striking art imported from Thailand called Ti'gwa.

 

In the 1500s, a Chinese general named Qi championed then then-unfashionable study of Quan (solo forms or kata) among soldiers, and soon after many martial arts forms developed from this original Chang Quan (long fist) inspiration.

 

A style called Hsin-I Quan (the ancestor of Hsing-I Quan) which was itself a sub-style of Bazi Quan (the ancestor of Baji Quan) was introduced to Okinawa in the late 1600s by a master named Wang Ji who is remembered today as Wansu.

 

This art was passed on among masters like Hama Higa, Takahara Peichin and the Motobu family and was known as TOSHUKUKEN or TOSHU JUTSU, meaning literally Chinese Boxing Art.

 

When Okinawa became occupied by the Japanese Satsuma Samurai, the Okinawans became exposed to the arts of Jigen Ryu Kenjutsu and Hakuda.

 

Today Jigen Ryu is not as well known as sword arts like Eishin Ryu or Shinto Ryu but it made pioneering use of makeshift weapons and these gave rise to the art of Kobudo in Okinawa.

 

In the 1700s, Tode Sakugawa and Chatan Yara further refined Toshu Jutsu, studying many Chinese arts and introducing the twin butterfly swords (Dip Dao) to Okinawa.

 

Perhaps the greatest of the Okinawan masters was Sokon 'Bushi' Matsumura, a student of Sakugawa and practitioner of Japanese Jigen Ryu.

 

Matsumura took these Okinawan and Japanese arts and combined them with studies of various other forms. Having already learnt the original Hsin-I based Wansu form and Chatan Yara's kata 'Kushanku', Matsumura studied with a Chinese master called Ason, learning the Naihanchi form and with a Vietnamese prince known as Anan who taught the forms Chinto and Chinte.

 

Finally Matsumura and his friend Bushi Kojo journied to Fujian, China where they studied Lion, Tiger, Crane and Monk Boxing and came away with forms such as Useishi, Seishan and Jutte as well as Matsumura's interpretation of Bazi Quan, the Bassai Kata.

Matsumura's students became the pioneers of more modern Karate in the mid 1800s.

 

Karate was developed in the three towns of Shuri, Naha and Tomari. The first, Shuri was the capital city and so Shuri-Te was developed by palace staff; Naha was a farming and docking port that enjoyed close relations with Fujian, China and Tomari was a cavernous, beach area.

 

Shuri masters included Bushi Matsumura (king's bodyguard), Anko Itosu and Anko Azato. Matsumura looked to the teachings of Chinese masters Iwah and Ason.

Naha Te masters included the Kojo family and Higaonna Kanryo. They looked to the teachings of masters Aragaki, Wai Shin Xian and Ryuryuko.

 

In the late 1800s and early 1900s masters like Funakoshi (student of Itosu and Azato), Motobu (student of Matsumora) and Mabuni (student of Itosu and Higaonna) introduced Karatedo to mainland Japan.

 

In the 1950s Karate was introduced to Europe and the UK (where Jujutsu was already popular) mostly by virtue of the Yoseikan school. 

In the last quarter of the 20th century a select few western masters began to rediscover the older pre-Karatedo ways of Karate Jutsu, Uchinadi and Toshu Jutsu.

 

Karate Jutsu and Toshu Jutsu History and profiles

Tode Sakugawa (1733-1815)

 

Known as "Karate Sakugawa" or "Toshu Sakugawa", Kanga Sakugawa studied Hsing-I Quan and Kobudo under master Takahara Peichin and his teacher Hama Higa who was in turn taught by the Chinese master Wang Ji (Wansu as in the kata). Later he studied Taiji Quan under Wang Zong Yue and brought the poem Kung Hsien Kue to Okinawa and this is where the kata Kushanku gets its name.

Notable students: Sokon Matsumura, Bushi Makabe

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Sokon Matsumura (1798-1890)

 

Known as "Bushi Matsumura" he began his studies of Toshu Jutsu under Sakugawa and his friend Chatan Yara learning the forms Wansu and Kushanku. He then studied under several Chinese masters, including Anan (who taught him Chinto), Ason (who taught him Naihanchi) and Iwah who taught him the White Lion Boxing forms Seishan and Bassai Dai. Matsumura called his art Shuri Te and many of his students referred to it as Shorin Ryu.

Notable students: Anko Itozu, Anko Azato, Gichin Funakoshi

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Seisho Aragaki (1840-1918) & Yasutsune Itosu (1831-1915)

 

Aragaki was the pioneer of forms like Unsu, Niseishi, Sochin and Wankan and Itosu was the pioneer of the Pinan forms. Aragaki was arguably the founding father of Naha Te, teaching Higaonna Kanryo and Itosu was the pioneer of Shorin Ryu in the Shuri area. He was also the primary teacher of many masters including Funakoshi, Mabuni and Kyan. Itosu was a pioneer of teaching Karate to a set syllabus, suitable for bigger classes

Notable students: Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni 

 

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Funakoshi Sensei took the art of Toshu Jutsu which he termed "Ryukyu Kempo Tode Jutsu" and introduced it to Japan as a new form of Budo called Karatedo. He worked closely with the founder of Judo to make Karate the worldwide pursuit it is today. He was awarded the title of Renshi by the Dai Nippon Butokukai. His students include masters Nakayama (Shotokan), Otsuka (Wado Ryu), Mochizuki (Yoseikan), Egami (Shotokai), Oyama (Kyokushinkai) and Taira (Kobudo).

The first student Funakoshi graded to black belt was Makoto Gima, a student of Itosu and Kentsu Yabu. 

Notable students:

- Gigo Funakoshi (youngest son)
- Makoto Gima (Shoto Ryu)
- Shigeru Egami, Mitsusuke Harada (Shotokai)
- Masatoshi Nakayama, Hirokazu Kanazawa, Keinosuke Enoeda (Shotokan)
- Hironori Otsuka (Wado Ryu)
- Minoru Mochizuki (Yoseikan)

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Kanken Toyama 10th Dan 

Kanken Toyama was a Karate Jutsu master who studied under masters Itosu, Yabu, Higaonna, Azato and Chibana. He was not only determined to unify Karate but he also sought out the old ways we he called Taka and Toshukuken - Taka was the Taiwanese name for Hakuda and Toshukuken is another word for Toshu Jutsu. His top students included Masanao Takazawa (who took Karate to Malaysia) and Hideo Tsuchiya the legendary Karate Jutsu master. Toyama also taught Shinken Gima, the first ever Shotokan black belt. He was born in 1888 and died in 1966. He never named a successor but he left a legacy.

Notable students: Masanao Takazawa, Hideo Tsuchiya

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Our Karate lineage:

Following years of informal training and study of various martial arts Simon Keegan initially studied Karate under Sensei Stephen Bullough who himself had studied many different styles of Karate including Yoseikan, Budokan, Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu and Shukokai.Simon then trained with Sensei Robert Carruthers who himself studied many different styles including Shotokan, Bujinkai, Shobukan, Ryukyu Kempo and Karate Jutsu. Simon's final main Karate instructor was Reiner Parsons who had studied Goju Ryu, Niseikai, Wado Ryu and Shoto Ryu.

     

Pictured: Phillip Handyside 8th Dan (Kancho), Robert Carruthers 7th Dan (Shihan); Simon Keegan 4th Dan (Renshi); Reiner Parsons 6th Dan (Renshi)

Karate Lineages

Mainline (Shotokan)
1) Ji Ji Ke
2) Wang Ji
3) Hama Higa
4) Takahara Peichin
5) Tode Sakugawa (also trained under Kushanku/Wang Zong Yue)
6) Sokon Matsumura (also trained under Iwah, Anan, Ason & Chatan)
7) Yasutsune Itosu (also trained under Gusukuma)
8) Gichin Funakoshi (also trained under Azato and Matsumura)
9) Hirokazu Kanazawa (also trained under Nakayama and Chibana)
10) Phillip Handyside (also trained under Kato, Chew & Cummins [under Enoeda] )
11) Robert Carruthers (also trained under Enoeda, Smith, Suzuki)
12) Simon Keegan (also trained under Bullough, Parsons, Nobetsu)

Pictured: Kancho Handyside (Simon's teacher's teacher) with his mentor Hirokazu Kanazawa who graded him 1st Dan in Shotokan. He was later graded 2nd Dan by Chew Choo Soot in Budokan. Today he is graded 8th Dan in Shobukan.

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Secondary (Shobukan)
1) Ji Ji Ke
2) Wang Ji
3) Hama Higa
4) Takahara Peichin
5) Tode Sakugawa (also trained under Kushanku/Wang Zong Yue)
6) Sokon Matsumura (also trained under Iwah, Anan, Ason & Chatan)
7) Yasutsune Itosu (also trained under Gusukuma)
8) Kanken Toyama (trained under Itosu, Higaonna, Aragaki)
9) Masanao Takizawa & Chew Choo Soot
10) Phillip Handyside
11) Robert Carruthers
12) Simon Keegan

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Tertiary (Shoto Ryu)
1) Ji Ji Ke
2) Wang Ji
3) Hama Higa
4) Takahara Peichin
5) Tode Sakugawa (also trained under Kushanku/Wang Zong Yue)
6) Sokon Matsumura (also trained under Iwah, Anan, Ason & Chatan)
7) Yasutsune Itosu (also trained under Gusukuma)
8) Kanken Toyama (trained under Itosu, Higaonna, Aragaki)
9) Makoto Gima (also trained under Itosu, Yabe, Funakoshi)
10) Ikuo Higuchi
11) Reiner Parsons (also trained under Nobetsu, Higaonna, Kai)
12) Simon Keegan

 

Tertiary:
Naha Te Lineage (Goju Ryu)
1) Wai Shin Xian
2) Ryu Ryu Ko
3) Higaonna Kanryo (also trained under Aragaki, Kojo)
4) Chojun Miyagi (also trained under Gokenki)
5) Gogen Yamaguchi
6) Tadanori Nobetsu (also trained under Asada, and Chin Mei Long
7) Reiner Parsons
8) Simon Keegan

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Family Jujutsu tradition

Gen1) Bill Nelson (student of Skyner, student of Kawaishi)
Gen 2) David Keegan (also studied Iaijutsu, Taiji Quan, Karate etc)
Gen 3) Simon Keegan

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Nihon-den Jujutsu lineage (Mochizuki- Ha)

1) Various Koryu including Gyokushin Ryu, Daito Ryu, Shinto Ryu
2) Minoru Mochizuki
3) Mitsuhiro Kondo
4) Various instructors including R Watts, J Hearn
5) Simon Keegan

 

Nihon Jujutsu lineage (Sato-Ha)

1) Various sources including Judo, Wado Ryu, Aikido
2) Shizuya Sato
3) Various instructors including R Watts, J Hearn
4) Simon Keegan