Kirves, Well said. The differences can also trace their lineage back to the introduction of the art to Honshu. Funakoshi Sensei had to change or simplify some of the techniques to fit the Japanese culture or the school environmemt in which he was teaching. An example of this is the extent that the Japanese use the closed hand while many Okanawan styles still develop open hand techniques. I once read a great article about how in the early days many of the Japanese didn't like to train directly with G. Funakoshi because they said he hit to hard, so they trained with his son instead. I'm not sure if its true, but is is a neat story. Budoka
