kyoshinkai translates to?

[Chibi]

The style I train in is romanized wrong and I train at Honbu! Just the way things are.

[Drunken Monkey]

....i'm still kinda in shock that it actually is the characters for 'shao-lin' (little forest)

 

(you might remember me asking this a looooong time ago...)

 

i've mentioned this before

 

but i've only found one shorin ryu class in the whole of london and it seems like it is the only shoring ryu class in the whole of the uk.

 

is it really that rare?

 

also, the more i read from you guys the more chinese and less japanese (i.e shotokan like) it sounds.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Yes, Shorin Ryu's name itself is a direct Japanization of Shaolin. Okinawan karate is far more Chinese than Japanese karate (as Japanese karate was developed FROM Okinawan karate). Therefore, there is a much more internal approach (even though it derives mainly from the "External" schools of Southern China) than the Japanese karate.

 

At any rate, the Bubishi (basically a White Crane training manual) is considered an incredibly important part in the heritage of Okinawan karate.

 

The development of karate on Okinawa is a mix between indigenous arts and that of constant interchange with China, due to its substantial use as a trading center in that region of Asia. This makes the Chinese influence very unsurprising.

 

Interestingly enough, the art of the royal bodyguards, which is called "ti", has developed not quite independently of karate but much more so and is a lot softer. Sokon Matsumura, the recognized "founder" of the Shorin Ryu styles practiced ti, but passed the much more Okinawan characteristic style of Shorin Ryu. At any rate, I believe there is some bleed over between the two.

 

Long post, as usual...

[Drunken Monkey]

At any rate, the Bubishi (basically a White Crane training manual) is considered an incredibly important part in the heritage of Okinawan karate.

 

 

whoa....

 

so at the heart of karate is a chinese book?

 

i feel a smug smirk coming....

 

anyway.

 

so what did they do with the white crane manual in it's transition to karate?

[Shorin Ryuu]

Some styles rely more heavily upon it that others. Obviously, it is not a direct dominance of the art by Chinese principles. As I mentioned before, the art of "ti" is actually much softer than Shaolin schools, I believe. Furthermore, a lot of the weaponry reflects more of an Okinawan bent, which although many people trained in China, they also developed their own family systems on Okinawa and the surrounding islands. It obviously was adapted to the situation they faced (Since the 1300s, there was a weapons ban imposed by the Okinawan king, far earlier than that of the Satsuma samurai who arrived later).

 

In terms of transition of the Bubishi to karate, it wasn't so much individual techniques (although you might be able to see some) as some concepts (I think pressure point theory was already in existance in Okinawa, but probably not to the extent in the Bubishi? This is merely speculation on my part). As all good martial artists did, the karate masters of old took what they believed would help their own styles (I do mean personalities, not ryu) and adapted them.

 

And while we are on the subject of China's influence on karate...here is some info that I like to remind people every once in a while.

 

Early in the 1300s, the Ming Dynasty (I believe, I'm too lazy to check my history books) set up a cultural exchange with Okinawan. During that time, a group of Chinese nobility and families moved to Okinawa and shared many aspects of their culture (to include the martial arts of course). This mixed with the already indigienous arts...

 

Orignally, the art we know as karate today was simply called "te" (ti in the Okinawan dialect). It was also called "tou te" or "Uchinaa te". "Tou" referred to Tang Dynasty (just a way to refer to China, I believe the Tang Dynasty was long gone by then) while Uchinaa meant Okinawa in their dialect.

 

Later style, it was referred to karate, where kara referred to China once again. The first verifiable use of the term "karate" was not until the early 1900s. It wasn't until 1936 that the name was officially changed to "karate" where the "Kara" meant "empty". It was sort of a Japanese pride thing (and there was no way in heck they would call it the "Chinese Hand" or the "Okinawan Hand").