Which Of The Karate Styles Is The Oldest?

[mal103]

Something that has shocked me is the amount of different styles and names, it seems that whoever was taught by a master has gone on to call themselves masters and branch out on their own.

What is really shocking is that several "masters" have changed stuff, I can tell that several are/were brilliant at what they do but have they the right to change something?

It would also be bad if everyone referred to a point in time and said that is true Karate and we shall all practice that as sometimes things should evolve.

Then there are the associations, governing bodies, organisations - UK, European, world......

I'm still a beginner but am trying to understand more about Karate, I have started reading Gichin Funakoshi's books but every day I uncover another master/association/rule etc and everyone is naturally better than everyone else.

I hope I don't offend anyone with the above but just trying to point out that Karate is very complex and at times mind boggling!

There seems that there will never be a time when the majority will stick to one style or set of rules so things may get more complicated!

[bushido_man96]

Nah, its not complicated, its just the nature of people evolving and adapting. The reason some things change is because not everything works the same way for everyone. Sometimes changes are philosophical or even methodological in nature.

[Fudoshin_Ryu]

I'm still a beginner but am trying to understand more about Karate, I have started reading Gichin Funakoshi's books but every day I uncover another master/association/rule etc and everyone is naturally better than everyone else.

I hope I don't offend anyone with the above but just trying to point out that Karate is very complex and at times mind boggling!

There seems that there will never be a time when the majority will stick to one style or set of rules so things may get more complicated!

Don't forget Funakoshi changed things from the way Itosu taught him.

Things change with time, martial arts itself can be broken down to Classical, Traditional and Modern in terms of era. But things change, for the times, for the people. Karate had to change for the musculature of westerners and not stocky 'farm' built Okinawans...

[bushido_man96]

Yep, all very true. Things just tend to change over time. It happens with just about everything.

[KumitePanda]

fro my understanding shotokan is the melding of both Shuri-te and Naha-te.

shotokan foundered by GICHIN FUNAKOSHI in 1922

Naha-te foundered by Kanryo Higaonna (Higashionna was the original Okinawan pronunciation) in 1881

Shorin-Ryu foundered by Choshin Chibana in 1933

Shuri-te foundered by Sakukawa_Kanga pre WW2

Uechi-Ryu foundered by Kanbun_Uechi (date not available)

Goju-Ryu foundered by Chojun Miyagi (date not available)

Tomari-te (founder and date not available)

[quinteros1963]

My vote is Naha-te and Shuri-te, but they came from somewhere as well. Goju, Shotokan, and Shuri ryu and others originated from Naha, Shuri and Tomari.

[Dobbersky]

My vote is Naha-te and Shuri-te, but they came from somewhere as well. Goju, Shotokan, and Shuri ryu and others originated from Naha, Shuri and Tomari.

Agreed, but what is in context is as stated before where we look at Kode Te and Kara Te. as previously Okinawan arts were more like "Kenpo" styles than Kara Te styles prior to the formation of the proper schools

[Student4Life]

As I understand it, the oldest styles listed here would be Naha te, Shuri te, and Tomari te. I may be wrong but I thought they all sprang up in Okinawa at similar times. Don't hold me to it. This is just my understanding. I would have to agree with sensei8 that to properly answer this would take a time machine.

[Cayuga Karate]

It should be noted that 100 years or so ago, that kata themselves were called styles (by Choki Motobu and Yabu Kentsu) and that a number of the old masters of that day didn't even like the notion of referring to the the systems taught by different karate-ka as styles.

In Japan, there were literally hundreds of sword and spear arts. They each had names. When the Japanese integrated the Okinawan empty hand arts into the education system, one of the requirements was that each system be named. That was the Japanese way.

The Okinawan arts emerged from secrecy in the early 1900s. They were passed down father to eldest son. Also from the Chinese to the Okinawans. But the whole notion of a karate, having been passed down in secrecy, means that our current notion of "styles" simply doesn't apply.

It is true that there were likely specific kata practiced in different geographical areas. Tomari and Naha were ports. Shuri was the capital. Each may indeed have had its own specific kata. But as Funakoshi noted, it was common to practice only a few.

The modern set of styles really bears no relation to the way karate was passed down in the 1800s and prior.

We can trace the origins of current styles back to about 50 to 100 years ago, Prior to that, they really didn't exist, and if not for the Japanese requirement that their new Okinawan fight art have styles, we probably would not have the proliferation of styles that we have today.

-Cayuga Karate