I Practice Okinawan Shotokan, not Japanese Shotokan

In Summer 2013 there was some talk among Dō Gakuin seniors to change our style name from ‘Shotokan’ to ‘Shoto Ryu’ as a means of separating our manner of movement from that of the world’s largest Shotokan group, Japan Karate Association (JKA) – see blog post “Shoto Ryu”, 9/12/13. Of course we decided not to change. Most Shotokan practitioners are conforming to JKA performance as a matter of international competition, but it is recognized that other variations of Shotokan exist.

Gichin Funakoshi, an Okinawan, studied two Okinawan styles of Karate, blended them into his own Okinawan style, taught it in Okinawa, then introduced it to Japan where it was considered Japanese Karate. All I can say is, “??!? Riiight!” There are distinct differences between most Okinawan Karate and Japanese Karate styles. Okinawan Karate usually has shorter, higher stances. The kata usually has more close-quartered hand techniques, and the motion is more fluid. There is emphasis on effectiveness: what you are doing. Japanese Karate routinely uses longer, deeper stances; techniques are thrown long and deep. Kata moves are often more dramatic, detached and exaggerated, with short bursts of explosive speed and power. The emphasis is on technique: how you do the moves.

Many writers more knowledgeable than I can tell you why and how this schism came about; I can just give you my humble opinion on two major factors that affected Shotokan: Yoshitaka Funakoshi and a little thing called World War II.

Gichin Funakoshi was in his 50s when he brought his Karate to Japan. It is rumored that rather than teach effective empty handed style used in Okinawa against the occupying Japanese, he taught simple, almost folk-dance movements. Gichin was nearing 40 years old when his third son Yoshitaka (or, Gigo) was born. Gigo was diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 7 and began Karate training at age 12 as a means of improving his health, pushing his body hard. He accompanied his father, Gichin, to Japan, where he studied Kendo and Iaido, two distinctly Japanese martial arts. Here is where Gigo Funakoshi gave his father’s Karate a more Japanese ‘flavor’ bringing more dynamic movements, speed, strength, and deep stances. Father Gichin did not teach Karate the same way as son Gigo, but condoned what his son was doing. It was at this point that Shotokan was practiced in an Okinawan manner, a Japanese manner, and assorted blends of the two.

The desire to study Karate was ongoing at the end of World War II, however it would be difficult to convince Allied Powers to allow Japanese and Okinawans to train on skills to kill occupying forces with their bare hands. OK then… it’s physical education… we use it for exercise in our schools… yeah, that’s the ticket! A major impact of public education systems was that Karate was now taught to 50 people in a class, rather than almost one-on-one attention at a sensei’s home or tiny dojo. By necessity, Karate concentrated more on the mechanics of the movements, taking precedence over the purpose of the movements. Many universities started Karate clubs. Being separate and somewhat isolated from each other, different clubs had different takes on their performance of Karate. Tournaments were non-existent; Karate-dō was for self-development, not competition. When tournaments came into being, expressive, stylized performance of kata was used to differentiate one’s performance from the standard ‘cookie cutter’ version others did. Kumite (sparring) was controlled for safety’s sake, with certain techniques ‘off limits’ for your opponent’s welfare. These were often the very techniques you would use on an enemy to be sure you damaged him.

So, what kind of Shotokan do we practice at Dō Gakuin? There’s an easy answer and a not-so-easy answer. Our mission statement says: “... to preserve Shotokan Karate as practiced in Black Belt Academy and by Kenkojuku Association during the 1970s.” While that sounds cut and dried, it’s much more complicated. I’ve seen old movies of Tomosaburo Okano-kancho and various Kenkojuku seniors performing kata somewhat differently. My Florida visit in November, 2014 to train with Tomokatsu Okano-kancho showed me how Kenkojuku is practiced differently in different parts of the country, in different eras, and whether influenced by Miyazaki, Takahashi, Akusawa, Kuriyama, Sugimoto, etc. Even Tomosaburo Okano-kancho occasionally changed his teachings, depending on his changing interpretations of Funakoshi’s Master Text, Karate-Dō Kyōhan. Dō Gakuin Shotokan is taught with deep, low stances and strong movements. This sounds Japanese, but we are fluid and speedy, spending much time on bunkai (application), like the Okinawans. Sadly, because of the way we and Black Belt Academy teach, enrollment is small; we do not offer the ‘popular’ way of study. Sadly for me personally, as my joints stiffen with age, I teach Shotokan, but I practice Shorin Ryu.