Gichin Funakoshi (1868 - 1957) Karate-Do-Part I

Considered by all as the father of modern karate, Gichin Funakoshi was born on October 28, 1868, in the city of Shuri, Okinawa. Coming from a family of shizoku (nobles), was born weak, sick and in very poor health. In school he had studied under Yabu Ketsu. which was taught karate from a single kata "Naifanchi" is the practice for a little over 5 years. When Gichin Funakoshi student at the Normal School, was introduced to the art of Shorin Ryu; beginning to receive the master classes and Yatsune Yasutsune Azato Itozu both students turn Sokon Matsumura. It may be that between the doctor Tokashiki, who prescribed certain herbs that would strengthen him, and good training by teachers and Azato Itosu, Funakoshi student became vigorous. In the late nineteenth century there was a confrontation between experts in combat proud of their Chinese roots (chu'an F) and those who claimed that his martial art already had a character of Okinawa (tode). Funakoshi, study the strengths of the two "positions", as the master Azato, high school student of Wang Yang Ming Confucianism and Shorei Karate expert taught him more attached to the root of the Chinese, while his other teacher, Itozu was a great exponent of the line Shorin, who then accused nuances of Okinawa.

Funakoshi merged both visions and achieve together the strengths of both schools. Karate practice at that time, had to be done in secret, since for reasons of Japanese occupation had forbidden people from 400 years to practice any type of combat with or without weapons. This law must have made the training of Karate something very exciting, that there should be secret, often at night and protected by the shadows, a touch of adrenaline unknown to us all that we can choose today between hundreds of schools that proliferate the light of day.

As we can see the master Gichin Funakoshi studied many different streams of Karate and combat systems that were known in Okinawa, so that the characteristics of a number of styles became part of his personal interpretation of Karate, which was able to popularize the world over time. However, we note that the most influential teachers were Funakoshi above. At the same time he progressed in his training continues to be a teacher college to college. Gichin Funakoshi in 1888 ended his career at the Normal School Teachers, serving later as an elementary school teacher, maybe this will seem a very modest by the standards of modern society, but in his time was a position of great respect and required much preparation.