THE FOUNDER OF SHOTOKAN KARATE ,MASTER GICHIN FUNAKOSHI

Shoto Niju Kun (Shoto's 20 Precepts):

1. Karate-do wa rei ni hajimari, rei ni owaru koto wo wasurna.
(Karate-do begins with courtesy and ends with courtesy.)

2. Karate ni sente nashi.
(There is no first attack in Karate.)

3. Karate wa gi no tasuke.
(Karate is an assistance to justice.)

4. Mazu jiko wo shire, shikoshute tao wo shire.
(Know yourself first, and then others.)

5. Gijutsu yori shinjutsu.
(Spirit first; techniques second.)

6. Kokoro wa hanatan koto wo yosu.
(Always be ready to release your mind.)

7. Wazawai wa getai ni shozu.
(Accidents come out of negligence.)

8. Dojo nomino karate to omou na.
(Do not think that Karate training is only in the dojo.)

9. Karate no shugyo wa issho de aru.
(It will take your entire life to learn Karate; there is no limit.)

10. Arai-yuru mono wo karate-ka seyo, soko ni myo-mi ari.
(Transform everything into Karate; therein lies its exquisiteness.)

11. Karate wa yu no goto shi taezu natsudo wo ataezareba moto no mizu ni kaeru.
(Karate is like hot water. If you do not give it heat constantly, it will again become cold water.)

12. Katsu kangae wa motsu na makenu kangae wa hitsuyo.
(Do not think that you have to win. Rather, think that you do not have to lose.)

13. Tekki ni yotte tenka seyo.
(Victory depends on your ability to distinguish vulnerable points from invulnerable ones.)

14. Tattakai wa kyo-jutsu no soju ikan ni ari.
(Move according to your opponent.)

15. Hito no te ashi wo ken to omoe.
(Think of the hands and feet as swords.)

16. Danshi mon wo izureba hyakuman no tekki ari.
(When you leave home, think that millions of opponents are waiting for you.)

17. Kamae wa shoshinsha ni ato wa shizentai.
(Low stance for beginners; natural stance for advanced students.)

18. Kata wa tadashiku jissen wa betsu mono.
(Practicing a kata is one thing, and engaging in a real fight is another.)

19. Chikara no kyojaku, karada no shinshuku, waza no kankyu wo wasaruna.
(Do not forget [1] strength and weakness of power, [2] stretching and contraction of the body, and [3] slowness and speed of techniques.)

20. Tsune ni shinen kufu seyo.
(Always devise ways to live the precepts every day.)

- Written by the Founder of Shotokan Karate-Do, Gichin Funakoshi.

Shotokan Dojo Kun:



Hitotsu - Jinkaku Kansei ni Tsutomuro Koto.
(One - Seek Perfection of Character)

Hitotsu - Makoto no Michi wo Mamoru Koto
(One - Defend the Path of Truth)

Hitotsu - Doryoku no Seishin o Yashinau Koto
(One - Endeavor to Excel)

Hitotsu - Reigi o Omonzuru Koto
(One - Display Courtesy and Respect)

Hitotsu - Kekki no Yu o Imashimuru Koto
(One - Refrain from Violent Behavior)

- Written by Master Gichin Funakoshi.

TraditionalkarateAcademy has been providing instruction in Karate and the martial arts in the Oklahoma City, OK area.

We hope you enjoy our website and will stop by and visit us if you are in the area. This site is designed to give you information about our facility, our style of martial arts, our staff and provide you with information on how to contact us as well. 

The History of Karate shotokan

According to legend, the evolution of Karate began over a thousand years ago, possibly as early as the 5th century B.C. when Bodhidharma, a Buddhist Monk arrived in Shaolin-si, China from India and taught Zen Buddhism. He also introduced a set of exercises designed to strengthen the mind and body. Bodhidharma's teachings later became the basis for the majority of Chinese martial arts. In truth, the origins of Karate appear to be somewhat obscure and little is known about the early development of Karate until it appeared in Okinawa. Sometime between the years 1784 and 1903, the term karate replaced that of Te. This new name reflected the synthesis of the native Okinawan martial arts of Te with the influence of the Chinese Martial Arts the Okinawans had been exposed to.

Karate-do was modified and transformed into a way of life by Master Gichin Funakoshi in 1905.

In 1906 he conducted the first public exhibition of Karate and by 1913 the interest in Karate had grown to such proportions that Funakoshi organized a demonstration team comprised of the most active Karate masters of the day.  These included:  Gusuku, Mabuni, Motobu, Kyan, Ogusuku, Ishikawa, Tokumura and Yahiku.  They performed these demonstrations between 1914 and 1915.

In 1917, at the request of the ministry of education, he traveled to Kyoto, Japan, where he performed at the Butokuden (Martial Virtues Hall, established in 1899 and located next to the Heian Shrine in Kyoto).  While the demonstration was a success and The first public demonstration of karate in Japan , there was no immediate rush to bring the Okinawan art to Japan on a formal basis.

In 1921, after an exhibition before the visiting Crown Prince of Japan at Shuri Castle, Funakoshi was invited to appear at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo in 1922.  He was asked to stay on in Japan by several prominent people, among them Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, who asked Funakoshi to demonstrate karate at the Kodokan.  Kano later incorporated some karate movements into an advanced judo kata.

Deciding to remain in Japan, he taught, at first for an artist's guild, and established the first Japanese Karate club at the Meisei Juku, a dormitory and school for newly arrived Okinawan students in the Suidobata (Suidobashi) section of Tokyo.  In 1922 he wrote his Ryukyu Kempo:Karate, later re-issued as Rentan Goshin Karate-jitsu ("Strengthening of Willpower and Self-defense through Techniques of Karate").

In 1924, Funakoshi established the first collegiate Karate club, at Keio University. and soon was teaching at a number of schools and commercial dojos.  In 1936, Funakoshi's students solicited funds and constructed for him the world's first free-standing karate dojo.  The dojo was named "Shotokan" (the hall of Shoto),Shoto ; meaning "pine-waves" (the movement of pine needles when the wind blows through them), was Funakoshi's pen-name,which he used in his poetic and philosophical writings and messages to his students. The Japanese kan ( means "house" or "hall". In honour of their sensei, Funakoshi's students created a sign reading shōtō-kan which was placed above the entrance of the hall where Funakoshi taught.  He never

 gave his style a name, just calling it "karate". Before this, it was just a group of techniques that permitted self-defense without weapons. Weapons bans, imposed on the Okinawans at various points  thoughout their history, encouraged the refinement of empty-hand techniques and, for this reason, was trained in secret until modern times. Further refinement came with the influence of other martial arts brought by nobles and trade merchants to the island. Born in 1868, Funakoshi began to study karate at the age of 11, and was a student of the two greatest masters of the time, Yasutsune Itosu and Yasutsune Azato.

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