What is "Shotokan" karate?
It's just karate! It's not a style, just a lineage of karate. It's not Japanese rather than Okinawan. It was named by some students of Master Gichin Funakoshi, not by Master Funakoshi himself who never named nor liked the naming of karate. As some experts, such as Master Kenwa Mabuni, said, the purpose of naming karate schools is more for superficial reasons in a modern world. Specifically, Master Mabuni named his lineage simply based on his two primary teachers, but he had other instructors, and it doesn't really serve much purpose; it could easily be called something else, as he mentioned. Master Kanken Toyama did not like the naming of styles at all, to the point of even disagreeing with the so-called two actual styles of karate, Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu. From his perspective, there was and is only hard and soft, and without both, a martial art is not complete.
Shorin-ryu and Shorei-ryu are legitimate names referring to Shaolin boxing, specifically two broad types which are northern and southern. The problem is that northern Shaolin boxing is actually more like battlefield fighting in that weapons may come first, but even if they don't, either way, the method of moving requires a lot of space. It isn't the acrobatics you usually see in a modern Shaolin demonstration. Real northern Shaolin is practical, but it is based on military tactics, hence the reason for weapons being fundamental. You also need space to move in taijiquan which is of the Wudang style. Wudang taiji boxing is descended from the Long fist of northern Shaolin boxing. Wudang boxing is simply an alternative approach to northern Shaolin. Southern Shaolin boxing is more different in style as it requires less space. This is because the terrain and environment are different. Farm tools are also used as weapons more than military weapons. Southern Shaolin is civil fighting as opposed to military fighting. It is descended from northern Shaolin, but adapted to suit different needs. One is not more effective than another, though. Arguably there are just these three styles, and they all study yin and yang, but, as Master Gichin Funakoshi wrote, only the skill of the participants will decide who is better, not the style practised. This can be read in English in Karate-Do Tanpenshu.
Okinawan karate is like the southern type of Chinese boxing, moving in a staccato manner which is perfect for unsteady terrain or small spaces. Perhaps there are elements of northern Chinese boxing as well in the style that we call Shorin-ryu karate, at least in some kata, such as kusanku. But the style is very similar throughout, so it's really just the Okinawan version of southern Shaolin boxing with some other influences in some cases but not all. Perhaps it could be said that the style of Shotokan karate evolved to be more like the northern Shaolin style, using more dynamic movement without having to worry about a lack of space or having to get a good footing before defending effectively. It was certainly influenced by the principles of Jigen-ryu kenjutsu. Master Funakoshi often noted his teachers' proficiency in that style of swordsmanship. He doesn't say that he was taught it, but he seems to have had some knowledge of it. What is clear is that in the karate text Bubishi, Shaolin boxing is discussed without mention of different types. So, all karate is descended from Shaolin, regardless of the particular so-called style; it is all one.
Shotokan karate is actually Shotokan Shorin-ryu karate, and, depending how it is practised, it can be more or less Okinawan in style, just like the original karate which Master Funakoshi started teaching in mainland-Japan in 1922. Shotokan is a lineage of Okinawan Shorin-ryu just like Shidokan Shorin-ryu, Matsumura Seito Shorin-ryu (despite dispute over the actual lineage of Matsumura Seito karate), Kyudokan Shorin-ryu, etc. However, this is all for the trend of naming schools and differentiating between them. Really, as Master Funakoshi maintained, it is simply karate, or Ryukyu kenpo, and it used to be just called tii or Bushi-nu-tii. All so-called "schools" should work together to make karate "one". The only real differences are found in the skill of the practitioners, not even in the varying techniques within the myriad of kata and quan. There are more discernible differences between systems, i.e. monk fist, white crane fist, tiger fist, etc. The kata taught in Funakoshi karate transmit monk fist, white crane fist, and dragon fist, along with, particularly, stick fighting. But, even here, each system is merely teaching a different way of applying the principles of hard and soft. Therefore, karate is the study of yin and yang through the various systems (kata / quan), so Shotokan karate is just a lineage of those same teachings, not something so remarkably different to every other Okinawan karate line. It's all in the individual's approach as to how true this truth will remain.
Furthermore, Shotokan was originally the name of the dojo in which Master Funakoshi taught, the new version of which is the main dojo of Shotokai, the successive line of Funakoshi karate. It was Master Shigeru Egami whom Master Gichin Funakoshi named as his successor, after previous successors and potential successors either passed away or started their own schools. Having studied under Masters Gichin and Gigo Funakoshi, Master Egami continued to develop the Funakoshi line of karate, making changes within Shotokai which transformed it into a seemingly different style of karate. According to Sensei Phil Finch of Wokingham Shotokai, Sensei Harada, who teaches Shotokai karate in Wales, England and elsewhere with his branch of Shotokai called Karate-Do Shotokai (KDS), often calls Shotokai "orthodox Shotokan".
However, because Funakoshi karate is simply karate / karati, there is actually no such thing as this or that style or school. There are only the principles and varying applications of hard and soft. One teacher might know a technique that another doesn't, and vice versa, and they may choose to keep this differing knowledge a secret amongst only a trusted few students. One school might be very much like another, while a third may seem different in the way in which they move. Yet, if a martial art is being practised correctly, then it has to incorporate the teachings of both hard and soft, and not ever only focus on one or the other, if complete understanding and skill is to ever be attained. Therefore, there is only the way of opposites: yin and yang.
Sean R. Marshall
22.09.2020 (first published)
9.10.2020 (edited)
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