Shotokan Karate

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) from
indigenous fighting methods & Chinese Kenpo. Karate is characterised
as a striking art using punching, kicking, knee & elbow strikes &
open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,
restraints, throws, & vital point strikes are taught in some styles.
 
Shotokan is a style of Karate, developed from various martial arts by
Gichin Funakoshi (1868 - 1957). Gichin was born in Okinawa & is widely
credited with popularizing karate through a series of public
demonstrations, & by promoting the development of university karate clubs.
 
Funakoshi had many students at the university clubs & outside Dojos, who continued to teach karate after his death in 1957. However, internal disagreements led to the creation of different organizations - including an initial split between the Japan Karate Association (JKA, headed by Masatoshi Nakayama) & the Shotokai (headed by Shigeru Egami), followed by many others - so that today there is no single "Shotokan school", although they all bear Funakoshi's influence.
 
Shotokan was the name of the first official dojo built by Funakoshi, in 1936 at Mejiro, & destroyed in 1945 as a result of allied bombing. 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 & philosophical writings & messages to his students. The Japanese kan means "house" or "hall". In honour of their sensei, Funakoshi's students created a sign reading shoto-kan which was placed above the entrance of the hall where Funakoshi taught. Gichin Funakoshi never gave his style a name, just calling it "karate".
 
We practice Kihon (basics), Kata (forms) & Kumite (sparring) in classes.