About Kyokushin
The Hieroglyphic scrolls from Egyptian tombs contain the oldest known records concerning combat techniques, dating back to 4000 B.C, which describe military training fights similar to that of modern boxing.
In Ancient Greece, wrestling and boxing were very popular too, and just like today, they were events in the Olympics. The wrestlers and boxers would get so involved that they would disregard the rules, which later led to the decision to remove all the rules.
One competitor by the name of Arhachion was strangled between the legs of his opponent who gave up the match because Arhachion was tearing off his toenails. Arhachion was awarded the victor’s chaplet even though he was dead.
Yoga and its breathing discipline from India influenced all combat systems of the Orient, including karate. Zen Buddhism is another important contribution to karate by India.
Gautama Siddartha (the Buddha), a man of love and peace, was a great martial artist and legend has it that he was never defeated. The monks that followed the Buddha’s way of life were wanderers and had to defend themselves from wild beasts and against villagers of different religions, which they would encounter on their journeys.
In the 5th Century the patriarch Bhodhidarma travelled to China in order to teach. He spent a brief and unsuccessful period in the court of Emperor Wu of Liang, from where he moved on to the Shorin-ji temple. He found the monks in poor physical condition. He then incorporated his own knowledge of Yoga breathing discipline with indigenous Chinese kempo and found the Shorin-ji system.
Shorin-ji kempo assumed slight differences in areas north and south of the Yangtze River:
In China, Kempo, a form of unarmed combat was the peasants’ only form of protection against the swords and pikes of the army in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Kempo became so powerful that it became outlawed and the Shorin-ji temple was burnt down on two occasions by the government.
In 1609 the Japanese Satsuma and Shimaza clans conquered the Ryukyu Islands and all their weapons were confiscated. Now defenceless, the people of Ryukyu were forced to train in hand-to-hand combat. They called their combat techniques te (hand) as it was the only weapon available to them.
It is believed that these techniques were probably developed in Okinawa with the assistance of refugees of Chinese kempo masters.
In the 1920's, students of Okinawan karate (Originally called Tode to indicate Chinese origin) Gishin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi, introduced karate into Japan.
In Ancient Greece, wrestling and boxing were very popular too, and just like today, they were events in the Olympics. The wrestlers and boxers would get so involved that they would disregard the rules, which later led to the decision to remove all the rules.
One competitor by the name of Arhachion was strangled between the legs of his opponent who gave up the match because Arhachion was tearing off his toenails. Arhachion was awarded the victor’s chaplet even though he was dead.
Yoga and its breathing discipline from India influenced all combat systems of the Orient, including karate. Zen Buddhism is another important contribution to karate by India.
Gautama Siddartha (the Buddha), a man of love and peace, was a great martial artist and legend has it that he was never defeated. The monks that followed the Buddha’s way of life were wanderers and had to defend themselves from wild beasts and against villagers of different religions, which they would encounter on their journeys.
In the 5th Century the patriarch Bhodhidarma travelled to China in order to teach. He spent a brief and unsuccessful period in the court of Emperor Wu of Liang, from where he moved on to the Shorin-ji temple. He found the monks in poor physical condition. He then incorporated his own knowledge of Yoga breathing discipline with indigenous Chinese kempo and found the Shorin-ji system.
Shorin-ji kempo assumed slight differences in areas north and south of the Yangtze River:
- South, with all its rivers and rice fields, the peasants’ upper body strength tended to develop better than their lower body. That's why southern kempo use rounder movements with their arms and head.
- North, with its plains and open stretches of land, developed their lower bodies. Northern kempo use light, straight-line movement with the lower part of their bodies.
In China, Kempo, a form of unarmed combat was the peasants’ only form of protection against the swords and pikes of the army in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Kempo became so powerful that it became outlawed and the Shorin-ji temple was burnt down on two occasions by the government.
In 1609 the Japanese Satsuma and Shimaza clans conquered the Ryukyu Islands and all their weapons were confiscated. Now defenceless, the people of Ryukyu were forced to train in hand-to-hand combat. They called their combat techniques te (hand) as it was the only weapon available to them.
It is believed that these techniques were probably developed in Okinawa with the assistance of refugees of Chinese kempo masters.
In the 1920's, students of Okinawan karate (Originally called Tode to indicate Chinese origin) Gishin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni and Chojun Miyagi, introduced karate into Japan.
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