Sport in Society

Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics

ISSN: 1743-0437 (Print) 1743-0445 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fcss20

Globalization of the traditional Okinawan art of

Shotokan karate

Brianne Lawton & John Nauright

To cite this article: Brianne Lawton & John Nauright (2019): Globalization of the traditional
Okinawan art of Shotokan karate, Sport in Society, DOI: 10.1080/17430437.2019.1617506

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1617506

Published online: 25 May 2019.

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Sport in Society
https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1617506

Globalization of the traditional Okinawan art

of Shotokan karate
Brianne Lawtona and John Naurightb
a
Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA;
b
College of Business, Information Systems, and Human Services, Lock Haven University, Lock Haven, PA, USA

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
Since the eighteenth century, the traditional Okinawan art of Shotokan Karate; globalization;
karate has transformed into a global sport. The violent history of Japan; martial arts;
Okinawa in the late 1700s led to the art’s initial creation. In its early years, Olympics;
karate was banned by the government and all practice of it had to take
place in secret. Karate was practiced just in Okinawa for over a century.
The spread of karate into Japan in 1922 initiated its move towards a
Western migration. Through a combination of mass media and the
experience of spectators and practitioners, karate spread around the
globe. In 1970, international karate competitions began to take place.
This initiated the popularization of the sport of karate, introducing more
changes to the sport based on the preferences of the spectators. The
World Karate Federation (WKF) and the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) together took this art and created an Olympic sport.

Okinawa, a semi-tropical island on the Ryukyu archipelago, became the birthplace of the
traditional style of Shotokan karate. This small island positioned just between Japan and
China had been fought over and controlled by its powerful neighbors. In 1603, Ieyasu
Tokugawa appointed himself Shogun, or military dictator of Japan, taking control from the
imperial family. During the Tokugawa shogunate, the people of Okinawa were forced into
a life of repetition, sameness, and blind acceptance. These traits were seen again in the early
practice of karate. Under the Tokugawa shogunate, swords were only allowed to be carried
by the samurai, forcing Okinawan Keimochi (traditional island nobility) to develop kobudo,
a uniquely Okinawan style of fighting with common household or agricultural objects
including oars, staffs, turtle shells, and more (Clayton 2004).
The waters off the island of Okinawa were highly populated with ocean life, including a
great number of humpback whales; this trade lured Americans to the Japanese coasts. From
1820 through the end of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1867, any European or American
whaling ship who dropped anchor in Naha, a costal Okinawan city, was met by a Shuri
minister saying, “You are not welcome here. Go back to your ship” (Clayton 2004, 24).
Understandability, this often led to conflict, and due to the laws of the Tokugawa shogunate,
the Shuri ministers were unarmed. In order to ensure their safety, Shuri ministers were
forced to fight without the assistance of weapons. To toughen their hands, they would hit

CONTACT John Nauright jrn11@lockhaven.edu

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
2 B. LAWTON AND J. NAURIGHT

makiwara (wooden posts covered with straw at the top) repetitively until their knuckles
bled (Clayton 2004).
The integration of Western ideas in Japan ultimately led to the decline of the Tokugawa
shogunate in 1867. The Meiji restoration which began in 1868 returned the control of Japan
to the imperial family for the first time in three centuries. Emperor Meiji lifted laws banning
contact with foreigners, generating a new era of trade and extended prohibition of sword
carry to include everyone, disarming the samurai. Emperor Meiji believed that there was only
room for one king in Japan, forcing some keimochi to be taken as hostages and others to be
declared commoners. The families that were once considered nobility began to experience
severe poverty. Eventually, these families were the ones who created karate (Clayton 2004).

The birth of Shotokan karate

Born in 1773, Peichin Satunushi Sakugawa became the first instructor in the Shotokan
lineage who made specific contributions to today’s Shotokan karate. On his death bed,
Sakugawa’s father made him promise that he would never fall a helpless victim to violence;
this initiated Sakugawa’s search for expert instruction in martial arts under Buddhist monk,
Peichin Takahara, who was an expert in an Okinawan version of chuan fa. After 6 years
studying under Takahara, Sakugawa became a student of Kong Su Kung, studying white
crane chuan fa for another 6 years. During the day, Sakugawa was taught military combat,
but at night, he learned self-defense in the form of grappling. Years later, Sakugawa created
a kata (series of movements against imaginary opponents) to honor Kong Su Kung, and he
named it Kusanku. In Shotokan karate this kata is called Kanku Dai, and it is the heart of
all things Shotokan (Clayton 2004).
Sakugawa was the first instructor of Sokon Matsumura, a commander of the Shuri Castle
before whom linear karate did not exist. Matsumura originated the theory in marital arts
that torque plus speed equals true power. This, he claimed, is what gave his blows amazing
power compared to his competition. Matsumura is considered the inventor of linear karate,
and Yasutsune Itosu its teacher, turning the principles of hard style karate into a reality
(Clayton 2004).

Shotokan’s expansion into Japan

Gichin Funakoshi, born in 1868 during the Meiji Restoration and three generations removed
from Sakugawa, is referred to as the father of Shotokan karate. Funakoshi began his karate
training in 1879 when he was 11 years old. From 1879 until 1900, Funakoshi recounts that
practicing karate was banned by the government; all practice of karate had to take place at
night and in secret. During the day, Funakoshi was a school teacher. Yasutusne Azato, a
good friend of Itosu’s, was Funakoshi’s first teacher, and Funakoshi was his only student.
Like many others, Funakoshi credits the art of karate for increasing his overall well-being
from the frail child he had been. In 1901, Shintarõ Ogawa, a school commissioner, visited
the school Funakoshi taught at where he received a demonstration of karate. With Ogawa’s
influence, karate became a part of the curriculum at two Okinawan schools in 1901
(Funakoshi 1975). This began the spread of karate through Okinawa; it even drew the
attention of visiting Japanese dignitaries (Clayton 2004).
 Sport in Society 3

When Itosu passed away in 1915, his senior students formed a pact to dedicate the rest
of their lives to spreading karate; this effort was lead by Funakoshi (Clayton 2004). In 1916,
Funakoshi performed the kata Kanku Dai for the emperor of Japan at the All Japan Athletic
Exhibition in Ochanomizu (Suzuki 2008). Starting in 1920, karate flooded Japan and began
its global expansion (Clayton 2004). In 1922, Funakoshi began teaching karate at the Japan
University in Tokyo, and by 1935, he founded over 30 dojo, or training halls, the majority
of which were funded through educational institutions (Johnson 2012). In 1935, enough
funds were collected from supporters of the art to build the first ever karate only dojo; the
name of this dojo was Shõtõ-kan, named by Funakoshi’s students after his pen name, Shõtõ
(Funakoshi 1975). Funakoshi’s success in popularizing karate throughout Tokyo earned
him the title of the father of modern karate (Clayton 2004).
Funakoshi (1975) defines six rules for those studying karate. His first rule states that
“you must be deadly serious in your training” (Funakoshi 1975, 56). This means that every
single movement you do in practice should be with the intent that you are battling an
opponent. Secondly, Funakoshi (1975, 56) declares one must “train with both heart and
soul without worrying about theory”. This implies that one should not focus solely on the
mastery of techniques. Over the years, the passing down of this information orally has lost
rule number three. The next rule says to “avoid self conceit and dogmatism” (Funakoshi
1975, 57). It is said that bragging dishonors one’s self and their art. The fifth rule requires
one to “try to see yourself as you truly are and try to adopt what is meritorious in the work
of others” (Funakoshi 1975, 57). This suggests that karateka, or those who practice karate,
should seek to emulate the positive things they see. The final rule states “abide by the rules
of ethics in your daily life, whether in public or private” (Funakoshi 1975, 57). This rule
demands the strictest observance, to never let your principles slip (Funakoshi 1975). These
rules are similar to today’s Dojo Kun, the set of rules all karateka should follow.
As karate became included in the universal physical education courses taught in Japanese
public schools, Funakoshi began to revise the kata to make them as simple as possible. In
1975, Funakoshi said:
The karate that high school students practice today is not the same karate that was practiced
even as recently as ten years ago, and it is a long way indeed from the karate I learned when I
was a child in Okinawa. In as much as there are not now, and never have been, any hard and
fast rules regarding the various kata, it is hardly surprising to find that they change not only
with the times but also from instructor to instructor (23).

Funakoshi’s goal for these changes was to make karate simple – an art that can be prac-
ticed without difficulty no matter one’s age, sex, gender, or physical ability (Funakoshi 1975).

Shotokan’s Western migration

Shotokan karate was developed in an Okinawan zone of conflict and spread to the rest of
the world through its cultural diaspora and the internationalization of mass media. This
has resulted in the deracination and commodification of the art, arguably the most dominant
forces acting on it (Bowman 2013). The world learned about Shotokan karate through an
assortment of astonishing tales, fascinating legends, and entrancing fantasies (Krug 2001).
In the 1930s, martial artists began to appear in Hollywood films, and by the 1960s, they
were frequently featured. In Funakoshi’s attempt to broaden karate to be taught in Japanese
4 B. LAWTON AND J. NAURIGHT

schools and then all over the world the presentation of it had to be altered; the karate that
took hold in America was primarily sport oriented (Bowman 2013).
Westernized Shotokan karate became “an almost Fordist mass-production-line approach
to martial arts, whose rhythmic, repetitive straight line drills and nuts-and-bolts approach
were already akin to military basic training” (Bowman 2013, para 15). The karate uniforms,
belts, lessons, and even the moves were changed (Bowman 2013). Funakoshi adopted the
colored belt ranking system and lightweight uniforms from the Judo master Jogoro Kano
(Clayton 2004). Numerous techniques and teachings of karate were methodically discon-
nected from the bunkai (application) of kata and from the kihon waza (basic techniques)
(McCarthy 1995). This “deskilled” version of karate became the public face of the art,
reduced to punches, block, kicks, strikes, and weapons, the techniques that were deemed
suitable for school children and the general public (Krug 2001). This has resulted in mod-
ifications in forms of verification and demonstration such as standards, examinations, tro-
phies, and titles (Bowman 2013).
The form of karate taught in Okinawan high schools standardized uniforms and grad-
ing systems and introduced rule-bound combat called jyu kumite. Karate was then seen
as a fighting art, like boxing. In the short time Westerners spent around Asian cultures,
they did not pick up on the philosophic and esoteric practices of the arts (Krug 2001).
This led to the “mythologized” view of karate as the media represented it in the West
(Bowman 2013).
The presence of the once traditional art of karate in Hollywood’s popular media has
allowed the nature of the art to be obscured with misconceptions. These ideas that, “using
only 5 fingers of one hand, a man may penetrate his adversary’s rib cage, take hold of the
bones, and tear them out of the body,” are absurdly inaccurate (Funakoshi 1975, 11).
Karateka are often asked questions like: “Can you break a board?”, “Can you beat me up?”
or “Can you do a double spinning back hook kick?” These questions are asked because of
the misconceptions Americans learn about karate through the way it is represented in the
media. The most famous karate move to the untrained person is the ‘karate chop’. This move
in karate is called shuto. It is this devastating move that is sometimes used to break boards
and tiles; it is a lethal weapon, like a sharp steel sword that can shatter bone, pierce the body,
and kill (Funakoshi 1975).
Funakoshi (1975, 50–51) states that “striking blows, like breaking boards and tiles, is far
from the true essence of karate-dõ…for once karate enters, the issue becomes a matter of
life and death”. This results from the fact that karate was created as a way to defend oneself
from being attacked. There is a Japanese phrase, karate ni sente nashi, meaning there is no
first attack in karate. Shotokan karate also has a set of five rules, called the Dojo Kun. The
last rule states keki no yu o imashimuru koto, or refrain from violent behavior. Traditional
karate is not an art of offensive attacks, it is an art of defense.
Donohue (1993) explains that “to many, the practice of karate is not merely the acqui-
sition of the physical skill and ability but also a path to self improvement and an identifi-
cation to a cultural and symbolic practice as a component of their self identity” (as cited in
Johnson 2012, 63). Initially, there were no traditional uniforms or ranking systems by belts;
the only criteria by which students were ranked were senpai (senior) and kohai (junior)
(Johnson 2012). The senpai is whoever began training first. Funakoshi explains that karate
values spiritual rather than physical matters, that one’s mind and body should be trained
and developed in a spirit of humility on a daily basis (Suzuki 2008).
 Sport in Society 5

Globalization
The expansion of modern sport throughout the world provides an interesting example of
globalization (Bernstein 2000). According to Rowe (2003, 282), “globalization is a technical
term describing the greater economic, political, technological and communicative connec-
tivity that has been evolving for centuries”. It is a transformative process that has accelerated
quickly since the late 1900s, and has methodically eroded local specific structures and
practices, and instead incorporates a common global structure (Rowe 2003). In 1996, Jean
Harvey, Geneviève Rail, and Lucie Thibault established a model of globalization incorpo-
rating political, economic, social, and cultural factors that provides an abstract framework
enabling the analysis of the influence of globalization of sport on national sport policies
(Bernstein 2000).
According to Funakoshi (1975), karate changes not only with the times, but also from
instructor to instructor. Karate was modified from its original Okinawan form to a sport
that can be judged. Karate became a full-fledged international competition sport incorpo-
rated into the international sports system beginning in the 1960s. The criticism that followed
resulted from the argument that the “overly tight regulation forced fighting styles too far
away from their origins”; a street fight did not stop when someone scored a point, it stopped
when one fighter could not continue (van Bottenburg and Heilbron 2006, 267).
Originally, karate was organized and regulated according to those who practiced it. The
issues regarding the globalization of karate that allowed it to become an international sport
were initially voiced by the competitors; the new rules and regulations were too limiting,
eliminating some of the enjoyment from the sport. Even viewers recognized that the tight
regulations had ruined the art. Growing attention from the public initiated changes based
on the needs and interests of the spectators. No one wanted to see fights that ended up with
one of its participants in the hospital (van Bottenburg and Heilbron 2006).

Competition karate
Beginning in 1925, pre-arranged methods of sparring were introduced to Shotokan karate.
In 1955, Masatoshi Nakayama, a founding member of the Japanese Karate Association
(JKA), published the first rules for competitive kata and kumite. This was developed post
World War II due to traditional karate’s identification with Japan’s defeat and due to Japan’s
attempts to copy the United States. Nakayama explained his concern that the violent nature
of karate would be rejected when compared to the Kendo and Judo sports that were flour-
ishing. Suzuki (2008, 6) believes that “the future of karate as a sport changed when the [JKA]
sent instructors all over the world to teach karate as a discipline and promote the ideology”.
In 1964, the Federation of All Japan Karate-Do Organization (FAJKO) was founded with
the intent to unify all Japanese karate by setting standards on technique, advising on meth-
ods of teaching, deciding the qualifications necessary for instructors and setting ethical
behavior (Suzuki 2008).
Funakoshi’s karate ensured that training was the same for everyone regardless of age,
sex, gender, or physical ability. It was created as a sport that does not merely teach how to
strike and kick, but to also defend against illness and disease (Okazaki and Stricevic 1997).
Funakoshi preached that karate is a defensive art and must never serve offensive purposes
(Funakoshi 1975). In the 1960s–70s, karate’s popularity developed due to its ability to
6 B. LAWTON AND J. NAURIGHT

improve one’s physical conditioning and develop one’s self-defense skills. The self-discipline,
self-control, endurance, strength, coordination, flexibility, and the prevention of injury were
additional benefits. The westernization of karate training programs has caused them to
become biased by tournament competition. Instead of practicing the art as a whole, instruc-
tors and students now focus on becoming proficient in only those techniques that can be
used to win matches (Okazaki and Stricevic 1997).
The first World Union Karate Organization (WUKO) world karate championships were
held in Tokyo in 1970; this was the beginning of international competitive rules for the
sport of karate. These rules were designed to promote honor, dignity, and the spirit of the
sport of karate within a safe environment. The pursuit of a spot in the Olympics has driven
the World Karate Federation (WKF) to adjust their competition rules to fit the criteria. In
2000, the rules for kumite scoring changed from sanbon (three points) to WKF, an eight
point scoring system (Suzuki 2008).

Olympic karate
Since the 1980s, karate has attempted four times to secure a permanent spot in the Olympic
games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has acknowledged the World Karate
Federation (WKF) as the largest international governing body of karate since the 1990s
(Warnock 2015). As of 3rd August 2016, WKF rules karate will be included in the 2020
Olympics in Tokyo. There will be no kata or kobudo included in this competition. The WKF
has adopted the USA karate rules for kumite for the event.
In these rules, men’s bouts last 3 minutes and women’s last 2 minutes. Points will be
awarded for legal techniques demonstrating the proper criteria to any of the following areas:
head, face, neck, abdomen, chest, back, and side. The proper criteria include: good form,
sporting attitude, vigorous application, awareness (zanshin), good timing, and correct dis-
tance. Three points are awarded for any kick to the head, face or neck. Two points are
awarded for any kick to the abdomen, chest, back or side. One point is awarded for any
punch or strike to any of the legal areas (Sport – Rules & Regulations n.d.).
For athletes under the age of 18, any technique that touches the head, face, neck, arms,
legs, or groin will result in a chukoku penalty. For athletes 18 and older, any technique that
transfers force to the head, face or neck, or touches the arms, legs or groin will result in a
chukoku. If an athlete steps out of the fighting area, they will receive a jogai penalty. If an
athlete fails to protect themselves, they will receive a mubobi penalty. If an athlete receives
any of these penalties three times in one bout, they will receive a hansoku and be disqualified
from that match. If no person gets disqualified, the first person to win eight points, or
whoever has the most points at the end of the regulation time is declared no kachi, or winner
of the match (Sport – Rules & Regulations n.d.). The resulting competitionhas diverged
significantly from the traditional physical cultural practice or art of Shotokan karate.

Conclusion
Following the traditional art of Shotokan karate from its origin in the eighteenth century
through today clearly shows how the influences from the globalization process has caused
the practice to be stripped to its core and rebuilt in a way that is accepted by the global
 Sport in Society 7

audience as a competitive sport, a clear example of what Bale (2002) referred to as the
“sportization” process, which is frequently applied to non-Western physical cultural prac-
tices so that they might be properly understood as sporting activities. From Sakagawa to
Matsumora, Itosu and Azato to Funakoshi, changes were made to create an art that could
be practiced by everyone regardless of age, gender, sex, and physical ability. But once karate
reached the West and was represented through mass media, its only chance to survive
required adopting new rules to satisfy its viewers rather than its students. Some dojo con-
tinue to teach a traditional style of the art, but those numbers are dwindling, and soon
traditional Okinawan Shotokan karate may be lost to the world for good while the sportized
form of karate continues to expand.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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