Gichin Funakoshi
|
|
||
|
Gichin Funakoshi |
||
| Gichin Funakoshi is world famous as one of karate’s great masters. Born in Shuri, Okinawa Prefecture, in 1868, he studied karate-do from childhood and organised the first public demonstration. |
|
|
| events | ||
| picture gallery | ||
| forms | ||
| links | ||
| As president of the Okinawa Association for the Spirit of Martial Arts, he was chosen to demonstrate karate at the First National Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo in 1922. This led to the introduction of the ancient martial art to the rest of Japan and subsequently to the rest of the world. | ||
| At the urging of friends and officials, he remained in Tokyo; the development of the way of karate owes much to this teaching, writings and introduction of new forms. In his later years, he was president of the Shotokai, of which he was the founder. He emphasised always the spiritual aspects of Karate-do, and it is significant that through his influence the Chinese characters for karate were changed from “Chinese” hand to “empty” hand. | ||
|
Glasgow Karate-do Shoto Association |
