Original subtitles

Hi everyone.

Earlier this year, we released a three-part episode on the history of Shoto Kankarate.

So, as we've done already previously with Kiyokushin and Kempo, we've taken those

episodes and we compile them together in a single release.

So, we've got a lot of new viewers, so anyone who has not

come across them yet can see them in one presentation.

And for those who have seen it, we've added a few little tidbits of

information to each one just to kind of at least bring something new.

So, if you've already seen this series of episodes, you'll find in the description

below some chapter marks for a couple of news.

A little tidbits that we're throwing in there.

And I just want to extend the great big thank you to Ryan Mooney of Kombat Karate.

Gotta represent we're a shirt.

Ryan went out of his way to help us with the production of these episodes.

He took the time and effort to film original footage

for us to use, so we had some extra B-roll to work with.

So, I thank you so much for making that effort and helping us with this project.

I appreciate it very much.

This Shoto Kankarate compilation is actually the

last compilation that we're doing for the year.

We're wrapping this year up.

And we're hard at working season four, so we

can't wait to bring you some new material.

And thank you all for watching the making's channel

what it is, and hope you enjoy the presentation.

With the first Dojo established in 1936 by Gichin Funikoshi, Shoto Kankarate has

taken its place as one of the most prominent styles of traditional martial arts.

Known for its low-rooted stances, hard kicks, powerful linear techniques,

and deeply established traditions, the art has embedded

itself into the very fabric of martial arts culture.

The history of Shoto Kank is a three-part series, and in today's episode,

we're going to dive into the origin of the art and ask the

question, why is Shoto Kank the most definitive style of karate?

I would like to thank some of our viewers for their help with this video.

A special thanks to William Armenteros, Keith Westmoreland, and Sensei Santino

Ramos for helping connect us with footage, and a special thanks to Ryan Mooney from

Combat Karate for filming original footage for this series.

So, why is Shoto Kank the most definitive style of karate?

Before we can answer that, we first need to talk about where Shoto Kank came from,

and how it developed into the art and influence that it has become today.

And as always, I apologize ahead of time for any imperfect

pronunciation as I'm not very well-versed in Japanese.

Funikoshi was born prematurely, weak, and in a very poor state of health.

While he was attending school, he befriended the son of Anko Azato,

a prominent master and teacher of Shurite.

Funikoshi went on to study philosophy and even became a teaching assistant.

During this time, his relationship with Anko Azato's family grew, and he

officially began his training in the martial arts.

As quoted by Funikoshi himself, I was rather

a sickly baby and frail child accordingly.

It was suggested that when I was still quite young that to overcome these

handicaps, I ought to begin the study of karate.

Funikoshi also befriended Anko Atosu, another prominent master and a man who

introduced early karate into the elementary school system by promoting the

many health and developmental benefits it had to offer.

Itosu is also heavily accredited with his contribution to Kata.

Taken traditional older styles, he reformed them and simplified them so

that they could be learned by young students

and invented what is known as the Pinancata.

Funikoshi trained under both of these men and at various times other masters of

different martial influences, giving him the seeds to many disciplines.

Eventually, he learned the systems of Shori Ru, which developed from Nahate,

and Shaurin Ru that was derived from Shurite.

Funikoshi found strength, passion, and personal growth from his time training

in the arts and was about to embark on a personal

journey that would cement his legacy in karate forever.

Funikoshi spent years on his training, blending the Okinawan arts and later

implementing his philosophy to enrich the art and the lives of its practitioners.

As chairman of a martial arts organization called the Shobukai, Funikoshi established

a group of practitioners that toured around Okinawa,

spreading the art and holding public performances.

This gained him a lot of national attention and awareness of his teachings,

and in 1916, he was given the opportunity to

travel to mainland Japan for a demonstration.

He was invited to perform at the Putokiden,

the official center of Japanese martial arts.

The event went extremely well and his demonstration was well received.

He was bringing a unique blend of Okinawan arts with his own teachings.

He eventually attracted the attention of the Japanese Crown Prince Prince Hirohito,

and Funikoshi was invited by the Japanese education ministry to come back in 1922

and demonstrate his art for the first all-Japan athletic exhibition in Tokyo.

Now, according to the organization SKA, or Shobukan Karate of America,

Funikoshi had intended to return to Okinawa immediately after the

demonstration, but he was convinced to stay by judo

founder Jiguro Kano and Kendo Authority Akudo Nakayama.

He was quoted as saying, I had planned to return to my native island immediately

after the demonstration, but postponed my return when the late Jiguro Kano,

president of the Kodakan Judo Hall, asked me

to give a brief lecture on the art of Karate.

Sometime later, I was again preparing to return to Okinawa

when one morning I was called upon by the painter, Hoan Kosugi.

So, once again, I put off my departure and began giving lessons to members of a

painter's group called the Tabata Poplar Club, of which Kosugi was president.

Now, Hoan Kosugi would prove to be another important figure in the history of

Shobukan, which we will revisit in a few minutes.

So, he remained in Japan, and it appears that Kano had some additional influences

on Kefunikoshi and the development of his art.

Funikoshi officially adopted the Dogi as the official karate training uniform,

and he also embraced the colored belt system, also established by Kano.

Now, we covered this topic in great depth and how many belts are on Karate,

but just to quickly recap, Jiguro Kano is the one who devised and created the belt

ranking system that we see in Karate today.

There is an old tale of ancient Karatekas wearing a white belt that would get dirty

and darker over time until it became black, which symbolized great time and

devotion to the art, and over time the belt would wear and shred and turn white again.

Now, while this seems like a really cool and philosophical

origin, it is unfortunately romanticized fiction.

Belts may get dirty over time, but unless the practitioner is literally

rolling around in the dirt, it would not turn black and

would even fade and shred before it even got to that point.

In fact, the first belt ever used in karate wasn't even white at all.

It was the black belt.

Kano drew his inspiration from professional Japanese swimming teams.

Now, this was a big national event, and swimmers who had met a certain level

of proficiency were given a black armband to wear to

signify that they had reached an expert level of skill.

Kano liked this idea, and he decided to implement it into his teaching.

So, the original judo ranks were no belt, or black belt.

It wasn't until years later into developing

judo that Kano began to add additional colors.

Kano also adapted the terms Q and Don.

Q ranks are numbered ranks that count down as the student

progresses and eventually gets to Don rank, which is black belt.

From there, the Don ranks count up as the student gets more advanced, and the terms

Q and Don were borrowed from the Chinese game of Go.

Oh, and fun fact, in Kano's original judo ranking system,

the white belt was the second belt, not the first.

So, I do recommend checking out that video if you want to learn more about what the

first belt color was, and just get some cool belt history.

So, Funakoshi decided to adopt the belt system as well, and just like many styles

of karate, the early ranks were white, brown, and then black.

Eighth Q through fourth Q was white, third Q through first Q was brown,

and in first thought, and up was black.

The first official karate belt that Funakoshi awarded were in 1924,

and he himself personally never promoted anybody above Godon, or Fifthon.

So, while his introduction of karate to Japan was well received, Funakoshi was

going to have to do a lot more than just demonstrate it, and adopted judo belt

system if he was wanting it to proliferate and spread.

You see, Japan had a lot more restrictions in Okinawa,

and karate had to be modified if it were to take hold.

The first conflict was with the name.

See, originally karate that was developed in Okinawa had a fair mixture of Chinese

martial arts and its roots, and a Japanese kanji for

karate originally translated to Chinese or Tang hand.

Now, there was a lot of political tension between Japan and China at the time,

and Funakoshi feared that a nationalistic conflict of interest would be at play,

so the first ideograph of the kanji was changed to being empty instead of China.

Additionally, to distinguish karate from simply a combative practice, Funakoshi

promoted it as a way of life, with philosophy and

meaning, and the word dough, which means way, was added.

Thus we had the term karate dough, or simply the way of the empty hand.

Zen Buddhism was also greatly infused in Japanese culture as it was in China,

and this spirituality was considered an important part of Japanese buddho or

martial way, and therefore linked and associated with karate dough.

So when it came to the katas that originated in Okinawa, many of them still

had Chinese names, so Funakoshi made the attempt

to change them to Japanese names as well.

For example, the pinon katas that we mentioned as created by Anko Otosu.

Pinon means peaceful and safe.

Funakoshi changed the translation to Heian, which also means peaceful and safe.

Even with this effort, some of the original names just stuck, so there's a

kind of interesting mix of katas names, some Japanese, some Chinese.

Now as a result, Funakoshi now had a unique blend of Okinawan martial arts,

mixed with his own philosophy, and modified it

to fit within the Japanese cultural paradigm.

He had succeeded in bringing karate to Japan, and he is often

regarded to many as the father of modern or Japanese karate.

And now it was time for him to open up his own school.

Guichin Funakoshi opened up his first dojo in Tokyo in 1936.

Now, an interesting thing about Shodukan karate

is... Funakoshi never gave his art a name.

He simply referred to it as karate.

Now to find out where that name came from, we needed to dip back

a little bit into Funakoshi's other passion, writing poetry.

He was known to have spent a considerable amount of time contemplating and

meditating in Mount Tarau and Okinawa, also known as Tiger Tail Mountain.

He liked his time and solitude, especially on

days after a long and hard training session.

Now he found his refuge in the narrow pine tree covered mountain trail, and he would

often sit up there at night, under the moon, and just listen to the breeze as it

gently whispered to the pine trees, and that reminded

him of the sound of ocean waves breaking along the shore.

Now this inspired a lot of poetic imagery for him, and he embraced

the pen name of Shoto, which in Japanese means pine waves.

The word kan in Japanese means house or hall.

A lot of dojos use that term, such as judo's kodukan.

Ko translates to lecture, do, as we already established means way,

with kan meaning hall or house.

So kodukan translates to the hall to study the way.

So when Funakoshi students want to learn karate, they would

say they were going to the shodukan, or the hall of pine waves.

And over time, the name just stuck and people

began to refer to his art as shoto kon karate.

Unfortunately, the original dojo was destroyed in 1945 in an air raid by Allied

bombing during World War II, but it was later rebuilt when the war ended.

Perhaps one of the most recognizable elements of shoto kon

is that of the tiger patch representing many of the schools.

Now we took an extensive look at the semblance in the previous episode last

season, but we're going to include that segment again

here because of its connection to the origin of the art.

To start with, let's circle back to Funakoshi's painter friend, Juan Kosugi.

Kosugi was believed to have been instrumental in inspiring Funakoshi to

spread his art, and it is said that Kosugi convinced him to write down all his notes

on the art into a master text, also known as a toronomaki.

Now this refers to an old tradition that goes way back when the master would write

down all of their notes on long scrolls which became the master text.

Now even though that tradition was already gone by Funakoshi's time, Kosugi still

convinced him that this could be his toronomaki.

He also promised to paint the cover of the book after it was finished.

So, Funakoshi went on to write his book Ryukyu Karate Campo and published it in 1922.

Now some references say that this might possibly be the first official book

written on Karate in the world, but that would be

something that would need to be further verified.

Kosugi kept his promise, and he painted the cover

of his book, which included the image of a tiger.

Now this was an interesting choice because there are no tigers in Japan.

However, the tiger is often a symbol of power, strength, and ferocity.

In Chinese culture, the tiger can also represent keen awareness and never sleeping.

The choice of the tiger image is also very fitting in that Funakoshi spent his free

time up in peace up in the tiger tail mountains.

And even though the name Toronomaki means master text or master scroll, the word

tora in Japanese sometimes also means tiger.

And you can often hear the text referenced as the tiger scroll.

So the image of the tiger fit the poetic symbolism often associated with Funakoshi.

The tiger is also inside of a circle to show that it is contained.

It is a power and strength that should not be used liberally, but rather with

discretion and should remain contained until

only it was necessary to unleash its power.

The circle is also imperfect to show that it was done in one continuous stroke.

Now as for the tiger itself, Kosugi didn't just simply draw a tiger, but rather he

compiled a collection of lines and patterns that individually represented

nothing, but went together as a whole make up the image of the tiger.

Now this also is representative of Shotokan and honestly

this can apply to the philosophy of any martial art really.

The idea is that the art is not composed of just one piece or one element.

It is a system of very important, smaller ideas that

when put together create a larger, more powerful concept.

If you really look closely at the tiger's tail, you

can also see part of Kosugi's signature in kanji.

A lot of thought is such a simple image and quite honestly

this has been one of my favorite martial arts emblems.

And to the point where I wore it as a kid in my early training,

not even realizing I was representing a different art.

In April of 1957, Shotokan master Gijin vanakoshi passed away.

His life's work had culminated to a point of creating an art that was enriched with

Okinawan training, lifestyle philosophy and it became a staple in Japanese karate.

It would also be unfair to end this video without even mentioning vanakoshi's third

son Yoshitaka or Gigo vanakoshi who played a

rather important role in the history of Shotokan.

Like his father, he grew up sick and weak and

was stricken with tuberculosis as a child.

Now at this time tuberculosis was a very deadly and serious disease and yet he was

determined just as his father was and he also turned to

the martial arts as a method to get stronger and healthier.

He trained vigilantly and he found a passion for karate and he was known for

his hard fighting style, lower stances and the inclusion

of additional basic kicks that he brought into the system.

As he mastered the art, he taught at the Shotokan alongside

his father and earned a nickname Waka Sensei or young teacher.

Gichi vanakoshi taught his art in his style during the daytime

and Gigo taught his hard over in the art in the evenings.

His teachings had a great influence on the legacy of what remains in Shotokan.

So Gichi vanakoshi is referred to as the father of modern karate but I kind of like

to think of them as the father and son of modern karate.

So why is Shotokan the most definitive style of karate?

Now I'm sure many practitioners out there right now watching would disagree with the

statement citing and crediting the establishment

of karate to Okinawa which is fair and accurate.

However, Shotokan has unique credit of taking

strong Okinawan karate along with his Chinese roots.

Infusing it with Japanese culture, adopting the Gigan belt ranking system

standardized by Kano and standardizing it further across all karate systems to the

extent that many Okinawan systems picked it up and effectively cemented its place

in history as the foundation blocked to many other styles

of karate that developed in our common place today.

The philosophies, dojo etiquette, training techniques and essence of most

karate systems today are in some way touched by the

influence of Shotokan and the teachings of Master Funikoshi.

And for anyone who's interested in getting an introductory look at Shotokan I

recommend picking up the Shotokan karate Bible by Ashley P. Martin.

Now I got this over a year ago because I just wanted a good breakdown of basic

Shotokan techniques and you're not going to learn the whole system from this book

but this is a great starting point to get yourself familiar

with the art and you can find it in the description below.

So that is part one of the history of Shotokan.

In part two we're going to dive into the characteristics of the art itself and see

how it branched off into other arts, organizations and even the role of plays in MMA.

So be sure to check back next week.

So we talked about how founder Gijin Funikoshi and his son Gigo worked together

to contribute to the art of Shotokan and make it what it was.

And what's interesting is that the older style of arts many times the martial arts

came from families and the martial arts family.

So I wanted to just take a moment to talk about another member of the Funikoshi

family that also put his mark on the art of Shotokan.

And this brings us to Kenneth Yoshinobu Funikoshi,

the fourth cousin of Shotokan founder Gijin Funikoshi.

Now he doesn't get talked about as often as the others but

that doesn't mean his contribution was any less significant.

He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1938 while it was still in the American territory.

He got into athletics early.

He began training in Judo at age 10, played high school football and was also

captain of the swim team at Farrington High School.

And in 1956 he began to train Kempo under Adriana

and Perato who later go on to establish Kajukempo.

From 1956 to 1959, Kenneth Funikoshi attended the University of Hawaii on a

swimming scholarship and continued his judo

training achieving his first stand at age 17.

He dual trained with Kempo until eventually he dedicated his efforts to

Kempo purely and he became the youngest person

to achieve a first stand in Kempo at that time.

He joined the United States Air Force in 1959 at Cannon Base in Clovis,

New Mexico and while he was there he actually

taught karate to both civilians and non-civilians.

Seeking to continue his training he became a student of Hirokazu Kanazawa who was a

notable fighter in the Shotokan-based JKA

organization or Japanese karate association.

Kanazawa had been there to teach and spread the art of Shotokan in Hawaii.

Kenneth Funikoshi put on his white belt and he joined the art of Shotokan.

Over the course of the next 10 years he trained under three different Shotokan

masters and after winning the Grand Championship of the Karate Association of

Hawaii five years in the role he was appointed the organization's chief instructor.

Kenneth Funikoshi has devoted his life and efforts to the art over the years.

Instructor of the year by Black Belt Magazine in 1978 and continued to rank up

on the art eventually earning his ninth dawn in 2001.

He also established the Funikoshi Shotokan Karate Association choosing to use the art

to develop character and closely following his

cousins, Gichi Funikoshi's 20 precepts of four karate.

So I think it's wonderful that other members of the founding family found their

place in the art and they continue to push it forward.

Last week we started to talk about the history of Shotokan Karate.

We explored the origin and how founder Gichi Funikoshi combined his training in

the Okinawan arts and Enriki figured a system that not only fit the cultural

paradigm of Japan but it also thrived as one of the most

influential and definitive styles of karate in the world.

So if you haven't watched that one yet I encourage you to please do so.

Today we're going to talk about the structure of the art itself and how a set

of trend of differences between different styles of karate and we'll also look at

how the art has grown and spread and even answer the

question of well why don't we see Shotokan in the MMA?

Spoiler alert, you do.

And we'll talk about how as we continue with the history of Shotokan.

I would like to thank some of our viewers for their help with this video.

A special thanks to William Armenteros, Keith Westmoreland

and Sensei Santino Ramos for helping connect us with footage.

And a special thanks to Ryan Muni from Combat

Karate for filming original footage for this series.

All right, all right.

I'm sure now we have some several MMA practitioners.

Watch it right now that we say that Shotokan is ineffective

and it won't work in a real fight or in the cage.

Well, we're going to come back to this after we cover some aspects because I'm

willing to bet it's a little bit more relevant in the cage than it gets credit for.

So why is Shotokan such a pillar in the history of karate?

Well, mainly because from this point forward, Shotokan became an established

foundation for several arts to come and it set

many of the standards associated with karate today.

Now, I highly recommend watching part one for the origin of

Shotokan and how it developed by founder Kichi Funikoshi.

Today we're going to take a closer look at the

art of the Shotokan itself and what it teaches.

Now, upon stepping into the dojo, there is an immediate

sense of culture that often comes with Shotokan.

Now, Shotokan may have been derived from Okinawan arts but make no mistake that

there is a very important difference between the two cultures.

Now, we're going to dive into this a little bit deeper in the next episode,

but Okinawan karate traditionally is a little bit looser on formality.

Focused more on teaching individuals in smaller classes,

has higher stances and focuses more on upper body.

Does not typically take part in sport, utilizes more

weapons, and treats karate as a family heritage.

Shotokan and Japanese karate in general, you will find it's a

traditional system and many rules of etiquette are in place.

There is a strong focus on technical detail and uniformity.

Respect and discipline are emphasized as well as pride and presentation.

Most traditional karate schools will require that the gi is clean, tidy,

and intact, and some schools will even require

that the uniform be pressed and ironed.

Show up to a class looking proud and crisp.

Most Shotokan schools will wear traditional white gis, although in modern

days and especially in the United States, you might see a variety of other colors

and the colors honestly will depend on the individual school.

And the same goes with the belt ranking system.

There are many different associations for Shotokan, each with different requirements.

Now, while there are some arts such as American Kempo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu,

and Kyokoshin that have a fairly consistent colored belt chart,

Shotokan schools seem to be a little bit more varied

in belt order, depending on one school or another.

Also, most schools will have some sort of a patch

worn over the heart on the left side of the gi jacket.

In many Shotokan schools, you may see the Toronomaki

or Tiger Emblem worn or some emblem derived from it.

Now, this emblem is rooted in the history of the creation of the art and it

represents the philosophy and poetry of Master Funikoshi.

Now, we have given karate uniforms, belts, and the Toronomaki all their own

dedicated episodes, and those links are provided in the video description below.

Like many martial arts, there is a general code of conduct within the Shotokan Dojo.

Bowing is commonplace and demonstrates respect, trust, and humility.

You have the standing bow and the bow from the healing position, or seza.

Upon entering the Dojo, you bow to show respect before entering the floor.

Now, whether you are arriving or leaving, you

face towards the front of the Dojo as you bow.

Now, if you arrive late and the class is already started,

do not just quickly bow in and run the join of the floor.

Proper etiquette is to quietly bow and then kneel near the entrance until you are

acknowledged by the Sensei to come join class.

Line up by rank and when instructed, kneel down into seza.

The proper kneel in the traditional Shotokan Dojo begins by placing your left

knee on the floor, followed by your right knee, and then you sit back onto your feet

with your toes overlapping one over the other.

Hands are placed on your thigh, left on left, right on

right, and they are open with fingers pointed inward.

Your back should be straight and your shoulders relaxed.

The Sensei may call for meditation, and this is the moment to quiet your mind,

leave your distractions outside, and prepare yourself to focus on today's class.

Some schools may have you placed your left hand into your right hand as you meditate.

At the end of meditation, the Sensei will prompt you to stop and then call out

Showman which signals for you to bow in a kneeling position towards the front of the

dojo, and issue respect and humility towards the

institution and those in the lineage of the school.

After that, the Sensei may call out Sensei Nirei, which

is another bow that shows respect to your teacher.

Repeat the motion and with a signal from your Sensei, you

quickly get up to your feet and you stand at attention.

This is commonplace at many traditional Shotokan schools, but of course,

this may vary from one individual dojo to another.

Some schools may omit or alter the bow and end sequence, and as with most martial

arts styles, respect, good behavior, cooperation,

and self-control are expected during class.

Once class is over, many schools will close with the same sequence as the class

opening, but at this point, meditation is used to reflect on what you learned today

and give your mind a moment to let the experience soak in.

Upon closing out, many dojo's will recite what is called the dojo koon.

The dojo koon, in literal translation, means rules of the dojo.

Now, the dojo koon is a set of principles and

behavior expected from all participating carateca.

Most of the time, they are printed or written and hung in front of the dojo.

Now, this is yet another traditional practice that is often attributed to

kimchi from the koshi and its philosophical contribution to the arts.

You see, funakoshi desired ethics and mental

fortitude to be balanced with physical strength.

Shotokan karate wasn't only about being strong and fighting, but rather,

it was to serve as a way of life, to have balanced body, mind, and spirit,

and to use the art for cultivation of health, and if in a dangerous situation,

the preservation of life.

The dojo koon was written instead of five guiding

principles to be practiced in Shotokan karate.

One, seek perfection of character.

Two, be faithful.

Three, endeavor to excel.

Four, respect others.

And five, reframe from violent behavior.

Now, of course, you might see some variations of this due to translation,

but those generally are the five principles of conduct as defined by funakoshi.

Now, being the philosopher and poet that he was,

funakoshi also established the nijukun, or 20 rules.

Now, we're going to revisit a couple of these at the end of this video,

but the 20 Shotokan principles are, never forget karate

begins and ends with re or bowing and showing respect.

There is no first strike in karate.

Karate stands on the side of justice.

First, understand yourself, then understand others.

Mentality over technique.

The heart must be set free.

Calamity springs from carelessness.

Karate goes beyond the dojo.

Karate is a lifelong pursuit.

Apply the way of karate to all things therein lies the beauty.

Karate is like boiling water.

Without heat, it returns to its tepid state.

Do not think of winning, think rather, of not losing.

Make adjustments according to your opponent.

The outcome of battle depends on how one handles emptiness and fullness.

Think of hands and feet as swords.

When you step beyond your own gait, you face a million enemies.

Formal stances are for beginners.

Later, one stands more naturally.

Perform prescribed sets of techniques exactly.

Actual combat is another matter.

Do not forget the employment or withdrawal of power, the extension or contraction of

the body, the swift or leisurely application of technique.

Be constantly mindful, diligent, and resourceful in your pursuit of the way.

Like many traditional karate styles, Shodakan

is broken up into three main categories.

Kihon, Kata, and Kumate.

Now, Kihon is a Japanese word for basics.

These are the fundamental concepts of the martial arts.

So, all punches, kicks, blocks, steps, throws,

posture, movements are all part of basic training.

Without strong basics, the rest of the student's training becomes compromised.

See, Shodakan is very well known for its power and embodiment of strong basics.

From the deeply rooted stances, to snapping punches and dominant kicks,

Shodakan is as sharp and crisp as karate pretty much gets.

Much of this comes from the Okinawan roots that

Funakoshi adopted from Shurite and Nahate prior to Japan.

Its signature is commanding linear driving power.

Shodakan also employs the Ki and the concept of Kime to underline the basics.

Kime is a Japanese word that means to decide.

And in the context of the martial arts, it means to focus all of one's energy,

effort, and strength into each technique.

It is full commitment to the strike without any hesitation, with the intent of

ending the confrontation with the single blow.

This can be applied to punches, kicks, and even blocks, which in many

cases can be used as strikes in their own right.

The Ki is the famous karate yell we all hear practitioners

exclaim upon the execution of a powerful technique.

The purpose of the Ki isn't just to sound badass, although if done right it totally

does, but it serves a few different functions.

First, in the context of the dojo setting, a powerful Ki can set the tone of a

workout, excite students, and get them more invested.

Highlight the punctuation of a technique, and also the help learn proper breathing

to deliver maximum intensity into a strike.

You can inadvertently hold back a lot of power if you hold your breath,

so learning how the Ki properly helps you establish effective times to exhale and

tighten in order to inflict a margin of extra energy.

Now, in a real-life confrontation, the Ki still serves for power generation,

but it also might potentially intimidate your opponent,

or at least possibly attract attention to the situation.

Kata is short from the word katachi, which means shape, form, or pattern.

In shodokan, and quite frankly, in most traditional martial arts,

katas are longer sequences of techniques, often simulating the combat scenario and

demonstrating how movement strikes and defenses can be used together.

Kata's help with memory retention and repetition, as

well as address themes in particular areas of focus.

Now, many contemporary martial artists dislike and will brush off kata,

which is fine because honestly, people have different areas of focus.

Now, with that being said, there is often a lot of valuable information embedded in

kata, and the practice of studying deeper meaning of kata, or bunkai, can yield some

interesting insights and philosophy to the art and relationships between techniques.

The number of kata and shodokan training will vary from

school to school as they construct their own curriculum.

However, there are usually about 26 or 27 kata in the system

created by both Kunikoshi and its contributing students.

Many of these kata were adopted from the Okinawan arts of Kunikoshi trained in,

heavily drawing from the influence of former teacher and karate master,

Anko Otosu, and his contributions to the development of kata.

See, many of the kata support Chinese names, and as Okinawa, you know,

shared strong roots entwined with the Chinese arts.

There was a political tension between China and Japan at the time, so just as he

changed the characters of the Japanese kanji for karate to meet empty hands

instead of china or tang hands, Kunikoshi renamed all

of the katas for his system into Japanese counterparts.

Now, some of them caught on while many of them still retain their original names.

For example, the pinon katas, which pinon means peaceful

way, were five original empty hand katas from Okinawa.

Funikoshi renamed them to heian, which also means peaceful way.

Now, later, as the Korean art of tongsudo was founded on the base of shotokan,

those katas, or pumse in Korean, were adopted and

modified for the tongsudo system and are known as piangon.

So, it's really interesting to see shotokan in the middle

of the chain of influence as it spread around the world.

Another interesting example is the kankukata, originally known as kusanku,

named after a traveling Chinese martial artist whose

teaching is predate the early roots of kratay in Okinawa.

Now, there are two versions of this kata, which Funikoshi renamed to kanku,

which means to look at the sky.

So, you've got kanku dye, big, and kankusho, small.

This kata spans across many arts including Okinawan, shotokan, kiyokushin,

tongsudo, and more.

It is very interesting to find videos of these katas performed in these different

arts and notice the similarities as they were adapted to new practices.

Now, as we mentioned on how important the kiyai was when practicing basics,

it holds a place in shotokan kata as well.

In most kata and shotokan, there are two designated

times which the practitioners unleash their kiyai.

It is part of the form and part of the grading and judging.

It is the punctuate certain moments in the kata, as well

as to demonstrate commitment and full force into the form.

So, go ahead and watch some shotokan katas on YouTube and watch your practitioners

and you'll find that they're usually only two kiyai during the entire season.

Now, as Funikoshi's influence continues, it is also rolled into the concept of

embusen or the route or line of movement a

practitioner takes during the performance of a kata.

Every kata has a unique flow and therefore, their

own signature diagram if you were to draw it out.

It designates the starting point and outlines a path of action.

Now, Funikoshi's contribution to this practice was to adjust many katas so that

the starting point and the ending point are roughly the same spot.

Now, this has one benefit of being able to be performed in

smaller spaces in case there are many students in one room.

As well, it is also helpful for the students to confirm that they have

performed it correctly if they have ended up in the same place as they started.

Now, many people believe that this aspect of the kata was traditional.

However, it is credited to Funikoshi as it

was documented in his writings and not before.

And it's often not present in the law of the earlier Okinawan arts.

The concept of starting and ending at the same point is

to found its way into other arts, American Kepo included.

So, traditional karate systems have three components, kihon, kata, and kumite.

Kumite means freestyle fighting and it is where you apply the tools of the basics

along with the principles of the kata into a strategy of fighting that works for you.

Now, beginners will start off with what is called epon kumite, which means one step

sparring, and gohan kumite, which is five step sparring.

Now, this is where a lot of criticism of Shodokan and

traditional martial arts in general may stem from.

See, one step sparring is very simple, and each drill typically consists of one

partner performing a single free plan attack and defending partner performs a

single step defense, such as a block followed by a counter strike.

With five steps sparring, some of the attacks and moves are repeated,

but overall these are very choreographed and basic drills.

Now, the misconception here is that many critics of traditional martial arts look

at this and will dismiss the system saying, well, that

isn't realistic and these drills won't work in a real fight.

I think it is really important to remember or note that

this is not the complete self-defense portion of karate.

These one and five step drills are meant to teach the very basic application of a

single technique demonstrating control, targeting,

and getting used to working with a partner.

It doesn't end with this.

As students progress to become more comfortable and understand how the basics

work, the drill evolves into more free attacks with one step sparring and

eventually the more advanced freestyle fighting, which

may involve many varieties of speed and loud strikes.

Now, as far as actual fighting skill goes, we've said this on the channel before,

but I want to stress it again, that regardless of what drills you

practice or how many times you repeat a choreographed motion, unless you apply it

on a regular basis, whether they resist an opponent, you're not going to get an

accurate idea of what actually works for you or what doesn't.

This means regular, continuous sparring with

someone trying to their hardest to hit you back.

Now, some schools practice points sparring as well, and that is completely fine,

especially if the school is a competitive school

and points sparring definitely has its benefits.

But I believe for proper self defense, you need to practice with the resistance

and pressure as close to a real fight as can be safely done in the classroom.

And with that being said, yes, the one step drills

can work in the heat of a good sparring session.

There have been many occasions that I've been trading shots with someone and I've

seen the punch coming and the upper block punch combination worked brilliant or the

inward block punch and I've had it done to me as well.

So yes, they absolutely can work if they are applied at the right time.

If you understand what it is teaching and you're able to apply it effectively in a

full pressure sparring situation, then the basic

drills taught in shuttle con can go a long way.

So let's rewind a little bit here to our question in the beginning.

Why don't we see shuttle con in the MMA?

Well, we do and we see it in a couple different ways.

First, there seems to be this divide between

mixed martial arts and traditional martial arts.

I don't like this debate primarily because mixed martial

arts can be an independent mix of traditional martial arts.

MMA is not a different system or way of fighting.

It's just a personalized combination of arts primed for a sport competition by

individual competitors that choose mixes that work for them.

I think MMA is fantastic and it has the world's best fighters but not because of

what systems they use but rather how they choose the arts they choose and the

extreme training and condition they apply in order to fight like this.

MMA and traditional martial arts are not two separate entities.

They are entwined and they simply address different

things and I always try to bridge that gap.

And with that being said, many mixed martial artists have some sort of

traditional karate as part of their arsenal and as we've explored in this

series, the threads of shuttle con run through many of them.

I want to use leotamicida as an example primarily because he is a high-profile MMA

champion as well as one of his primary arts being shuttle con karate.

Now watching him into stand-up fighting, you can clearly

see many trademarks of shuttle con and traditional karate.

First, he often takes on a little bit of a wider stance.

Many MMA fighters have a more natural boxing stance and while moshita does as

well, he will sometimes drop into a lower stance.

Very stylistic of shuttle con.

And it's from there that he delivers the devastating kicks he is known for.

His front kicks and his round kicks are perfect

illustrations that the power shuttle con strikes can have.

And if you watch some of his fights, you see many of his opponents taking those

kicks to the body and just reeling from the impact.

And going back to those one-step drills, if you watch closely and there are several

videos on youtube that highlight this, but moshita does employ some of those

traditional drills in addition to some basic shuttle con striking combinations.

For example, an advancing triple punch combination

is a very common karate kumite basic drill.

Yoda moshita employs us frequently and very effectively, along with another

combination of a rear leg kick advancing followed by a front hand punch.

Basic steps to kumite drills, but as you can see

moshita mixes them into his fights with great success.

Another example is the calf kick intended to take the opponent off balance and

combine with a reverse punch, either proceeding or following the kick.

Just keep watching fights closely and you'll see takedowns and other

combinations play out in very similar fashion as to

what you'd learn in the basic one-step kumite drill.

The key is in learning how to perfect a technique, knowing when to apply it in

freestyle, and then conditioning yourself with a

resistance opponent to fine tune it and make it work.

But some of you might be thinking, well that's all well and good,

but leo moshita may just be one-lone example.

Well, not really.

Remember, after it, many high-profile MMA fighters

have traditional arts as partners striking regimens.

For example, George St. Pierre is a third-degree black belt in Kyokshin.

Kyokshin has shodokan and goji root at its core.

Anderson Silva has a very diverse mix of martial arts, including Wingchung,

BJJ, Muay Thai, Kapoora, and Taekwondo.

Taekwondo is derived from tongsidou, which is heavily derived from shodokan.

Chuck the Dell is an eighth don in kajukenbow, which has traditional karate

and shodokan mixed in it, and boss root in holds

a black belt in Taekwondo and the Kyokshin.

And that's just the high-profile guys.

If you take a look at some of the lower weight divisions and lower profile fights,

you'll see a ton of fighters employing traditional karate into their arsenal.

So if you are asking the question, why don't I see shodokan MMA?

The answer is simply, you aren't looking for it.

I also encourage you to go back and revisit the knee jukun lists and see where

you can find some relevance to those 20 principles into your training.

Several of them definitely hold true in MMA.

For example, calamity springs for carelessness.

If you are reckless and unfocused in the cage, you're going to have a bad time.

Make adjustments according to your opponent.

Formal stances are for beginners.

Later, one stands more naturally.

Perform prescribed sets of techniques exactly.

Actual combat is another matter.

You see, these all hold very true for competitive fighting, and I think my

favorite one is, karate is like boiling water.

Without heat, it returns to its type of state.

Such a powerful and accurate statement and it applies to all martial arts.

If you stop putting passion and effort into your training and you forget that

you're always a student, it's very easy to get comfortable and complacent and then

your skill set may not have enough steam to be effective when you need it.

That is just one of many important lessons that shodokan teaches us.

So if you were interested in getting an introduction to shodokan

before committing to any classes, I do recommend this book.

It's the Shodokan Bible by Ashley P. Martin.

It's a really good book that breaks down the basic

curriculum from white belt all the way up to black belt.

And while it's not going to replace a live class, it gives you a great idea of what

to expect and encounter in a shodokan class.

So I wanted to highlight a little bit more about the Yoda Matita and how he's such a

great example of how to represent shodokan and its place in MMA.

But I think the reason he makes shodokan so effective is the

incredibly dynamic background he has in the martial arts.

First of all, he's well versed in the martial arts.

With extensive experience in shodokan, he also trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,

Moi Tai, Sumo, and Jeet Kune Do.

He was trained in the art of shodokan by his father, Yoshizo Matita, a Japanese

sensei who currently holds an eighth don in the art of shodokan.

Sensei Matita fell in love with the art and he strongly believes in the character

that Karate built and how it prepares practitioners to overcome life's challenges.

He moved to Brazil in 1968 where he met his wife and moved there permanently and

devoted himself to share his teachers in the art in Brazil.

The Yoda and his brothers trained under their father with Liodo starting at the

age of three and earning his first don and shodokan at age 13.

He traveled and continued training in multiple arts and winning several

tournaments before becoming too America to pursue a career in the UFC.

Besides having a respectable record in MMA and the UFC, Liodo, along with his brother

Chinzo, also established the Matita Karate Academy.

Chinzo also has experiences in MMA fighter and together with Liodo, they have taken

their families karate and modified it into their own fighting system.

The facility is located in Lomita, California and is over 20,000 square feet

and they teach a wide variety of students from all ages.

They also run the Matita Association with the goal to spread the Matita Karate

methodology around the world through training

and certification of new program instructors.

Liodo, Matita and his family are wonderful role models in the martial arts and it's

wonderful to see such a legacy in that they can take and show that even

traditional martial arts can hold their own and

have their place in modern combat paradigms.

Combined from early forms of Okinawan karate and adapted to blend into the

Japanese culture, Shodokan has flourished across the world, spawning several

derivative arts and even working its way up into the UFC.

So, how did Shodokan become the most popular and

the most influential style of karate in the world?

Well, we're going to answer that in today's conclusion of the history of Shodokan.

I would like to thank some of our viewers for their help with this video.

A special thanks to William Armenteros, Keith Westmoreland,

and Sensei Santino Ramos for helping connect us with footage.

And a special thanks to Ryan Muni from Combat

Karate for filming original footage for this series.

Now, this is part three of the history of Shodokan.

And if you haven't seen parts one and two

yet, I highly encourage you to check them out.

Part one shows us the origin of the art that founder Gichin Funakoshi put together

and part two takes a closer look at the art and its

standards that are still present today, even in the MMA.

And you can find a link to both of those in the video description below.

Okay, so what makes Shodokan the most influential style of karate in the world?

In order to begin to answer that, we need to

define its place in the history of karate.

Traditional karate originated in Okinawa.

With local fighting systems combined with Chinese influences, this led to the rise

of three primary classifications of Okinawan

karate, or teh, as it was called at the time.

So we had shurite, nahate, and tamari teh.

Each named after the village it was primarily present in.

Now, Gichin Funakoshi had an extensive training in shurite and nahate in the form

of shouren rue and shoure rue, respectively.

He combined a lot of the elements between the two systems, infused a strong sense of

his philosophy, and he took it to Japan, calling it simply karate, or empty hands.

And again, we went into much more detail on

part one, but this is just to get us started.

So shoure kon became very popular in Japan, and it spread very quickly.

But before we could talk about how it grew and branched into future arts,

let's take a moment and acknowledge the

history and contribution of the Okinawan arts.

Because to be quite honest, without them, shoure kon would not exist and would not

have proliferated into the several arts that we have today.

So many traditionalists will consider the Okinawan karate to be the true official

type of karate, and they wouldn't be wrong.

However, I think it's very important to both respect its origin, while also

appreciating and exploring the ways that karate has grown and evolved from there.

And I believe that shoure kon has been a very powerful vehicle in that respect.

So before we talk about where shoure kon is taking karate,

let's observe how it differentiated from its source material.

So how do Okinawan karate and Japanese karate compare?

Well, I've talked to enough people who have trained them both know that it would

have to be a video in and of itself to cover this adequately.

There are some big differences between them, both in philosophy and in technique.

Now, this is by no means a comprehensive comparison,

but rather just a few ways in which they differ.

In Japan, formality and honor are extremely important, and they often take a

regimented approach to cultural activities, extending to the martial arts.

Now, there is a strict sense of etiquette in Japanese dojos.

For example, the requirement of bowing before and after

class, and in response to instruction from the sensei.

Also in Japanese karate, priority is often placed

on form, timing, and perfection of technique.

Uniformity plays a big role, and in an art such as shoure kon, it is extremely

efficient to teach a large academy of students

at one time if everything is well regimented.

It preserves the details of technique and also

facilitates in the transmission of the knowledge.

In contrast, Okinawan karate tends to be a little less formal, less emphasis on

bowing and formality, and dojos in general tend to have smaller rosters.

As a result of this, a lot of Okinawan senseis will often tailor techniques based

on the individual's learning it, focusing more on the efficiency of what

works with that person as opposed to a uniform solution intended for a large class.

Now, this uniformity has probably contributed to how fast shoure kon spread

around the world, becoming one of the most common styles of karate taught.

It is streamlined, efficient, and even Funakoshi himself is said to have wanted

to implement it into elementary schools as a core subject.

Traditional Okinawan schools tend to be smaller, often hidden within the town,

where the tendency towards individualized teachings over mass instruction.

Also, generally speaking, you can see a lot of differences in stances.

Japanese karate tends to focus on developing the

lower body and implementing some deep stances.

Now, this is often attributed to Funakoshi's son Gigo, who loved deep

stances, diverse kicks, and loved to compete.

This, in contrast to his father, who had preferred the higher stances he

had learned in the traditional Okinawan shurite and nahate.

Now, it's pretty interesting to watch the performance of a kata

that exists in both Japanese and Okinawan styles of karate.

Again, generally speaking, you'll often see a greater emphasis on lower stances in

Japanese kata and higher, more upper body focused movements in Okinawan kata.

When it comes to martial arts weapons, you're

more likely to see them in Okinawan karate.

Now, this is not to say that Japanese systems don't use

them, but typically they focus more on open hand techniques.

And honestly, most of the traditional weapons you see associated with karate,

the Bostaf, Nunchuk, Tsai, the Tongfa, all originated in Okinawa, and Kabuto,

the martial way, is a big part of Okinawan arts.

So, while you may see weapons in both styles, you're more likely to encounter

them in Okinawan teachings, at least historically.

Another stark difference is competition.

Japanese karate has far more emphasis on

competition in sport than Okinawan karate does.

In Okinawa, karate is embedded into a part of their lifestyle.

A person doesn't merely do karate, it is

part of their heritage and their family life.

Now, while some Okinawan schools do compete, such as Goji Ryu and Shito Ryu,

which are represented in the World Karate Federation, it is far more common to see

Japanese karate take part in sport fighting.

Now, with all that being said, both Okinawan and Japanese karate have a

lot to offer, and it would be a very interesting topic to go down that rabbit

hole in the future episode, as there are a lot

more differences than what we can cover today.

Since a Jesse Enkamp from the karate nerd YouTube channel has an absolutely

fantastic miniseries on his trip to Okinawa and experience with Okinawa

karate, and I have included those links in the description

below if you are interested in checking those out.

In 1930, Funikoshi officially established his organization, Dainihon Karate Do Ken

Kyukai, which was later known as the Shoto

Kai, which basically refers to Shoto society.

Now, Shoto was Funikoshi's pen name that he used when he wrote poetry, and Shoto

means pine waves, referring to the sound that

wind makes as it ripples through pine trees.

So, with Shoto Kan taking root in Japan and flourishing among a wide range of

students, it was only a matter of time before the art

itself became a starting point for future systems.

Prior to World War II, during the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Koreans had

limited options regarding the martial arts.

A lot of their own local ways were forbidden,

and many were forced to learn Japanese arts.

Shoto Kan was one of those primary arts being taught, so naturally it became

implemented into the training of any Koreans that

wanted to train in the martial arts at that time.

And one of these men was the man who would go on to later found, Tang Sudo.

Now, another Korean national who was in Japan

immediately after the end of World War II was Masoyama.

He grew a love for the martial arts, and he sought out the training of Shoto

Kan, and he was actually a direct student under

Giga Funikoshi, the son of founder Gichin Funikoshi.

Now, this was also the time that the American soldiers were based in Japan and

Okinawa, and they began their introduction to karate.

In the 40s, karate was a very unfamiliar art in America,

so many soldiers wanted to learn his new combat style.

So, right away, I think we can start to see how some of the early seas were planted.

Shoto Kan was growing in scale and popularity, and it was in 1949 that some

of Funikoshi's senior students decided to establish an association to help govern,

promote, educate, and spread the teachings of Shoto Kan.

So, led by Masoyoshi Nakayama, the Japan Karate Association, or JKA,

was formally established as the central authority on Shoto Kan.

An elderly Funikoshi, aged 80 at this time,

was named an honorary head of the organization.

Now, we have already established that the basis of Shoto Kan was Shoto Kan.

You see, key mixed in some other influences from Chinese

and other martial arts to direct the path of Shoto.

Now, this includes Taekwondo, which is the derivative of

Shoto Kan and still has a lot of Shoto Kan in its lineage.

So, Masoyama had trained directly under Funikoshi's son Giga and Shoto Kan,

and in later, he took up the Okinawan art of Goju Ryu,

training under the senior student of founder Cho Jamiyagi.

Now, Masoyama took this material and it went into years of seclusion into the

mountains for vigorous training, and he came back and introduced his own

art of Kiyokshan Karate, an amalgam of Shoto Kan and Okinawan systems.

Actually, in fact, Kiyokshan retains two sets

of kata, both from Shoto Kan and Goju Ryu.

Kiyokshan has then since also branched off and spawned further derivatives,

such as kudo, ancient karate, ashihara karate, and others.

Wato Ryu and Kajuku have also been influenced

by Shoto Kan in their early development.

Wato Ryu was founded by Hiranori Otsuka in 1939.

Otsuka was one of the first students to receive a black belt Shoto Kan karate

directly from Kichi Funikoshi, and then he went to blend in Shoto Kan

with Okinawan karate and Jujitsu and came up with what is now known as Wato Ryu.

There are trace elements of Shoto Kan and Kajuku Bo, a greater mixed pot of art is

founded by the efforts of many martial artists,

including the notable Adriana and Parato.

So Shoto Kan has definitely cemented its place as one of the pillars of the martial

arts, and it's hard to ignore the influence

and reach it has and it continues to have.

Unfortunately, Shoto Kan was not immune to the affliction

that most major martial arts are stricken with, politics.

Now, when we announced this series, I received many messages asking me to

highlight the differences between all the different Shoto Kan associations.

I'm going to go over a very brief summary of some of the couple top prominent ones,

but a full deeper look will have to be in a future video.

The topic of that scale alone is an episode in and of itself.

But like most arts that have toxic politics, we start at the same trigger,

the death of the founder.

Guijin Funikoshi passed away in 1957 at 88 years old.

He had left his mark on the history of the martial

arts, but what he did not leave was a successor.

It did not take long for risks to begin starting with his own funeral.

Funikoshi's original organization, the Shoto Kai, formed in

1930 and focused on the spread and education of Shoto Kan.

They represented students from many universities to help spread the art.

This was the first and oldest Shoto Kan organization.

The Japan Karate Association, or JKA, registered with the

Japanese government in 1957 just prior to Funikoshi's death.

They wished to represent Shoto Kan on a larger professional scale.

The JKA was the only legally recognized Karate Association at the time.

Now, they are said to have been disputes

over the arrangements of Funikoshi's funeral.

Supposedly, both the Shoto Kai and JKA asserted the right to arrange it,

and the rift between organizations only continued from there.

As with any organization with new leadership, changes began to occur.

The Shoto Kai was largely influenced by one of Funikoshi's senior students,

Shigiro Igammi.

Igammi had originally began training in the Funikoshi's son, but then he began to

stray away from Shoto Kan's competitive nature.

He did not believe that Karate should be a sport, and he withdrew the organization

from tournaments and other competitive events.

Igammi continued to alter the teaching of the system, focusing on looser and less

explosive training methods, and placing greater importance on spirituality,

mental balance, and sticking closer to the Nijukun, or the 20 principles established

by Funikoshi, and stressing an emphasis on Kata.

I would like to read an excerpt from the Shoto Kai official website.

Shoto Kai follows the words of Master Funikoshi, who said, Karate Do is an art

for training our own minds, sports that can be practiced by people with little

physical strength, an art for maintaining health, and the art of self-defense.

Therefore, Karate Do is not a martial art only for people who have strong muscles

and physical strength, but is an art that all people

of all ages all over the world need and can practice.

Shoto Kai follows the last instruction of Master Funikoshi.

There are no contests in Karate.

Be devoted to Kata.

Shoto Kai has a lesson system that focuses on practicing Kata.

The Shoto Kai often refers to itself as the system

closest to the original teachings of Guichin Funikoshi.

Now, the J.K.A.

went in a different direction.

First, they asserted their position of being

the only legally recognized Karate organization.

Led by Masatoshi Nakayama, the J.K.A.

began to make changes to the material, hardening the art,

and focusing on explosive power and rigorous training.

Now, unlike the Shoto Kai, they do engage in competition, but they take it much more

seriously than your typical point-based tournaments.

Two different excerpts from their official website highlight this philosophy.

Unlike many other karate organizations, the J.K.A.

was not created as an organization whose major

purpose is holding matches and tournaments.

Though it does sponsor tournaments, its major focus is the practice of karate.

Its purpose is the teaching of karate as a way of life.

The website also goes to say, karate is not a sport one plays for points.

In J.K.A.

Kumate, there are no weight classifications and no arbitrary point system.

J.K.A.

tournaments are much stricter.

At the J.K.A.

there is only Yupon, one full point, which

means you have downed your opponent and won.

The basis of J.K.A.

karate is the ability to take down your opponent

regardless of size or weight with one blow.

There is no room for incremental points in such a tradition.

The difference is obvious.

We teach our students how to gain mastery of themselves and overwhelm the opponent.

Two pretty diverse philosophies and unfortunately,

these were not the only disagreements.

Other senior students disagree with the direction that J.K.A.

was going with the Shoto-Con and the J.K .A.

splinted off in the several groups, which we will

have to elaborate more on in another future episode.

Shoto-Con karate found a strong foothold in the United States as well.

Shoto-Con karate of America was founded in 1959 by Tsutomu Ochima, who currently at

age 89 still leads the organization and teaches to this day.

Ochima was a direct student of Kichufunukoshi himself and in 1955 came to

America to continue school at the University of Southern California.

At the school, he opened the first American karate club in 1957 and

established the Southern California karate association in

1959, later being renamed to Shoto-Con karate of America.

The S.K.A.

is a non-profit organization with a strong goal to lead Shoto-Con and the United

States and reach a wide base of students, offering traditional

karate under one of the original students of the system.

The S.K.A.

does perform a competition in tournaments, although

they stress a balance on karate as a lifestyle.

They are also known for holding special training events

twice a year, typically in the summer and in the winter.

The goal of these events is to engage in an intense training session for a short

duration with large groups of practitioners.

It's basically a karate camp.

Kiyokshin karate is also known for their intense karate camps held twice a year.

So one notable mark on the S.K.A.

is that Oshima received his fifth don block

belt directly from Gichin Funakoshi himself.

Now this was the highest rank ever given out by Funakoshi

and in the spirit of the tradition of the S.K.A.

they retain the original ranking system used by

Funakoshi and does not recognize any ranks above Godon.

Now there are many many many more Shoto-Con organizations and notable

practitioners worth getting into, but it would

not do them any justice to just cram them in here.

And I do apologize to those of you who are hoping to dig deeper into that topic.

However, they would require an entire episode for themselves and I thought it

was worth doing a quick overview just to kind of set the first stone of that path.

I do, of course, welcome any contributions to those of you who can expand or

elaborate or want to add to the different Shoto-Con associations of the world.

And if we get enough information, then we can

do a follow-up episode in the near future.

So how is Shoto-Con one of the most influential styles of karate in the world?

Well, it started with one man learning the roots of Okinawan karate, combining them

into his own practice, resorting to the poet that he was and infusing his own deep

philosophy and crafting a balance between the

importance of physical and mental training.

He knew how to adapt the system to fit different political paradigms.

He adopted and established standards in ranking, etiquette, practice, and teaching

that resonated across generations of future karate styles.

His influence rippled back to Okinawan roots, some of which took on some of his

new standards, and the threads of Shoto-Con can still be

found today in many derivatives of ours and even in the UFC.

So this concludes our series on the history of Shoto-Con.

Now, Shoto-Con may not have been the original form of karate, but there is no

doubt that Kichin Funakoshi was a true pioneer and his legacy

will be embedded in the foundation of martial arts forever.

Shoto-Con, in my opinion, is a fascinating study.

And not only is it one of the most popular and common styles of karate out there,

if not the most popular in common, you can also trace the art back to

multiple different varieties and other styles that have stemmed from it.

Now, it's not uncommon for a martial art to diverge and evolve over time,

but what I find interesting about Shoto-Con is all the different varieties

that stem from it in such a short amount of time.

Kichin Funakoshi and his son Gigo both taught the art

at the dojo, but it approached it very differently.

Gichin streamlined the art to fit the Japanese culture bit and toned down a lot

of the violence, focusing more on character development.

We already discussed how he retained the higher stances

of the Okinawan arts and took a softer approach.

Gigo, on the other hand, favored a harder version of the style, adopting a deeper,

lower stance and developing the more competitive version of the art.

The dual teaching started Shoto-Con on an early

path to be the basis of many other martial arts.

For example, Gigo implemented far more legwork and kicking into the system.

Shoto-Con tended to be more linear and mainly utilized front kicks, but Gigo

favored longer range attacks and he developed and introduced a whole array of

additional kicks in legwork, which included round kicks, thrusting the

snapping side kicks, back kicks, and utilizing the kicks for higher targets as well.

Gigo taught higher chambers and as a result, a lot more kicks to the head.

Now, this is an aspect that we would see continue to progress as Shoto-Con became

the foundation for the Korean arts of Tang Sudo and Taekwondo.

Tang Sudo took the kicking even further, which helped establish dynamic kicking

techniques as a trademark of the Korean martial arts,

something that was emphasized even more in Taekwondo.

While Shoto-Con often focused on linear power attacks, going for single

devastating strikes and then moving out, Tang Sudo implemented

more hip rotation and adding more rapid strike sequences.

They often shared the same concept with some key differences.

Now, if you really want to showcase and explore the differences and the nuances

between Shoto-Con and Tang Sudo-Catsas, I highly

recommend checking out our friend Senseiichi's channel.

He did a wonderful video on taking Kata-de-Hinu and learning the Shoto-Con

version of it and performing that determined.

So I highly recommend checking that out.

You can find a link to that in the description below.

Shoto-Con also blended a bit more as it became part of the Kiyokushin system.

Kiyokushin founder Masoyama trained in both Gojuru and

Shoto-Con, so his system is an interesting mix of both.

The Katsas are retained from both systems, split into north and southern categories.

Kiyokushin also retains the hard linear striking movements and kicks of Shoto-Con,

but takes it even further in a hard, forward

drive and devastating rapid sequences of strikes.

And there's several other systems out there that

have the roots and bases that are built on Shoto-Con.

And I find it to be a really interesting study.

It's even to look at Shoto-Con itself and see how it evolved from Shorun,

Ru, and Okinawa, and Te, and that an art as young as Shoto-Con, as new as it is in

the grand scheme of things, how it's been able to come together and grow and develop

and become so widespread, and influence so many other arts and

be the basis and roots of so many of the systems and varieties.

I think it's really, really interesting in an

academic and historical study of the martial arts.

So there we go.

This is the compilation episode of Shoto-Con and Kratay.

I hope you enjoyed it.

If you have not seen them as well, we also

did the same thing for Kempo and Kiyokushin.

And that kind of wraps up our videos for this year.

I thank you guys so much for watching us and supporting us the past couple of years.

We've got a lot of work we're putting in the season for.

We're really excited.

And hopefully we have a lot more opportunities this year, you know,

knock on wood, you know, social situations are a little

bit better and it can open up a lot more opportunities.

But we're excited about the upcoming year.

We thank you all so much.

We value your viewership.

We value your support.

We love our community.

We hope you guys have an absolutely wonderful,

safe holiday season in a very safe new year.

And we will see you soon in season four.