Okinawan martial arts refers to themartial arts, such askarate,tegumi andkobudō, which originated among the indigenous people ofOkinawa Island. Due to its location (between "Mainland Japan" andTaiwan), Okinawa was influenced by various cultures with a long history of trade and cultural exchange, includingJapan,China andSoutheast Asia, that greatly influenced the development of martial arts on Okinawa.
In 1429, the three kingdoms on Okinawa unified to form theKingdom of Ryukyu. When KingShō Shin came into power in 1477, he banned the practice of martial arts, due to fears of the widespread teaching of the art of deception. Tō-te and Ryukyu kobudō (deception) continued to be taught in secret.[1] The ban was continued in 1609 after Okinawa was invaded by theSatsuma Domain of Japan. The bans contributed to the development of kobudō which uses common household and farming implements as weaponry.[citation needed] The Okinawans combined Chinese martial arts with the existing local variants to formTōde (唐手,Tuudii, Tang hand, China hand), sometimes calledOkinawa-te (沖縄手,Uchinaa-dii).[2]
By the 18th century, different types ofte had developed in three different villages –Shuri,Naha andTomari. The styles were named Shuri-te, Naha-te, and Tomari-te, respectively.
Well into the 20th century, the martial arts of Okinawa were generally referred to aste andtii手 inJapanese andOkinawan for "hand".Te often varied from one town to another, so to distinguish among the various types ofte, the word was often prefaced with its area of origin; for example, Naha-te, Shuri-te, or Tomari-te.
Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te belong to a family of martial arts that were collectively defined asTode-jutsu orTo-de.[3][4]
Karate (Okinawa-te orKarate-jutsu) was systematically taught in Japan after theTaishō era (after 1926).[5]
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Shuri-te (首里手, Okinawan: Suidii) is a pre-World War II term for a type of indigenousmartial art to the area aroundShuri, the old capital city of theRyukyu Kingdom.
Important Okinawan masters of Shuri-te:
Importantkata:
The successor styles to Shuri-te includeShotokan,Shitō-ryū,Shōrin-ryū,Shudokan,Shuri-ryū,Shōrinji-ryū,Isshin-ryū,Gensei-ryu andMotobu-ryū.
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Tomari-te (泊手, Okinawan: Tumai-dii) refers to a tradition of martial arts originating from the village ofTomari, Okinawa.
Important Okinawan masters of Tomari-te:
Importantkata:
The successor styles to Tomari-te includeWado-ryu,Motobu-ryū,Matsubayashi-ryu andShōrinji-ryū
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Naha-te (那覇手, Okinawan: Naafa-dii) is a pre-World War II term for a type ofmartial art indigenous to the area aroundNaha, the old commercial city of theRyukyu Kingdom and now the capital city ofOkinawa Prefecture.
Important Okinawan masters of Naha-te:
Importantkata:
The successor styles to Naha-te includeShōrei-ryū (earliest school),Gōjū-ryū,Uechi-ryū,Ryūei-ryū,Shito-ryu andTōon-ryū.
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