Japan annexed the nominally independent Ryukyu island group in 1874 after centuries of strong Japanese influence over the kingdom's affairs following the invasion by the Japanese Satsuma clan in 1609. The relationship between Okinawa and Japan is complicated. For purposes of discussing karate, it is convenient to speak of Okinawa and Japan as separate entities.

The Okinawan martial art "ti" (or "te") was practiced by Okinawa royalty and their retainers for centuries before, and alongside, later Chinese influences. For the most part there were no particular styles of "ti", but rather a network of practitioners with their own individual methods and eclectic traditions. Early styles of karate are often generalized as Shuri-te, Naha-te and Tomari-te, named after the three cities in which they emerged, although these are not concrete distinctions.[12] Each area (and the teachers who lived there) had particular kata, techniques, and principles that distinguished their local version of "ti" from the others.

Members of the Okinawan upper classes were sent to China regularly to learn and study a variety of disciplines, political and practical; this exchange was not too different from the practice of exchange students today. The incorporation of empty-handed Chinese kung fu occurred partly because of these exchanges. Estimates of the Chinese influence in modern karate styles (or schools) vary considerably, and there are no clean divisions among 'styles'. To this day karate styles from some areas bear a striking resemblance to Fujian martial arts such as Fujian White Crane, Five Ancestors, and Gangrou-quan (Hard Soft Fist, pronounced "Go-ju-ken" in Japanese), while some karate looks distinctly Okinawan.[citation needed] Further influence came from Southeast Asia particularly Sumatra, Java and Melaka. The similarities between karate and silat are not only found in the unarmed forms but the weapons as well. Many Okinawan weapons originated in and around Southeast Asia including the sai, tonfa and nunchaku.

In 1706, Tudi Sakukawa (1782-1838), who had studied pugilism and staff (bo) fighting in China (according to one legend, under the guidance of Koshokun, originator of kusanku kata), started teaching a fighting art in the city of Shuri that he called "Tudi Sakukawa" (at that time meaning "Sakakawa of China hand"). This was the first known recorded reference to the art of Tudi (written as ??).[citation needed]

Around the 1820s, Sakukawa's most significant student, Sokon Matsumura (1709-1899) taught a synthesis of te (Shuri-te and Tomari-te) and Shaolin (Chinese ??) styles. It would become the style Shorin-ryu-. Anko Itosu

Matsumura taught his karate to Anko Itosu (1831-1915), among others. Itosu adapted two forms he learned from Matsumara, namely kusanku and chiang nan, to create the ping'an forms ("heian" or "pinan" in Japanese, as the symbols can be read differently) as simplified kata for beginning students. In 1901 he was instrumental in getting karate introduced into Okinawa's public schools. These forms were taught to children at the elementary-school level. Itosu is also credited with taking the large naihanchi form ("tekki" in Japan) and breaking it into the three well-known modern forms naihanchi shodan, naihanchi nidan and naihanchi sandan.[citation needed]

Itosu's influence in karate is very broad. The forms he created for beginners are common across nearly all forms of karate. His students included some of the most well-known karate practitioners, including Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni, and Motobu Choki. He is sometimes known as the "Grandfather of Modern Karate." [13]

In addition to the three early "ti" styles of karate, a fourth Okinawan influence is that of Kanbun Uechi (1877-1948), who, at the age of 20, went to Fuzhou in Fujian Province, China, to escape Japanese military conscription. While there, he studied under Shushiwa, the leading figure of Chinese Nanpa Shorin-ken at that time. [14] He later developed his own style of karate based on the Sanchin, Seisan and Sanseiryu kata that he studied in China.[15]

Gichin Funakoshi, father of Shotokan karate, is generally credited with having introduced and popularized karate on the main islands of Japan. He was a student of Anko Asato and Anko Itosu, who had worked to introduce karate to the Okinawa Prefectural School System in 1902. He brought Itosu's pinan kata to Japan (as did other of Itosu's students, such as Kenwa Mabuni, founder of Shito-ryu karate). Funakoshi worked specifically to introduce modernizations into karate and to spread it to Japan. However, there were many other Okinawan karateka living and teaching in Japan during this time period. Funakoshi's peers included such notable figures as Kenwa Mabuni, Chojun Miyagi, Motobu Choki, Toyama Kanken, Kanbun Uechi and several others.

This was an especially turbulent period in history for that area of the world, including Japan's official annexation of the Okinawan island group in 1874, the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), and the rise of Japanese expansionism (1905-1945). The karate styles within Japan have fairly clean lineages.

Japan was invading China at the time, and Funakoshi knew that the art of Tang/China hand would not be accepted; thus the change to "way of the empty hand". The "do-" suffix implies that karatedo- is a path to self knowledge, not just a study of the technical aspects of fighting. Like most martial arts practiced in Japan, karate made its transition from -jutsu to -do- around the beginning of the 20th century. The "do-" in "karate-do-" sets it apart from karate "jutsu", much as aikido is distinguished from aikijutsu, judo from jujutsu, Iaidô from Iaijûtsu and so on. Funakoshi Gichin

As mentioned, Funakoshi changed the names of many kata and the meaning of the art itself (at least on mainland Japan). He most likely did this to get karate accepted by the Japanese budo organization Dai Nippon Butoku Kai. Funakoshi also gave Japanese names to many of the kata. The five Itosu pinan forms became known as heian; the three naihanchi forms became known as tekki; seisan' as hangetsu; chinto as gankaku; wanshu' as empi; etc. These were mostly just political changes, rather than changes to the content of the forms, although Funakoshi did institute changes to the content. The name changes may have been designed to make the art sound more Japanese (less "foreign"). Funakoshi had trained in two of the popular branches of Okinawan karate of the time, Shorin-ryu- and Shorei-ryu-. In Japan he was influenced by kendo, incorporating some ideas about distancing and timing into his style. He always referred to what he taught as simply "karate"; however, in 1936 he built the Shotokan dojo in Tokyo, and the school or style he left behind is usually called Shotokan.

The modernization and systemization of karate in Japan also included the adoption of the ubiquitous white uniform which consisted of the kimono and the dogi or keikogi - mostly called just karategi (pronounced 'gee' like 'key', and with a hard "g") - and colored belt ranks. Both of these innovations were originated and popularized by Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, one of the men Funakoshi consulted in his efforts to 'modernize' karate.

In 1922, Ohtsuka Hironori attended the Tokyo Sports Festival, where he saw the Karate of Gichin Funakoshi. Ohtsuka was so impressed with this that he visited Funakoshi on numerous occasions during his stay. Funakoshi was, in turn, impressed by Ohtsuka's enthusiasm and determination to understand Karate and agreed to teach him all he knew about it. In the following years, Ohtsuka set up a medical practice dealing with martial arts injuries. His prowess in martial arts had led him to be the Chief Instructor of Shindo Yoshin Ryu Jujitsu at the age of only 30, and assistant instructor at Funakoshi dojo.

By 1929, Ohtsuka Hironori was registered as a member of the Japan Martial arts Federation. Okinawan Karate at this time was only concerned with Kata, which is a set sequence of movements against an imaginary opponent (or group of opponents). Ohtsuka thought that the full spirit of Budo, which concentrates on defence and attack, was missing, and that kata techniques did not work in realistic fighting situations. He experimented with other, more combatative styles such as Judo, Kendo and Aikido. He blended the practical and useful elements of Okinawan karate with traditional Japanese martial-arts techniques from jujitsu and kendo, which lead to the birth of Kumite, or fighting, in Karate. Ohtsuka thought that there was a need for this more dynamic and fluid type of Karate to be taught, and he therefore decided to leave Funakoshi to concentrate on developing his own style of Karate - Wado.

In 1934 Wado-Ryu Karate was officially recognised as an independent style of Karate. This recognition meant a departure for Ohtsuka from his medical practice and the fulfilment of a life's ambition - to become a full-time martial artist.

Ohtsuka's personalised style of Karate was officially registered in 1938 after he was awarded the rank of "Renshi-go". He presented a demonstration of Wado Karate for the Japan Martial arts Federation. They were so impressed with his style and commitment that they acknowledged him as a high-ranking instructor. The next year the Japan Martial arts Federation asked all the different styles to register their names. Ohtsuka registered the name Wado-Ryu. In 1944, Ohtsuka was appointed Japan's Chief Karate Instructor.

A new form of karate called Kyokushin was developed by Masutatsu Oyama in 1964. Kyokushin taught a curriculum that emphasized contact, physical toughness, and practical application of karate techniques to self-defense situations. Because of its emphasis on physical, full-force sparring, Kyokushin is now often called "full contact karate." Many other karate organizations based, at least in part, on the Kyokushin curriculum have "spun-off" over the years.

There are four recognized (by the Federation of All Japan Karatedo Organization), traditional styles of karate:

• Shotokan
• Shito-ryu
• Goju-ryu
• Wado-ryu

Styles that do not belong to one of these schools are not automatically considered to be "illegitimate" or "bad" karate, just not one of the traditional schools. For example the styles listed by the World Union of Karate-do Organizations (WUKO) [16] are Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu, Shotokan, Wado-ryu, Shorin-ryu, Uechi-ryu, Kyokushinkai, and Budokan. Many/most schools will be affiliated with or heavily influenced by one or more of these traditional styles.

Dharma Daishi (Bodhidharma in Sanskrit and Daruma Daishi in Japanese) was an Enlightened Hindu from India who is credited with re-teaching and reviving Hindu philosophy in China, originally spread to China by another Indian Hindu priest, Siddhartha, or Buddha, and then founding the martial arts. Buddhism is simply the worshipping of this enigmatic Hindu &Mac222;gure, called the Buddha, which means “incredible mind” in Sanskrit. Bodhidharma, or Dharma Daishi, began his life in Southern India in the Sardilli family in 482 A.D. In the midst of his education and training to continue in his father’s footsteps as king, Bodhidharma encountered the Buddha’s original teachings. He immediately saw the truth in Lord Buddha’s words and decided to give up his esteemed position as a prince and inheritance to study with the famous Hindu teacher Prajnatara. Dharma Daishi rapidly progressed in his Hindu studies, and in time, Prajnatara sent Dharma Daishi to China, in order to better teach the indigenous Chinese peoples the lessons and rigorous discipline required for perfect Hindu medititative states. Unfortunately, the Chinese people could not grasp the abstract concepts relating to this meditation, and so Dharma Daishi taught them incredibly rigorous physical lessons in order to teach them the necessary discipline required for the true Hindu meditaive jounrye which leads to “Moksha,” or release from earthly bondage, otherwise known as “Nirvana.” The physical exertions were used to train the body, and then hopefully, the mind would also become harder and more disciplined after these regimented actions. Dharma Daishi arrived in China after a brutal trek over Tibet’s Himalayan Mountains surviving both the extreme elements and treacherous bandits.

Upon arrival in China, the Emperor Wu Ti, a devout Buddhist himself, requested an audience with Dharma. During their initial meeting, Wu Ti asked Dharma what merit he had achieved for all of his good deeds. Bodhidharma informed him that he had accrued none whatsoever. Bodhidharma was subsequently unable to convince Wu Ti of the value of the teachings he had brought from India. Bodhidharma then set out for Loyang, crossed the Tse River, and climbed Bear’s Ear Mountain in the Sung Mountain range where a Shaolin Temple was located. He meditated there in a small cave for nine years.

Dharma, in true Maha or “great” spirit, was moved to pity when he saw the terrible physical condition of the monks of the Shaolin Temple. It seemed to him that they were unable to fully grasp the enormous mental and abstract discipline necessary to achieve Nirvana, or the ultimate release destination derived from meditation. The monks had practiced long-term meditation retreats, which made them spiritually stronger, but physically weak and unable to &Mac222;nish their meditative journeys. He also noted that this meditation method caused sleepiness among the monks. Therefore Dharma informed the monks that he would teach their bodies and subsequently their minds the Buddha’s dharma “duty” through a two-part program of meditation accompanied by excrutiatingly dif&Mac222;cult physical training.

Dharma created an exercise program for the monks which involved physical techniques that were ef&Mac222;cient, strengthened the body, and eventually, could be used practically in self-defense. When Dharma instituted these practices, his primary concern was to make the monks physically strong enough to withstand both their isolated lifestyle and the deceptively demanding training that meditation requires. It turned out that the techniques served a dual purpose as a very ef&Mac222;cient &Mac222;ghting system, which evolved into a martial arts style given the Chinese name, “Kung Fu.” Martial arts training helped the monks to defend themselves against invading warlords and bandits. Dharma taught that martial arts should be used for self-defense, and never to hurt or injure needlessly. In fact, it is one of the oldest Shaolin axioms that “one who engages in combat has already lost the battle.”

Dharma, a member of the Indian Kshatriya warrior class and a master of staff &Mac222;ghting, developed a system of 18 dynamic tension exercises. These movements found their way into print in 550 A.D. as the Yi Gin Ching, or Changing Muscle/Tendon Classic. We know this system today as the Lohan (Priest-Scholar) 18 Hand Movements, the basis of Chinese Temple Boxing and the Shaolin Arts.

Some historians dispute the date, but legend states that Dharma settled in the Shaolin Temple of Songshan in Hunan Province in 526 A.D. We do know the &Mac222;rst Shaolin Temple of Songshan was built in 377 A.D. for Pan Jaco, “The First Buddha”, by the order of Emperor Wei on the Shao Shik Peak of Sonn Mountain in Teng Fon Hsien, Hunan Province. The Temple was for religious training and meditation only. Martial arts training did not begin until the arrival of Dharma in 526 A.D. Dharma, or Bodhidharma, died in 539 A.D. at the Shaolin Temple at age 57.

Bodhidharma was an extraordinary being who remains an example and an inspiration to practitioners today. He is the source of many miraculous stories of dedication to the Way. One such legend states that Bodhidharma became frustrated once while meditating because he had fallen asleep. He was so upset that he cut off his eyelids to prevent this interruption in meditation from ever happening again. Yet another legend states that Bodhidharma meditated for so long that his arms and legs eventually fell off. This is a reminder of the true dedication and devotion necessary in meditation practice. The Bodhidharma doll was developed as a symbol of this dedication. In Japan and other parts of the world, when someone has a task they wish to complete, they purchase a red Bodhidharma doll that comes without pupils painted on the eyes. At the outset of the task one pupil is colored in, and upon completion, the other pupil is painted. The dolls and the evolution of martial arts and meditation, are a continuous reminder of Bodhidharma’s impact on Buddhism and martial arts.