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Karate -
Karate is a martial art developed from Chinese kenpo (in particular, Southern California kung fu) and indigenous fighting methods from the Ryukyu Islands. It is primarily a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knees and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques, but grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints, throws and vital point striking are also taught, depending on the style. Modern karate was first demonstrated in Japan in 1922 by Gichin Funakoshi,
the founder of modern karate. However the history of karate stretches
further back than this to the Ryukyu Islands off the coast of
Japan, today known as Okinawa. In these islands the predecessor
of modern karate Okinawa-te was performed. The origins of
Okinawa-te are not fully known but it is believed that some of
the influence for this came from China and its development
brought about by the ban of weapons in Okinawa in the 15th
century. There were two main styles of Okinawa-te, Shuri-te
(Shorin) and Naha-te (Shorei). Shorin was the style practised in
Shuri (Shuri-te) and Shorei was the style practised in Naha
(Naha-te). Styles of karate such as Shorin-ryu where derived from
Shuri-te, whilst styles such as Goju-ryu were derived from
Naha-te. It is often said that Gichin Funakoshi merged Shorin and
Shorei to form his style of karate which became known as
Shotokan. However Gichin Funakoshi never studied Naha-te and all
of the kata which he eventually included in Shotokan were from
Shuri-te suggesting that the combination of these styles is not
correct.
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In 1922 Gichin
Funakoshi travelled to mainland Japan to give a demonstration of
karate to the All Japan Athletic Exhibition in Tokyo. Soon after
this demonstration he was asked to give a demonstration at the
Kodokan Judo Hall to Jigoro Kano (The founder of Judo) and his
senior instructors. This demonstration was well received. This
was a turning point in the history of karate and helped lead to
it's introduction into Japan. Soon after this Master Funakoshi
was able to start teaching karate in a small dining hall in the
Meisojuku. Gichin Funakoshi continued to teach karate and after a
couple of years he began teaching at other institutions and
karate clubs were opened at several universities. During this
time karate was changed and made more Japanese to encompass
concepts such as Budo. Also the name Kara-te was changed from the
original meaning of China-hand (the character for China
originally being Kara being changed to mean empty) to Empty-hand
and the kata renamed. The Shotokan of this time was different to
modern Shotokan encompassing a large number of throws which were
eventually removed from the style.
Shotokan continued to
develop and in the mid 30's Gichin Funakoshi had more or less
retired and handed control of his Dojo's to his son Yoshitaka
also known as Gigo. A large number of the changes to the original
Shotokan style which led to the modern style of Shotokan are
attributed to Yoshitaka. In 1939 due to the success of the clubs
a new central dojo was formed and opened by Master Gichin
Funakoshi, over the door was hung a plaque which read "The
hall of Shoto" - Shotokan, Shoto being the pen name Gichin
Funakoshi used to sign his poetry. During the Second World War
Yoshitaka was killed and the Shotokan dojo destroyed. After the
war Japan was devastated and Japanese martial arts banned by the
occupying allied forces. During this time some of the senior
students of Master Funakoshi began to reorganise karate and get
the ban on karate lifted under the guise that it was Chinese
boxing, therefore from the end of the war until 1949 karate was
the only martial art that was allowed to be taught in Japan. In
1949 the Japan Karate Association was founded with Master
Funakoshi as the chief instructor and the late head of the JKA
Masatoshi Nakayama on the committee as principal active
instructor. Master Funakoshi died in 1957 at 89 years of age.
Objectives of Taekwondo
- to develop an appreciation for Taekwondo as a sport
and as an art
- to achieve physical fitness through positive
participation
- to improve mental discipline and emotional
equanimity
- to develop a sense of responsibility
for one self and others.
Hapkido is a Korean martial art. Hapkido is a total martial art,
combining the locking and breaking aspects of Aikido, the throwing
aspects of Judo, the striking aspects of Karate, and the footwork of Tae
Kwon Do. It is an amazing skill which unlocks the hidden powers of
strength and confidence in even the smallest person - young or old, male
or female. Hapkido is the most effective defence against the most common
and uncommon assaults.
Hapkido revolves around the principle of circular motion. We can
find the particulars of Hapkido in turning skills and movements. Turning
skills in Hapkido movements are circular movements and a circle is a
sphere. All the movements faithfully follow the movements of the sphere,
or nature if you will, and stem from a central point (which is the
balance point of your body in a particular position). For example, when
an object enters the sphere of a spinning object (such as a top), that
object is carried within the momentum of the spinning object and then is
thrown out. Such are the movements of Hapkido.
Most other martial arts deal with direct, straight movements,
whereas, Hapkido leads the attack of an opponent in a circle. In
Hapkido, we try to absorb what is useful and reject what is useless.
Therefore, instead of stopping an opponent's attack and initiating an
attack of one's own, an Hapkidoist leads the attack by simply moving out
of the way of the attack and then using the attack against one's
opponent. Therefore, not much strength is needed because the stronger
the opponent's attack, the more he resists, the more aggressive he
becomes, the easier it is for the Hapkidoist to defend himself or
herself. In effect, the Hapkidoist uses the opponent's strength,
momentum and balance against himself, combined with the Hapkidoist's own
attack.
Aside from the obvious self defense aspects of Hapkido, there are
mysterious health benefits as well. Hapkido uses natural movements,
therefore, inducing calmness and relaxation. Movements of Hapkido helps
prevent the degradation and aging of the body by providing proper
circulation through the body and self regulation of the nervous system.
It is said that Hapkido leads to a more serene and longer life.
The term SAMBO is an acronym for the Russian phrase "SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya" or in English language, "Self-defense Without Weapons." Until the official adoption of the term "SAMBO" the sport had also been referred to as SAM, and then later SAMOZ. The correct, official Internationally recognized English transliterated spelling is SAMBO.
Judo was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1964 and is
practiced by millions of people throughout the world today. People
practice Judo to excel in competition, to stay in shape, to develop
self-confidence, and for many other reasons. But most of all, people do
Judo just for the fun of it.
Judo is best known for it's spectacular throwing
techniques but also involves grappling on the ground utilizing
specialized pins, control holds, arm locks, and Judo choking techniques. Judo is learned on special mats for comfort and safety.
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Arnis -
In Arnis there are techniques without weapons (kick, punch, boxing, wrestling), and with (one or two) sticks, knifes and/or machetes/swords - and more. The main technical stuff includes blocking, trapping, disarming and various lock- and throwing-techniques. After having acquired some skills, one will also be able to selfdefend with other things, like an umbrella, a newspaper, even a towel. In the daily training there is also focus on coordination, timing and reaction-abilities, and also concentration. The focus on strict discipline isn't as high as in some other martial arts, which mainly is because the philisophy is to use the time for training, and not formal stuff. Background-stuff (culture, history etc) is also covered, and is a part of the theoretical requirements in graduation/promotions. The Filipino Martial Arts (which also includes Eskrima, Kali and others) are (at least) documented back to 1521 when Magellan was defeated by grandmaster Lapu-Lapu.
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