Okinawain vs mainland Karate

[nitanbo]

HI guys

I have studied a fair amount of the Okinawain karate and was wondering what are some of the differences between the two Okinawain and mainland.

thanks

nitanbo

[47MartialMan]

Was it straight Okinawan Karate from Okinawa?

Did you train there?

On Okinwawa today it is different than everywhere.

Classes can be up to 3 hours of crude, hard sweating, militeristic.

People not there from the outside would find this regimented training repetitious and boring.

Belts/grading would not be a first thought or desire.

[nitanbo]

Originally Posted by 47MartialMan

Was it straight Okinawan Karate from Okinawa?

Did you train there?

On Okinwawa today it is different than everywhere.

Classes can be up to 3 hours of crude, hard sweating, militeristic.

People not there from the outside would find this regimented training repetitious and boring.

Belts/grading would not be a first thought or desire.

I have never studied in Okinawa I have just studied styles that come from there.

Do they not train as hard on the mainland?
is rank more important to karateka on the mainland?


Is the karate different?, stances,basic tecniques and such.
if so how much different?


cya
jimi

[47MartialMan]

One of my students was in the service there a few years back. I had prepared him on what to look for and observations. (One of my teachers' instructor was from there.) While stationed there, he (my student) had problems having reputable teachers instruct him. I sent my student a sealed letter to give to a teacher there. He was accepted upon the first one he had presented it to.


Studying a style from there is not the same as studying there.

Instructors who go out abroad (ones who had studied there and departed), tend to lighten the workout/workload, due to not having the desire to ward of pontentially good students. (And in some cases customers/profits)

Most instructors over there are set in cantankerous moods and are strict in discipline. Many can be racist, chauvenist, and haughty (culturally/nationalist biased), in short, bigots.

[Shinobi_Kokujin]

when i was stationed in okinawa i used to observe the ones who train at the airbase gym.....was pretty hard training. I dont know too much about when your out in town besides what my okinawan girlfriend explained to me

cause her uncle practices karate. she said that the training is real rough and hardcore. an like Martialman said ,rank is the last thing on thier minds. its all about training and

a kind of esoterical side to it. cause they do it to also honor thier ancestors who came an trained before them. it falls in line with the "Sosen su Hai" ancestor worship/honor spirituality that they practice.


alot of mainland Japan karate is mcdojo-ish. some good ones to do take up there are Enshin an Kyokushinkai.

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Shinobi_Kokujin

when i was stationed in okinawa i used to observe the ones who train at the airbase gym.....was pretty hard training. I dont know too much about when your out in town besides what my okinawan girlfriend explained to me

cause her uncle practices karate. she said that the training is real rough and hardcore. an like Martialman said ,rank is the last thing on thier minds. its all about training and

a kind of esoterical side to it. cause they do it to also honor thier ancestors who came an trained before them. it falls in line with the "Sosen su Hai" ancestor worship/honor spirituality that they practice.


alot of mainland Japan karate is mcdojo-ish. some good ones to do take up there are Enshin an Kyokushinkai.

Yes, Kobudo from the Shihan Mikio Nishiuchi lineage is also good.

[wmks shogun]

To give a generalized answer as to the differences between Okinawan karate and Japanese Karate, it is watered down. Part of this was due to Funakoshi's approach. He brought karate from Okinawa to Japan though it had already been slightly watered down when it was put in the schools in Okinawa, and more so in the schools in Japan, from what I understand. Then again, at many martial arts school, even more 'traditional' ones, there is not the necessity of self preservation as there was in the times prior to Funakoshi and his contemporaries. The threats of today are not exactly the same as those in the past, so certain aspects of training change with the times. We are unlikely to need to defend against katana-weilding samurai, so there is little need to include a full sword defense curriculum. As such changes have crept in, many schools have had their curriculum watered down over time. As Okinawa is the birth place of karate, it stands to reason that it has the most traditional, unchanged curriculum.

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by wmks shogun

To give a generalized answer as to the differences between Okinawan karate and Japanese Karate, it is watered down. Part of this was due to Funakoshi's approach. He brought karate from Okinawa to Japan though it had already been slightly watered down when it was put in the schools in Okinawa, and more so in the schools in Japan, from what I understand. Then again, at many martial arts school, even more 'traditional' ones, there is not the necessity of self preservation as there was in the times prior to Funakoshi and his contemporaries. The threats of today are not exactly the same as those in the past, so certain aspects of training change with the times. We are unlikely to need to defend against katana-weilding samurai, so there is little need to include a full sword defense curriculum. As such changes have crept in, many schools have had their curriculum watered down over time. As Okinawa is the birth place of karate, it stands to reason that it has the most traditional, unchanged curriculum.

I like this. Kudos!

But as a added note: traditional doesnt always imply better or more (or less) effective.

[nitanbo]

thanks for the info



cya
nitanbo

[kuroitaka]

all this about karate it really deserves to be known all over the world

[Suzy]

I've trained in an Okinawan style of karate for 7 years now and since I reached the higher ranks my Sensei has said that Japanese karate is meant to be pretty while Okinawan karate is meant to destroy things. It's not meant to be pretty, it's meant to be functional. Our particular style, Shorin Ryu Shorinkan, has some pretty nasty techniques of the ones that I've seen, and experienced. It is relatively unchanged from when it was established.

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Suzy

I've trained in an Okinawan style of karate for 7 years now and since I reached the higher ranks my Sensei has said that Japanese karate is meant to be pretty while Okinawan karate is meant to destroy things. It's not meant to be pretty, it's meant to be functional. Our particular style, Shorin Ryu Shorinkan, has some pretty nasty techniques of the ones that I've seen, and experienced. It is relatively unchanged from when it was established.

But, some of the Okinawan stuff is not as it was. There is a lot of commercialism.

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by 47MartialMan

But, some of the Okinawan stuff is not as it was. There is a lot of commercialism.

This is true. The style that I train in is, luckily, not that commerialized. Well, at least, my Sensei tries to keep it as traditional as possible, which every one in my dojo appreciates.

[47MartialMan]

Originally Posted by Suzy

This is true. The style that I train in is, luckily, not that commerialized. Well, at least, my Sensei tries to keep it as traditional as possible, which every one in my dojo appreciates.

I have a dear friend and student who is now stationed around Okinawa. He had asked me which would be the finest schools. I told him the ones that probably dont advertise.

[Suzy]

Originally Posted by 47MartialMan

I have a dear friend and student who is now stationed around Okinawa. He had asked me which would be the finest schools. I told him the ones that probably dont advertise.

Haha, sound advice.