An Analysis of and Recommendation for the Japanese KARATE's Process of Flowing into KOREA

Abstract

As a traditional Japanese martial art and a self defense technique, Karate is one that which does not use a weapon but systematically trains hands and feet to run, kick, lunge, block and avoid, among other techniques while promptly identifying moving targets and submitting the counterparts with a legal strike. As this Karate was introduced to Korea, it has formed a new martial arts culture in combination with traditional Korean martial arts. It is very rare that a nation or a culture has a unique culture of its own and instead has flourished and grown by interacting with and under the influence of other nations and cultures. Karate was also developed as a result of a combination of “te”, indigenous to Okinawa, and the martial art of the fist of southern China, and it was spread throughout Japan decisively by Funakoshi Gichin in October 1908, when it was adopted as a formal subject along with Judo and Kendo for Teachers School in Okinawa and Jeongrip Jeil Middle School. Thereafter in 1936, a meeting was held in Naha, the capital of Okinawa, to unify the official name of Karate into Karatem(空手). And in May 1956, the Okinawa Karate Federation was formed, and in 1960, the first official grading and dan review was held, and in February 1967, it turned into the All Okinawa Karate Federation. Ever since, Karate has globalized through the magnificent works of Oyama Masters(Choi Young-eui) and was adopted as a formal event for the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games in 2020. During the 36-year Japanese colonial period, Koreans naturally came to learn about the Japanese culture, and Korean students who learned Karate during their study in Japan returned and taught Karate they learned before and after liberation, which gave rises to the inflow of Japanese Karate into Korea. Among the representative figures was Lee Won-guk, who founded the ‘Cheongdokwan’ and went to Japan's Waseda Middle and High School to studied Karate from Funakoshi Gichin by entering ‘Shotokan’, the root of Karate while he attended faculty of law at Chou University. And while studying in Japan, Roh Byeong-jik who founded ‘Songmukwan’ also learned Karate at ‘Shotokan’ of Funakoshi Gichin, the founder of the modern Karate, and Jeon Sang-seob also learned Karate during his study in Japan, founded ‘Chosun Yeonmukwan’ and taught Karate. Yoon Byeong-in, who taught Karate at the YMCA Fungfu Department located in Jongno, Seoul, also learned Karate during his study in Japan and was promoted to the 5th dan. The Japanese Karate, which was introduced into Korea, formed Karate with five major factions including Moodeokkwan, and taught Karate. However, in September 1954, the title of Taekwondo was conceived by Choi Hong-hee, and in 1965, Choi Hong-hee became the chairman of the Korean Taesoodo Association and renamed it to the Korean Taekwondo Association and used ‘Taekwondo’ as its official name. In November 1972, the central studio ‘Kukkiwon’ launched and integrated. Given this background, this study will help to understand the historical flow of the culture of Korean and Japanese martial arts and also help understand the foundation for the formation of martial arts through the analysis of Japanese Karate's flow into Korea.