It may surprise you to learn that the first place karate was demonstrated outside of Japan was Hawaii. The Nuuanu YMCA, specifically. It’s an interesting story.
The martial art was developed in Okinawa, which was once an independent Ryukyu Kingdom. Okinawa is closer to Taiwan and China (about 450 miles) than to the southern Japanese island of Kyushu (about 600 miles).
Charles Goodin, who has created a Karate Museum in Hawaii, believes that martial arts in Okinawa were likely influenced by two factors that limited the availability of weapons. King Shoshin of Okinawa restricted weapons around 1500 to lessen the chances of war.
And then, in 1609, the Satsuma clan that ruled Kyushu invaded Okinawa. The kingdom had an alliance with China up until then, but the Chinese emperor failed to come to their aid. The Satsuma clan left the king in place but took many of the remaining swords away from the Okinawans. In response they turned to martial arts.
Karate ("empty hand") was a combination of Chinese kempo and Okinawan "te." Originally called "Todi" ("China hand"), the term karate is thought to have replaced it as it spread throughout Japan around 1900.
In 1927 the elder statesman of Okinawan karate, Kentsu Yabu, visited family in California. On his way back to Okinawa, he stopped in Hawaii.
The demonstration at the Nuuanu YMCA was put on at the end of March 1927. Seven hundred people attended a later demonstration July 8, 1927. Yabu also demonstrated karate on Maui and Kauai.
As an aside, I should note that in 1927 the Nuuanu YMCA was not in its current location. It was across the street, in what is now the parking lot of Longs and Safeway.
Okinawan immigrants brought karate with them to Hawaii. Those who preyed on elderly Okinawans soon found they had a "secret" art of self-defense.
Karate was not the first martial art to be practiced in Hawaii. As early as 1885, a large group of Japanese contract workers gathered at Iolani Palace to give demonstrations of sumo and kendo. Jiujitsu was also taught in Hawaii before 1900.
Goodin points out that karate in Okinawa was very different from karate in Japan.
"Karate in Okinawa was taught privately to one or two students at a time," Goodin states. "In Japan they taught it to dozens at a time, particularly at the universities. In Okinawa, karate could easily cripple or kill. For instance, one could tear the muscles and tendons from the side of an opponent’s face. It was to be used only as a last resort. There was virtue in its non-use. The Okinawans like to say that ‘the hand is a treasure in the pocket — karate cannot be undone.’
"In Japan it was toned down and structured. It became like a business. Demonstrations and tournaments were held," Goodin points out. "In Okinawa the students bow to each other. In Japan they are, in effect, bowing to the emperor."
The ranking of students came from Japan, Goodin says. "Karate was taught at the Tokyo Imperial University in the 1920s and 1930s. The founder of judo, Jigoro Kano, was president of the university. Judo’s system of belts (obi) was brought to karate there."
In judo the students wore white uniforms reflecting simplicity, purity and lack of ego. All students began as equals. The black belt with the white uniform symbolized the polarity of opposites. The student begins empty but fills up with knowledge. For Kano, belts were like grade levels.
In 1934 another karate master from Okinawa visited Hawaii. "His name was Chojun Miyagi," says Goodin. "That may be where Mr. Miyagi in the ‘Karate Kid’ movie got his name."
"Karate is poorly understood in the U.S., particularly Okinawan karate," Goodin says. "I like to say it’s the opposite of everything you think it is."
The first martial art taught in Hawaii was homegrown. Hawaiian warriors developed a martial art called lua. Betty Fullard-Leo described it as a "discipline that required balancing the practitioner’s spiritual and physical aspects in order to achieve victory in battle as well as harmony in everyday living."
Lua can mean "two," expressing the duality involved in the martial art, Fullard-Leo believes. It can also mean "pit," as "to pit in battle." A lua master, or ‘olohe lua, could "turn an opponent’s energy into a force against the enemy himself."
Bob Sigall, author of the "Companies We Keep" books, looks through his collection of old photos to tell stories each Friday of Hawaii people, places and companies. Email him at Sigall@Yahoo.com.
