When the feudal Lord of ancient Okinawa banned the use of weapons on the island, it gave rise to the development of a fighting art which was a combination of the indigenous fighting techniques of the island, and the Shao Lin art of fighting that had been imported to Okinawa from China.

In 1922 Okinawa Master Gichin Funakoshi introduced this "empty hand" martial art to Japan, when he was invited to lecture and demonstrate at an exhibition of traditional martial arts, sponsored by the ministry of education. His demonstration so impressed the audience that he was flooded with requests to teach in Tokyo.

Sensei Funakoshi was a warrior, a poet and a great calligrapher. The name Shotokan is formed by the words Shoto and Kan. "Shoto" was the pen name Funakoshi used to sign his art work with. "Kan" means building. "Shotokan" was an expression used to distinguish the style of karate practiced at Shoto's place.

Funakoshi Sensei remained in Japan and continued to cultivate Shotokan Karate. Before his death in 1957 he officially designated the late Masatoshi Nakayama to pass the art on to future generations. Nakayama Sensei devoted his entire life to the cause of Karate-Do, travelling the globe, teaching, lecturing and demonstrating the principles he learned from his teacher.

He is the author of many books on the subject, which impart his vast knowledge on technique and philosophies. Many of the Shotokan Karate Coalition's senior instructors were fortunate enough to have trained directly under Nakayama Sensei.

One of the first westerners to have trained directly under Master Nakayama was a man by the name of Stan Schmidt. Sensei Schmidt started his career in the martial arts by studying Judo in his home town of Johannesburg, South Africa. After an injury prevented him from training, he became aware of a relatively lesser known martial art being taught in Japan. In 1963 Stan decided to take his new bride over to Japan where he trained with some of the most highly regarded instructors of Shotokan karate in the world. Stan took his knowledge back to South Africa and developed one of the largest Karate associations outside of Japan, the Japan Karate Association of South Africa.

One of sensei Stan's top students Sensei Keith Geyer followed in his teachers tradition by travelling to Japan on a regular basis to perfect his art. Sensei Geyer became the youngest westerner to earn his 7th dan black belt from the Japan Karate Association in Tokyo, Japan 2000. Within his 34years of karate training sensei Keith has proven himself as a world class competitor and coach. He is in high demand around the world and heads the Oceanic devision of the World Karate Confederation and the Shotokan Karate Coalition (SKC).

Sensei Keith officialy founded the SKC in 2004 appointing a technical board of directors including sensei Robert Sachs, sensei Jeff Krug and sensei Luke Byrne. The SKC promises to carry on the traditions and teachings of sensei Nakayama and to help further the development of Shotokan Karate around the globe.

Click on this link to read the personal philosophy of the Luke Byrne School of Karate

 

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