There is a commonly believed theory, that a Buddhist monk from India named, Bodhidharma, (called Ta Mo in Chinese and Darma Daishu, Dharma or Daruma Taishi in Japanese), traveled to China around 525 A.D. It is thought that Bodhidharma arrived at the Northern Shaolin Monastery, located in Honan Province. Once there, Bodhidharma began teaching his form of Buddhism, known as Chan in Chinese and Zen in Japanese. Seeing that the physical condition of his pupils was not equal to the harsh mental discipline that he imposed on them, he developed a series of exercises, known as Shih Pa Lo Han Sho, which he supposedly originated by watching various animals in combat. It is believed, that this was the foundation of the Chinese fistic arts known as, Chuan Fa. It is thought, that in subsequent years, Chinese traders and merchants, who were also experts in Chuan Fa, went to Okinawa, where their fighting techniques were mixed with the local combat methods called, “Tode”. This formed the basis for Karate.

In 1609 A.D., the Satsuma clan of Japan’s southernmost island, Kyushu, conquered Okinawa and banned the Okinawans from bearing weapons. This act caused the people to begin practicing, Karate (which was known as Okinawan-te or te), in secret, to defend themselves. They also originated methods of defense, using farm implements, which became known as, “te-gua”, “kobujutsu”, or “kobudo”. As time went by, the cities of Shuri, Naha and Tomari became the centers of Karate development.

In 1922, the Okinawan Karate Master Ginchin Funakoshi, began teaching Karate in Japan, where it was spread and systematized.