Karate styles – Naha-te

Naha-te (那覇手, “Naha hand”) is one of the three historical methods or schools of Okinawan tode from which almost all of what is recognised as “modern” karate developed. Although originally a separate locality, Naha is now part of the same conurbation at the southern end of Okinawa Island. The Naha-te style is considered to preserve Chinese kempō most obviously.

Historical Context and Origins

The practice of Te (手, meaning “hand” or “technique”) in Okinawa dates back over five hundred years, with some theories suggesting it originated over 1,000 years ago. Te was initially cultivated, practiced, and promoted by the islands’ royal government organisation (hiki) under King Sho Shin in the 16th century. This indigenous Okinawan martial art later integrated Chinese martial arts as improvements without sacrificing its essence of self-protection. Legends describe Te as flourishing for several hundred years as a native Okinawan martial art.

The Naha-te style is said to originate from a village called Kume, also known as Kumemura, located near the city of Naha. It was founded by Chinese individuals who arrived in the Ryūkyū islands from the Fukien province in 1393, during the Ming empire. Many of their descendants were involved in the China trade and passed on kempō knowledge from their home province to the Kume nobility. What was taught was likely not pure Chinese kempō but a style influenced by Shuri-te and adapted to Ryūkyūan conditions.

For over 500, or even 1,000, years, karate was exclusively practiced in Okinawa and was largely unknown in mainland Japan. The practice of kempō in Okinawa was an exclusive privilege of the nobility and was not transmitted outside their caste until later. In 1867, a festive program for the Chinese delegation’s coronation ceremony in Shuri included a demonstration of martial arts. Historical records indicate that villages around Kumemura had learned Nam Pa Kempō. The guests at this celebration subsequently “Ryukyuised” the Nam Pa Rakan Kempō and decided to call it Naha-te, though this was officially much later.

Before the late eighteenth century, there is limited historical source material, but from about 1750 onwards, there is a good deal of information about prominent teachers of these methods, although some details are confused or of doubtful reliability.

Founders and Key Teachers

Higaonna Kanryō (東恩納寛量) (1853–1916) is regarded as the first exponent of a distinct Naha-te style. He trained under Ryū Ryū Ko in Fuzhou, China, for about fourteen years, studying Chinese martial arts. Higaonna embarked on this journey in 1868, leaving Okinawa to find a martial arts teacher in China. Upon his return to Okinawa in 1882, he continued his family business of selling firewood while teaching a new school of martial arts.

Higaonna’s style was known for integrating gō-no (hard) and jū-no (soft) kempō into a single system, distinguishing it as a type of Naha-te. His teaching methods were rather different from those practiced today. According to most sources, Higaonna called his style Shorei-ryū (“Enlightened Spirit Style”), but it became commonly known as Naha-te to differentiate it from karate taught in Tomari and Shuri. He taught martial arts in two different ways depending on the student: at home, he taught Naha-te as a martial art with the ultimate goal of killing an opponent, but at Naha Commercial High School, he taught karate as a form of physical, intellectual, and moral education.

Higaonna’s dojo practice was tedious, with the first three or four years dedicated solely to Sanchin kata. He believed karate was not meant for hurting people but for helping society, emphasising that karate needs both technique and purpose. He also stressed the importance of spiritual improvement in martial arts, advising students to turn aside and go around anything that blocks their way in life. Despite the secrecy surrounding karate between 1609-1903, Higaonna Kanryō kept Naha-te alive by giving private lessons at his home until 1905 when karate was openly taught in Okinawan schools.

Chōjun Miyagi (1888–1953) was Higaonna’s most prominent and prolific disciple, starting his training under Higaonna at the age of 14. Miyagi had previously begun martial arts training under Ryuko Arakaki at age 11, who then introduced him to Higaonna. Miyagi trained under Higaonna for 15 years until Higaonna’s death in 1916.

Miyagi traveled to Fujian Province, China, in May 1915, even before Higaonna’s death, visiting the grave of Higaonna’s teacher, Ryū Ryū Ko. He made a second trip to Fuzhou after Higaonna’s death (October 1915) with Go Kenki, where he studied local Chinese martial arts. During this second trip, Miyagi observed the Rokkishu (a set of hand exercises emphasizing forearm and wrist rotation) and adapted them into the Tensho kata. From the blending of these systems and his native Naha-te, a new system emerged.

Miyagi diligently practiced what he learned from Higaonna and his research in Fuzhou. He is credited with formulating the name “hard-soft” (Gōjū-ryū) in the mid-1930s, based on Higaonna’s teachings from more than half a century prior. This name was inspired by a quote from the Bubishi text on martial arts: “Ho go ju donto” (The way of inhaling and exhaling is hardness and softness), which Miyagi selected to describe his interpretation of Naha-te. Gōjū-ryū was the first style to be officially recognised by the Dai Nippon Butokukai. Miyagi also introduced karate into Okinawan police work, high schools, and other societal fields. He revised and further developed Sanchin, the hard aspect of Gōjū-ryū, and created Tensho, the soft aspect, both considered to contain the essence of Gōjū-ryū.

Kenwa Mabuni also studied Naha-te under Higaonna Kanryō, being introduced by his friend Chōjun Miyagi. This formed part of the foundation for his Shitō-ryū style, which he named in honour of both Itosu and Higaonna.

Other teachers who contributed to the Naha-te lineage include Aragaki Seishō and the Kojo family style. The Kojo family made important contributions to the systematisation of Naha-te. Sai Shoi (Kojo), an Oyakata (prince), learned Hoko Ha Kempō and the Kojo family remained loyal to their Nam Pa fighting methods. Kojo Kaho, who studied in Fukushu and learned Bo Jutsu, opened the famous Kojo Dojo in Fukushu in 1874. Many Okinawans who emigrated to Fukushu after Japan’s annexation of Okinawa became teachers there, including Makabe Kyoei and Matsuda Tokusaburo. Higashionna himself often visited this dojo and received his Menkyo Kaiden (license of complete transmission) of Ryu Ka Ken (Ryu family system), learning Kasatsu Ho (killing and reviving) and Yaku Gaku Ho (pharmacology), both secret traditions of Chinese Kempō and Naha-te.

Characteristics and Differences from Other Styles

Naha-te is characterised by its distinctive power development. In classical Naha-te, the breath from the tanden (energetic center below the navel) is used to make techniques powerful. This contrasts with Shuri-te and Tomari-te, where power is generated from the legs/stance through the hips into the technique. The concepts of kata in both directions are designed around this difference.

Naha-te places significant emphasis on the use of the arms, with arm movements being compared to the “many arms of the octopus”. Foot techniques (kicks) in Naha-te typically extend only up to belt height, as high kicks are generally considered unsuitable for real combat. The Ibuki breathing technique, which involves muscle tension to make one insensitive to vital point strikes, may be an origin of Naha-te’s approach. If the body is insensitive, then the remaining hard-to-protect areas, like the leg joints, are attacked.

It is argued that Naha-te, as a closed and perfect school from China, remained relatively uninfluenced by Shuri-te and Tomari-te. The distinction between Shuri-te and Tomari-te, however, is often considered tenuous or practically meaningless.

Naha-te’s lineage traces directly back to Chinese kempō, particularly through Higaonna Kanryō‘s studies in Fuzhou. This influence is still visibly strong in styles like Uechi-ryū, which is even closer to original Chinese kempō patterns than Naha-te, and features many open-hand techniques. Conversely, Shuri-te was regarded as the most indigenous style of Te, less influenced by Chinese martial arts.

Growth and Spread

Naha-te styles, particularly Gōjū-ryū, spread across Okinawa, Japan, and worldwide through the efforts of its masters:

  • Okinawa: Higaonna Kanryō taught Naha-te privately, keeping the art alive during periods of secrecy.
  • Mainland Japan: Chōjun Miyagi played a crucial role in popularising karate in Japan. He was invited to be a karate instructor in the Judo Department of Kyoto University in October 1928 and coached karate at Kansai University in Osaka in June 1932. He also lectured and gave demonstrations in Tokyo at the earnest request of karate and boxing clubs. Chōjun Miyagi appointed Yamaguchi Gogen Sensei to promote Gōjū-ryū on mainland Japan, leading to the rapid growth and popularity of a Gōjū-ryū derivative there. This mainland derivative encouraged competitive sparring, which the traditional Gōjū-ryū curriculum does not, and performed traditional Gōjū-ryū kata slightly differently.
  • Worldwide: Chōjun Miyagi made karate known in Hawaii, teaching there from April 1934 to February 1935. After his death in 1953, Okinawa was under American occupation, a circumstance that played a decisive role in the spread of karate. From the USA, karate reached all parts of the world. Many American GIs stationed in Okinawa were instrumental in spreading the art globally, leading the USA to have a very large traditional karate community outside of Japan.

Associated Kata

The Naha-te lineage primarily through Higaonna Kanryō encompasses a significant number of kata, many with Chinese origins. The kata taught by Higaonna and subsequently integrated into descendant styles include:

  • Sanchin. In Higaonna’s dojo, students spent the first three to four years solely practicing Sanchin. Chōjun Miyagi further developed Sanchin as the “hard” aspect of Gōjū-ryū. The Shotokan kata Hangetsu shares strong similarities with Seisan, leading Funakoshi to substitute Hangetsu for Sanchin in the Shotokan curriculum due to shared principles of expansion and contraction. Uechi-ryū Seisan has obvious foundations in Sanchin. Sanchin involves controlled dynamic-tension breathing, which Nagamine believed Miyagi introduced into Gōjū-ryū.
  • Saifa.
  • Seiyunchin (Seiunchin).
  • Sanseiryu (Sanseru).
  • Shisochin. It is said that Shisochin was introduced to Okinawa by Higaonna, who learned it from Ryū Ryū Ko in Fujian province, although a version might have already existed, taught by Aragaki Seishō. Shisochin was Miyagi’s favourite kata at the end of his life.
  • Seipai.
  • Seisan. Higa describes Seisan as an old Naha-te kata based on a Chinese prototype. Uechi-ryū’s Seisan is very different from other versions, serving as the fifth kata learned and tested for the first “black belt” (shodan) grade in modern Uechi-ryū. It introduces knee strikes, the one-knuckle punch (shōken zuki), spearhand (nukite), and the front kick (shōmen geri).
  • Kururunfa.
  • Suparinpei. This kata is said by some to contain the full syllabus of Gōjū-ryū, though this is disputed. Suparinpei is 108 techniques long, almost twice as long as Shotokan‘s Kanku-Dai. Shotokan enthusiasts sometimes refer to it as Hyakuhachiho (108 steps).
  • Gekisai Dai Ichi and Gekisai Dai Ni: Chōjun Miyagi added these two kata, along with Tensho, to the Naha-te curriculum he learned from Higaonna. Nagamine also attributes the development of Fukyugata Ichi in 1940 to Shoshin Nagamine, at the request of the Japanese military governor, General Hayakawa. Fukyugata Ichi is sometimes also called Gekisai Ichi.
  • Tensho: Chōjun Miyagi created this kata based on his observations of the Rokkishu hand exercises in China. He developed it as the “soft” aspect of Gōjū-ryū.

Kata from other Naha-te lineages or related styles:

  • To’on-ryū: Kyoda Juhatsu, a student of Higaonna, established To’on-ryū, which includes kata like Sanchin, Rokkishu, Seisan, Sanseru, Pechurrin, and Nepai. Nepai (28 beats) originates from the southern Chinese White Crane style and was introduced to Okinawa by Go Kenki. Kenwa Mabuni modified it into Niipaipo for Shitō-ryū, while Kyoda Kohatsu adopted it in its original form for To’on-ryū.
  • Ryuei-ryū: Norisato Nakaima learned another group of Naha-te kata from Ryuru Ko in the Kojo Dojo in Fukushu, including Ohan, Pachu, Anan, Paiku, Haiku, and Paiho. These were long passed down as family kata (from father to son) and only recently taught publicly. Annan is a Ryuei-ryū kata with palm heel strikes and evasive footwork, indicating roots in Chinese kung fu.
  • Uechi-ryū: Founded by Kanbun Uechi after his studies in Fukien province, this style is based on southern Chinese kempō and is very close to original Chinese patterns, featuring many open-hand techniques. Uechi-ryū kata include Sanchin, Konshu, Seichin, Seiru, Seisan, Kanchin, Sanseiryu, and others.
  • Hakutsuru Ken Kempō: From Go Genki, the kata Papurian (also Paipuren or Hakutsuru) came into Naha-te and subsequently into styles like Shitō-ryū.

Kata similarities and differences:

  • Hangetsu (Shotokan) is the old Okinawan version of Seisan. Funakoshi’s Hangetsu could have synthesised the best from various contrasting styles he learned from (Matsumura, Iha, Aragaki). It contains many slow movements under tension, common in Naha-te schools like Gōjū-ryū, but rare in Shotokan and Shuri-te-influenced styles.
  • The Gōjū-ryū kata are performed slightly differently by Yamaguchi Gogen‘s Gōjū-Kai organisation compared to traditional Gōjū-ryū.
  • Higaonna Kanryō learned nine empty-hand kata from Ryū Ryū Ko and taught them to his students in Okinawa. He also learned bo (wooden staff), long sword, short sword, and other weapons kata from his teacher in China, but his motives for not teaching them in Okinawa are unclear, and these weapon arts are now lost.

Branches and Official Organisations

The Naha-te tradition evolved into several modern karate-dō styles and is represented by various official organisations:

  • Gōjū-ryū: Founded by Chōjun Miyagi, it is an officially recognised umbrella karate style in Okinawa. It is also one of the four major styles of Japanese karate. The International Okinawan Gōjū-ryū Karate-dō Federation (IOGKF) is the official representative organisation of Gōjū-ryū in the Nippon Kobudo Kyokai (NKK), being the first karate style recognised as Koryu Bujutsu by the NKK. Gōjū-ryū (as the Yamaguchi offshoot) has branches in sixty countries. Yamaguchi Gogen‘s eldest son, Yamaguchi Gosei Norimi, heads his own organisation in the United States called Gōjū-Kai Karate-dō USA.
  • To’on-ryū: Founded by Kyoda Juhatsu, a student of Higaonna Kanryō, it is a relatively little-known version of Naha-te.
  • Shitō-ryū: Kenwa Mabuni (1889-1952), a student of both Higaonna Kanryō and Itosu Ankō, founded Shitō-ryū. He synthesised the Sakugawa-Matsumura lineage (Shuri-te) and the Ryu-ryū-Ko–Higaonna lineage (Naha-te) into a single style. The name “Shito” combines “Shi” from Itosu and “To” from Higaonna, honouring his teachers. Shitō-ryū incorporates kata learned from many sources beyond Itosu and Higaonna, including Aragaki Seishō, Chōtoku Kyan, Gō Kenki, and Aragaki Ankichi, and Mabuni created at least ten of his own kata. Mabuni initially called his style Hankō-ryū (“half-hard style”) before changing it to Shitō-ryū around 1937. His school was officially registered in the Dai Nippon Butokukai in 1939, and he founded the predecessor of the modern Shitokai. The largest concentration of Shitō-ryū practitioners in Japan is in the Osaka area, where Mabuni moved in 1929.
  • Uechi-ryū: Founded by Kanbun Uechi, it is one of the three officially recognised umbrella karate styles in Okinawa. It was officially renamed in 1940 in his honour and is one of the four major styles of Okinawan Karate.
  • Ryuei-ryū: This family style, with kata passed down only within the Nakaima family until the late 1960s, is now taught publicly. It has gained recognition due to the fame of practitioners like Tsuguo Sakumoto. Ryuei-ryū also includes the practice of 15 classical Chinese weapons. Kenko Nakaima, who informally taught the family style, believed that kata should grow more pliant with age and was wary of unprotected competition.

Legacy

Naha-te holds a profoundly significant legacy in the history of karate-dō, serving as one of the fundamental pillars from which modern karate evolved. It is an integral part of Okinawa’s cultural heritage, officially promoted as such by the Okinawan Prefectural Government.

Higaonna Kanryō‘s extensive study of Chinese martial arts in Fuzhou and his subsequent teachings in Okinawa laid the foundation for the second major lineage of Okinawan karate. His influence reached millions globally, with styles traceable to him spreading to every continent in the 20th century. Chōjun Miyagi further systematised and propagated this lineage, giving it the widely recognised name Gōjū-ryū and championing its introduction to mainland Japan and beyond.

Naha-te, and its direct descendants like Gōjū-ryū, are distinguished by their emphasis on the harmonious balance of “hard” and “soft” techniques (gō jū), breath control (Tanden breathing), and strong arm techniques. This focus is embedded in its kata, which are viewed as the essence and foundation of karate, accumulating over a thousand years of knowledge. Masters like Morio Higaonna believed these kata should never be changed or tampered with, serving as an unalterable map to guide practitioners.

Naha-te’s legacy also includes its contribution to the ethical and philosophical framework of karate-dō. Chōjun Miyagi believed that “the ultimate aim of karate-dō was to build character, conquer human misery, and find spiritual freedom”. The principles derived from Naha-te, combined with other Okinawan and Chinese influences, continue to inspire practitioners to pursue personal development and self-mastery. The emphasis on disciplined practice of kata, even if only a few for many years, underscores the depth of understanding sought by its early masters.