Investigations into the history of karate

Before Yabu Kentsū (1866–1937) arrived in Hawaii in 1927, karate was already there. Although the aspect of karate in Okinawan immigrant communities overseas has not been sufficiently researched, there is some evidence (as presented by Bruce A. Haines and Charles C. Goodin in their respective studies). In their new home, the Okinawans not only talked about karate, it was also practised individually or in small groups, and it even was performed at cultural events. But that’s not all. As we now know, it was also reported in the media. There are more than 30 newspaper articles on Yabu’s time in Hawaii alone. But as early as 23 May 1916, the Honolulu-based Japanese language newspaper Nippu Jiji 日布時事 in the article 琉球は可愛い島國です Ryūkyū wa kawaii shima kunidesu (Ryūkyū is a beautiful island nation) talks about the characteristics of Okinawa karate. Among other things, it describes that karate came from China and that a single punch can break a rib. People were as afraid of karate as they were of the Okinawan snake. Undoubtedly a fine account of Okinawan karate, perhaps one of the first (if not the first) in a Western hemisphere newspaper.