In the beginning, one story tells, there was one “style” of karate called, “Ti (pronounced tee)” from Okinawa, Japan. As time passed, circa 1500’s to today if you will, things changed and suddenly there were three distinct styles named after the three main villages of Okinawa, I.e., Naha-ti, Tomari-ti and Shuri-ti. Time and tide continue to pass as is its nature and the three major system or styles of “ti” subdivided into the many styles of Okinawan karate people will find in their search for a karate dojo.
Now, a person doing the research may find literally hundreds of styles and sub-styles it is best to start out with a smaller field and then expand on those. In one source there are eight, maybe considered major, styles. Chito-ryu, Goju-ryu, Isshin-ryu, Jinen-ryu, Shito-ryu, Shorin-ryu, Shuri-ryu, Uechi-ryu to start. Then there are dual styles attributed to both Japan and Okinawa with over hundreds available while adding in those from Japan and other types similar to karate from Korea and other Asian cultures.
What are styles and why do we have them? That is a complicated question that reaches all the way back to the beginning of the human species. First, let me present a perspective of another very adept martial artists definition of “stylism.”
“’Stylism’. Humans are naturally tribal. We operate in groups and as these groups grow they often fracture. Groups are bound by codes and practices. These same principles apply to martial arts subculture. Whether one group is trying to protect their business or their emotional investment, they often view other similar groups as being inferior. Martial arts ‘Stylism’ is a complex subject and happens in many ways, but here is a rough overview. … It smacks of essentialism in that martial artists are forced to view their arts, systems and methods as tangible properties.“ - Jamie Clubb "Bullshitsu and the Fight to Make Martial Arts Work"
How I view it in general - It comes down to survival traits that nature intended for humans to ensure survivability and longevity. When you begin to study survival in general along with the traits that cause us to gravitate toward groups you begin to see why this happens. I recently read an article from Jamie Clubb on several aspects in regard to karate and martial disciplines. In it he discusses stylism and I feel other factors are at the root of why we gravitate to groups and why we work so hard to make each group unique through the various group dynamics.
If you study influence principles, hypnosis and other such traits along with biases and dissonances along with how our brains function it will become clear why we do such things. For instance, why the supposed Okinawan indigenous art of Ti suddenly, if stores are true, become the three Oki styles that later became the plethora of styles Okinawa and the world promote.
Also, look at the sales game along with its influence principles and you will see the how and why people lean so heavily toward symbolism and titles and distinctions that make it seem unique but actually trigger our biases in order to attract those of like mind to our groups, or rather our tribes, clans, social constructs and their respective group dynamics.
When people build experiences they become biased belief systems. The influences of family are the very core experiences and biases built toward survival. Then as the family is exposed to the group membership they contribute more experiences and bias building and modifications. This seems why we have towns, cities, counties and states here in the America's and that is why people naturally and instinctively gravitate toward folks of like culture and beliefs, etc. It is simplistic in its complicated complexities but in essence as humans our evolution to date, of our brains, has not arrived and equaled our current level of social construct therefore we are still driven to find, create and morph into certain types of people toward group acceptance and such.
Think of it like football, we have such a variety of teams all driven by certain traits that speak to certain groups that support those teams. Football, in essence, is played exactly the same regardless of team affiliations but the only reason it works it because it symbolizes the uniqueness of people and their tribes or clans making us compete rather than war, etc.
Therefore, we as martial artists and karate-ka can expect no less in how we create our unique groups, call them styles if you wish, and how we make them stand out against others, like the different teams in football although football is the same regardless.
What style should the fledgling practitioner choose? I tend to recommend to folks that when observing they take a self-assessed view of their personality and character and find a style that fits that best. After all, it is about tribalism or group survival dynamics so it behooves people to seek out the style that best suits their culture, beliefs and perceptions in general because it is that connection that will allow a person to maximize their learning and understanding along with, critically, the application of methodologies to especially defense-protective objectives.
Choose a good teacher, choose a style the fits your personality and then continue on to see, just imagine it, how more can see a person achieve their martial objectives.
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