The JKA (Japanese Karate Association) Timelines: History of Karate

The Japan Karate Association (JKA) was established by Funakoshi in 1944, so that all his clubs, schools and university clubs from all over Japan could all be associated under one organisation all following the same teachings.

Funakoshi was the chief instructor of this. There started to be disputes after a while about whether teachers should be paid and in 1955 there was a split. Groups of instructors and students broke away and formed their own type of karate.

There was now Funakoshi’s Shotokan and another called Shotokai. Shotokai decided to make karate into a sport with fighting and competition and this was against Funakoshi’s principles and teachings. Because of all this, Funakoshi stood down as Chief Instructor and gave this position to his best friend Nakayama, Funakoshi was now the honory chief instructor. Funakoshi died a few years later (1957).