or is a traditional form of

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

from

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

. According to Shōshin Nagamine, in his "Tales of Okinawa's Great Masters", there are no accurate historical documents surrounding the origins of

grappling Grappling is a fighting technique based on throws, trips, sweeps, clinch fighting, ground fighting and submission holds. Grappling contests often involve takedowns and ground control, and may end when a contestant concedes defeat. Shou ...

. It seems that ''tegumi'' evolved from an indigenous form of grappling self-defense, which was constantly being adapted and enhanced as it was exposed to outside influences. It is believed by some, Nagamine included, that ''tegumi'' was probably the original form of fighting in Okinawa and, after incorporating striking and kicking techniques imported from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, became the progenitor of ''Te'', which is the foundation of modern

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ), also , is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tī'' in Okinawan) un ...

. According to

Gichin Funakoshi was the founder of Shotokan karate. He is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gichin (1981). ''Karate-Do: My Way of Life'', Kodansha International Ltd. . he was one of the Okin ...

's autobiography, early students of karate benefitted from experience in tegumi growing up, which gave them the fundamentals of fighting. He speculated that it was part of growing up in the Ryukyu kingdom, essentially what academics later in the 20th century would call the childlore of Okinawa, though he never used the term himself. Known as ''tegumi'' in

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

, and ''mutō'' in Tomari and Shuri, Okinawan wrestling remained a popular cultural recreation until the Taishō period (1912 – 1925). There is little evidence of how ''tegumi'' evolved but the result was a rough and tumble bout where the winner was decided by

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

, through joint locks, strangles or pinning. Today, ''tegumi'' has a strict set of rules and is still practiced widely. Okinawan folklore is full of references to ''tegumi'' and it is believed that the island's version of

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

can find its roots in the rural wrestling of the past.

References

Okinawan martial arts Folk wrestling styles Japanese martial arts Sports originating in Japan {{Martialart-stub