East Coast Championships

Shotokan (松涛館 Shōtōkan), literally, the house of pine waves, is a school of karate, developed from various martial arts by master Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) and his son Yoshitaka. Funakoshi was the man who 'officially' brought karate from Okinawa to mainland Japan, although Kenwa Mabuni, Motobu Choki and other Okinawans were actively teaching karate in Japan prior to this point. "Shoto" was the pen name Funakoshi used in his poetry, which means "pine waves" (, pg. 85), while "kan" means house. Hence "shotokan" was the name of the hall where he trained his students.

Taido ( 躰道 / taidō ) is a Japanese martial arts or budo created in 1965 by Seiken Shukumine (1925 - 2001). The word "Taido" can be translated as the way of the mind and body (or internal and external self). Taido has its roots in traditional Okinawan Karate. Feeling that the martial arts were not adapting to meet the needs of a changing world, Shukumine first developed a style of karate called Genseiryu around 1950.

Yabusame (流鏑馬) is a type of Japanese archery, one that is performed while riding a horse. The archer shoots a special "turnip-headed" arrow at a wooden target.