Karate translates, as is generally accepted, to
Empty Hand in Japanse. Karate is a martial art that uses weaponless techniques
such as punching and kicking to overcome the opponent.
The development of Karate began in
Okinawa, an island south of Japan.
Okinawans travelled to China, where they learnt the Chinese martial arts.
On their return to Okinawa they set about blending their own martial arts (initially simply called Te, "Hands") with what they had learnt in
China and called it
To-De, Chinese Hands.
From this, 4 main styles of Karate developed -
Goju Ryu,
Shorin Ryu,
Uechi Ryu and Shorei Ryu. Gichin Funakoshi, who trained under several Okinawan Karate masters,
developed his own style of Karate that he named Shotokan.
Funakoshi introduced
Shotokan to Japan in the early 20th century. Other Okinawan masters soon followed him - Chojun Miyagi with
Goju Ryu and Kenwa Mabuni with
Shito Ryu. From these masters many
new styles were soon developed. For example
Kyokushinkai by Mas Oyama,
Goju Kai by Gogen Yamaguchi,
Wado Ryu by Hinonori Ohtsuka.
There are now hundreds of different styles of karate across the world, but all
can be traced back to the original four from Okinawa.
Origin of Karate: Okinawa
Karate was founded in the 16th century and formalised into different styles in the early 20th century.
Karate is currently popularised by:
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