Karate is a well-known martial art from Japan and aims to teach you not just the means of empty hand combat but the philosophy and mental discipline to help you in your daily life.
What Is Karate?
Karate is a known Japanese martial art with origins in Okinawa. The name Karate means "empty hand" and it's the art of empty hand combat. Karate is made up of many different aspects:
- Kihon - The basics of Karate (stances, strikes, punches, kicks, and blocks)
- Kata - a formalised sequence of movements which represent various offensive and defensive postures (also known as patterns or forms)
- Kumite - Sparring (the word Kumite literally means "meeting of hands")
- Dojo Kun - A set of guidelines that the karate practitioners (karateka) follow.
- Conditioning - Using a supplementary training known as hojo undo, which uses equipment made of wood and stone to condition the body.
- Sport - Karate is divided into style organisations and competes in kata (forms or sparring) and kumite (sparring).
- Philosophy - Funakoshi quoted "form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself" he interpreted the "kara" of karate-do to mean "to purge oneself os elfish and evil thoughts...for only with a clear mind and conscience can the practitioner understand the knowledge which he receives."
Karate is made up of all these parts, both physical and mental. Karate practitioners also tend to train in budo (the way of the warrior) to gain insights into how they should use their strength, not to bring trouble to the weak, but to protect the weak.
The Origins of Karate
In the 1300s, early Chinese martial artists brought their techniques to Okinawa. Despite the Ryukyu kingdom being turned into a puppet state by Japanese samurai in 1609, its cultural ties to China remained strong. Since Ryukyuans were banned from carrying swords under samurai rule, groups of young aristocrats created unarmed combat methods as a form of resistance, combining Chinese and local styles of martial arts. This blend of arts became known as Kara-Te, which translates to "Chinese hand". Initially, there were no uniforms, coloured belts, ranking systems, or standardised styles.
When the Ryukyu kingdom was formally annexed to the Empire of Japan in 1879 as an Okinawa prefecture. The Ryukyuan samurai who had been the bearers of Karate lost their privileged status, and with it, Karate was in danger of losing transmission. However, karate gradually regained its popularity after 1905, when it began to be taught in schools in Okinawa.
During the Taisho era (1912 - 1926), karate was introduced to mainland Japan by Gichin Funakoshi and Motobu Choki. The ultranationalistic sentiment of the 1930s affected every aspect of Japanese culture, and so to make this important martial art more relatable, Funakoshi incorporated elements from Judo, such as uniforms, coloured belts, and ranking systems. While the popularity of Karate was initially slow, when a magazine reported a story about Motobu defeating a foreign boxer in Kyoto, Karate rapidly became well-known throughout Japan.
In the era of escalating Japanese Militarism, the name was changed from "Chinese hand" or "tang hand" to "empty hand" - both of which are pronounced karate in Japanese. This indicated that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style. After World War II, in 1945, Okinawa became an important United States military site, and Karate became popular among servicemen stationed there. Thanks to the martial arts movies and English speakers using the word "karate" to refer to most Asian martial arts, Karate schools began appearing all around the world, and karate became what it is known as today.
The Styles of Karate
While there are many styles of karate, many of them originate from the historical Okinawan parent styles of Naha-te, Tomari-te, and Shuri-te. In the modern era, the four major styles of karate are considered to be Goju-ryu, Shotokan, Shito-ryu, and Wado-ryu. These four styles are those recognised by the World Karate Federation (WKF) for international kata competition. Some widespread styles are often accepted for kata competition, including Kyokushin, Shorin-ryu, Uechi-ryu, or Isshin-ryu, among others.
Now that you know a bit about what karate consists of and its origins, why not try it out for yourself? Click the button below to start the search for your karate class near you.
