What is karate

Karate is a Japanese martial art that originated in the Riukiu Islands, including the island of Okinawa. This arose from the merger of the Chinese Kempo (also known as Kenpo) and the indigenous martial arts of Okinawa, which were called te (手, literally “hand”).

In the early twentieth century, Gichin Funakoshi, who came from Okinawa, brought karate to Japan where it was further developed. In this way, parts of the Japanese martial arts were also integrated. The first karate organization, the Japan Karate Association, was founded in the mid-1950s. The first competitions took place in 1957.

Karate in Japanese literally means empty (Kara) hand (Te). This name arose because Karate was originally a form of self-defense that was practiced without weapons. The term 'do' stands for 'the way'. This symbolizes the path that the karateka must go through to achieve his/her goal, training and developing skills and mental developments.

In karate, the emphasis is mainly on the use of punching, kicking and parrying techniques (te-waza, geri-waza and uke-waza).

Karate-styles

There have been several founders within karate. Each founder had a different background and his own vision on practicing karate and this is how the different styles emerged.

Shotokan is the first and most widely practiced style of modern karate. Shotokan involves low stances and hard techniques. There is also a lot of practice in kihon (basic exercises), kata (individual style exercises) and kumite (sparring). Shotokan practitioners attach great importance to the historical background of karate and thus honor a long tradition. Shotokan is a non/semi contact style that is best known for its low stances and Kata (style exercises).

The name shotokan was introduced in 1939, when the first karate dojo opened. Shotokan literally means school of Shoto. Shoto, meaning waving pine trees, is the poet's name of Gichin Funakoshi. The rustling of the pine trees gave him inspiration for his poems and the peace required for practicing karate.