Karate is a martial art developed in the
Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed partially
from indigenous fighting methods called te and from Chinese kenpÅ.
Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands.
Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and
vital point strikes are taught in some styles. A karate practitioner is
called a karateka.
Karate was developed in the Ryukyu
Kingdom prior to its 19th-century annexation by Japan. It was brought to
the Japanese mainland in the early 20th century during a time of
cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Ryukyuans.
In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of
Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate
demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university
karate club in Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate
clubs.
After the Second World War, Okinawa
became an important United States military site and karate became
popular among servicemen stationed there.
The martial arts movies of the 1960s and
1970s served to greatly increase its popularity and the word “karate”
began to be used in a generic way to refer to all striking-based
Oriental martial arts.
Karate schools began appearing across the
world, catering to those with casual interest as well as those seeking a
deeper study of the art.
For many practitioners, karate is a
deeply philosophical practice. Karate-do teaches ethical principles and
can have spiritual significance to its adherents.
Gichin Funakoshi (“Father of Modern
Karate”) titled his autobiography Karate-Do: My Way of Life in
recognition of the transforming nature of karate study.
Today karate is practiced for
self-perfection, for cultural reasons, for self-defense and as a sport.
In 2005, in the 117th IOC (International Olympic Committee) voting,
karate did not receive the necessary two thirds majority vote to become
an Olympic sport.
Web Japan (sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide.
