28 Facts About Karate

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom.

Karate is predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open-hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands and palm-heel strikes.

Karate came to mainland Japan in the early 20th century during a time of migration as Ryukyuans, especially from Okinawa, looked for work in the main islands of Japan.

Karate schools began appearing around the world, catering to those with casual interest as well as those seeking a deeper study of the art.

Karate began as a common fighting system known as te among the Pechin class of the Ryukyuans.

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Karate created the ping'an forms which are simplified kata for beginning students.

Karate's students became some of the most well-known karate masters, including Gichin Funakoshi, Kenwa Mabuni, and Choki Motobu.

Karate was a leading figure of Chinese Nanpa Shorin-ken style at that time.

Karate later developed his own style of Uechi-ryu karate based on the Sanchin, Seisan, and Sanseiryu kata that he had studied in China.

Karate always referred to what he taught as simply karate, but in 1936 he built a dojo in Tokyo and the style he left behind is usually called Shotokan after this dojo.

Karate can be practiced as an art, self defense or as a combat sport.

Karate training is commonly divided into kihon, kata, and kumite .

Sport kumite in many international competition under the World Karate Federation is free or structured with light contact or semi contact and points are awarded by a referee.

Sport Karate emphasizes aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise, power, agility, flexibility, and stress management.

In 1924, Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan Karate, adopted the Dan system from the judo founder Jigoro Kano using a rank scheme with a limited set of belt colors.

In Karate-Do Kyohan, Funakoshi quoted from the Heart Sutra, which is prominent in Shingon Buddhism: "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form itself" .

Karate is divided into many styles, each with their different training methods, focuses, and cultures; though they mainly originate from the historical Okinawan parent styles of Naha-te, Tomari-te and Shuri-te.

Karate has grown in popularity in Africa, particularly in South Africa and Ghana.

Karate began in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s as Japanese people immigrated to the country.

Karate was practised quietly without a large amount of organization.

Karate founded the first university karate club in the United States at California Institute of Technology in 1957.

Karate provided an important comparative model for the early founders of taekwondo in the formalization of their art including hyung and the belt ranking system.

Karate appeared in the Soviet Union in the mid-1960s, during Nikita Khrushchev's policy of improved international relations.

On 17 May 1984, the Soviet Karate Federation was disbanded and all karate became illegal again.

Shotokai Karate was introduced to England in 1963 by another of Gichin Funakoshi's students, Mitsusuke Harada.

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Outside of the Shotokan stable of karate styles, Wado Ryu Karate was an early adopted style in the UK, introduced by Tatsuo Suzuki, a 6th Dan at the time in 1964.

In 1966, members of the former British Karate Federation established the Karate Union of Great Britain under Hirokazu Kanazawa as chief instructor and affiliated to JKA.

Karate Kommandos is an animated children's show, with Chuck Norris appearing to reveal the moral lessons contained in every episode.