Karate

Karate (空) (kəˈrɑːti Japanesepronunciation [kaɾate] ( listen) Okinawanpronunciation [kaɽati]) is a martial artdeveloped in the Ryukyu Kingdom Itdeveloped from the indigenous Ryukyuanmartial arts (called te () hand tii inOkinawan) under the influence of ChineseKung Fu particularly Fujian WhiteCrane[1][2] Karate is now predominantly astriking art using punching kicking kneestrikes elbow strikes and open-hand

techniques such as knife-hands spear-hands and palm-heel strikes Historicallyand in some modern styles grapplingthrows joint locks restraints and vital-point strikes are also taught[3] A karatepractitioner is called a karateka (空家)

Karate (空手)

Chōmo Hanashiro

Also known as Karate Do 空手道

Focus Striking

Hardness Full-contact semi-contact light-contact

Country of origin Ryukyu Kingdom

Parenthood Indigenous martial arts

The Ryukyu Kingdom was annexed byJapan in 1879 Karate was brought to

g

of Ryukyu IslandsChinese martial arts[1][2]

Olympic sport Will debut in 2020

Karate

Karate in kanji

Japanese name

Kanji 空

Transcriptions

Romanization karate

Japan in the early 20th century during atime of migration as Ryukyuans especiallyfrom Okinawa looked for work in Japan[4]

It was systematically taught in Japan afterthe Taishō era[5] In 1922 the JapaneseMinistry of Education invited GichinFunakoshi to Tokyo to give a karatedemonstration In 1924 Keio Universityestablished the first university karate clubin mainland Japan and by 1932 majorJapanese universities had karate clubs[6]

In this era of escalating Japanesemilitarism[7] the name was changed from唐 (Chinese hand or Tang hand)[8] to空 (empty hand) ndash both of which arepronounced karate in Japanese ndash to

indicate that the Japanese wished todevelop the combat form in Japanesestyle[9] After World War II Okinawabecame an important United Statesmilitary site and karate became popularamong servicemen stationed there[10]

The martial arts movies of the 1960s and1970s served to greatly increase thepopularity of martial arts around the worldand in English the word karate began to beused in a generic way to refer to allstriking-based Oriental martial arts[11]

Karate schools began appearing acrossthe world catering to those with casual

interest as well as those seeking a deeperstudy of the art

Shigeru Egami Chief Instructor ofShotokan Dojo opined that the majority offollowers of karate in overseas countriespursue karate only for its fightingtechniques Movies and television depict karate as a mysterious way offighting capable of causing death or injurywith a single blow the mass mediapresent a pseudo art far from the realthing[12] Shōshin Nagamine said Karatemay be considered as the conflict withinoneself or as a life-long marathon whichcan be won only through self-discipline

hard training and ones own creativeefforts[13]

On 28 September 2015 karate wasfeatured on a shortlist along with baseballsoftball skateboarding surfing and sportclimbing to be considered for inclusion inthe 2020 Summer Olympics On 1 June2016 the International OlympicCommittees executive board announcedthey were supporting the inclusion of allfive sports (counting baseball and softballas only one sport) for inclusion in the 2020Games

Web Japan (sponsored by the JapaneseMinistry of Foreign Affairs) claims thereare 50 million karate practitionersworldwide[14] while the World KarateFederation claims there are 100 millionpractitioners around the world[15]

Okinawa

Karate began as a common fightingsystem known as te (Okinawan ti) amongthe Pechin class of the Ryukyuans Aftertrade relationships were established withthe Ming dynasty of China in 1372 by King

History

Web Japan (sponsored by the JapaneseMinistry of Foreign Affairs) claims thereare 50 million karate practitionersworldwide[14] while the World KarateFederation claims there are 100 millionpractitioners around the world[15]

Okinawa

Karate began as a common fightingsystem known as te (Okinawan ti) amongthe Pechin class of the Ryukyuans Aftertrade relationships were established withthe Ming dynasty of China in 1372 by King

History

Satto of Chūzan some forms of Chinesemartial arts were introduced to the RyukyuIslands by the visitors from Chinaparticularly Fujian Province A large groupof Chinese families moved to Okinawaaround 1392 for the purpose of culturalexchange where they established thecommunity of Kumemura and shared theirknowledge of a wide variety of Chinesearts and sciences including the Chinesemartial arts The political centralization ofOkinawa by King Shō Hashi in 1429 andthe policy of banning weapons by King ShōShin in 1477 later enforced in Okinawaafter the invasion by the Shimazu clan in1609 are also factors that furthered the

development of unarmed combattechniques in Okinawa[2]

There were few formal styles of te butrather many practitioners with their ownmethods One surviving example is theMotobu-ryū school passed down from theMotobu family by Seikichi Uehara[16] Earlystyles of karate are often generalized asShuri-te Naha-te and Tomari-te namedafter the three cities from which theyemerged[17] Each area and its teachershad particular kata techniques andprinciples that distinguished their localversion of te from the others

Members of the Okinawan upper classeswere sent to China regularly to studyvarious political and practical disciplinesThe incorporation of empty-handedChinese Kung Fu into Okinawan martialarts occurred partly because of theseexchanges and partly because of growinglegal restrictions on the use of weaponryTraditional karate kata bear a strongresemblance to the forms found in Fujianmartial arts such as Fujian White CraneTai Zu Quan (or Grand Ancestors Fist) FiveAncestors and Gangrou-quan (Hard SoftFist pronounced Gōjūken inJapanese)[18] Many Okinawan weaponssuch as the sai tonfa and nunchaku may

have originated in and around SoutheastAsia

Sakukawa Kanga (1782ndash1838) hadstudied pugilism and staff (bo) fighting inChina (according to one legend under theguidance of Kosokun originator ofkusanku kata) In 1806 he started teachinga fighting art in the city of Shuri that hecalled Tudi Sakukawa which meantSakukawa of China Hand This was thefirst known recorded reference to the art ofTudi written as 唐手 Around the 1820sSakukawas most significant studentMatsumura Sōkon (1809ndash1899) taught asynthesis of te (Shuri-te and Tomari-te)

and Shaolin (Chinese 少林) stylesMatsumuras style would later become theShōrin-ryū style

Matsumura taught his art to Itosu Ankō(1831ndash1915) among others Itosu adaptedtwo forms he had learned fromMatsumura These are kusanku and chiangnan[19] He created the pingan forms

Ankō Itosu grandfather of modern karate

(heian or pinan in Japanese) which aresimplified kata for beginning students In1901 Itosu helped to get karate introducedinto Okinawas public schools Theseforms were taught to children at theelementary school level Itosus influencein karate is broad The forms he createdare common across nearly all styles ofkarate His students became some of themost well-known karate masters includingGichin Funakoshi Kenwa Mabuni andMotobu Chōki Itosu is sometimes referredto as the Grandfather of ModernKarate[20]

In 1881 Higaonna Kanryō returned fromChina after years of instruction with RyuRyu Ko and founded what would becomeNaha-te One of his students was thefounder of Gojū-ryū Chōjun Miyagi ChōjunMiyagi taught such well-known karatekaas Seko Higa (who also trained withHigaonna) Meitoku Yagi Miyazato Eiichiand Seikichi Toguchi and for a very brieftime near the end of his life Anichi Miyagi(a teacher claimed by Morio Higaonna)

In addition to the three early te styles ofkarate a fourth Okinawan influence is thatof Kanbun Uechi (1877ndash1948) At the ageof 20 he went to Fuzhou in Fujian Province

China to escape Japanese militaryconscription While there he studied underShushiwa He was a leading figure ofChinese Nanpa Shorin-ken style at thattime[21] He later developed his own styleof Uechi-ryū karate based on the SanchinSeisan and Sanseiryu kata that he hadstudied in China[22]

Japan

Masters of karate in Tokyo (c 1930s) from left to rightKanken Toyama Hironori Otsuka Takeshi Shimoda

Gichin Funakoshi founder of Shotokankarate is generally credited with havingintroduced and popularized karate on themain islands of Japan In addition manyOkinawans were actively teaching and arethus also responsible for the developmentof karate on the main islands Funakoshiwas a student of both Asato Ankō andItosu Ankō (who had worked to introducekarate to the Okinawa Prefectural SchoolSystem in 1902) During this time periodprominent teachers who also influencedthe spread of karate in Japan included

Gichin Funakoshi Motobu Chōki Kenwa MabuniGenwa Nakasone and Shinken Taira

Kenwa Mabuni Chōjun Miyagi MotobuChōki Kanken Tōyama and Kanbun UechiThis was a turbulent period in the historyof the region It includes Japansannexation of the Okinawan island groupin 1872 the First Sino-Japanese War(1894ndash1895) the Russo-Japanese War(1904ndash1905) the annexation of Korea andthe rise of Japanese militarism (1905ndash1945)

Japan was invading China at the time andFunakoshi knew that the art of TangChinahand would not be accepted thus thechange of the arts name to way of theempty hand The dō suffix implies that

karatedō is a path to self-knowledge notjust a study of the technical aspects offighting Like most martial arts practicedin Japan karate made its transition from -jutsu to -dō around the beginning of the20th century The dō in karate-dō sets itapart from karate-jutsu as aikido isdistinguished from aikijutsu judo fromjujutsu kendo from kenjutsu and iaidofrom iaijutsu

Funakoshi changed the names of manykata and the name of the art itself (at leaston mainland Japan) doing so to get karateaccepted by the Japanese budōorganization Dai Nippon Butoku KaiFunakoshi also gave Japanese names tomany of the kata The five pinan formsbecame known as heian the threenaihanchi forms became known as tekkiseisan as hangetsu Chintō as gankakuwanshu as enpi and so on These weremostly political changes rather thanchanges to the content of the forms

Gichin Funakoshi founder of Shotokan Karate

although Funakoshi did introduce somesuch changes Funakoshi had trained intwo of the popular branches of Okinawankarate of the time Shorin-ryū and Shōrei-ryū In Japan he was influenced by kendoincorporating some ideas about distancingand timing into his style He alwaysreferred to what he taught as simplykarate but in 1936 he built a dojo in Tokyoand the style he left behind is usuallycalled Shotokan after this dojo Shotomeaning pine wave was Funakoshis penname and kan meaning hall

The modernization and systemization ofkarate in Japan also included the adoption

of the white uniform that consisted of thekimono and the dogi or keikogimdashmostlycalled just karategimdashand colored beltranks Both of these innovations wereoriginated and popularized by Jigoro Kanothe founder of judo and one of the menFunakoshi consulted in his efforts tomodernize karate

A new form of karate called Kyokushinwas formally founded in 1957 byMasutatsu Oyama (who was born aKorean Choi Yeong-Eui 최영의) Kyokushinis largely a synthesis of Shotokan andGōjū-ryū It teaches a curriculum thatemphasizes aliveness physical toughness

and full contact sparring Because of itsemphasis on physical full-force sparringKyokushin is now often called full contactkarate or Knockdown karate (after thename for its competition rules) Manyother karate organizations and styles aredescended from the Kyokushin curriculum

Karate can be practiced as an art (budō)self defense or as a combat sportTraditional karate places emphasis onself-development (budō)[23] ModernJapanese style training emphasizes thepsychological elements incorporated into

Practice

a proper kokoro (attitude) such asperseverance fearlessness virtue andleadership skills Sport karate placesemphasis on exercise and competitionWeapons are an important training activityin some styles of karate

Karate training is commonly divided intokihon (basics or fundamentals) kata(forms) and kumite (sparring)

Kihon

Kihon means basics and these form thebase for everything else in the styleincluding stances strikes punches kicks

and blocks Karate styles place varyingimportance on kihon Typically this istraining in unison of a technique or acombination of techniques by a group ofkarateka Kihon may also be prearrangeddrills in smaller groups or in pairs

Kata

Motobu Chōki in Naihanchi-dachi one of the basickarate stances

Kata (型かた) means literally shape ormodel Kata is a formalized sequence ofmovements which represent variousoffensive and defensive postures Thesepostures are based on idealized combatapplications The applications whenapplied in a demonstration with realopponents is referred to as a Bunkai TheBunkai shows how every stance andmovement is used Bunkai is a useful toolto understand a kata

To attain a formal rank the karateka mustdemonstrate competent performance ofspecific required kata for that level The

Japanese terminology for grades or ranksis commonly used Requirements forexaminations vary among schools

Kumite

Sparring in Karate is called kumite (組手くみて) It literally means meeting of handsKumite is practiced both as a sport and asself-defense training

Levels of physical contact during sparringvary considerably Full contact karate hasseveral variants Knockdown karate (suchas Kyokushin) uses full power techniquesto bring an opponent to the ground In

kickboxing variants (for example K-1) thepreferred win is by knockout Sparring inarmour bogu kumite allows full powertechniques with some safety Sport kumitein many international competition underthe World Karate Federation is free orstructured with light contact or semicontact and points are awarded by areferee

In structured kumite (yakusokuprearranged) two participants perform achoreographed series of techniques withone striking while the other blocks Theform ends with one devastating technique(hito tsuki)

In free sparring (Jiyu Kumite) the twoparticipants have a free choice of scoringtechniques The allowed techniques andcontact level are primarily determined bysport or style organization policy butmight be modified according to the agerank and sex of the participantsDepending upon style take-downs sweepsand in some rare cases even time-limitedgrappling on the ground are also allowed

Free sparring is performed in a marked orclosed area The bout runs for a fixed time(2 to 3 minutes) The time can runcontinuously (iri kume) or be stopped forreferee judgment In light contact or semi

contact kumite points are awarded basedon the criteria good form sportingattitude vigorous applicationawarenesszanshin good timing andcorrect distance In full contact karatekumite points are based on the results ofthe impact rather than the formalappearance of the scoring technique

Dojo Kun

In the bushidō tradition dojo kun is a set ofguidelines for karateka to follow Theseguidelines apply both in the dojo (traininghall) and in everyday life

Conditioning

Okinawan karate uses supplementarytraining known as hojo undo This utilizessimple equipment made of wood andstone The makiwara is a striking post Thenigiri game is a large jar used fordeveloping grip strength Thesesupplementary exercises are designed toincrease strength stamina speed andmuscle coordination[24] Sport Karateemphasizes aerobic exercise anaerobicexercise power agility flexibility andstress management[25] All practices varydepending upon the school and theteacher

Sport

Gichin Funakoshi (船越 義珍) said Thereare no contests in karate[26] In prendashWorldWar II Okinawa kumite was not part ofkarate training[27] Shigeru Egami relatesthat in 1940 some karateka were oustedfrom their dojo because they adoptedsparring after having learned it in Tokyo[28]

Karate is divided into styleorganizations[29] These organizationssometimes cooperate in non-style specificsport karate organizations or federationsExamples of sport organizations includeAAKFITKF AOK TKL AKA WKF NWUKO

WUKF and WKC[30] Organizations holdcompetitions (tournaments) from local tointernational level Tournaments aredesigned to match members of opposingschools or styles against one another inkata sparring and weaponsdemonstration They are often separatedby age rank and sex with potentiallydifferent rules or standards based onthese factors The tournament may beexclusively for members of a particularstyle (closed) or one in which any martialartist from any style may participate withinthe rules of the tournament (open)

The World Karate Federation (WKF) is thelargest sport karate organization and isrecognized by the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) as being responsible forkarate competition in the OlympicGames[31] The WKF has developedcommon rules governing all styles Thenational WKF organizations coordinatewith their respective National OlympicCommittees

WKF karate competition has twodisciplines sparring (kumite) and forms(kata)[32] Competitors may enter either asindividuals or as part of a team Evaluationfor kata and kobudō is performed by a

The World Karate Federation (WKF) is thelargest sport karate organization and isrecognized by the International OlympicCommittee (IOC) as being responsible forkarate competition in the OlympicGames[31] The WKF has developedcommon rules governing all styles Thenational WKF organizations coordinatewith their respective National OlympicCommittees

WKF karate competition has twodisciplines sparring (kumite) and forms(kata)[32] Competitors may enter either asindividuals or as part of a team Evaluationfor kata and kobudō is performed by a

panel of judges whereas sparring isjudged by a head referee usually withassistant referees at the side of thesparring area Sparring matches aretypically divided by weight age genderand experience[33]

WKF only allows membership through onenational organizationfederation percountry to which clubs may join TheWorld Union of Karate-do Federations(WUKF)[34] offers different styles andfederations a world body they may joinwithout having to compromise their styleor size The WUKF accepts more than onefederation or association per country

Sport organizations use differentcompetition rule systems[29][33][35][36][37]

Light contact rules are used by the WKFWUKO IASK and WKC Full contact karaterules used by Kyokushinkai Seidokaikanand other organizations Bogu kumite (fullcontact with protective shielding oftargets) rules are used in the WorldKoshiki Karate-Do Federationorganization[38] Shinkaratedo Federationuse boxing gloves[39] Within the UnitedStates rules may be under the jurisdictionof state sports authorities such as theboxing commission

Sport organizations use differentcompetition rule systems[29][33][35][36][37]

Light contact rules are used by the WKFWUKO IASK and WKC Full contact karaterules used by Kyokushinkai Seidokaikanand other organizations Bogu kumite (fullcontact with protective shielding oftargets) rules are used in the WorldKoshiki Karate-Do Federationorganization[38] Shinkaratedo Federationuse boxing gloves[39] Within the UnitedStates rules may be under the jurisdictionof state sports authorities such as theboxing commission

In August 2016 the International OlympicCommittee approved karate as an Olympicsport beginning at the 2020 SummerOlympics[40][41]

Karate although not widely used in mixedmartial arts has been effective for someMMA practitioners[42][43][44] Various stylesof karate are practiced in MMA LyotoMachida and John Makdessi practiceShotokan[45] Bas Rutten and Georges St-Pierre train in Kyokushin[46] and MichelleWaterson holds a black belt in AmericanFree Style Karate [47]

Rank

In 1924 Gichin Funakoshi founder ofShotokan Karate adopted the Dan systemfrom the judo founder Jigoro Kano[48]

using a rank scheme with a limited set ofbelt colors Other Okinawan teachers alsoadopted this practice In the KyūDansystem the beginner grades start with ahigher numbered kyū (eg 10th Kyū orJukyū) and progress toward a lower

Karatekas wearing different colored belts

numbered kyū The Dan progressioncontinues from 1st Dan (Shodan orbeginning dan) to the higher dan gradesKyū-grade karateka are referred to ascolor belt or mudansha (ones withoutdanrank) Dan-grade karateka arereferred to as yudansha (holders ofdanrank) Yudansha typically wear a blackbelt Normally the first five to six dans aregiven by examination by superior danholders while the subsequent (7 and up)are honorary given for special meritsandor age reached Requirements of rankdiffer among styles organizations andschools Kyū ranks stress stance balance

and coordination Speed and power areadded at higher grades

Minimum age and time in rank are factorsaffecting promotion Testing consists ofdemonstration of techniques before apanel of examiners This will vary byschool but testing may include everythinglearned at that point or just newinformation The demonstration is anapplication for new rank (shinsa) and mayinclude kata bunkai self-defense routinestameshiwari (breaking) and kumite(sparring)

Philosophy

In Karate-Do Kyohan Funakoshi quotedfrom the Heart Sutra which is prominent inShingon Buddhism Form is emptinessemptiness is form itself (shiki zokuze kūkū zokuze shiki)[49] He interpreted thekara of Karate-dō to mean to purgeoneself of selfish and evil thoughts foronly with a clear mind and conscience canthe practitioner understand the knowledgewhich he receives Funakoshi believedthat one should be inwardly humble andoutwardly gentle Only by behavinghumbly can one be open to Karates manylessons This is done by listening andbeing receptive to criticism He consideredcourtesy of prime importance He said

that Karate is properly applied only inthose rare situations in which one reallymust either down another or be downed byhim Funakoshi did not consider it unusualfor a devotee to use Karate in a realphysical confrontation no more thanperhaps once in a lifetime He stated thatKarate practitioners must never be easilydrawn into a fight It is understood thatone blow from a real expert could meandeath It is clear that those who misusewhat they have learned bring dishonorupon themselves He promoted thecharacter trait of personal conviction Intime of grave public crisis one must havethe courage to face a million and one

opponents He taught that indecisivenessis a weakness[50]

Karate was originally written as Chinesehand (唐手 literally Tang dynasty hand)in kanji It was later changed to ahomophone meaning empty hand (空手)The original use of the word karate inprint is attributed to Ankō Itosu he wrote itas 唐手 The Tang Dynasty of Chinaended in AD 907 but the kanji representingit remains in use in Japanese languagereferring to China generally in such wordsas 唐人街 meaning Chinatown Thus the

Etymology

opponents He taught that indecisivenessis a weakness[50]

Karate was originally written as Chinesehand (唐手 literally Tang dynasty hand)in kanji It was later changed to ahomophone meaning empty hand (空手)The original use of the word karate inprint is attributed to Ankō Itosu he wrote itas 唐手 The Tang Dynasty of Chinaended in AD 907 but the kanji representingit remains in use in Japanese languagereferring to China generally in such wordsas 唐人街 meaning Chinatown Thus the

Etymology

word karate was originally a way ofexpressing martial art from China

Since there are no written

records it is not known

definitely whether the kara in

karate was originally written

with the character 唐 meaning

China or the character 空meaning empty During the time

when admiration for China and

things Chinese was at its height

in the Ryūkyūs it was the

custom to use the former

The first documented use of a homophoneof the logogram pronounced kara byreplacing the Chinese character meaningTang Dynasty with the character meaningempty took place in Karate Kumite writtenin August 1905 by Chōmo Hanashiro(1869ndash1945) Sino-Japanese relations

character when referring to

things of fine quality Influenced

by this practice in recent times

karate has begun to be written

with the character 唐 to give it a

sense of class or elegance

mdashthinspGichin Funakoshi[51]

The first documented use of a homophoneof the logogram pronounced kara byreplacing the Chinese character meaningTang Dynasty with the character meaningempty took place in Karate Kumite writtenin August 1905 by Chōmo Hanashiro(1869ndash1945) Sino-Japanese relations

character when referring to

things of fine quality Influenced

by this practice in recent times

karate has begun to be written

with the character 唐 to give it a

sense of class or elegance

mdashthinspGichin Funakoshi[51]

have never been very good and especiallyat the time of the Japanese invasion ofManchuria referring to the Chinese originsof karate was considered politicallyincorrect[52]

In 1933 the Okinawan art of

karate was recognized as a

Japanese martial art by the

Japanese Martial Arts

Committee known as the

Butoku Kai Until 1935

karate was written as 唐手

(Chinese hand) But in 1935 the

masters of the various styles of

Another nominal development is theaddition of dō (道どう) to the end of theword karate Dō is a suffix havingnumerous meanings including road pathroute and way It is used in many martialarts that survived Japans transition fromfeudal culture to modern times It impliesthat these arts are not just fighting

Okinawan karate conferred to

decide a new name for their art

They decided to call their art

karate written in Japanese

characters as 空手 (empty

hand)[17]

systems but contain spiritual elementswhen promoted as disciplines In thiscontext dō is usually translated as theway of ___ Examples include aikido judokyudo and kendo Thus karatedō is morethan just empty hand techniques It is TheWay of the Empty Hand

Canada

Karate began in Canada in the 1930s and1940s as Japanese people immigrated tothe country Karate was practised quietly

Karate and its influenceoutside Japan

without a large amount of organizationDuring the Second World War manyJapanese-Canadian families were movedto the interior of British Columbia MasaruShintani at the age of 13 began to studyShorin-Ryu karate in the Japanese campunder Kitigawa In 1956 after 9 years oftraining with Kitigawa Shintani travelled toJapan and met Hironori Otsuka (WadoRyu) In 1958 Otsuka invited Shintani tojoin his organization Wado Kai and in1969 he asked Shintani to officially call hisstyle Wado[53]

In Canada during this same time karatewas also introduced by Masami Tsuruoka

who had studied in Japan in the 1940sunder Tsuyoshi Chitose[54] In 1954Tsuruoka initiated the first karatecompetition in Canada and laid thefoundation for the National KarateAssociation[54]

In the late 1950s Shintani moved toOntario and began teaching karate andjudo at the Japanese Cultural Centre inHamilton In 1966 he began (with Otsukasendorsement) the Shintani Wado KaiKarate Federation During the 1970sOtsuka appointed Shintani the SupremeInstructor of Wado Kai in North AmericaIn 1979 Otsuka publicly promoted Shintani

to hachidan (8th dan) and privately gavehim a kudan certificate (9th dan) whichwas revealed by Shintani in 1995 Shintaniand Otsuka visited each other in Japanand Canada several times the last time in1980 two years prior to Otsukas deathShintani died 7 May 2000[53]

Korea

Due to past conflict between Korea andJapan most notably during the Japaneseoccupation of Korea in the early 20thcentury the influence of karate in Korea isa contentious issue[55] From 1910 until1945 Korea was annexed by the Japanese

Empire It was during this time that manyof the Korean martial arts masters of the20th century were exposed to Japanesekarate After regaining independence fromJapan many Korean martial arts schoolsthat opened up in the 1940s and 50s werefounded by masters who had trained inkarate in Japan as part of their martial artstraining

Won Kuk Lee a Korean student ofFunakoshi founded the first martial artsschool after the Japanese occupation ofKorea ended in 1945 called the Chung DoKwan Having studied under GichinFunakoshi at Chuo University Lee had

incorporated taekkyon kung fu and karatein the martial art that he taught which hecalled Tang Soo Do the Koreantransliteration of the Chinese charactersfor Way of Chinese Hand (唐手道)[56] Inthe mid-1950s the martial arts schoolswere unified under President RheeSyngmans order and became taekwondounder the leadership of Choi Hong Hi anda committee of Korean masters Choi asignificant figure in taekwondo history hadalso studied karate under FunakoshiKarate also provided an importantcomparative model for the early foundersof taekwondo in the formalization of theirart including hyung and the belt ranking

system The original taekwondo hyungwere identical to karate kata Eventuallyoriginal Korean forms were developed byindividual schools and associationsAlthough the World Taekwondo Federationand International Taekwon-Do Federationare the most prominent among Koreanmartial arts organizations tang soo doschools that teach Japanese karate stillexist as they were originally conveyed toWon Kuk Lee and his contemporaries fromFunakoshi

Soviet Union

Karate appeared in the Soviet Union in themid-1960s during Nikita Khrushchevspolicy of improved international relationsThe first Shotokan clubs were opened inMoscows universities[57] In 1973however the government banned karatemdashtogether with all other foreign martial artsmdashendorsing only the Soviet martial art ofsambo[58][59] Failing to suppress theseuncontrolled groups the USSRs SportCommittee formed the Karate Federationof USSR in December 1978[60] On 17 May1984 the Soviet Karate Federation wasdisbanded and all karate became illegalagain In 1989 karate practice becamelegal again but under strict government

regulations only after the dissolution ofthe Soviet Union in 1991 did independentkarate schools resume functioning and sofederations were formed and nationaltournaments in authentic styles began[61][62]

United States

After World War II members of the USmilitary learned karate in Okinawa orJapan and then opened schools in theUSA In 1945 Robert Trias opened the firstdojo in the United States in PhoenixArizona a Shuri-ryū karate dojo[63] In the

1950s William J Dometrich Ed ParkerCecil T Patterson Gordon DoversolaDonald Hugh Nagle George Mattson andPeter Urban all began instructing in the US

Tsutomu Ohshima began studying karateunder Shotokans founder GichinFunakoshi while a student at WasedaUniversity beginning in 1948 In 1957Ohshima received his godan (fifth degreeblack belt) the highest rank awarded byFunakoshi He founded the first universitykarate club in the United States atCalifornia Institute of Technology in 1957In 1959 he founded the SouthernCalifornia Karate Association (SCKA)

which was renamed Shotokan Karate ofAmerica (SKA) in 1969

In the 1960s Anthony Mirakian RichardKim Teruyuki Okazaki John PachivasAllen Steen Gosei Yamaguchi (son ofGōgen Yamaguchi) Michael G Foster andPat Burleson began teaching martial artsaround the country[64]

In 1961 Hidetaka Nishiyama a co-founderof the Japan Karate Association (JKA) andstudent of Gichin Funakoshi beganteaching in the United States He foundedthe International Traditional Karate

Federation (ITKF) Takayuki Mikami wassent to New Orleans by the JKA in 1963

In 1964 Takayuki Kubota relocated theInternational Karate Association fromTokyo to California

Europe

In the 1950s and 1960s several Japanesekarate masters began to teach the art inEurope but it was not until 1965 that theJapan Karate Association (JKA) sent toEurope four well-trained young Karateinstructors Taiji Kase Keinosuke EnoedaHirokazu Kanazawa and Hiroshi Shirai

Kase went to France Enoeada to Englandand Shirai in Italy These Mastersmaintained always a strong link betweenthem the JKA and the others JKA mastersin the world especially HidetakaNishiyama in the USA

United Kingdom

Vernon Bell a 3rd Dan Judo instructor whohad been instructed by Kenshiro Abbeintroduced Karate to England in 1956having attended classes in Henry PleacuteesYoseikan dojo in Paris Yoseikan had beenfounded by Minoru Mochizuki a master ofmultiple Japanese martial arts who had

studied Karate with Gichin Funakoshi thusthe Yoseikan style was heavily influencedby Shotokan[65] Bell began teaching in thetennis courts of his parents back gardenin Ilford Essex and his group was tobecome the British Karate Federation On19 July 1957 Vietnamese Hoang Nam 3rdDan billed as Karate champion of IndoChina was invited to teach by Bell atMaybush Road but the first instructorfrom Japan was Tetsuji Murakami (1927ndash1987) a 3rd Dan Yoseikan under MinoruMochizuki and 1st Dan of the JKA whoarrived in England in July 1959[65] In 1959Frederick Gille set up the Liverpool branchof the British Karate Federation which was

officially recognised in 1961 The Liverpoolbranch was based at Harold House JewishBoys Club in Chatham Street beforerelocating to the YMCA in Everton where itbecame known as the Red Triangle One ofthe early members of this branch wasAndy Sherry who had previously studiedJujutsu with Jack Britten In 1961 EdwardAinsworth another blackbelt Judoka setup the first Karate study group in AyrshireScotland having attended Bells thirdKarate Summer School in 1961[65]

Outside of Bells organisation CharlesMack traveled to Japan and studied underMasatoshi Nakayama of the Japan Karate

Association who graded Mack to 1st DanShotokan on 4 March 1962 in Japan[65]

Shotokai Karate was introduced toEngland in 1963 by another of GichinFunakoshis students MitsusukeHarada[65] Outside of the Shotokan stableof karate styles Wado Ryu Karate wasalso an early adopted style in the UKintroduced by Tatsuo Suzuki a 6th Dan atthe time in 1964

Despite the early adoption of Shotokan inthe UK it was not until 1964 that JKAShotokan officially came to the UK Bellhad been corresponding with the JKA inTokyo asking for his grades to be ratified in

Shotokan having apparently learnt thatMurakami was not a designatedrepresentative of the JKA The JKAobliged and without enforcing a gradingon Bell ratified his black belt on 5 February1964 though he had to relinquish hisYoseikan grade Bell requested a visitationfrom JKA instructors and the next yearTaiji Kase Hirokazu Kanazawa KeinosukeEnoeda and Hiroshi Shirai gave the firstJKA demo at Kensington Town Hall on 21April 1965 Hirokazu Kanazawa andKeinosuke Enoeda stayed and Murakamileft (later re-emerging as a 5th DanShotokai under Harada)[65]

In 1966 members of the former BritishKarate Federation established the KarateUnion of Great Britain (KUGB) underHirokazu Kanazawa as chief instructor[66]

and affiliated to JKA Keinosuke Enoedacame to England at the same time asKanazawa teaching at a dojo in LiverpoolKanazawa left the UK after 3 years andEnoeda took over After Enoedarsquos death in2003 the KUGB elected Andy Sherry asChief Instructor Shortly after this a newassociation split off from KUGB JKAEngland An earlier significant split fromthe KUGB took place in 1991 when a groupled by KUGB senior instructor Steve Cattleformed the English Shotokan Academy

(ESA) The aim of this group was to followthe teachings of Taiji Kase formerly theJKA chief instructor in Europe who alongwith Hiroshi Shirai created the WorldShotokan Karate-do Academy (WKSA) in1989 in order to pursue the teaching ofBudo karate as opposed to what heviewed as sport karate Kase sought toreturn the practice of Shotokan Karate toits martial roots reintroducing amongstother things open hand and throwingtechniques that had been side lined as theresult of competition rules introduced bythe JKA Both the ESA and the WKSA(renamed the Kase-Ha Shotokan-RyuKarate-do Academy (KSKA) after Kasersquos

death in 2004) continue following this pathtoday In 1975 Great Britain became thefirst team ever to take the World maleteam title from Japan after being defeatedthe previous year in the final

Italy

Hiroshi Shirai one of the originalinstructors sent by the JKA to Europealong with Kase Enoeda and Kanazawamoved to Italy in 1965 and quicklyestablished a Shotokan enclave thatspawned several instructors who in theirturn soon spread the style all over thecountry By 1970 Shotokan karate was the

most spread martial art in Italy apart fromJudo Other styles such as Wado Ryu GojuRyu and Shito Ryu although present andwell established in Italy were never able tobreak the monopoly of Shotokan

France

France Shotokan Karate was created in1964 by Tsutomu Ohshima It is affiliatedwith another of his organizationsShotokan Karate of America (SKA)However in 1965 Taiji Kase came fromJapan along with Enoeda and Shirai whowent to England and Italy respectively and

karate came under the influence of theJKA

Africa

Karate has grown in popularity in Africaparticularly in South Africa andGhana[67][68][69]

Karate spread rapidly in the West throughpopular culture In 1950s popular fictionkarate was at times described to readersin near-mythical terms and it was credibleto show Western experts of unarmedcombat as unaware of Eastern martial arts

In film and popular culture

of this kind[70] By the 1970s martial artsfilms had formed a mainstream genre thatpropelled karate and other Asian martialarts into mass popularity[42]

The Karate Kid (1984) and its sequels TheKarate Kid Part II (1986) The Karate KidPart III (1989) and The Next Karate Kid(1994) are films relating the fictional storyof an American adolescents introductioninto karate[71][72] Karate Kommandos ananimated childrens show with ChuckNorris appearing to reveal the morallessons contained in every episode

Film stars and their styles

Practitioner Fighting style

Sonny Chiba Kyokushin[73]

Sean Connery Kyokushin[74]

Hiroyuki Sanada Kyokushin[75]

Dolph Lundgren Kyokushin[76]

Michael Jai White Kyokushin[77]

Yasuaki Kurata Shito-ryu[78]

Fumio Demura Shitō-ryū[79]

Don The Dragon Wilson Gōjū-ryu[80]

Richard Norton Gōjū-ryu[81]

Yukari Oshima Gōjū-ryu[82][83]

Leung Siu-Lung Gōjū-ryu[84]

Wesley Snipes Shotokan[85]

Jean-Claude Van Damme Shotokan[86]

Jim Kelly Shōrin-ryū[87]

Joe Lewis Shōrin-ryū[88]

Tadashi Yamashita Shōrin-ryū[89]

Matt Mullins Shōrei-ryū[90]

Sho Kosugi Shindō jinen-ryū[91]

Many other film stars such as Bruce LeeChuck Norris Jackie Chan Sammo Hungand Jet Li come from a range of othermartial arts

Wikimedia Commons has media relatedtoKarate (category)

Comparison of karate styles

Japanese martial arts

Karate World Championships

Karate at the Summer Olympics

Karate at the World Games

1 Higaonna Morio (1985) TraditionalKaratedo Vol 1 Fundamental Techniquesp 17 ISBN 0-87040-595-0

See also

References

2 History of Okinawan Karate Webarchiveorg 2 March 2009 Archivedfrom the original on 2 March 2009Retrieved 14 March 2013

3 Bishop Mark (1989) Okinawan Karatepp 153ndash166 ISBN 0-7136-5666-2 Chapter9 covers Motobu-ryu and Bugeikan two tistyles with grappling and vital point strikingtechniques Page 165 Seitoku Higa Usepressure on vital points wrist locksgrappling strikes and kicks in a gentlemanner to neutralize an attack

4 Kerr George Okinawa History of anIsland People Tokyo Tuttle PublishingCompany 2000 436 442 448-449

5 Donn F Draeger (1974) Modern Bujutsuamp Budo Weatherhill New York amp TokyoPage 125

6 唐手研究会次いで空手の創立 KeioUniv Karate Team Archived from theoriginal on 12 July 2009 Retrieved 12 June2009

7 Miyagi Chojun (1993) [1934] McCarthyPatrick ed Karate-doh Gaisetsu [An Outlineof Karate-Do] p 9 ISBN 4-900613-05-3

8 The name of the Tang dynasty was asynonym to China in Okinawa

9 Draeger amp Smith (1969) ComprehensiveAsian Fighting Arts p 60 ISBN 978-0-87011-436-6

10 Bishop Mark (1999) Okinawan KarateSecond Edition p 11 ISBN 978-0-8048-3205-2

11 Gary J Krug (1 November 2001) DrGary J Krug the Feet of the Master ThreeStages in the Appropriation of OkinawanKarate Into Anglo-American Culture Cscsagepubcom Retrieved 14 March2013

12 Shigeru Egami (1976) The Heart ofKarate-Do p 13 ISBN 0-87011-816-1

13 Nagamine Shoshin (1976) OkinawanKarate-do p 47 ISBN 978-0-8048-2110-0

14 Web Japan (PDF) Retrieved 14 March2013

15 WKF claims 100 million practitioners Thekisonthewaycom Archived from theoriginal on 26 April 2013 Retrieved14 March 2013

16 Bishop Mark (1989) Okinawan Karatep 154 ISBN 0-7136-5666-2 Motobu-ryū ampSeikichi Uehara

17 Higaonna Morio (1985) TraditionalKaratedo Vol 1 Fundamental Techniquesp 19 ISBN 0-87040-595-0

18 Bishop Mark (1989) Okinawan Karatep 28 ISBN 0-7136-5666-2 For exampleChōjun Miyagi adapted Rokkushu of WhiteCrane into Tenshō

19 Lund Graeme The Essential KarateBook For White Belts Black Belts and AllKarateka in Between p 12

20 International Ryukyu Karate-jutsuResearch Society (15 October 2012)Patrick McCarthy footnote 4 Webarchiveorg Archived from the originalon 30 January 2014 Retrieved 23 May2014

21 Kanbun Uechi history Webarchiveorg 1 March 2009 Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2009Retrieved 23 May 2014

22 Hokama Tetsuhiro (2005) 100 Mastersof Okinawan Karate Okinawa Ozata Print

p 28

23 International Traditional KarateFederation (ITKF) WebarchiveorgArchived from the original on 4 December2010 Retrieved 23 May 2014

24 Higaonna Morio (1985) TraditionalKaratedo Vol 1 Fundamental Techniquesp 67 ISBN 0-87040-595-0

25 Mitchell David (1991) Winning KarateCompetition p 25 ISBN 0-7136-3402-2

26 Shigeru Egami (1976) The Heart ofKaratedo p 111 ISBN 0-87011-816-1

27 Higaonna Morio (1990) TraditionalKaratedo Vol 4 Applications of the Katap 136 ISBN 978-0870408489

28 Shigeru Egami (1976) The Heart ofKaratedo p 113 ISBN 0-87011-816-1

29 Black Belt Booksgooglecouk p 62Retrieved 13 October 2015

30 World Karate Confederation Wkc-orgnet Retrieved 14 March 2013

31 Activity Report (PDF) Retrieved14 March 2013

32 The Global Allure of Karate 2 January2017 Retrieved 20 March 2018

33 Warnock Eleanor (25 September 2015)Which Kind of Karate Has OlympicChops WSJ Retrieved 18 October 2015

34 WUKF ndash World Union of Karate-DoFederations Wukf-karateorg Retrieved

14 March 2013

35 Black Belt Booksgooglecouk p 31Retrieved 10 October 2015

36 Joel Alswang The South AfricanDictionary of Sport Booksgooglecoukp 163 Retrieved 10 October 2015

37 Adam Gibson Bill Wallace CompetitiveKarate Booksgooglecouk Retrieved10 October 2015

38 World Koshiki Karatedo Federation Koshikiorg Retrieved 14 March 2013

39 Shinkaratedo Renmei ShinkaratenetRetrieved 14 March 2013

40 IOC approves five new sports forOlympic Games Tokyo 2020 IOC

Retrieved 4 August 2016

41 Olympics Baseballsoftball sportclimbing surfing karate skateboarding atTokyo 2020 BBC Retrieved 4 August2016

42 Schneiderman R M (23 May 2009)Contender Shores Up Karates ReputationAmong UFC Fans The New York TimesRetrieved 30 January 2010

43 Technique Talk Stephen ThompsonRetrofits Karate for MMA MMA FightingRetrieved 23 May 2014

44 Lyoto Machida and the Revenge ofKarate Sherdog Retrieved 13 February2010

45 Lead MMA Analyst (14 February 2014)Lyoto Machida Old-School Karate Bleacher Report Retrieved 23 May 2014

46 Wickert Marc Montreals MMAWarrior Knucklepitcom Archived fromthe original on 13 June 2007 Retrieved6 July 2007

47 Who is Michelle Waterson mmamickscom 8 June 2015

48 Hokama Tetsuhiro (2005) 100 Mastersof Okinawan Karate Okinawa Ozata Printp 20

49 Funakoshi Gichin Karate-dō Kyohan ndashThe Master Text Tokyo KodanshaInternational 1973 Page 4

50 Funakoshi Gichin Karate-dō Kyohan ndashThe Master Text Tokyo KodanshaInternational 1973

51 Funakoshi Gishin (1988) Karate-doNyumon Japan p 24 ISBN 4-7700-1891-6 Retrieved 15 July 2010

52 Whats In A Name Newpaltzkaratecom Archived from theoriginal on 10 December 2004 Retrieved5 March 2015

53 Robert T (2006) no title given Journal of Asian Martial Arts this issue isnot available as a back issue 15 (4)

54 Karate The Canadian Encyclopedia ndashHistorica-Dominion 2010 Retrieved 20 July

2010

55 Orr Monty Amae Yoshihisa (December2016) Karate in Taiwan and South Korea ATale of Two Postcolonial Societies (PDF)Taiwan in Comparative Perspective TaiwanResearch Programme London School ofEconomics 6 1ndash16 ISSN 1752-7732

56 Academy Tangsudocom 18 October2011 Archived from the original on 10December 2014 Retrieved 5 March 2015

57 Inc Active Interest Media (1 June1979) Black Belt Active Interest MediaInc Retrieved 3 January 2018 ndash via GoogleBooks

58 Risch William Jay (17 December 2014)Youth and Rock in the Soviet Bloc YouthCultures Music and the State in Russia andEastern Europe Lexington BooksRetrieved 3 January 2018 ndash via GoogleBooks

59 Hoberman John M (30 June 2014)Sport and Political Ideology University ofTexas Press Retrieved 3 January 2018 ndashvia Google Books

60 Inc Active Interest Media (1 July 1979)Black Belt Active Interest Media IncRetrieved 3 January 2018 ndash via GoogleBooks

61 Volkov Vadim (4 February 2016)Violent Entrepreneurs The Use of Force inthe Making of Russian Capitalism CornellUniversity Press Retrieved 3 January 2018ndash via Google Books

62 Tomlinson Alan Young ChristopherHolt Richard (17 June 2013) Sport and theTransformation of Modern Europe StatesMedia and Markets 1950-2010 RoutledgeRetrieved 3 January 2018 ndash via GoogleBooks

63 Harty Sensei Thomas AboutGrandmaster Robert Trias suncoastkaratecom Retrieved 2018-02-13

64 The Original Martial Arts EncyclopediaJohn Corcoran and Emil Farkas pgs 170ndash197

65 Exclusive UK Karate History Bushinkai Archived from the original on 23February 2014

66 International Association of ShotokanKarate (IASK) Karate-iaskcom Retrieved14 March 2013

67 National Sports Authority Ghana Sportsauthoritycomgh Archived from theoriginal on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 5 March2015

68 Resnekov Liam (16 July 2014) Loveand Rebellion How Two Karatekas Fought

Apartheid | FIGHTLAND Fightlandvicecom Retrieved 5 March2015

69 Aggrey Joe (6 May 1997) GraphicSports Issue 624 May 6-12 1997 GraphicCommunications Group Retrieved22 August 2017 ndash via Google Books

70 For example Ian Flemings bookGoldfinger (1959 p91ndash95) describes theprotagonist James Bond an expert inunarmed combat as utterly ignorant ofKarate and its demonstrations anddescribes the Korean Oddjob in theseterms Goldfinger said Have you ever heardof Karate No Well that man is one of the

three in the world who have achieved theBlack Belt in Karate Karate is a branch ofjudo but it is to judo what a spandau is to acatapult Such a description in a popularnovel assumed and relied upon Karatebeing almost unknown in the West

71 The Karate Generation Newsweek 18February 2010

72 Jaden Smith Shines in The KarateKid Newsweek 10 June 2010

73 International Karate OrganizationKYOKUSHINKAIKAN Domestic Black BeltList As of Oct2000 Kyokushin karatesōkan shin seishin shugi eno sōseiki e

Aikēōshuppanjigyōkyoku 62ndash64 2001ISBN 4-8164-1250-6

74 Rogers Ron Hanshis Corner 1106(PDF) Midori Yama Budokai Retrieved20 August 2011

75 Kungfu Magazine E-Zine FeatureArticle EzinekungfumagazinecomRetrieved on 21 November 2011 Archived12 November 2013 at the WaybackMachine

76 Celebrity FitnessmdashDolph Lundgren Inside Kung Fu Archived from the originalon 29 November 2010 Retrieved15 November 2010

77 Talking WithhellipMichael Jai White GiantLife Retrieved 16 June 2010

78 Yasuaki Kurata Filmography Retrieved 17 May 2017

79 [1] Archived 28 September 2009 at theWayback Machine

80 Martial Arts Legend nd Retrieved29 July 2013

81 Black Belt Magazine March 1994 p24 Booksgooglecom March 1994Retrieved 14 March 2013

82 Goju-ryu nd Retrieved 24 June 2013

83 Yukari Oshimas Biography Retrieved24 June 2013

84 Goju-ryu nd Retrieved 26 May 2014

85 Wesley Snipes Action man courts anew beginning Independent London 4June 2010 Retrieved 10 June 2010

86 Why is he famous ASK MENRetrieved 15 June 2010

87 Martial arts biography - jim kelly Retrieved 21 August 2013

88 Biography and Profile of Joe Lewis Retrieved 12 August 2013

89 [2] Archived 5 March 2013 at theWayback Machine

90 Matt Mullins Biography nd Retrieved29 July 2013

91 `Ninja` Knockin`` Em Dead - ChicagoTribune Articleschicagotribunecom 15

Content is available under CC BY-SA 30 unlessotherwise noted

World Karate FederationOlympic Karate

Retrieved fromhttpsenwikipediaorgwindexphptitle=Karateampoldid=859796954

May 1986 Retrieved 5 March 2015

External links

Last edited 2 days ago by Phenolla