Karate

Karate do is a Japanese martial art, introduced from Okinawa in 1922.
In Japanese, Kara means empty; Te means hands; Do means the way, thus
Karate means "the way of the empty hand".

This is the most common misunderstanding regarding the historic roots of
Karate. Originally, Karate was written as ?? ("Chinese hand") due to the
influence of kung fu on the native Okinawan fighting techniques that Karate
originated from, since merchants and sailors from Fujian Province were
traveling back and forth from Okinawa. This was later changed to empty
hand in 1929 to better reflect the philosophies of the art.

Karate, like jujutsu and judo, most likely came to America through two
primary paths: Japanese immigrants to Hawaii and the mainland, where it
stayed largely inside the Japanese American community, although to a lesser
degree in Hawaii, and by specialized study by members of the police and the
military. It would be safe to say that the biggest boost to the
popularization of karate in America came with the American military
occupation of Japan after World War II; once American soldiers had
assimilated the discipline, they returned with it to the States and began to
disseminate it.

Like most martial arts active in Japan, Karate made its transition to
Karate-Do at the beginning of the 20th century. The Karate-Do does not,
contrary to its Chinese relatives, include the use of weapons. Any weapons
used are strictly within the Okinawan tradition, kobudo, the use of modified
farming tools and common implements as weapons, since 'normal' weapons were
banned in Okinawa. Within Karate and Karate-Do, there are a multitude of
different ryus (styles or schools), the most renowned are Shotokan (pine
wave) and Kyokushin (ultimate truth). Other mainstream styles are Seido,
Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu, Uechi Ryu, and Shito ryu.

Shotokan style Karate is characterised by deep, long stances to provide
stability and powerful movements. At the other end of the spectrum, Wado-Ryu
(way of peace) prefers quick and subtle body movements (known as 'tai
sabaki') to evade attacks and swift counter attacks. The Wado-Ryu style was
introduced to the west by Sensei Tatsuo Suzuki.

Karate is a hard martial art and emphasises striking techniques (i.e.
punching and kicking) over grappling. Karate can be divided into two major
parts, kumite and kata. Kumite (??) means sparring and develops from well
defined forms to the free form named randori. Kata (?) means forms and is a
fight againt imaginary enemies, it is a fixed sequence of moves.

Karate is also a competetive sport although, unlike taekwondo it is not yet
an olympic sport. Competition can be in either Kumite or Kata and either as
an individual or a team.

In Kumite, two opponents wear different coloured belts (typically red and
blue) and fight until a clean point is scored as indicated by one of two
seated judges by coloured flags or seen by the standing referee. At this
point sparring is stopped and the point is awarded. Points systems vary but
in general a half point (wazari) is awarded for a single punch or for a kick
to the body. A full point (ippon) is given for an attack such as a head
kick, any attack following the opponent being taken to the ground or a
combination techniqure (renrakuwaza).

In Kata points are awarded by five seated judges similar to either
gymnastics or ice skating tournaments depending on the quality of the
performance. A good Kata performance should perform all the movements
correctly but also show a personal interpretation of the movements through
one's variation in speed. When Kata is performed as a team (usually of
three), it is also important to match the timing of techniques as closely as possible.

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