What is karate?

The literal meaning of the two Japanese characters which make up the word "karate" is "empty hand." This, of course, refers simply to the fact that karate originated as a system of self-defense which relied on the effective  use of the unarmed body of its practioner.  This system consisted of techniques of blocking or thwarting an attack and counterattacking the oponent by punching, striking, or kicking. The modern art of karate was developed out of a more thorough organization and rationalization of these techniques. And the three branches of present-day karate- as a physical art, as a Sport, and as self-defense-are all based on the use of these same fundamental techniques.

Karate as a self-defense - has the oldest history, going back hundreds of years, but it is only in recent years that the techniques which have been handed down were scientifically studied and principles evolved for making the most effective use of the various movements of the body. Training based on these principles and knowledge of the working of the muscles and joints and the vital relation between movement and balance enable the modern student of karate to be prepared. both physically and psychologically, to defend himself successfully againts any would-be assailant.

Karate as a physical art, Karate is almost without equal. Since it is highly dynamic and makes balanced use of a large number of body muscles, it provides excellent all-around excercise, and develops coordination and agility. Many girls and women in Japan have taken up karate, since in addition to its usefulness as self-defense, it is specially good for the figure. It is widely practiced by both children and older people as a means of keeping in top physical shape, and many schools are promoting it as a physical art among their students.

Karate as a sport, Karate has a relatively short history. However, contest rules have been devised to hold actual matches, as in other competitive sports. Because of the speed and variety of its techniques and the split-second timing it calls for, many athletic-minded people have come to show an interest in competitive karate and yet it is gaining worldwide popularity.

A short history 

Although the basic forms of individual self-defense are probably as old as the human race, the art of karte as it is practiced today can be traced directly to the okinawan technique called, in Japanese, Okinawa-te (Okinawa hands). This system of self-defense in turn is a descedendant of the ancient Chinese art of ch'uan-fa or kempo (fist way).

There is a famous Chinese legend regarding the origin of kempo: The renowed Indian Buddhist monk Daruma Taishi journeyed overland from India to China to instruct th Liang-Dynasty monarch on the tenets of Buddhism. To make that long, dangerous journey alone-along a route that is almost impassable even today-is no mean feat and testifies to Daruma's powers of physical and mental endurance. He remained in China at a monastery called Shaolin-szu and taught Buddhism to the Chinese monks there. Tradition relates how the severe discipline Daruma imposed and the pace he set caused all of the student-monks to pass out, one by one, from sheer physical exhaustion. At the next assemble he explained to them that, although the aim of Buddhism is the salvation of the soul, the body and soul are inseparable and their weakened physical state they could never perform the ascetic  practices necessary for the attaintment of true enlightenment. To remedy the situation he began to teach them a system of physical and mental discipline embodied in the I-chin sutra. As time went on, the monks at Shaolin-szu won the reputation of being the most formidable fighters in China. In later years, the art which they practiced came to be called Shaolin-szu "fist way" and formed the basis for present-day China's national sport.

Okinawa is the main island of the Ryukyu Island chain, which is scattered like steppingstones southwest from southern Kyushu to Tainwan in the East China Sea. From ancient times, Okinawa was in contact with both China and Japan, and probably kempo was imported along with many other elements of Chinese culture. Around 1600 China replaced its civil envoys to Okinawa with military men, among whom were many noted for their prowess in Chinese kempo. The Okinawans took a keen interest in it and combined it with a native from of hand-to-hand fighting to produce Okinawa-te.

Little in known about the historical development of karate in Okinawa, but there is an interesting story told about. About hundred of years ago, the famous king Hashi of the Okinawan Sho dynasty cucceeded in uniting the Ryukyu Islands into one kingdom. To ensure rule by law and to discourage any potential mility rivals, he siezed all weapons in the kinddom and made the possession of weapons a crime against the state. About two hundred years later, Okinawa became part of the domain of the Satsuma clan of Kyushu, and for a second time all weapons are seized and banned. As a direct result ot these successive bans againts weapons, it is said that the art of empty-handed self-defense called Okinawa-te underwent tremendous development.

 The man most responsible for the systemization of karate as we know it today was FUNAKOSHI GITCHIN. He was burn in Shuri, Okinawa, in 1869, and when only a boy of eleven began to study karate under the two top masters of the art at that time. In time he became a karate expert in his own right. He is credited with being the first man to introduce karate to Japan proper, when he give exhibitions in 1917 and again in 1922 at physical-education expositions sponsored the Ministry of education.  The art soon caught on in Japan, and Funakoshi traveled throughout the country giving lectures and demonstrations. The main universities invited the art under his guidance. As the study of karate in Japan became increasingly popular, many other experts from Okinawa and China came to give instruction. At the same time, the ancient native Japanese hand-to-hand fighting techniques of jujitsu and kendo (sword fighting) were being widely practiced, and modern sports imported from the West were repidly becoming popular.

In 1948 the Japan Karate Association was organized, with Funakoshi as the chief instructor. Because this organization made it possible  for the leading karate men to pool their kwowledge and ability, from that time onward progress was rapid, leading to the development of the three aspects of present-day karate, i.e., as self-defense, as a physical art, and as a sport.

In april, 1957 Funakoshi, the father of modern karate, passed away at the advanced aged of eighty-eight. But tens of thousands of karate men who lerned under him remain, insuring that the art which he taught will not die with him. On the contrary, persons in many foreign countries have shown an interest in learing karate, and it is repidly moving toward becoming a world art.