Karate

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karate-do

Karate is a martial art of Okinawan origin. It developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and southern Chinese martial arts. Kara means "empty," and te means "hand," therefore Karate means "empty hands" and "Karate-do" means "way of the empty hand." Karate involves the use of punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open-hand techniques. But it is to be noted that it also has features found in Judo such as grappling, pinning and joint locking.

Contents

[edit] History

the renowned masters of karate: (from left) Toyama Kanken, Ohtsuka Hironori, Shimoda Takeshi, Gichin Funakoshi, Motobu Choki, Mabuni Kenwa, Nakasone Genwa and Taira Shinken

Karate continues to be developed as a multi-cultural fighting system to this day with the help of gifted and professional karatekas from all over the world.

[edit] China

It is Chinese popular belief that a Bodhidharma from India once arrived in China and encountered a group of Shaolin Monks in the mountains living a sedentary life. The Bodhidharma felt that the way of life practiced by the monks was contrary to the teachings of Buddhism. The Bodhidharma went into isolation and meditated for seven years until he realized that imitating the fighting styles of various animals could help the monks stay in shape. Some say that this, plus his knowledge of Indian martial arts, was the basis for the creation of the Chinese martial arts, whose study later spread to neighboring countries such as Korea and Japan.

Alternately, and although Bodhidharma is a historically verifiable person who might have brought Ch'an Buddhism to China, the development of the Asian fighting arts may have had nothing to do with him. At least one author disputes the legend, asserting that the association of Bodhidharma and Kung Fu/Karate has more to do with pulp fiction novels and movies than real life.

[edit] Okinawa

Although today Okinawa is a part of Japan, the island has a different though similar language and culture. Direct Japanese authority over Okinawa took effect only in 1874 with the annexation of the Ryukyu Islands, long after the invasion of the Japanese Satsuma Clan in 1609. For reasons of convenience, martial arts historians discuss Japan and Okinawa separately in terms of Karate.

The Okinawan royalty back then practiced an ancient martial art known as Te. It was a free-flowing martial art with no standardized kata or waza and was greatly influenced by Chinese styles of martial arts. Only a wide network of practitioners supported the life of Te by maintaining individual methods and ecletic styles. The different styles of Te were generalized according to the cities in which they originated: Naha-te, Shuri-te, and Tomari-te.

Okinawan Royalty and members of the Satsuma Clan were usually sent to China to study public administration and other forms of liberal arts. These exchanges were probably what led to the formation of Te. Its resemblance to Chinese Kung Fu is notable.

In 1806, a man named "Tode" Sakukawa (1782-1838), who had studied the Chinese arts of staff fighting and pugilism, started a fighting style that he called Karate-no Sakukawa, which probably meant "China Hand of Sakukawa." It was the first time in history that the word karate was ever used. Years later, his most notable student, Sokon Matsumura (1809-1899), taught a different style of Te that combined Shuri-te, Tomari-te and ancient Shaolin styles. This would become Shorin-ryu Karate.

Matsumura taught his style to Anko Itosu who structured another variation of Karate by formulating basic katas for beginners. Itosu managed to incorporate his martial art into the curriculum of the Okinawan public school system. This incorporation greatly helped the diffusion of Karate in Okinawa and Japan as school children ranging from elemantary to high school started to practice the art. One of these Okinawan students who benefitted from Itosu's teachings was Gichin Funakoshi, the "Father of Modern Karate".

The influence of Itosu's karate is very broad because his katas are common to all styles of Karate.

[edit] Japan

Gichin Funakoshi: The Father of Modern Karate

Gichin Funakoshi, the creator of Shotokan Karate, is generally credited with having introduced and popularized Karate on the main islands of Japan. Being one of the students of Anko Itosu, he brought the Pinan kata to Japan and worked tirelessly to modernize Karate and spread it all over the country.

When Funakoshi went to Japan, the Imperial Government was at that time fighting a war against the Chinese (First Sino-Japanese War, 1894-1895), and Funakoshi knew that the name karate, which meant "China hand," was a problem. So he devised a new meaning for karate: namely, "empty hand," as the Japanese word kara can mean both "China" and "empty." He also added the suffix do, or "way", to make it "Karate-do." By this, Funakoshi meant that Karate is not merely a system of fighting, but also a spiritual art whose practice will improve the morals and ethics of its practitioners.

Gichin Funakoshi changed the names of many kata to nihongo in order that the Japanese might accept Karate as one of their own martial arts. However, in the passage of time, Funakoshi instituted some changes in the content of these kata. He combined two schools of Karate popularized by two of his sensei, Anko Itosu and Anko Atasu, the Shorin-Ryu and Shorei-Ryu, respectively, and added elements of proper timing and distance from Kendo to his style. He normally called his style "Karate," but in 1936, he founded his own dojo in Tokyo and called it "Shotokan." Eventually, his students and fellow martial artists called his style Shotokan Karate.

The modernization and systemization of Karate in Japan also included the adoption of the ubiquitous white uniform which consisted of the kimono and the dogi or keikogi - commonly called a karategi (pronounced 'gee'; rhymes with 'key') - and colored belt ranks. Both of these innovations were originated and popularized by Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, one of the men Funakoshi consulted in his efforts to 'modernize' Karate. Ranking systems and their values differ greatly from organization to organization, which sometimes leads to confusion when trying to determine a relative standard for Karate training and credibility.

[edit] The Practice of Karate

In the practice of Karate, there are 3 basic components involved: the kihon, translated as "basics;" the kata or "forms;" and kumite, or "sparring". Other schools empahsize a different kind of categorization, such as art, sport and self-defence. Other elements in the exercise of this martial art are the weapons training and kokoro, or "attitude."

[edit] Kihon (Fundamentals)

Kihon (基本:きほん) are the basic techiniques, which include punches, kicks and stances, and is the most popular part of karate. However, the true kihon also involves balance, timing, power and speed, and endless repitition of these basics makes an ordinary Karateka a master.

[edit] Kata (Forms)

basic stance

If kihon were the heart and brain of karate, then kata (型:かた) would be the spine. Kata means "form" or "pattern," and not merely aerobic routines. They are patterns of movements and techniques that demonstrate physical combat principles. They are mixed sequences of movements for either attack or defence that regard every hypothetical situation and circumstance. They can be intrepreted as both attack and defence depending on the actual situation that the kata is put under.

[edit] Kumite (Sparring)

Kumite (組手:くみて) is literally "meeting of hands,". Sparring may be constrained by many rules or it may be free sparring, and today is practiced both as sport and for self-defense training. Sport sparring tends to be one-hit "tag" type contact for points. Depending on style or teacher, practical Aikido- and Judo-type takedowns and grappling may be involved alongside the punching and kicking.

[edit] Kokoro (Attitude)

Kokoro (心:こころ) is a concept that crosses through many martial arts, but has no single distinct meaning. It is the heart or character of the art, and this was made to adhere to the do nature of Karate. It emphasizes the virtue that a person must imbibe in order to improve oneself. Accordong to Funakoshi, the ultimate aim of Karate lies not in victory but in the perfection of the character of its participants.

This is the reason why respect is another very important part of Karate and its acknowledgement towards an opponent or any other person is always observed. Karate-do believes that it is in the virtue of respect that one finds the value of life.

[edit] Kobudō (Weapons Training)

Although technically meaning only "old martial way," in context, kobudō refers specifically to the old martial way of Okinawa, and even more specifically, to the traditional weapons of Okinawa. These include most notably the kama (sickles), tonfa (stick with a handle), sai (fork), and bo (staff), although there are several others, as well.

[edit] Conditioning

Many styles of karate also include specialized conditioning equipment, known in Japanese collectively as hojo undo. Some of the more common devices are the makiwara, the chi-ishi (a kind of off-center free weight), and nigiri game (large jars used for grip strength).

[edit] Sport

Japanese Karate competition can be in three disciplines: sparring, empty-handed forms, and weapons forms; competitors may enter either as individuals or as part of a team, or both. Evaluation for kata is done by a panel of judges; sparring is judged by a head referee and two to four side referees. Sparring matches are often divided by weight classes.

Some traditionalists are concerned that the emphasis on competition is antithetical to the deeper values of the art. They feel that sport competition promotes a highly compromised interpretation of the art, including point fighting and demonstration of forms for entertainment value. Forms are often set to music, and weapons that light up or glow are sometimes used. In extreme cases, martial practicality is eschewed in favor of gymnastics. Traditionalists feel this should not be regarded as emblematic of Karate; others feel the publicity is helpful.

[edit] Rank

Originally, Karate training did not involve any notions of rank. After introduction to Japan, some adopted only three obi (belt) colors: white, brown and black, with several ranks of each. This is the same color system that was used by the Kodokan. Gichin Funakoshi adopted the idea from Jigoro Kano. Here is the original belt system, still used by Shotokan Karate of America [1]:

  • Ungraded - white
  • 8th kyu through 4th kyū - white
  • 3rd kyu through 1st kyū - brown
  • 1st dan and above - black

As Karate became more widespread, a decision was made by some organizations to add more colors and ranks to the system.

One example is given below, but these vary among organizations:

  • 10th kyu - white
  • 9th kyū - red
  • 8th kyū - yellow
  • 7th kyū - orange
  • 6th kyū - green
  • 5th kyū - blue
  • 4th kyū - purple
  • 3rd kyū - brown
  • 2nd kyū - brown
  • 1st kyū - brown
  • 1st to 5th (or all levels of black) dan - black
  • 6th to 8th dan - red with white stripes
  • 9th and 10th dan - red

The requirements for each belt vary as a student progresses, and each form of Karate has a different grading system; however, it is commonly noted that the progression of learning is in the following order:

  1. Position - Stance
  2. Balance - Control of position
  3. Coordination - Control of balance and position in technique
  4. Form - Performing the above correctly
  5. Speed - Increase the rate of performance without loss of form
  6. Power - Strengthening the techinique
  7. Reflex - The technique becomes a natural movement
  8. Conclusion - It is essential that the progression is not rushed, but developed at each stage.

[edit] Sports and the Olympics

An additional factor in the interest in Karate is the availability of international competitions. There are bodies which sponsor competitions, including the U.S. Karate Association and Professional Karate Association.

Japanese Karate does not have Olympic status, although it received more than 50% of the votes to become an official Olympic Sport; 75% of the votes are required. The World Karate Federation (WKF) is the recognized International Sport Federation by International Olympic Committee (IOC) for Karate. WKF represents the major uniform rules among all styles. Karate activities in individual countries are organized through national Karate federations, recognized by each official national sports governing body and a National Olympic Committee. Each continent has one federation for continental Karate activities. There are many national and international Karate organizations, regarding competitive activities and styles activities. Only WKF, however, is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, and only one organization in each country is linked with that official structure. For that, official recognition of the country's sports governing body is required. Each country organizes their own Karate championships following WKF rules.

[edit] Karate Styles/Schools

Within Karate there are presently a multitude of different styles or schools. These include:
(A-Z)

Many organizations offer hybrids of Karate styles.

Okinawan Martial Arts
Karate | Okinawan Kobudo | Tegumi

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