Karate

Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane.

Karate is now 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. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints, and vital-point strikes are also taught.

Karate's development can be traced back to the 19th century in Okinawa. It was brought to mainland Japan in the early 20th century by masters like Gichin Funakoshi. After World War II, karate became popular internationally.

• Strikes: Punches (tsuki), kicks (geri), open-hand strikes (uchi).
• Blocks: Age-uke (rising block), soto-uke (outside block), gedan-barai (downward block).
• Stances: Zenkutsu-dachi (front stance), kiba-dachi (horse stance).
• Kata: Pre-arranged forms that simulate combat situations.

Karate training is commonly divided into three parts:

• Kihon: Basics (stances, strikes, blocks, kicks).
• Kata: Forms or patterns of moves.
• Kumite: Sparring.