History of Karate
// March 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // karate-do
History of Karate can be traced back some 1400 years back, it is believed that it travelled from India to Okinawa (small island between Japan and China). Bodhidharma, a Budhist monk travelled from India to Okinawa and started teaching it to the Chinese people which were very weak. Seeing their miserable condition Bodhidharma introduced some form of breathing exercises (now famous by the name Zen Meditation) which might be same form of Yoga and Martial Arts that he has learnt in India.
Karate is derived from two words “kara” means “empty” and “te” means “hands” thus Karate literally means empty hands although the correct term is “KARATE – DO” here “do” means “way” and thus the word “KARATE – DO” means “Way of Empty Hands” .
Karate is one of those very few Martial Arts that has a deep rooted philosophy behind its practice and application. The goal of karate is to kill one’s ego and bring peace to the society. The concept of this art is to use every means available to the practitioners, and to overcome by technique, conditioning and training and assailant or assailants in a fight for life. The skills and techniques are lethal and training is hard of a Karate Student even in early training. Karate is based on the blows delivered with the hand, foot, head or knee. When a Karate-ka (one who learns karate is called karate – ka) has mastered all these effective techniques, he is than awarded his BLACK BELT.
