Karate facts for kids
Chōmo Hanashiro
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| Also known as | Karate Do 空手道 |
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| Focus | Striking |
| Hardness | Full-contact, semi-contact, light-contact |
| Country of origin | Ryukyu Kingdom (present-day Japan) |
| Parenthood | Indigenous martial arts of Ryukyu Islands, Chinese martial arts |
| Olympic sport | Will debut in 2020 |
Karate world championship 2006, men's heavyweight final
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| Highest governing body | World Karate Federation |
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| First developed | Ryukyu Kingdom, ca. 17th century |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Yes |
| Mixed-sex | No |
| Type | Martial art |
| Presence | |
| Country or region | Worldwide |
| Olympic | Will debut in 2020 |
| World Games | 1981 – 2017 |
Karate is a martial art that started in the Ryukyu Kingdom. This area is now part of Japan. Karate grew from local fighting styles and was influenced by Chinese Kung Fu.
Today, karate mostly uses striking moves. These include punching, kicking, knee strikes, and elbow strikes. It also uses open-hand techniques like knife-hands. Sometimes, it includes grappling, throws, and joint locks. A person who practices karate is called a karateka.
Karate was chosen for the 2020 Summer Olympics. It was one of five new sports added for the games. The World Karate Federation says about 100 million people practice karate worldwide.
Contents
The History of Karate
Karate was brought to mainland Japan in the early 1900s. This was done by Gichin Funakoshi, a school teacher from Okinawa. Traditional karate is different from sports like boxing or wrestling. It focuses on both physical strength and mental discipline. Good manners and self-control are just as important as self-defense.
The word karate became popular around the world. Many schools opened to teach this martial art. Now, people everywhere can learn karate. The full name, "Karate-do," means "the way of the empty hand."
Different Styles of Karate
There are many different schools or styles of karate. Each style has its own unique way of teaching. Some well-known styles include:
How Karate is Practiced
Karate can be practiced in different ways. It can be an art (budō), a way of self-defense, or a combat sport. Traditional karate focuses on personal growth and self-improvement. Modern Japanese styles also teach important life skills. These include perseverance, courage, and leadership. Sport karate focuses more on exercise and competition.
The Philosophy of Karate
Karate teaches you to be humble and open to learning. This means listening to others and accepting advice. Being polite is very important in karate. You should only use karate when you truly need to defend yourself. A real expert's strike can be very powerful. Because of this, karate practitioners should never start a fight. Misusing what you learn brings dishonor to yourself.
Karate Clothing and Belts
When people practice karate, they wear special clothes. These clothes are called a karategi. A karategi is a white jacket and white pants. Karate students also wear a colored belt. The belt shows their rank or how long they have trained. It's not always about how good someone is. Two people with different belt colors can sometimes be equally skilled.
To move up in rank, you need to be a certain age and train for a certain time. You also need to show what you've learned to examiners. This testing can include everything you've practiced so far.
Different karate schools use different belt colors for their ranks. The black belt is usually for students who have trained very hard for a long time. Some schools have different levels of black belts. These levels are shown by white stripes, called Dans, on the belt. For example, a "3 Dan black belt" has three stripes. This means they are higher ranked than a "1 Dan black belt."
Karate in the United States
After World War II, many American soldiers learned karate. They learned it in Okinawa or Japan. When they returned home, they opened karate schools in the United States. In 1945, Robert Trias opened the first karate school, called a dojo, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Later, in 1961, Hidetaka Nishiyama began teaching karate in the US. He helped start the International Traditional Karate Federation. In 1964, Takayuki Kubota moved his International Karate Association to California.
Karate in Film and Popular Culture
Karate became very popular in Western countries through movies and TV shows. In the 1950s, karate was sometimes seen as a mysterious fighting style. By the 1970s, martial arts films became very popular. These movies helped make karate and other Asian martial arts famous.
The movie The Karate Kid (1984) is a well-known example. It tells the story of an American teenager learning karate. Its sequels include The Karate Kid, Part II (1986) and The Karate Kid, Part III (1989). There was also The Next Karate Kid (1994). Karate Kommandos was a children's cartoon. In this show, Chuck Norris would appear to share moral lessons.
Many famous film stars are known for martial arts. These include Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Jet Li. They come from various martial arts backgrounds.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Karate training in front of Shuri Castle in Naha (1938)
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Karate in Naha before the war; (before 1946)
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Masters of karate in Tokyo (c. 1930s), from left to right, Kanken Toyama, Hironori Otsuka, Takeshi Shimoda, Gichin Funakoshi, Chōki Motobu, Kenwa Mabuni, Genwa Nakasone, and Shinken Taira
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Gichin Funakoshi, founder of Shotokan Karate, c. 1924
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Chōki Motobu in Naihanchi-dachi, one of the basic karate stances
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Karate movements in Lappeenranta
See also
In Spanish: Karate para niños
