History of Karate
Karate was born in the Okinawan Islands as a method of self-defense, at a time when weapons were banned by invading Japanese forces. It began as a fighting style used by the natives of the Ryukyu Islands, and was later influenced by Chinese kenpō which is introduced by the Chinese families that settled on Okinawa. From three Okinawan cities (Shuri, Naha, Tomari), three separate styles emerged: Shuri-te Naha-te Tomari-te Collectively, these styles were called Okinawa-te or tode (Chinese hand). Over time, the styles merged slightly and become just two. They are Shōrin-ryū (developed near Shuri and Tomari) and Shōrei-ryū ( developed near Naha). Because of increasing Japanese influence, the label of te was eventually lengthened to karate-jutsu (Chinese hand art). It then changed to karate-do after an Okinawan master altered the meaning of the word kara (also pronounced tode) to mean “empty” rather than “Chinese hand.” So, karate-do translates into “the way of the em...