Karate- a general name used for various punching and kicking styles, with their origins in Okinawa and Japan. “Karate” is the Japanese word which means “empty hands”. This style of Martial Arts doesn’t make use of weapons. It is an unarmed self defense style which deal with the direct delivery of kicks and punches with the feet and hands. Karate resembles Judo in most aspects but slightly varies with the style of fighting. As in Judo, rather than wrestling and throwing the opponent down, Karate primarily concentrates on the striking methods through punches and kicks. Having a several hundred years of history, many people consider Karate as a physical exercise. Some people consider it as a form of meditation as many techniques employed by this art deal with the flow of internal energy (chi flow).
Despite, the complete history of Karate is not vivid. There have been debates under process arguing over its originating places. Despite the discussions, majority of the analysts believe Okinowa and Japan to be the Karate’s originating places. Although these two are considered the originating places of Karate, it has been a long time that Karate has found recognition in Japan than in that of Okinowa. It was formerly called as “Ti” and was practiced only by the Okinowa’s royal people. But only after it had hit the Japanese grounds Karate had started to gain extreme recognition round the world. And as the world is changing, Karate also started to take new forms and styles. The modern Karate that we know today might perhaps be the mixture of blended techniques of Judo, Jujitsu, Aikido and Kendo
Numerous reasons exist for people to prefer Karate in big numbers. Karate is basically a form of self defense, being it the very reason for people to prefer in large numbers. It not only teaches you how to protect yourself from the attacks of the opponent but also at the same time it teaches you how to nullify the power of the attacker as fast as possible. The other reason for its preference being able to make an individual physically fit. Getting trained in Karate not o nly helps you to keep physically fit but also it improves the mental ability, reflexes and the response time needed to take a decision at crucial situations where time is vital factor. Some people testify t hat they start to feel more enthusiastic and energetic, with a brighter look on the world after they have started learning Karate. It takes a good deal of burning away the fat, making a balanced use of the muscles thus by getting strong enough to be flexible and coordinated.
Thee are various variations of Karate practiced round the world. Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu and Shinto Ryu are just few examples of some of its famous variations. Shotokan Karate is a sport, an art which ladi the foundation for a design of self defense technique known for having extremely precise techniques, low stances with strong and dynamic hip motions. Shinto Ryu has gained world wide popularity among the main systems of the world.
