What Is Karate?
Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom under the influence of Kung Fu, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is 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. Some styles include, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints and vital-point strikes. Japan annexed the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1879 and karate came to the Japanese in the early 20th century. Karate was systematically taught in Japan after 1912-1926. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university karate club. Soon after major Japanese universities had karate clubs. In 1945 Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen.