Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Interesting Facts About Karate

By Leigh Metopher


Karate is an ancient martial art that originated on the island of Okinawa in Japan. The word karate actually means "hand," and while punching and striking are important components of karate, kicking and knee strikes also important elements that students will learn during their training.

While the people of the Ryukyu Kingdom began practicing karate in the early 14th century, the martial art was not really introduced to mainland Japan until about 1910. In 1924, the first karate club was created at Keio University and within 10 years, most universities had karate clubs. The first karate school or dojo in the United States opened in 1945. Americans began learning the skills of karate in Okinawa during World War II and brought the art to the United States.

You might think that karate is just karate, but there are actually quite a few different styles. A person might be a student of Shotokan karate or perhaps they prefer to learn the skills of Kyokusin karate or perhaps Yoshukai karate. Most were developed in Japan, although Shuri-ryu karate was developed in the United States. Of course, many elements of karate can be found in the study of mixed martial arts.

During training, students of karate earn various belts to mark the level of their skill and improvement. As beginners, karate students begin with a white belt, and their first goal is to learn enough skills and master them in order to earn the yellow belt. After yellow, the belts continue to orange, green, blue, purple, brown, red and finally, black. For young adults and older adults, you can earn different degrees of black belts.

Earning each belt is certainly a huge accomplishment, but karate is not just about belts and certainly is not just about fighting. In fact, the philosophy is quite the opposite. Practitioners are taught to possess humility and self-control and use karate as a means of self-defense, not aggression. At a proper dojo, while students are certainly encouraged to earn belts, the main focus is improving discipline and one's physical condition. Karate is as much a way of life as it is a style of fighting.

If you are searching for a Carlsbad karate school or Encinitas karate school for your child, consider Team Mai. Classes are taught by experienced instructors, all of whom have earned black belts in karate. You will find that martial arts training has many benefits for children. Not only will they be able to defend themselves if necessary, they will improve their physical strength, flexibility and coordination as well as boosting confidence.




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