Karate in Japan

Karate began in the 14th century on the island of Okinawa.[1] Karate as a word first emerged due to Gichin Funakoshi.[2] Karate was introduced to mainland Japan in the 1920s.[3][4][5]

Karate in Japan
CountryJapan
Governing bodyJapan Karate Federation
National team(s)Japan Olympics team
International competitions
Traditional Dojo - Karate Kaikan in Tomigusuku near Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

History

Karate (lit. "empty-hand") has its roots in ancient martial practice in India and China. There is a popular tale of an Indian monk by the name of Bodhidharma, who brought a system of exercise and fighting techniques to the Shaolin Monastery in China around 525 A.D. It is said that this was the beginning of a systematized martial practice that eventually spread to other Asian countries via traveling monks and traders.[6]

Karate itself was born in Okinawa (actually a string of islands off the coast of Japan known as the Ryukyu Islands).[7] It is said that in ancient times a style known simply as "te" (literally "hand") emerged from the influence of the aforementioned Shaolin Kung Fu.

In the 1920s a public school teacher named Gichin Funakoshi introduced what was, by then, called kara-te into mainland Japan. He developed the nomenclature of this art at the research club in Keio University, changing the meaning of its name from "Chinese hand" to "empty hand" and adding the suffix do to conform budō arts. In 1933, the art was officially recognized by the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai.[8]

There were already family styles of karate in Okinawa and soon several styles were also formed in Japan.[9] There are several differences between the two traditional approaches but that can be researched elsewhere.[10]

Establishing organizations

Organizations like Japan Karate Association and the Japan Karate Federation emerged in the 1950s to standardize karate as a sport.[11][12][13][14]

National board

Japan Karate Federation is the largest Karate Association in Japan. It is a member of the Japan Olympic Association.

The Japan Karate Federation is a member of the Asian umbrella organization Asian Karatedo Federation (AKF) as well as the World Association for World Karate Federation (WKF).

On the part of the Japan Olympic Committee, the JOC is the only Karate Association authorized to send athletes to the Olympic Games.

International competition

Japan a traditional world power in Sport Karate and its record in Karate World Championships is an impressive one.

Karate World Championships
Year Host city Gold Silver Bronze Total
1970 Japan Tokyo 2 1 1 4
1972 France Paris 0 0 0 0
1975 United States California 1 2 0 3
1977 Japan Tokyo 0 0 0 0
1980 Spain Madrid 4 4 2 10
1982 Taiwan Taipei 6 2 3 11
1984 Netherlands Maastricht 3 2 2 7
1986 Australia Sydney 0 0 1 1
1988 Egypt Cairo 5 7 2 14
1990 Mexico Mexico City 6 3 3 12
1992 Spain Granada 4 2 3 9
1994 Malaysia Kota Kinabalu 7 2 2 11
1996 South Africa Sun City 4 4 3 11
1998 Brazil Rio de Janeiro 5 1 2 8
Total 73 43 42 158

Spreading the martial art

As Karate grained prominence in Japan many karate masters exported the martial art to the United States and many other parts of the world.[15][16]

Present

The sport has declined in popularity and is more popular abroad.[17] Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics is going to be a debut event at the Summer Olympics.[18]

See also

References
  1. "The Global Allure of Karate". Nippon. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 31 December 2017.
  2. Grupp, Joachim (26 July 2017). Shotokan Karate Kata. Meyer & Meyer Verlag. ISBN 9781841260914 – via Google Books.
  3. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 December 1986). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. Grupp, Joachim (26 July 2017). Shotokan Karate Kata. Meyer & Meyer Verlag. ISBN 9781841260914. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books.
  5. Martin, Ashley (5 May 2016). The Shotokan Karate Bible: Beginner to Black Belt. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. ISBN 9781472914125. Retrieved 27 July 2017 – via Google Books.
  6. "What to know about karate at the Tokyo Olympics". Washington Post. 18 July 2021.
  7. Orr, Monty; Amae, Yoshihisa (December 2016). "Karate in Taiwan and South Korea: A Tale of Two Postcolonial Societies" (PDF). Taiwan in Comparative Perspective. Taiwan Research Programme, London School of Economics. 6: 1–16. ISSN 1752-7732.
  8. Thomas A. Green, Martial Arts of the World: A-Q, 2001
  9. "How a Forgotten Karate Pioneer Built a Budo Mecca". Black Belt Magazine. 20 August 2021.
  10. "The Global Allure of Karate". Nippon. 2 January 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  11. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 August 1967). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  12. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 November 1970). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. Inc, Active Interest Media (1 October 1965). "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. Arriaza, Rafael (March 2009). "Chapter 16: Karate". In Kordi, Ramin; Maffulli, Nicola; Wroble, Randall R.; et al. (eds.). Combat Sports Medicine. p. 288. ISBN 9781848003545. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  15. HILL, Robert (8 September 2010). World of Martial Arts !. Lulu.com. ISBN 9780557016631. Retrieved 26 July 2017 – via Google Books.
  16. "The Martial Arts as Moneymakers". The New York Times. 28 August 1988. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  17. "Europeans keep karate alive and kicking in Japan". Reuters. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  18. Dooley, Ben; Ueno, Hisako (3 August 2021). "Karate's Big Question in Its Olympic Debut: Is It a Sport or a Martial Art?". The New York Times.
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