Mountain Tae Kwon Do School

The term "karate" is commonly misused by Western novices to describe all the different martial art systems. Often Western martial arts schools will use the term "karate" as part of a name intended to describe a martial art not related to karate. For example, the term "kempo karate" used to describe a Chinese style of martial arts that has no historical relationship to karate. This is not uncommon since the majority of Western exposure to the martial arts was originally from a Japanese karate system.

Karate, like the term kung fu, refers to a whole range of fighting styles that use hand blows and kicks as their basic techniques. It is believed to have developed on Okinawa when the island's inhabitants, prohibited by their rulers from carrying weapons, were forced to devise secret forms of unarmed combat to protect themselves from conquerors and marauding bands of pirates.

Of all the countries that have contributed to the evolution of the art of modern-day karate, tiny Okinawa was one of the most influential. It is generally accepted that Okinawa was first inhabited by shipwrecked survivors of vicious typhoons. These survivors were diplomats, priests, and scholars traveling to Japan from China. Certainly, some of the Chinese survivors were skilled in various systems of unarmed combat. In later years, Okinawan practitioners regularly traveled to China to train in martial arts. Subsequently, such skills evolved into several styles of unarmed combat known primarily as "to-de," and "ch'uan fa" (kung fu).

In 1609 the Japanese samurai marched on Okinawa and all weapons were confiscated and a ban on the possession of weapons and metals was proclaimed. Clashes often occurred between the islanders and the foreigners. In these battles, the Okinawans were forced to use primitive weapons or their bare hands and feet.

When the weapons had been banned, typically, the tools of the trade were used as weapons. There were five main farm implements the Okinawans had utilized as weapons to defend themselves: The "bo," a long wooden staff, was used by the farmers to balance heavy loads across their shoulders; The "nunchaku" was used as a rice thresher; the "kama" or sickle; The "sai" which originated from the pitchfork; and the "tonfa" was used as a handle.

Painfully aware of their lack of success in the skirmishes, the various Okinawan martial arts groups united. A new fighting style was thus formed, combining the open hands and feet of the ch'uan fa and the fists of the to-de system. This new type of unarmed combat became known as "te," which means hand. This is the first known record of the art of karate in a nearly modern form. Since te was practiced in secrecy to avoid detection from the samurai, most of the early history is based upon oral tradition.

Te spread to Japan in the 20th century after Crown Prince Hirohito witnessed a martial arts demonstration by a master named Gichin Funakoshi. The prince was so impressed that he invited Funakoshi to Tokyo to teach. The Okinawan style was modified by the Japanese art of ju jitsu and by the Korean martial art that was being introduced to Japan about the same time. The Japanese called their new fighting art "karate"; "kara" meaning "empty," and "te" meaning "hand."

Shorin ryu (meaning "the Shaolin tradition"), shotokan, shito ryu, and goju ryu are some of more common styles of Okinawan martial arts. Wado ryu is a mixture of ju jitsu, judo, and the Okinawan martial arts.

Like most of the martial arts, karate practice is geared toward developing proper technique, coordinating mind and body, and focusing energy. Training is similar to the Korean arts, and is practiced in a dogo (practice hall) under the instruction of a sensei (instructor).