Karate is a martial art developed by people who were forbidden to use weapon. So it was created as a defense art. There is a belief that only hands are enough for self-defense in case of high level of skills. The word “Karate” means “Empty hand”.

Karate has a millenary history. When Dharma (Bodhidharma or Bodai Daruma in Japanese pronunciation – Zen religion founder in China, where he brought theory basis from India in the 5^th century C. E.)  was at Shaolin Monastery in China, he taught his students physical trainings in order to teach them endurance and physical strength. Dharma brought in  this severe discipline as a part of religion. All these training methods were developed and improved and afterwards became known as martial art of Shaolin.  This art was brought to Okinawa where it was combined with local fighting tricks of islanders. Ancient Okinawa lord, later feudal ruler of Kagoshima (Southern part of the Kyūshū island of Japan) forbade weapon usage. This caused appreciable development of fighting technique with bare hands and self-defense tricks. This China originated art was called Karate and meant “Chinese hands”.  Funakoshi Gichin, karate creator who died in 1957, was 88 when he changed the idea of this term and substituted the word “Chinese” with “Empty. This name Funakoshi took from Zen Buddhism philosophy: “to make oneself empty, to empty one’s mind”.  Karate was generally material art for the creator, but he also considered it an instrument which helped to form one’s character.

He wrote:

“Just as mirror surface reflects everything that stands in front of it, and as quiet valley echoes even the lowest sounds, the one who goes in for karate has to lay from mind egoism and spite that appear in effort to react to everything he faces. This is the main point of “Kara” or emptiness in Karate.

After World War II karate obtained a wide world extension and development,  generally because of the right estimate of possibility to use this art for purposes of self-defense, physical  education and only then for competitions. Although this art was created hundreds years ago, the first official competitions were held only in 1956 in Japan, and the first Japan championship was held on October 28, 1957.