Karate is a martial art which originated in Okinawa where it was known simply as Te and was brought to Japan where, during the 1930s, Master Gichin Funakoshi began its transformation into a Japanese martial art form, a budo. The transformation to the modern form of karate was completed by his son, Yoshitaka "Gigo" Funakoshi. He replaced the high stances with low, forced stances which put greater pressures, both physical and mental, on the karate practitioner. He also developed new kicks and strikes and modified the body positions.

Karate focuses on the application of strikes using the hands and feet. Training is normally divided into three sections: kihon, meaning basic technique; kata, the combat forms containing combinations of techniques delivered to imaginary opponents; and kumite, sparring training done with an opponent.

The word karate is derived from the Japanese characters "kara", meaning empty, and "te", meaning hand.

Karate styles include Shotokan, Shotokai, Goju Ryu, Shito-Ryu and Wado Ryu.

Books about karate

World Karate Federation