One Less Blues

Karate

Karate (空手?) ( /kəˈrɑːtiː/; Japanese pronunciation: [kaɽate] ( listen)) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed partially from indigenous fighting methods called te (手?, literally "hand"; Tii in Okinawan) and from Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. In some styles, grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are taught. A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家?). There are several different styles of karate, most of them stemming from the same genealogical tree, and some others acquiring the name "karate" for practical reasons while actually deriving from a mix of other martial a… more »