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Karate History

Karate history can be said to being with the training of Chinese soldiers some 5000 years past. The Chinese soldiers of the time were trained in both weapons practice and hand to hand combat. As the centuries passed, different schools of martial arts developed following various philosophies. The Taoist philosophy in particular influenced early martial arts techniques.

The style of karate we know today was founded by shaolin monks. The earliest references to shaolin monks in Chinese history date to the 8th century Common Era. These Buddhist monks practiced the martial arts as a means to self enlightenment. Their philosophical take on martial arts produced rich yields that astound us to this day. These practices are even more impressive when you consider the ancient setting that gave them birth.

Karate history picks up with the exchange of Chinese and Japanese families to foster cultural mingling. The Chinese families brought to Okinawa their practice of martial arts, which caught the eye of the Japanese. The practices were further encouraged when one hundred years later; bearing weapons was banned in Okinawa. Then in the late 19th century, a man named Gichin Funakoshi brought karate from an Okinawa local practice into Japanese national consciousness.  Japan quickly adopted “the way of the empty hand” as karate can be literally translated.

Karate history jumped the Pacific Ocean in the years following World War II. American soldiers learned karate during the occupation of Japan after the war, and they brought the new hand to hand fighting style home with them. Since that time, karate has become a popular American sport.

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