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Karate (Jap 空手 - "empty hand") is a Japanese martial art, which is a system of defense and attack. The term "karate" was introduced in the 18th century. There is no single international federation in karate, each major style has its own federation.
Many believe that the inhabitants of the island of Okinawa (at that time it was the center of the independent Ryukyu Kingdom) waged a constant guerrilla struggle against the Japanese invaders and for the sake of this struggle created the art of karate. But there are also opponents of this theory, they argue that the martial arts on the island were practiced mainly among the descendants of immigrants from China, and already from them gradually passed to other inhabitants.
At the end of the XIX century Okinawa became a prefecture of the Empire of Japan. During the recruitment of recruits for the valiant Japanese army, doctors noticed that a number of recruits from Okinawa were in good physical shape. They were all found to have practiced the local martial art of tōte.
Thereafter, tōte was incorporated into the junior high school curriculum in Okinawan schools as physical education. The martial art quickly spread beyond Okinawa and conquered all of Japan. In 1936, a school named Shotokan was opened, teaching a style consonant with the school's name. Later it was recognized as a classic style of karate. For Shotokan is not important to the force of the blow, the main emphasis is on speed and accuracy.
After the defeat of Japan in 1945, all Japanese martial arts were banned. In 1948, the Japan Karate Association (JKA) was established. Since then, karate began to develop both as a self-defense system and as a sport. Karate began to rapidly gain popularity around the world, in 1957 the first Japanese karate championship was held, and in 1963 the world championship in unofficial contact karate was held in Chicago.
