What is Karate?
Karate is one of the most widely practised martial art forms in the world.
Martial arts rely on acute physical coordination and mental focus.
They were developed in Asia (primarily India, China and Japan) over the course of several thousands
of years.
In all this time, there have been countless martial arts variations, and there are hundreds of disciplines
practised today.
Modern karate developed out of martial arts forms practised in Okinawa, an island that is now part of Japan.
For hundreds of years, Okinawan martial arts experts honed a variety of combat styles, in part due to the political situation in the area.
From time to time, the ruling authorities would ban peasants from possessing any weapons, leaving them with only their own bodies and household items to protect themselves.
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Wado-Ryu Karate is a Japanese martial art founded by Hironori Ohtsuka Sensei in 1934.
Ohtsuka Sensei developed Wado-Ryu after studying the Samurai martial art of Jiu-jitsu
and Shotokan (another style of Karate).
This combination, according to Ohstuka Sensei, is a softer, more natural means of self-protection.
The full name of the style is Wado-Ryu Karate-Do.
The term Wado-Ryu means "way of peace" or "way of harmony", indicating Ohtsuka Sensei's original intention to use training in Wado-Ryu as a means of solving problems in a non-violent way.
Karate-Do means "way of the empty hand", as Karate is, for the most part, studied without the use of weapons.
An interesting detailed history of Wadoryu Karate by
the very knowledgeable Sensei
Shingo Ohgami can be read
by clicking
here.
