Karate
The Japanese kanji characters for karate-do, 空手道, means "the way of the empty hand." Karate-do first originated from Okinawa-te as a system of self-defense. The word kara has four fundamental meanings. One is the aspect of self-defense, where no weapons other than one's bare hands and fists are utilized as tools of defense. Second is the aspect of self-reflection, where with no distortion one would keep a clear mind and conscious when training or when self-defense is needed. Third, self-development, one strives to be humble and gentle but have the courage to stand up and fight when needed in critical times. Fourth, emptiness, a student must view all other martial arts and forms with an open mind, and must approach instructors with an open mind or else there is no where for the water to be held if the cup is already full.
There are five major styles of karate that are widely taught: Shotokan, Shito-ryu, Wado-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Kyokyushin. Each style utilizes three branches to study the art of karate-do: kihon, which are the basic techniques; kata, forms composed by the individual techniques; and kumite, which is sparring or application of the techniques. Each branch goes hand-in-hand in order for the practitioner to develop and understand the art fully.
Karate practitioners go through a ranking system at their dojo, or school, in which they train at. In karate there are ten kyu' belt or below black belt ranks and then ranking above blackbelt is referred to as dan.' At each level, one must show their proficiency of the required kihon, kata, and kumite for their level. When one reaches shodan, it is to represent that one has a good understanding of the basics for the style physically and mentally, and is then ready to apply what has been learned previously to what comes after. Shodan is also the true beginning of one's training. Karate techniques are divided into five categories: attacking, blocking, throwing, wrist-locks, and...
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