Long ago the art of self-defence called "te"(Žè which means hand) existed in Okinawa,

the small southernmost island of Japan. The actual roots of karate are not clearly known, 

but because Japan, and especially Okinawa, was close to China and frequently traded with 

it, it is probable that the Okinawan people were strongly influenced by China when developing their

own martial art. Because at that time things of Chinese influence were regarded as mysterious and of

high level, people used the word karate to describe it, writing it with Japanese characters as “‚Žè, 

meaning "China Hand".

After the 14th century, king ShoShin banned weapons,and in the 16th century the government of the 

fief Satsuma (now Kagoshima prefecture), which governed Okinawa, established complete 

anti-weapon laws.Because of this people practiced karate in order to protect their villages and families,

and also as a way of self-defense.Gradually karate developed as a "onekilling-blow" martial art that 

could also compete against weapons. Because the training was conducted secretly, it was never

discovered, not even by the families of both teachers and trainees. This is why the real aspects 

of karate were hidden for a long time.Finally it was introduced by ‚e‚t‚m‚`‚j‚n‚r‚g‚h

Gichin from Okinawa. He went to Tokyo and demonstrated his karate to the people, who were

amazed by its technique and power. After that many other karate experts, such as ‚l‚h‚x‚`‚f‚h 

Chojun, went to Tokyo and helped expand the popularity of karate all over Japan.

In 1935 Funakoshi, after seeking advice from a zen master, changed the characters for

karate from “‚Žè, which means china hand,to ‹óŽè, meaning empty hand.

Since then it has developed enormously, changing its form from the original karate of Okinawa.

After a long silence due to the 2nd world war the Japan Karate Association(‚i‚j‚`) was established 

in 1949 and rapidly increased in popularity after the introduction of competition karate in 1956. 

In only a few decades, from when Funakoshi first introduced it to today, karate has gone beyond 

all social and racial barriers to gain worldwide support and is loved by many people of all ages.

Wherever you go you will always find a karate dojo (training hall).No other martial art has in this way 

started on a small island and spread all over the world in such a short time.