The Art of Karate

"Karate is a system of unarmed self-defense which originated in eastern Asia and involves the use of the hands, elbows and knees, or feet for kicks and blows to vulnerable parts of the body such as temples, throat, and groin. Karate should not be confused with a similar Asian sport, ju-jitsu, sumo and judo which involve wrestling, throwing, and holding an opponent on the ground and choking him.

In karate, there is little personal contact and an adversary is immobilized by well-directed powerful blows, delivered from as safe a distance as possible. In the seventies, it was some times called acrobatic boxing. Karate has evolved from a purely personal-combat defense system. It is best known for the amazing feats of demolition that experts can perform: a large block of ice can be crushed by the fist, six inches of pine wood can be splintered by a kick and stacks of roofing tiles can be shattered with a the elbow or the top of the head.

Calisthenics, an area in karate, involves rigorous, acrobatic flexibility and speed. Another area in karate is called kumite which involves training in specific karate blows, kicks, chops or blocks with the use of ones knuckles, the ball and outside edge of the foot and the blade of the hand.

This can strengthen the extended fingers which can be very effective when used like a spear point. Katas, which is the third area in karate involves acrobatic forms of kicking, punching, blocking, turning, leaping, dodging and are often practice with an imaginary adversary. Those who are trained in karate school or dojo are barefoot on the wooden floor without mats when they do their training.

Punching bags, weights, bamboo blocks, deep boxes of any dry beans or coarse sand used to strengthen the extended fingers of the hand. A loose fitting jacket and pants called gi is the traditional costume in karate.

A person's belt determines his rank. Beginners wear white, followed by yellow, green brown and of course those who wear black which are considered to be the experts. These experts are also categorized in various dans or degrees which can be determined by the person's ability in teaching and skills. Schools today are only up to the eighth dan.

Karate peaked during the 70's. Because of this, many movies were released based on this system. Bruce Lee is the most popular actor during the 70's when it comes to this form of martial art. Movies like Game of Death that had Bruce Lee and Kung Fu with David Carradine. Today, Karate is still very popular and many movies are still patterned using this theme. The most recent movie using this is ""Karate Kid'' which was just released last month that starred Jayden Smith and Jackie Chan."