History of Karate
Karate has been around for thousands of years even though the word only came in the 1920's. According to legend, a buddhist monk by the name of Bodhi Dharma brought the unarmed combat techniques from India, with him to be practiced on China. Bodhi created a new system of physical training incorperating yoga breathing methods and a Chinese unarmed fighting method called 'Kempo." But that is all just a legend and can not be taken as factual history until proven. Until the 17th century little was known about the early development of karate.
On the Japanese Island of Okinawa this was were Karate became a traditional Japanese sport. The combat techniques were developed and self - defense aspects were introduced. In Okinawa the use of weapons was prohibited which means the had to uses there hands to fight. In 1902 the Okinawan government had Karate introduced to all secondary schools. Once introduced to schools the sport became more popular among the public. Karate is now a world wide sport and is practiced, learned and loved by more than thousands around the world.
