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4. The Origins of Karatedo

The origins of karatedo are lost in antiquity. In all times and places in the world, people have learned to defend themselves and fight with bare hands first, and then with weapons.

They first relied only on their strength, but then developed fighting techniques and weapons to give even weaker persons a chance to survive in a hostile environment. Perhaps the weakest of all creatures, man not only succeeded in surviving but also in establishing his supremacy over the animal kingdom. Methods of fighting came to be codified through the course of the centuries, reflecting the specific characteristics and needs of peoples and their environments. However, the first fighting techniques were mostly defensive. Their purpose was self-defense against animals and other men. The Sumerians, who had created a brilliant civilization with flourishing arts and philosophy some 3,700 years ago, practiced a form of combat reminiscent to our modern wrestling and boxing scenes of hand-to-hand fighting. Similar depictions are found on the base reliefs of Egyptian tombs 3,000 years old. Statues of Buddhas' guardians in fighting stances are found at the doors of Indian temples also several thousand years old.