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In the remainder of this chapter, a general history of karate—and its development from martial art to sport—will be outlined. In subsequent chapters, the influence that the history and traditions of Japan had on this development will be examined in greater detail.

THE ORIGINS OF KARATE

Since man began his existence unarmed, systems of weaponless combat can be found throughout the world. In the Far East, these systems are very old and carry different names according to the geographical areas in which they are practiced, for example, ch'uan-fa in China, taekwon-do in Korea, and karate in Japan. For purposes of simplification the term "karate" is used herein to designate those Oriental combative arts whose main techniques involve striking an opponent with the hands or feet. In Asia this type of fighting has a long history. Among the unarmed fighting techniques, karate is perhaps the oldest form of pugilism.

The origins of the art are somewhat obscure, owing in part to the fact that it was frequently practiced in secret by groups vying for power. Since its history was not written, one has to rely on oral tradition, bits and pieces of information, and art works in order to present a complete picture.