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Karatedo is one of the most widely adaptable of the Japanese martial arts. Children can train in karatedo tailored for them and gain great benefit. Elderly people would find interesting exercise in a karatedo designed for them. The possibilities of karatedo are great. Just make sure you find a karatedo group that is teaching what you want to learn in the way you wish to learn it.

Although, as noted, the basic techniques are all fundamentally the same, some stark contrasts exist in attitude and level of intensity in the practice of karatedo. This is true with all closely allied arts. In Chinese t’ai chi ch’uan, for example, though there are a number of family styles (Chen, Li, Yang, Wu), only thirteen basic postures are used. Likewise, all karatedo styles will have punches, strikes, blocks, parries, leg sweeps, snap kicks, round-house kicks, thrusting kicks, jumping kicks, joint techniques, etc.

Another common theme in many karatedo classes is the spirited chanting of dojokun (precepts of the dojo), at the end of class, with each ryu having its own variation. Sometimes, dojokun are simply posted and are meant to be contemplated by the serious karatedo student. Here are Funakoshi Gichin’s Nijukun (“Twenty Precepts”):