What is Karate?
Karate is one of the most widely practiced martial art forms in the world. Martial arts rely on
acute physical coordination and mental focus. They were developed in Asia (primarily India,
China and Japan) over the course of several thousands of years. In all this time, there have
been countless martial arts variations, and there are hundreds of disciplines practiced today.
Modern karate developed out of martial arts forms practiced in Okinawa, an island that is now part of
Japan. For hundreds of years, Okinawan martial arts experts honed a variety of combat styles, in part
due to the political situation in the area. From time to time, the ruling authorities would ban peasants
from possessing any weapons, leaving them with only their own bodies and household items to
protect themselves.
A man named Funakoshi Gichin is credited with carrying the karate form beyond its geographical
roots. In the early 20th century, he brought together elements from many Okinawan fighting styles
and introduced the combat technique to mainland Japan and, eventually, the rest of the world.
Karatekas generally credit the creation of modern karate to Funakoshi Gichin's son,
Funakoshi Yoshitaka. While his father practiced full contact karate, where fighters delivered
unchecked blows, Yoshitaka believed in a more peaceful application of the fighting principles.
In this form, properly called karate-do, or "karate way," karate is seen as an all encompassing
approach to life, rather than only a system for combat. Karatekas curb their punches,
concentrating mainly on physical, spiritual and mental development rather than
competition.
The word karate is Japanese for "open hand" (kara means open and te means hand). Te
signifies that your main weapon is your body. Instead of an arsenal of swords or guns, the
karateka cultivates a personal arsenal of punches, kicks and deflection techniques. Kara relates
to the psychology of karate. Karatekas are open to the world around them, making them
better equipped to handle any attack.
Displaying Skill
Karate developed out of martial arts styles designed to aid in combat. For the most part,
these fighting styles were intended only for self-defense, but they did include a means of
maiming or even killing a person. One element of this is close attention to human anatomy.
By applying forceful blows to the most vulnerable parts of the body -- the face, the solar
plexus, the groin -- a karateka can bring down an opponent in short order.
These days, karate is taught primarily as sport, not as a means of combat. Karatekas have
several ways of demonstrating their skill without actually hurting another person.
To demonstrate mastery of punches, kicks and blocks, karatekas will work various combat
simulations. In one exercise, called kata, karatekas carry out a pre-determined sequence of
movements against an imaginary group of attackers. Kata is extremely important to
beginning karate students, as it helps them perfect their technique.
More advanced karatekas may engage in kumite, a sort of freestyle sparring. In this activity,
you fight with another karateka, but curb your punches. Typically, especially in the lower
levels, karatekas will stop a few inches short of actually touching their opponent with a blow.
Karatekas may also put on protective pads. Certain areas (below the belt, for example) are off
limits.
A karateka channels his or her own energy in order to maximize the force of attack. But in
karate, it's just as important to channel your opponent's energy. Karatekas do this with
intelligent blocking maneuvers.
Like any moving object, a punch or kick has its own momentum, the product of its mass and
velocity. Velocity (and by extension, momentum) is not only a measurement of speed, but
also of direction. To put it another way, two objects with equal mass and speed have a
different momentum if they're going in different directions.
The force of impact between two objects is largely determined by the objects' momentum.
To see how this works, imagine a car speeding toward a wall. If the car crashes into the wall
head-on, the direction of momentum is directly perpendicular to the wall. The front of the
car and the area of wall it crashes into experiences the maximum force of impact, and both
suffer maximum damage. But if the car collides with the wall from the side (as you might hit
protective walls flanking a highway), the direction of momentum is at an angle to the wall.
The momentum keeps the car moving forward, so the wall only feels a small fraction of the
total force.
In this second scenario, the force of impact changes the car's momentum slightly. The wall
pushes the car sideways, so the direction of the car's momentum carries it away from the wall
(in other words, the car bounces off).
The Physics
When the ancient martial arts masters were developing their sophisticated fighting
techniques, they experimented with fundamental principles of physics. In any fight between
two people, both fighters bring a certain amount of energy to the situation. The total
amount of potential energy depends on the fighters' size, muscle strength and physical
health. The object of karate is to use your body to channel this energy.
First of all, you concentrate all of your strength into a relatively small area. If you open your hands
wide and shove somebody, the force of your attack spreads out across your palm and fingers. This
dissipates the force of your attack over a fairly wide area; your opponent feels a relatively blunt force.
But if you hold all of your fingers tightly together and hit the person with only the side of your hand,
or with only your fingertips, that same amount of force is applied to a much smaller area. In that area,
the impact is much more intense. If you try this on yourself (gently, please), you can appreciate the
difference. The concentrated attack is a lot more painful.
In karate, there are a number of punching and kicking stances, but most of them rely on this
same basic idea. The point of impact is reduced to some small, usually bony area of your
hand or foot, and the force of your attack is focused on this point. Karatekas strengthen their
hands and feet so they can throw these punches and kicks without seriously hurting
themselves. It is crucial to practice excellent technique; if a karateka continually punches
incorrectly, he or she may eventually develop severe arthritis.
Karatekas maximize the force of the impact by putting their whole body into the punch or
kick. If you watch karatekas fight, you'll see that they often pivot their torso and shift their
weight from one leg to the other when they throw a punch. In this way, the energy of their
moving body goes into each hit along with the energy of the arm muscles. Karatekas also
practice hitting with great speed, as this increases the force of each blow.
One of the most important elements in karate is following through on punches and kicks. When you
hit something, say a piece of board, your natural instinct is to slow down your swing just before
impact; you hesitate because you don't want to hurt your hand. Karatekas deprogram this hesitation
instinct; they visualize pushing their fist to some point past their target (the other side of the board,
for example). To maximize the force of each movement, it's essential that the karateka follows
through. Before each attack, karatekas take a deep breath. As they release the punch or kick, they let
this breath out. This helps them focus on each movement.