Striking · Okinawa / Japan
Karate
Striking art of Okinawa and Japan: kata, kihon, and kumite under many ryu.
Find a topic
A map of this art. Live entries are links. The rest is mapped, not written yet.
Karate
Pillars
- Kata
- Kihon
- Kumite
Families
- Shotokan
- Gōjū
- Wadō
- Shito
Related
Culture
- Dojo
- Fighters
- News
What Is Karate?
Karate developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa) and was reorganized in mainland Japan in the twentieth century. It is a striking art: punches, kicks, knees, and — depending on the school — open-hand tools, throws, and joint locks sitting under a karate name.
Major modern families include Shotokan, Gōjū-ryū, Wadō-ryū, and Shitō-ryū, plus full-contact lines such as Kyokushin. Olympic karate (for a time) and WKF sport kumite are one face of the art, not the whole archive.
How Karate Works
Kihon drills the basic tools. Kata preserves sequences as a memory palace for applications (bunkai). Kumite is the sparring test — from light point fighting to knockdown. Distance (maai) and timing are the constant obsessions.
A point-sparring karateka and a Kyokushin fighter do not spend the hour the same way. This hub names the family; the child pages carry the rulesets that changed the body.
From Okinawa outward
Okinawan te mixed with Chinese influences, then with Japanese budō organization. The art traveled globally after the war. Taekwondo and various kickboxing gyms absorbed karate kicking culture even when they left the kata hall.
What You’ll Find Here
This hub is the live overview. Published entries are links. Fighters, gyms, rules, and news are mapped for later — even when those pages are not written yet.
- Related hubs. Kyokushin, Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Kickboxing.
- Fighters / gyms / rules / news. Mapped, not written yet.
FAQ
Questions we hear on the mats, in gyms, and when fighters compare styles.
Is Olympic karate “real” karate?
It is one sport ruleset built from karate. Traditional and knockdown schools often train a different hour. All of them can still be karate.
Does karate include grappling?
Some schools teach throws and locks. Most public sport karate does not look like judo. Do not assume a random dojo has a ground game.
Karate or taekwondo for kicks?
Both kick. Taekwondo’s Olympic sport meta is more kick-centric. Karate keeps a heavier hand culture in many ryu. Try both if you can.
The Bottom Line
Karate is the Okinawa-to-Japan striking family on Martial Index. Use this hub for the idea; use Kyokushin when you want the knockdown ruleset named plainly.