What Is Sport Karate?

Karate, literally translated, means Empty Hand. (KARA - Empty, TE - Hand). Karate is one of the oldest and most effective means of self-defense/fighting known to man. It is an art of unarmed combat as well as an excellent system of achieving physical fitness and mental discipline. It consists of stretching, body conditioning, blocking, punching, striking, kicking, throwing and meditation.

Although karate movements can be aggressive, it is taught and practiced as self-defense. Karate movements may look odd to the layman, but each movement is based on sound physical and physiological principles. The essence of karate is speed, and effective application of technique to properly strike the vulnerable areas of an opponent’s body. A well-trained karate-ka can fully control his movements to do the amount of damage his wishes and can defend himself effectively without doing excessive harm to his assailant.