Morong National High School – Senior High

Morong Rizal

KARATE

Enna Mae Razonable

Erica Claire Broncano

Camille Abangco

Domingo Morada
 BACKGROUND
In its current form, karate is less than 200 years old however it has roots that date back
thousands of years.

The art originated on the island of Okinawa and in its early form was heavily influenced
by ancient Chinese martial arts, collectively known as kung fu.

The Beginnings of Karate History on Okinawa

The history of Okinawan Karate can be traced back to the late 17th century when a ban
on weapons was imposed by the samurai rulers of Japan.

The exact evolution of karate history is lost due to the lack of information being written
down which is unsurprising when taking into account the strict rules against subjects of
the island learning martial arts.

This meant that all training by early masters such as Kanga Tode Sakugawa (pictured)
and Sokon 'Bushi' Matsumura, had to be done in secret and as weapons could not be
carried on the island, self-defence tended to revolve around empty handed techniques.

The earliest surviving written evidence of karate in Okinawa was a mention of the word
Tode (the Okinawan name for the art) in the late 1700s. It was in reference to a visitor to
the island from China named Kushanku who taught a form of Kung Fu and may have
introduced the first version of the Shotokan kata kanku dai. Tode style blended with the
martial arts already being cultivated on the island which was known as Te, meaning
‘hand’.

Te was popular in three cities in particular, Shuri, Naha and Tamarai. Each city had its
own way of doing the martial arts and modern day styles reflect this; Shotokan and
Shito-ryu are mostly influenced by the style from the city of Shuri, that is Shuri-te, and to
a lesser extent Tamarai-te. Goju-ryu on the other hand is more influenced by Naha-te.

Karate History and its Development into a World

Martial Art
At the turn of the 20th century, Anko Itosu gained permission to end the shroud of
secrecy for those who wanted to learn martial arts and began teaching Te in Okinawan
schools. This led to further expansion by one of Itosu’s students, Sensei Gichin
Funakoshi, who introduced the art to Japan in 1922.
Funakoshi made many modifications to the art to make it more accessible to the
Japanese including changing the name and karate as we know it today was born.
Towards the end of his life, Funakoshi was instrumental in forming the Japanese Karate
Association (JKA) which set about making karate a world martial art by sending out its
best instructors to teach it all over the globe.

Today, karate is practiced by millions of people right across the world and although the
lines are often blurred between karate history facts and exagerations or legends, the
contribution made by the old Okinawan masters and those that followed them should
not be forgotten.

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Object of Karate
The object of Karate is to defeat your opponent by utilising punches, kicks and throws to
score points. At the end of a Karate kumite, the competitor with the most points is
declared the winner (or before the end if they reach and eight point lead over their
opponent). As well as being a combative physical activity, Karate is highly skilled and
tactical, and all competitors are required to have a high level of skill, experience, speed
and dexterity to be successful in Karate competition.
Players & Equipment
Competitors are placed into categories according to their weight and maybe their age in
the case of junior competitions. All competitors in Karate kumite competitions are
required to wear a traditional Karate suit known as a gi and this should be plain and
without stripes or embroidery. Instead of wearing the belt colour that signifies their rank,
one contestant wears a red belt and the other a blue belt to help distinguish them. Other
prescribed pieces of equipment are:

 A gum shield
 Body protection (and extra chest protection for females)
 Shin pads
 Foot protectors

Groin guards can be worn but are not mandatory.

Scoring
Scoring in Karate competitions is relatively simple. Scoring is limited to the following
areas of the opponent's body:

 Head
 Face
 Neck
 Chest
 Abdomen
 Side
 Back

A score is awarded when one fighter performs a technique that conforms to the
following criteria and the blow lands on a relevant scoring area of their opponent’s body:

 Good form
 Vigorous application
 Good timing
 Accurate distance
 Awareness
 Sporting attitude

Fighters can score one, two or three points for attacking techniques:

Ippon (three points) is awarded for:

 A jodan kick (kick to upper level)

  Any scoring technique performed on a fallen or thrown opponent

Waza-ari (two points) is awarded for:

 Chudan (mid level) kicks

Yuko (one point) is awarded for:

 Chudan or Jodan Tsuki (mid or upper level punch)

 Jodan or Chudan Uchi (mid or upper level punch).

Winning the Match

A Karate match can be won in a number of ways:

 By having more points than your opponent at the end of the fight.
 By extending a lead of eight points immediately ends the match
 If you render your opponent unable to carry on
 If your opponent is disqualified.

If the amount of points are equal at the end, then the referee and the three judges
consult and decide a winner between them.

Rules of Karate
 Karate Kumite matches take place on a matted square of 8m x 8m with an
additional 1m on all sides that is called the safety area.
 Once the referee and judges have taken their places, competitors should
exchange bows.
 The fight starts when the referee shouts “SHOBU HAJIME!”
 Both fighters should attempt scoring techniques (punches, kicks and throws) on
their opponent. These are classified as Yuko, Waza-ari and Ippon and are one,
two and three points respectively.
 If the referee deems a scoring technique may have been used, the referee
shouts YAME and the contestants, judges and referee all resume their original
positions.
 The judges will then indicate their opinion by means of a signal and if a score is
to be awarded, the referee identifies the contents and the area that they attacked
and then awards them the relevant socire (Yuko, Waza-ari or Ippon) and then
restarts the bout by shouting “TSUZUKETE HAJIME!”
 If one competitor establishes a clear lead of eight points during a match, then the
referee calls a halt to the bout and declares them the winner.
 If no competitor establishes a clear lead of eight points during the fight, then the
fighter who has the most points is declared the winner.
  In the event of the points being level, the referee and the judges will decide who
is the winner of the bout.
 Fights can end earlier if one competitor is knocked down and is not in a position
to carry on or if one fighter is disqualified.

TRIVIA
Who is known as the founder of Shotokan karate? He is also known as "The Father of
Modern Karate".

Funakoshi Sensei is credited as being the founder of the Shotokan style of karate although he
himself was never in favor of classifying karate into "styles". Kenwa Mabuni was the founder of
Shito-Ryu karate, Choki Motobu was the founder of Motobu-Ryu and Chojin Miyagi was the
founder of Goju-Ryu karate.

What is the first move you learn as a beginner?

Kihon means basic, so the Kihon kata consists of basic blocks and attacks.

What does the word Japanese word "karate" mean in English?

The gentle way is the Japanese word for Judo. Karate is used mostly with arms, elbows, knees,
and feet.

The Japan Karate Association (JKA) is one of the biggest and well known Shotokan karate
organizations in the world. Who was the first Chief Instructor of the JKA in Japan?

Masatoshi Nakayama was a prominent student of Gichin Funakoshi. He was also responsible for
many of the changes which were made to the original karate which Funakoshi taught on
mainlamd Japan. At the time of the formation of the JKA, Funakoshi was 80 years old and held a
position equivalent to emeritus chief instructor. Nakayama was designated as chief instructor.
Isao Obata and Hidetaka Nishiyama were also two very prominent Shotokan karateka who were
also involved with establishing the JKA.