History of Karate

Unarmed combat has been around in some form or another as long as man has been on Earth. It has been evident in the oldest civilizations dating back to the Greeks and Romans. These forms of unarmed combat spread throughout the world eventually making their way to India, China, and Japan. It was not until 1929 that Tote, as the Okinawans called it, came to be known as Karate-do. During the 1920s and 1930s, this art of self-defense became increasingly popular with people from all walks of life. By about 1940 nearly every major University in Japan had its own Karate club. After WWII, requests were received frequently from the Allied Forces stationed in Japan to see exhibitions of martial arts. Judo, Kendo and Karate-do experts formed groups and visited military bases two or three times a week to perform their respective arts. Many servicemen showed a great deal of interest in Karate, an art which they were seeing for the first time in their lives. The Japenese karate training program was evaluated highly and various countries requested karate instructors be sent to train more instructors. It was this expert training that has made karate popluar around the world. Karate is an art of self-defense and form of healthy exercise. With its increase in popularity, interest in holding competitions has grown. The first All-Japan Karate-do competitions have spread to countries all over the world. Local, regional, and provincial tournaments are sanctioned by Karate Manitoba. Competitors go on to represent Manitoba nationally and internationally.