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Karate is a type of martial arts which was developed in Japan, particularly in the Ryukyu Islands, which is now known as Okinawa. It was influenced by the Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane.

karate kids

Karate uses punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and some open-hand techniques like knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes. A person who practices karate is called a karateka. Karate can be done as an art, a combat sport, or for self-defense. The training for karate is divided into basic or fundamentals, forms, and sparring.

There were no competitions for Karate before World War II. Now, the competitions for karate are divided into style organizations. Some of these organizations are AAKF, AOK, TKL, AKA, WKF, NWUKO, WUKFC, and WKC.

These organizations organize competitions from local to international level. The tournaments are created to match the members of opposing styles or schools. Some of these competitions are separated by age, rank, and gender. There are different rules for each of these categories.

Karate made its debut appearance at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, with two karate events, Kumite and Kata. It was the only appearance at the Olympics.

Karate at the World Games

Karate made its debut into the 1981 World Games, with two disciplines - Kata and Kumite. Subsequently, it featured in the 1985 London World Games, the 1989 Karlsruhe World Games, the 1993 The Hague World Games, the 1997 Lahti World Games, the 2001 Akita World Games, the 2005 Duisburg World Games, the 2009 Kaohsiung World Games, the 2013 Cali World Games, the 2017 Wroclaw World Games, the 2022 Birmingham World Games, and the 2025 Chengdu World Games.

In Kata, athletes stand alone in the arena, and they do a formalized sequence of movements, which represent offensive and defensive postures. There are 102 recognized katas and the karateka chooses which kata they will demonstrate from these. All kata begins and ends with a bow, or "Rei," which shows the sport's values of respect and tradition.

In Kumite, two karatekas go againsts each other in a fight. Athletes can use punches, kicks, or takedowns against their opponents. However, attacks are limited to head, face, neck, abdomen, chest, back, and side. Points are given when athletes perform techniques with good form, excellent timing, correct distance, and vigorous application.

To win in Kumite, an athlete must either reach an 8-point advantage within the bout duration, or have the most points at the end of the bout. The bout's duration is three minutes.

Here are the medalists who won gold in Karate at the 2025 Chengdu World Games:

Similar Sports

• Taekwondo — a Korean martial art focused on high, fast kicks, dynamic footwork, and self-discipline.
• Kickboxing — variations include Pradal Serey (Cambodia), Sanda (China), Savate (France), Sikaran (Philippines)
• Muay Thai — a full-contact fighting sport in which fighters try to defeat their opponents by using different techniques that make use of fists, elbows, knees, and shins.
• Breaking — the act of breaking solid objects like wood, bricks, and ice using strikes

Related Pages

• Karate is part of Budo, which refers to all styles of modern Japanese martial arts.
• More about Martial Arts
• Complete list of sports
• Karate at the Olympic Games
• Karate, a discontinued Olympic sport
• The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
• About sport in Japan

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