What is "karate"

karate \ka*ra"te\ (k[aum]*r[aum]"t[asl]) n. [Japanese, empty hand.] a traditional Japanese system of unarmed combat; sharp blows and kicks are given to pressure-sensitive points on the body of the opponent.

1955, Japanese, literally "empty hand, bare hand," from kara "empty" + te "hand." A devotee is a karateka.

n. An Okinawan martial art involving primarily punching and kicking, but additionally, advanced throws, arm bars, grappling and all means of fighting. vb. (cx transitive informal English) To attack (somebody or something) with karate or similar techniques.

n. a traditional Japanese system of unarmed combat; sharp blows and kicks are given to pressure-sensitive points on the body of the opponent

(; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous martial arts of Ryukyu Islands (called , literally "hand"; tii in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian White Crane. Karate is now predominantly a striking art using punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes and open hand techniques such as knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes. Historically, and in some modern styles, grappling, throws, joint locks, restraints, and vital point strikes are also taught. A karate practitioner is called a .

Karate developed on the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was brought to the Japanese mainland in the early 20th century during a time of cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Chinese. It was systematically taught in Japan after the Taisho era. In 1922 the Japanese Ministry of Education invited Gichin Funakoshi to Tokyo to give a karate demonstration. In 1924 Keio University established the first university karate club in mainland Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate clubs. In this era of escalating Japanese militarism, the name was changed from ("Chinese hand" or " Tang hand") to ("empty hand") – both of which are pronounced karate – to indicate that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style. After World War II, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there.

The martial arts movies of the 1960s and 1970s served to greatly increase the popularity of martial arts around the world, and in English the word karate began to be used in a generic way to refer to all striking-based Oriental martial arts. Karate schools began appearing across the world, catering to those with casual interest as well as those seeking a deeper study of the art.

Shigeru Egami, Chief Instructor of Shotokan Dojo, opined that "the majority of followers of karate in overseas countries pursue karate only for its fighting techniques ... Movies and television ... depict karate as a mysterious way of fighting capable of causing death or injury with a single blow ... the mass media present a pseudo art far from the real thing." Shoshin Nagamine said, "Karate may be considered as the conflict within oneself or as a life-long marathon which can be won only through self-discipline, hard training and one's own creative efforts."

In 2009, in the 121st International Olympic Committee voting, karate did not receive the necessary two-thirds majority vote to become an Olympic sport. Karate was being considered for the 2020 Olympics,—however at a meeting of the IOC's executive board, held in Russia on May 29, 2013, it was decided that karate (along with wushu and several non-martial arts) would not be considered for inclusion in 2020 at the IOC's 125th session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in September 2013.

Web Japan (sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs) claims there are 50 million karate practitioners worldwide, while the World Karate Federation claims there are 100 million practitioners around the world.

Karate is the self-titled debut studio album by the indie rock band Karate. It was released in 1996 on Southern Records.

Karate is a video game for the Atari 2600 produced by Ultravision and released by that company and later by Froggo. Designed by black belt Joseph Amelio, the game was released in late 1982 for NTSC systems. The Froggo release is more widely available and better known, so many sources miscredit Karate as an original Froggo title. Karate is widely considered to be one of the worst Atari 2600 games of all time.

Karate is a 1983 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Deb Mukherjee, starring Mithun Chakraborty, Kaajal Kiran, Yogeeta Bali and Mazhar Khan

"Karate" (stylized as "KARATE") is a song by the band Babymetal from their second studio album, Metal Resistance. Written and produced by Yuyoyuppe (also known as Yuppemetal), the song was released as a digital single on February 25, 2016.

Karate was an American band, formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1993 by Geoff Farina, Eamonn Vitt and Gavin McCarthy. In 1995, Jeff Goddard joined the band as bass player, and Vitt moved to second guitar. Vitt departed Karate to pursue a medical career in 1997.

The band was characterised by their love for improvised music and classic rock and their adherence to the DIY punk ethos of their youth, which made them difficult to classify, being a strange fusion of indie rock, punk, blues, jazz and post-rock.

Farina developed hearing problems due to twelve years of performance with Karate and was forced to disband the group in July 2005, quietly closing the door on a 12-year run that included 6 studio albums and almost 700 performances in 20 countries. Their final show was played in Rome, Italy, on July 10, 2005. Their music was primarily released on Southern Records.

Karate’s perfectionism and attention to detail is well known among the music scene. Their compulsive behaviour manifested also in naming their last recording, which was originally called “594” since it was believed to be a recording of their 594th show. When Gavin discovered a flyer for a forgotten early show that had somehow evaded Jeff’s memory, the band quickly changed the title to ‘595’. Finally, In 2007, the former band members decided to release the live album 595. Often, Karate was sent live material from their own performances (often from sound technicians). This happened also after their performance on May 5 at Stuk, Leuven, Belgium. Karate was so astonished by the quality of the recording they decided to release this "posthumous" live album of their 595th live performance.

On his own, Geoff Farina has also developed a solo career with three albums and a handful of EPs over the years, some released while the band was still around, and thus far one since Karate disbanded.

Karate is a martial art of Okinawan origin.

Karate may also refer to:

• Karate (band), an indie rock band with post-rock and jazz influences, formed in Boston in 1993
  • Karate (album), their debut eponymous album
• Karate (film), a 1983 Hindi-language film directed by Deb Mukherjee
• Karate (video game), a 1982 game for the Atari 2600.
• "Karate", a song by Tenacious D from their 2001 album Tenacious D
• "Karate" (song), a 2016 song by Babymetal
• Karate, the sidekick of the eponymous hero in the animated TV series Batfink
• Karate, a brand name for the insecticide cyhalothrin