Karate (空手^?) (Japanese pronunciation: [kaɽate]  ( listen), English: /kəˈrɑːtiː/) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called te (手, literally: "hand"^?) and Chinese kenpō.^[1][2] Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands (karate chop). Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are taught in some styles.^[3] A karate practitioner is called a karateka (空手家^?).

Karate developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom prior to its 19th century annexation by Japan. It was brought to the Japanese mainland in the early 20th century during a time of cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Ryukyuans. 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 Japan and by 1932, major Japanese universities had karate clubs. ^[4] In this era of escalating Japanese militarism,^[5] the name was changed from 唐手 ("Chinese hand") to 空手 ("empty hand") – both of which are pronounced karate – to indicate that the Japanese wished to develop the combat form in Japanese style.^[6] After the second world war, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among servicemen stationed there.^[7]

The martial arts movies of the 1960s and 1970s served to greatly increase its popularity and the word karate began to be used in a generic way to refer to all striking-based Oriental martial arts.^[8] Karate schools began appearing across the world, catering to those with casual interest as well as those seeking a deeper study of the art.

Wikipedia [accessed 10 May 2010] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate