Karate
History
Karate-do is a japanesse martial art,born in Japan,in Okinawa in 1922,and now practiced in the whole world.In Japanesse “kara” means empty,”te” means hand and “do” is for path,the result being the path of the empty hand.In karate they are used both hands and feet. The initiator of the modern “karate-do” is considered Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957), the founder of the Shotokan style. In 1922, when he moved in Japan from Okinawa, Funakoshi made Karate in different ways and demonstrations. To increase the popularity of its own style “Okinawa-te”, he named it “karate”. There are numerous karate styles(“ryu” means school in japanesse), different by their fight techniques and their strategies that are being used. For exemple, Shotokan is based on long attacks and speed, mobility and suppleness, while Goju-ryu is based on short attacks and without a large movement, in this style the most important is the force, the strength.
All the style use two basic exercices:”kata” that involves a fight with an imaginary opponent and “kumite” that represents the real fight with an opponent. In the karate competitions they are two categeories: one which involves kata and one that involves kumite.
The place where the training is made is called dojo. The word is also used in different martial arts in Japan. The person who practice karate is named karate-ka. After its training level, the karate-ka gets different ranks, after passing an exam. The training level is represented by a belt which indicates the inferior ranks(from 10 to 1)called “kyu” and the superior ranks(from 1 to 9) called “dan”. Each belt has a color,that can be different from a style to another, but the basic colors are white, yellow, green, blue, brown(for “kyu”),and black for “dan”, with a number of stripes for each “dan” rank.
Figure Person
Alex Biamonti was born on the 30th November 1973 in Aix-en-Provance,France,and has practiced this sport from the age of 6. He showed the world that he is a real karate-ka, by winning high-level competitions. He is the first karate-ka who won seven world titles one after another. He is well-known for his fast kicks and his strong reaping. In 2006, he left the world of sport, dedicating his life teaching karate. He has opened his own dojo in France.
Advantages - Disadventages
Firstly and most important,is that karate is a way to educate the disciple and to expand his respect for himself but also for those who are present in his life.In this sport the mental developement is more important than the physical one ,because the mental part has to be strong for the body to grow peculiar to the age.The main goal of the karate is to develop the disciple inside himself,not in the exterior,to teach him to be modest,to have honour and most of all,dignity.Physically speaking,karate is strength,speed and force.It involves all the muscles groupes,and it’s a great way to develop in any ways,generally speaking,which involves many demands but also goals.The perfect word for karate is modesty.
Karate is searched in the whole world and it developes day by day.This sport is very risky,eventhough it is very emancipated.As risks, there are injuries,that can involve a short or long pause in practice and competitions ,or severe injuries that can involve surgeries.To prevent some of the risks there are used prosthesis,gauntlets or other ways to defend during competitions and trainings.
