KusankuPartly legend
A Chinese officer who visited Okinawa around 1756
One account of where karate began starts with his visit.
- Karate students still learn routines of moves named after him: Kusanku, and in the Shotokan style, Kanku.
Karate
The empty hand art from Okinawa: its people, its kata, and how it reached a hall near you.
Karate is a striking art of punches, kicks, blocks and open hand strikes, with throws and locks still present in its older forms. 1,4 It grew up in the Ryukyu Kingdom, today's Okinawa in Japan, from a local method called te, meaning "hand", mixed with Chinese martial arts brought by envoys, traders and students. 1
It moved to mainland Japan in the 1920s, took the white uniform, the coloured belts and the kyu and Dan grades from judo, and changed the meaning of its name from "Chinese hand" to "empty hand". After the Second World War it spread round the world, reached Britain in 1956, and made its one Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020. 1
A class is usually built from three parts: kihon, basic techniques practised in lines; kata, set forms practised alone; and kumite, partner work from set drills to free sparring, done with control. 1,4,41 Classes begin and end with a bow, and many clubs count and give commands in Japanese. 73
There is no single karate. Several styles, and many independent associations within each, teach their own kata order, belt colours and grading rules. 1,4,17 Where they differ, each version is shown side by side with its owner.
The story of karate
The same true story, told two ways. Pick the one for you.
For younger readers
Ages 8 to 11, read aloud if you like. 6 short chapters, each with a Listen button.
Through the years
Drag along the line, or tap a dot, to meet the people of each time.
17562016
1756 to 1867
Before karate had a name
Okinawa, then the Ryukyu Kingdom
Okinawa was then an island kingdom between Japan and China, and its people had their own way of fighting, called te, which simply means hand. Through the 1800s a style from China spread alongside it, and slowly the two mixed into what became karate.
Kanga Sakugawa1786 to 1867
An Okinawan who trained in China
A later teacher, Anko Asato, linked the Chinese style to him.
- That style was called tode, Tang hand, where Tang means China.
- Karate's name was first written with the same character for China, so it once read as Chinese hand.
Learn about karate
Belts and gradesKyu grades count down, Dan grades count up, and every association chooses its own colours. Here is how it works and why no two clubs look quite the same.KataThe set forms that carry karate's history, why one kata can have three names, and roughly where each one sits in UK syllabi.TechniquesStances, punches, blocks, kicks and strikes in plain English: what a beginner is likely to hear about in the first year or so.Your first classWhat to expect before, during and after a first karate session, for parents and new adult students. Where the honest answer is ask the club, we say so.CompetitionKata and kumite, the WKF's 2026 rules, knockdown rules, the Olympic story and how competition is organised in the UK. Rules change often, so every rule here carries its date.The stylesNine styles taught in the UK, each in a few lines: founder, roots, what it is known for, and when it reached Britain.Governing bodiesWho runs karate in the UK and the world, what recognised means and who does the recognising, and what to ask a club.Grading theoryWhat a grading might look like, why it varies from club to club, and a practice set of 15 example theory questions.The words you hear in class134 terms, each with a Hear it button.
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Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters are read by a computer voice; Hear it on a word uses your device's own voice.