is karate chiniese?

Answer 1

Interesting question.
It is really an Okinawan art. Many aspects of it did migrate to Okinawa from China.
Japan later occupied Okinawan and claimed karate as their own art.
Originally Kara meant Chinese but this was later changed to "void" (not empty) as the Japanese detest the Chinese and would not accept an art that is called Chinese hand but were more willing to accept an art called "Void hand".
All you people saying Karate is Japanese please dig deeper into the arts history.

Also, karate is not called Void hand because of a chop technique. this is false as saying "I take karate" is incorrect too. It begs the question, where do you take it? To the mall. It is more proper to say you study the art.

Answer 2

Hi there

Some really good answers on this subject. The simple answer is yes it is. Karate as we know it is only roughly 90 years old and was introduced to japan in the 1920's. Its origins are based in Okinawa and china. It was once called china hand many years ago. Funikoshi the founder of Shoto Kan pulled all the styles of Okinawa karate together that were spread across 3 villages and called it shoto kan. If you look at Chinese kenpo and even sholin you can still see the basics of karate. A lot of the names of the kata were changed from Chinese to Japanese to make it sit better with the Japanese people. Arts that originated from Japan are mainly jutsu arts and come from a military background. Karate does not.

So in a nut sell Japanese by name chinese art by nature

Regards

Idai

Answer 3

I think the answers re the Japanese taking over Okinawa and then karate are a bit simplistic. Much of the development of what we now know as karate was done by Okinawans because of the Japanese occupation (Satsuma Samurai). The unarmed self defence being developed in secret from their Japanese masters.
It's introduction into Japan happened much later and is primarilly accredited to Funakoshi Gichin (an Okinawan School Teacher) although one of his teachers Itotsu was responsible for introducing it into the Okinawan School Curriculum.
In saying all of that much of the art did originate from China and the original characters for Kara Te in Okinawan were actually Chinese Hand which was changed later to Empty Hand largely due Japanese dislike of the Chinese at the time.

Answer 4

Karate ( or karate-dō is a martial art that developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and southern Chinese martial arts. "Karate" originally meant Tang hand, i.e. Chinese hand, which was later changed to a homonym meaning 'empty hand' in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints/traps, throws and vital point striking also appear in karate so some say yes is chiniese but the name is japanese

Answer 5

Karate=Japanese
Kung Fu=Chinese
Tae Kwon Do=Korean
Muay Thai=Thailand

Answer 6

Hmm, spidertiger has it. Karate started in Okinawan. That place was taken over by Japan. Japan has its own arts (jujitsu, sword fighting - Ijutsu, Kenjutsu and several "dos") prior to this. The Japanese took over, liked it, modified it to their liking and now you have Karate with a Japanese flavor, then folks had different ideas so then you have many branches/styles/schools of Karate. Keep in mind the origin of the art doesn't always directly relate to how it is taught today. The folks from India influenced a lot of folks through missionaries who in turn influenced China who in turn influenced Okinawa and others.
Who the heck gives this thumbs down and why. Yes, my answer is simplistic... there is a reason for it... it also is accurate. ARGH!

Answer 7

Here my friend the real answer:

Karate (空手, Karate) or karate-dō (空手道, karate-dō) is a martial art that developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and southern Chinese martial arts. "Karate" originally meant Tang hand, i.e. Chinese hand, which was later changed to a homonym meaning 'empty hand' in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints/traps, throws and vital point striking also appear in karate.

In the modern world, some could (and do) make the argument that due to the generic meaning of the word "karate," (i.e. "empty hand") that any unarmed combat system or sport could technically refer accurately to itself as karate. This can be a difficult and sometimes inflammatory question, complicated by attitudes toward philosophy and competition, by questions of lineage and primacy, and perhaps above all by questions of nationalism and identity.

The word "karate", while always pronounced the same, was originally written with different kanji (ideographic characters). The first use of the word "karate" is attributed to Gichin Funakoshi, who wrote it not as we do today as 空手:からて (empty hand), but rather, as 唐手:からて (Tang Dynasty hand). The Tang Dynasty was a dynasty of China, and although it ended in 907 A.D. (well before Funakoshi's time), the kanji representing it remained in use in Okinawa as a way to refer to China, generally. Thus "karate" was originally a way of expressing "Chinese hand," or "martial art from China."

Answer 8

the origins of karate are very heavily influenced by kungfu through the influence of chinese familys moving to okinawa. some of them were masters of kungfu and passed on there skills integrating with the existing fighting arts of okinawa ,such as Te.

Answer 9

No karate is not Chinese, or Japanese. Karate started in Okinawan.

Answer 10

Karate is a Japanese word meaning "empty hand".