Karate

What is karate?

In Japanese, Kara Te means Empty Hand. So quite literally, it includes the same moves as any empty-handed martial art.

But colloquially, in the UK, these days, Karate typically refers to that common style of sort-of-martial art, where business men set up sporty clubs in which members dress up in modern sporty versions of traditional Japanese suits, with big & bold club logos, and belts ranging from white to black, and people often counting from 1 to 10 in Japanese while rehearsing moves in thin air, sometimes screaming when they do each move, and often standing in a stance with front leg bent & back leg straight, etc. Not that there's anything wrong in this... But it should be made clear that it is not all strictly necessary as part of a skill-based martial art.

Karate means different things to different people, and for this reason, many of the best teachers will avoid using the name and thus avoid the stigma. But some good teachers still use the word karate, because when people think "martial arts" they naturally think "karate".

Local karate clubs near Birmingham...

If you're thinking of checking out a karate club near Birmingham, you may find this map of local clubs quite useful...

  1. Saltley Karate Club, Zen-Shin Academy

    St Mark Parish Church, 264 A Washwood Heath Road, Saltley, Birmingham, B8 2XS

  2. Zen-Shin Martial Arts Academy, Zen-Shin Academy

    St Georges Post 16 Centre, Great Hampton Row, Hockley, Birmingham, B19 3JG

  3. Zen-Shin Martial Arts Factory, Zen-Shin Academy

    The Courtyard, 180 High Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B12 0LD

  4. Zen-Shin Mere Green Karate (@ Primary School), Zen-Shin Academy

    Mere Green Primary School, Mere Green Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B75 5BL

  5. Zen-Shin Stockland Green Black Belt Academy, Zen-Shin Academy

    Highcroft Community Centre, Slade Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 7JH

  6. Zen-Shin Forest Karate Club, Zen-Shin Academy

    Forest Community Centre, Hawbush Road, Leamore, West Midlands, WS3 1AG

  7. Zen-Shin Tiger Club Karate Academy, Zen-Shin Academy

    Erdington Methodist Church Centre, Station Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B23 6TX

  8. Zen-Shin Harbon Hill Karate Academy, Zen-Shin Academy

    Harborne Hill School, Harborne Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 3JL

  9. Kingstanding Karate Club, Zen-Shin Academy

    Youth & Community Centre, 610 Kingstanding Road, Birmingham, B44 9SH

  10. Zen-Shin Mere Green Karate (@ Youth & Community Centre), Zen-Shin Academy

    Mere Green Youth & Community Centre, Mere Green Road, Four Oaks, Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, B75 5BT

  11. Steve Cooper, Modern Association of Contact Karate (Kings Heath / Billesley)

    Swanshurst School (lower gym), Brook Lane, Billesley, Birmingham, B13 0TW

  12. Clive Stone, Modern Association of Contact Karate (Solihull/Shirley)

    Tudor Grange School, Dingle Lane (off Blossomfield Road), Solihull, West Midlands, B91 1NB

  13. Andy Hennessy / Pete Richardson, Modern Association of Contact Karate (Digbeth / Small Heath)

    MACK HQ Gym (next to A&S Clutches), Adderley Street, Digbeth, Birmingham, B9 4ED

  14. Andy Hennessy, Modern Association of Contact Karate (Acocks Green / Hall Green)

    Fox Hollies Leisure Centre (Annex Room, Pulse Point Gym), Shirley Road, Acocks Green, Birmingham, B27 7NS

  15. Simon Wharmby / James Stockley, Bushi Goya-Ra-Ru Association (Quinton)

    Christ Church (Parish Hall), 773 Hagley Road West, Quinton, Birmingham, B32 1AJ

  16. Simon Wharmby / James Stockley, Bushi Goya-Ra-Ru Association (Moseley)

    St Anne's Church Hall, Park Hill, Moseley, Birmingham, B13 8DU

 

 

Origins of Japanese Karate

Wikipedia, editable by anyone, is a dodgy source of information. But it's also remarkably useful for things like tracing the origins of Karate. Follow the steps below to see how I traced modern Karate back to its origins in Chinese Kung Fu and maybe elsewhere too.

  1. The main Karate article tells us in the sidebar to the right of the page that it has parenthood in "Chinese martial arts" and "indigenous martial arts of Ryukyu Islands (Naha-te, Shuri-te, Tomari-te)". We already know that Karate has roots in Chinese Kung Fu, so now we're gonna explore the indigenous martial arts of the Ryukyu Islands (including Okinawa, which people often say is the origin of Japanese Karate).
  2. To be continued...