Karate 空手 is a martial art from Okinawa in Japan. It developed on the islands from the local martial arts called Ti, or " hand", which was influenced by Chinese martial arts; especially Fujian White Crane.
Karate is mostly a striking art using;
• Punching
• Kicking
• Knee strikes
• Elbow strikes
• Open hand strikes such as knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes.
• In the past and in some modern styles wrestling, throws, locks, holds and vital point strikes are also taught.
Karate was brought to the Japanese mainland in the early 20th century during a time of cultural exchanges between the Japanese and the Chinese people. It was taught in an organized way in Japan after the Taisho time in history.
At this time Japan was fighting a war with China, and the name was changed from 唐手 ("Chinese hand" or "Tang hand") to 空手 ("empty hand") – both of which are spoken as “Kara Te” – to show that the Japanese were doing karate in a Japanese style. After World War II, Okinawa became an important United States military site and karate became popular among American servicemen who lived there.