David Alexander, age 11, of Gulfport, Miss., for his question:
WHEN WAS KARATE INTRODUCED?
Karate is a form of unarmed combat in which a person can kick or strike with hid hands, feet, knees or elbows. The word "karate" in Japanese means "empty hand." Buddhist monks in India used a form of karate to defend themselves against wild animals as early as the 400s B.C.
During the A.D. 500s a group of people called the Hwarang do practiced karate in the country of Sills, which later became Korea. The Hwarang do were youths picked for training as military leaders.
During the 1600s on the island of Okinawa, karate developed further. A Japanese clan had conquered the island and passed strict laws agains owning weapons. As a result, the Okinawans developed many of the unarmed fighting techniques of modern karate.
Karate spread to Japan after Okinawa beacame a Japanese province in 1879. After World War II ended in 1945, many United States servicemen returning from the Far East brought the skill with them. More Americans learned krate in the Far East during the Korean War and during the United Staes involvement in the Vietnam War from 1957 to 1973.
There are four major types of karate: Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Okinawan. All use the same basic techniques, but each stresses certain skills and has its own characteristic style of movement.
Korean karate, called tae kwon do, emphasizes kicking. Chinese karate, called kung fu, uses a flowing, circular motion that differs from the hard, powerful movements of the other types.
American karate consists of a combination of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Okinawan features. This mixed style developed because many Americans learned more than one type of karate.
A karate student begins by doing exercises to strengthen and stretch his muscles. He toughens his hands and feet by pounding padded boards. The student also practices punching bags, imaginary opponents and actual opponents.
Karate students may advance through various ranks of achievement, each of which is designated by a belt of a different color. Beginners wear white belts and experts wear black belts. Schools award different colors, including brown, green and purple for intermediate ranks.
Students can earn promotions by demonstrating a licensed examiner or a group of licensed examiners the techniques required for the next rank.
Basic techniques include stances or ways of standing and methods of blocking, kicking, punching and striking. Stances include the back stance, cat stance, forward stance and horseback riding stance.
Blocking techniques try to atop an opponent's attack while kicking techniques including the front kick, hook kick, roundhouse kick and side kick. Punching techniques involve hitting with the knuckles of the first two fingers. Striking uses other parts of the hand.
Sound plays an important part in karate. When an attacker strikes, he often yells "yah!" or "yiahl" to put maximum force into the blow. To produce this yell, he expels air from his lungs and tightens his stomach muscles. Sometimes he yells before he strikes to startle his opponent.