Nutrition in Combat Sports

Chapter 16
Karate
Rafael Arriaza
Learning Objectives
To understand the evolution of karate as a sport
To place the risks of participation in karate competition within the context of
other popular youth sports
To recognize the physiological demands of karate competition
16.1 The History of Modern Karate
Although the island of Okinawa is regarded as the birthplace of karate, its origins
can be traced back further to China. The island of Okinawa has always held a position
of strategic and military importance between China and Japan. For this reason,
the island has witnessed many cultural, political, and military exchanges between
both countries. Perhaps Okinawan sailors were exposed to Chinese fighting techniques
during their travels to neighboring ports. Alternatively, Chinese families who settled
in Okinawa, in 1392, may have brought the knowledge of Chinese kung fu. These
fighting methods were adapted and further developed by the Okinawans as a way
of fighting with the bare hands (the meaning of kara-te in Japanese is “empty hand”),
or with several farming instruments (as a part of the so-called kobudo), as the only
way to overcome the successive weapons bans imposed by invading rulers between
the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Tode or Okinawan-te (the original name of
what we call today karate) developed secretly to keep the Japanese from killing the
practitioners and teachers of the fighting art. In that sense, karate has never really
been a “martial art,” as it did not evolve to be used on the battlefield, but rather as
a self-defense method against armed opponents. Karate remained underground until
early 1900 when it was brought into the Okinawan school systems to be incorporated
into physical education methods.
Over time different styles of karate developed to suit practitioners with different
physical attributes. The style that evolved from the town of Naha (known as
Naha-te) focused on strong, heavy techniques, while the style that evolved from the
R. Kordi et al. (eds.), Combat Sports Medicine, 287
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-84800-354-5_16, © Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009