A Brief History of Karate
The origin of karate in uncertain, however, the most
acceptable theory is that some 1500 years ago a Buddhist
priest, "Daruma Taishi" (Bodhidharma), of
southern India was exiled from India and fled to China.
Once in China, Daruma was given shelter by the Shaolin
monks. To repay the monks for their kindness Daruma
attempted to teach them his secrets of Zen meditation.
Daruma's secret of Zen was very difficult to learn,
and the intense practice of austerity during the training
period weakened his disciples mentally and physically.
Many who desired to study his teachings fell by the
wayside. To correct this situation, Daruma taught them
a form of exercise to build their self and inner-self
called "Eki Kinkyo" which is the doctrine
of inseparability of spirit and body.
The priests practiced this form and became famous throughout
China for the ability to defend themselves from multiple
attackers with apparently no effort. In years to come,
the warlords overran the temples, and the priests fled
to neighboring countries to teach what is now called
karate.
In the 17th century, the feudal lords of Okinawa, Japan,
and China bore down on the people of the provincial
areas outside the limits of the big cities. Tax collectors
were ruthless and often took extra sums for their own
pockets. Violence and even Murder occurred when any
of the peasants dared to defy them. In the face of this
plunder and murder, law forbade the peasants to own
weapons of any kind. To protect themselves, the peasants
used karate--thus the meaning of "karate"
(empty or open hand).
While there is no tyrant or overbearing tax collector
today, in most modern countries karate continues to
spread. One reason is the high crime rate, which is
ever on the rise, making this age old form of self-defense
as much a need today as ever. Karate, however, is popular
mainly because of the benefits of its exercise and the
general feeling of satisfaction that comes from a well-trained
body and mind.
Learning karate involves acquiring a through knowledge
of striking methods, nerve centers and pressure points,
fighting stances, blocking, defense against deadly attacks,
conditioning and training equipment. Allied fields of
interest include Ki power (which involves the control
of the various systems of the body), the respiratory
system, the nervous system, the muscle system and remotely
the digestive system and breathe control, which may
be utilized to increase the physical power of the body.
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