Talk:karate
Suggested change from "Japan" to "Okinawa"[edit]
Better to say "A traditional Okinawa martial art" because it was presented in Japanase about 1922 by Funakoshi, Miyagi and Matayoshi. Okinawa's sensei (martial art masters). —This unsigned comment was added by Juraj.Kubelka (talk • contribs) 2006-06-26 13:16:34.
- (Please sign your posts.) I don't understand your suggestion. Are you saying that it didn't spread from Okinawa into the rest of Japan? Rod (A. Smith) 04:17, 27 June 2006 (UTC)
I do not know who made this sugesstion, but they were rght on the mark. The current definition is both lacking and inaccurate. Karate is an Okinawan martial art practiced in okinawa and japan and worldwide. it is not a japanese martial art though many learn it in a "japanese manor". when karate was developed "invented" so to speak, Okinawa was not part of japan.
additionally, karate includes kicking, punching, throwing, grabbling etc. while some practictioners of karate only practice the kicking and punching part, the art of karate includes all, and all are practiced extensively in karate's birthpalace of okinawa.
There is nothing traditional about the japanese practice of karate. karate is less than 100 years old in japan, vs 400-600 years old in okinawa. I am not sure that the word "traditinonal" should be used in this definition, but if the word traditional is to be used in this definition, then it certianly should not be "traditional Japanese"
I would suggest the the definition be changed to
"An Okinawan martial art involving punching, kicking, throwing, and grappling"
— This comment was unsigned.
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- Certainly in America, Karate is thought of as Japanese 1) because Okinawa is part of Japan (now) 2) Japan popularized Karate, unlike Okinawa which kept it a secret for hundreds of years. (Probably not intentionally, but more as a side effect of geographic isolation.) While changing the definition from "Japan" to "Okinawa" might accurately reflect the technical history, it probably does not match the colloquial understanding of the term. "Japan" has the added benefit of being only two easy syllables instead of four (unnatural syllables,) which may contribute to the general practice of attributing all things Okinawan, to Japan.
- Perhaps "An Okinawan martial art (popularized by Japan) involving..." would be acceptable?
- Grappling, obviously is technically correct. Grappling is not particularly photogenic, therefore gets much less attention in movies and whatnot, but certainly is a crucial aspect of Karate.
- Katas should probably be mentioned prominently, too. Various weapons (Sai, Bo, etc.) play important roles, despite the origin of "empty hand." The etymology doesn't seem to mention anything about the ancient Chinese law(s?) that made it illegal to strike with a fist, nor the spread of the precursor from China to Okinawa.
- Lastly, I think the current definition and etymology should be tagged with
{{unreferenced}}.