<a href="https://www.archysport.com/2024/10/3-films-to-commemorate-world-karate-day/" title="3 films to commemorate World Karate Day”>World Karate Day is celebrated on October 25, a date chosen by the Okinawa Karate World Assembly (OGW) in 2005.
The objective of this date is to remember and teach the world the tradition of Karate or “the path of the empty hand”, which is how its name has been translated.
Originally karate was a martial art with Chinese roots, however it became popular and spread throughout Japan, specifically in the Ryukyu Islands, currently known as the Okinawa Prefecture.
Most of its movements are based on Chinese or WuShu styles and to a lesser extent other disciplines from the Southeast, such as Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia.
The first name that this style received was tuidi, tode or te, which means hand or fist.
This style emerged in the 17th century, when the inhabitants of the island wanted to protect the last king of Okinawa, known as ShoTai, and themselves from the invasion of the Satsuma samurai clan.
As a result of this encounter, the inhabitants absorbed techniques from other styles such as judo and kendo, later aikido techniques were added.
As time went by, this martial art spread to Japan where it was called Karate-Do, but the kanji used were Chinese and the name meant “Chinese hand.” Many Japanese then preferred to write it in hiragana, which is about writing it as it sounds and not in Asian symbols, and then they translated it as the “empty hand.” Since then, Karate-Do has been known as the path of the empty hand, according to Buddhist beliefs.
