Karate is the art of developing the hands and feet as weapons, and its origins can be traced back through the centuries from modern day Japan via Okinawa to China and possibly India. Karate is the most basic of all martial arts since it teaches fighting with no more weapons than we are born with. Karate is in fact a Japanese word meaning 'empty hand' (Kara - empty, Te - hand). The name Karate is not only descriptive in the physical sense but also in the more subtle Zen sense of 'emptiness'.

As the founder of modern karate, Gichin Funakoshi put it:  

'As a mirror's polished surface reflects whatever stands before it and a quiet valley carries even small sounds so must the student of Karate render his mind empty of selfishness and wickedness in an effort to react appropriately to anything he might encounter. This is the meaning of Kara or 'empty' in Karate.'