karate

Karate is an art of self-defense. It utilizes the most effective and

logical use of the entire body, bare hands and bare feet. It is an art

whose basic forms consist of blocking, striking and kicking. The

ultimate objective is not the mastery of the physical art to overcome

one's opponents, the ultimate aim of Karate is for the development of

one's character through arduous training. It has been proven beyond any doubt that Karate is an effective form of self-defense, its basic

forms of punching, kicking and striking can be devastating. Another vitally important aspect of Karate is the form of Kata. This is

a group of offensive and defensive pre-arranged techniques in a

dance like form. When executed properly, a Kata represents the

beauty and self-discipline of the art, before the modern system of

sparing was developed. These formal exercises are the major form of Karate training. However, even more important is the learning of self-control, and

getting along with your fellow man, without this, Karate is

meaningless. Since it's beginning, it has been said, "Karate begins

with courtesy and ends with courtesy", and thus the ultimate aim is

the development of human character through disciplined training. A uniform of light cloth (gi), consisting of a jacket, ankle length pants, and a cloth belt to

keep the jacket intact, is worn. The color of the belt indicates the grade and experience of

the wearer. Grades are awarded to indicate the degree of proficiency a person has reached in the art.

There are two groups of grades, Kyu grades and Dan grades. Kyu grades are represented by various colored belts, which may vary from club to club. The following is rather typical;

white, red, yellow, orange, green, blue, purple, brown, and black. The Dan grades are the

black belt grades, they range from 1st Dan to as high as 10th Dan depending on the style

one studies. It takes a lifetime of study and contribution to reach the coveted 10th Dan.