The origin of karate is directly related to the historical events that occurred in the Okinawa archipelago, located in southern Japan. Once divided by fiefdoms, as islands were eventually unified in 1429 by Sho Hashi, founder of the Sho dynasty. After such unification, an order was enacted in which the possession of any type of weapon was prohibited in the region.
It was from this prohibition that the Okinawans began to develop a new form of unarmed combat as self-defense, in which the main weapon would be the use of hands and feet. Known as “Okinawa-té”, this martial art was practiced in secret at night, away from the feudal lords.
The history of modern karate begins in the late 19th century with the evolution of the martial teaching process developed in Okinawa, an aspect that made its learning much easier. It was also at this time that the name “karate” appeared.
In the beginning of the 20th century, there was a notorious flow of migrants towards the Okinawa archipelago, a reality that ended up spreading the martial art all over Japan. In 1922, Gichin Funakoshi, leader of the Okinawa Martial Arts Society, was invited by the Japanese Ministry of Education to introduce his sport to Tokyo. After this moment, karate was implemented in many schools and universities throughout the country.