| First, lets look at exactly what karate is | | | | on your self-defense skills. |
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| Karate has its official origin in the | | | | It is more-less the mother system to |
| Okanowin islands. But its roots go back even | | | | Tae-Kwon-Do and other martial arts to a |
| further then that. Karate can trace its roots | | | | lesser degree As far as a self-defense |
| back to the fighting methods of the Chinese | | | | martial art, it is VERY effective if you |
| systems of centuries ago. | | | | focus and learn everything you need to learn. |
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| The word Karate means The Empty Hand. Karate | | | | People always want to know, How long does it |
| is a self-defense and fighting style of | | | | take to get a black belt? |
| martial arts and is rooted in that history. | | | | |
| To a greater extent, karate can be broken | | | | That is a very good question! It should take |
| down into 3 different areas: | | | | you about 4 to 6 years if you train 2 to 3 |
| | | | times per week and are in fairly good shape |
| 1. The basics. | | | | and have somewhat good coordination |
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| 2. Katas (Forms). | | | | Is Karate The Best Martial Art? |
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| 3. Sparing. (Simulated self-defense.) | | | | Karate is a great martial art! The success of |
| | | | it depends on the person training in it. |
| The Basics of karate include learning how to | | | | Karate is a great form of self-defense, |
| punch, kick and how to balance yourself in | | | | cardio training and a good way to train your |
| the proper stances that karate is built upon. | | | | mind. It is effective on the street if you |
| It is an art that each move you learn at the | | | | learn how to use it well. |
| basics level is needed to go to the next | | | | |
| level. Every move is a building block for the | | | | Is Karate For Me? |
| next one. | | | | |
| | | | The answer to that is yes if you are looking |
| The Kata part of karate involves learning a | | | | for a great way to keep in shape, learn an |
| fixed sequence of moves that need to be | | | | art and learn some very effective self |
| practiced over and over again through | | | | defense techniques. The best thing to do is |
| repetition. Through learning these set of | | | | to go and test a few schools out and see if |
| moves you learn how to be more precise in | | | | you like it! Most training centers in your |
| your strikes and kicks. These Katas are apart | | | | area will let you try out a class for free |
| of karate for as long as you train. | | | | and some will even give you a free month. |
| | | | Take advantage of it and discover for |
| The Sparing part of karate is meant to be the | | | | yourself if karate is the martial art for |
| practical application part of karate. This is | | | | you. |
| where you have simulated fights and can work | | | | |