Karate

Karate means "empty hand" in Japanese: an art of self-defence without weapons, using only strikes of the hands and feet. Competitions have two forms: kata, a set sequence of techniques against imaginary opponents, and kumite, a bout between two athletes.

History and styles

Karate grew up on the Okinawa islands where local fighting traditions met Chinese martial arts. In 1922 Gichin Funakoshi brought it to mainland Japan, and his Shotokan style spread around the world. The other major styles — Goju-ryu, Shito-ryu and Wado-ryu — form the basis of the sport karate governed by the World Karate Federation (WKF). Kyokushin, founded by Masutatsu Oyama in 1964, is known for full-contact fighting and holds its own world championships.

Major competitions

The WKF World Championships (since 1970), the European and Asian Championships, the Asian Games, the European Games (Baku 2015) and the World Games, plus the world championships of Kyokushin and other styles. Karate's only Olympic appearance so far was at Tokyo 2020.

Karate in the Turkic world

Azerbaijan's Rafael Aghayev is a five-time world and eleven-time European champion and won silver at Tokyo 2020. Firdovsi Farzaliyev won gold at the Baku 2015 European Games. Türkiye's Eray Şamdan took silver in Tokyo, and Turkish karateka are among the most successful teams at the European Championships.

Both sport karate and Kyokushin are widespread in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, where thousands of children train in karate clubs.

Famous Turkic karateka

Rafael Aghayev, Firdovsi Farzaliyev, Irina Zaretska, Eray Şamdan and Serap Özçelik Arapoğlu.