Nowadays, Karate is known as the traditional martial art as well as the modern competition sport. The fact that it featured at the Olympics games was a milestone in its recognition throughout the world, and it justified decades of efforts by practitioners and organizations all over the world. Today, millions of karate practitioners exist; some are simple children
who know the fundamentals of self-defense, and some are the professional athletes doing their best in the sport. Its dualism of being a historical and philosophical martial art and being a world sport with its own rules and standards makes sure that Karate will not fade out of the modern world.
Different Styles of Karate
Karate is not one and the same practice but a group of styles that have evolved throughout the centuries with their own philosophy, trainings, and techniques of fighting. Such styles do not only diverge in terms of physical approach, but also focus on the mental discipline, culture, and even teaching philosophy. Though all the styles of karate have a common basis of respect,
self-control and disciplined practice, the differences enable a practitioner to study the art in a manner that best suits his/her physical capabilities, personal ambitions and attitude. Knowledge of these styles is vital to every beginner who needs to select a course of training that is easy to follow as well as to the more advanced student who needs to deepen his/her knowledge in karate and marvel at the depth of knowledge in karate as a martial arts and as a way of life.
Shotokan Karate: Power in the Simple.
The Karate of Shotokan.
Shotokan Karate has possibly become the most popular and well known form of karate that is practiced in the world and rightly so. It has been praised due to its focus on long and deep stances that produce an undefeatable base,
providing the followers with the capacity to provide extremely strong punches, kicks and blocks. These positions might seem inflexible to an average layman, however, they are all thought out to develop balance, stamina and stability. Learning to stabilize the body and place it on the ground,
students learn to apply their full body weight to every movement and direct the power of this movement into a particular attack and make simple moves deadly. This is Shotokan principle of grounding and makes sure that each movement,
whether offensive or defensive, is accompanied by maximum force and control.
The Structured Training System.
The other characteristic of Shotokan Karate is the highly organized training method and thus is suitable to beginners but also challenging to high rank martial artists. Students start with kihon, or the basic techniques,
in which they train punches, kicks, blocks and stances until the techniques become instinctive. After a solid base, they advance to kata,
highly choreographed postures that weave together these techniques into patterns that appear to imitate a fight with a number of people. Kumite, or sparring, is all of it all, as students are provided with an opportunity
to practice their abilities in a live situation as partners. This three-step system-kihon, kata, and kumite- makes sure that learners are given a step-by-step learning
that teaches them the basics before they are provided with more complicated uses. Shotokan training has a lot of strengths, and among them,
the methodical aspect is very strong because it enables the student to acquire confidence and competence as time progresses.
Philosophy of Strauss and Correctness.
The philosophy of simplicity and efficiency is what actually distinguishes Shotokan among many other forms of karate. Such techniques are so structured in a way that they are direct,
effective and devoid of superfluous movements. Each punch, block and kick is purposeful and is aimed at achieving the most with consuming minimal energy. Such a simple methodology makes Shotokan especially useful to beginners,
since the simplicity of the techniques minimizes the confusion and creates a solid martial arts base. Meanwhile, progressed practitioners keep perfecting their methods to become faster,
more precise, and efficient, which proves to be that Shotokan is a lifelong endeavor. The style is not a simple one, and the simplicity of the style, on the contrary, emphasizes the significance of correctly, disciplined, and consistent training.