Karate
Blitz's comprehensive collection of Karate equipment encompasses all necessities, ranging from belts and uniforms to groin guards, gloves and body armour. Whether you're practising WKF Karate or are teaching Karate for kids, our first-rate equipment caters for club students and tournament fighters of all grades and ages.
This is Blitz - your one-stop shop for Karate equipment.
Continue reading »The History of Karate
Originating from the ancient Ryukyu Kingdom and influenced by Chinese kenpō, Karate is a martial art which was brought to Japan by Ryukyuan migrants in the early 20th century. Here, it was taught systematically at universities and military bases - most notably at Okinawa, which became an important US military site after World War II.
Gichin Funakoshi, the Okinawan master who founded Shotokan Karate-Do and introduced it to the Japanese mainland, is widely considered to be the father of modern Karate.
In 1957, a new form of Karate was founded by Masutatsu Oyama. It was named Kyokushin and is now also known as "full-contact Karate" or "knockdown Karate".
Karate Practitioners Today
According to Web Japan (which is sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs), there are 50 million Karate practitioners around the world today - the World Karate Federation believes that this number is more likely to lie around 100 million.
Will you be one of them?
