About Karate

What is Shotokan Karate?

There are several fundamental forms of Karate, with some placing emphasis on strength, speed or range of techniques. Shotokan is a style of Karate that tries to balance all these aspects, taught within a system that instills confidence and self-control.

The Shotokan style originated in Okinawa in the early 1900s. Master Gichin Funakoshi introduced it into mainland Japan in 1922, where it was developed by the Japanese Master, Masatoshi Nakayama.

Different coloured belts denote seniority and experience. A student starts by wearing a white belt and then progresses through various grades to Black Belt. There is a minimum period between each grade, which becomes greater as students advance towards Black Belt.

There are 10 levels of Black Belt, or Dan grade, from 1st Dan to 10th Dan, with the higher number denoting the most senior grade. There are fixed times between Dan grades, which means, for example, a 5th Dan will usually have spent a minimum of 20 years studying and perfecting his technique and expanding his understanding and knowledge of Karate.