History has been made and martial artists who train in Karate have an amazing opportunity ahead of them. Set your goals high, Karate will debut as an Olympic sport at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. This is exciting news for Karate and martial artists worldwide. As an Olympic sport, Karate will gain greater recognition on the world stage. It is especially fitting that the first Karate Olympics will be held in its birth country, Japan.

Karate originated in the Okinawan Islands, where it was used as a form of self-defense during a time when weapons were banned. The islanders needed a way to protect themselves from invading Japanese forces, so they developed the hand fighting style. In fact, karate-do translates to “the way of the empty hand”. 

What other monumental moments were there in Karate History? Here are some Karate milestones through the ages: 

Now that Karate is an Olympic Sport, many Karatekas around the world will make history during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. We’ll be counting down the days between now and 2020 when the world will witness martial artists’ dreams being achieved. 

The Olympics will be governed under the World Karate Federation rules and regulations. For more information on how Karate will be run in the 2020 Olympics visit the WKF website