Unarmed fighting systems began sometimes back in different cultures. Karate is a form of martial art. It involves open hand styles like spear-hands, palm-hand, and knife-hands and strikes such as knee strikes, punches, elbow strikes, and kicks. New techniques like grappling, restraints, joint locks, throws, and vital point strikes have been included in the original styles. Students are called karateka.

Creativity, self-discipline, and hard training are required for a karateka to master the various techniques. Research shows that most individuals undertake training in this martial art for self-defense because it improves their fighting skills. It is good to understand that moves depicted by mass media are highly exaggerated. Most moves captured in movies are computer generated so viewers should beware of this. Such deadly moves should never be attempted for safety reasons.

This type of unarmed combat system can be practiced by every individual regardless of gender, age or fitness level. Most countries have numerous training centers where services can be obtained. Interested individuals may enter these facilities as private students or teams. A private student learns and develops at their own pace as they get assigned an instructor to train them. This martial art may boost confidence, focus, character, and inner security of trainees.

Training is broken down into sparring, forms, and basics or fundamentals. Different styles attach varying importance to the basics. Katas or forms refer to a series of maneuvers depicting a wide range of defensive postures and offensive stances. Stances are found on idealized combat application. During coaching instructors demonstrate how each tactic is applied while repelling an opponent.

Each form is learned faster when performed. Each rank has its mandatory forms that students must be able to execute during skill demonstration in order to receive official ranking. Coaching institutions have varied conditions for examinations, even though majority apply Japanese terminologies for belts, grades, and ranks. A ranking system may start with a bigger number and move to a small one or mark grades by colored belts.

Kumite also known as sparring is practiced as self-defense training or a sport. Contact levels when sparring differs a lot. There are many types of full contact, semi contact or light contact version. Structured sparring involves performance of choreographed sequence of tactics by two participants, one strikes whereas the other blocks.

Free kumite is practiced in marked areas and individuals taking part are allowed to use only certain techniques. Permitted styles and contact level are predetermined either by the sport or style organization policies, but may changed by organizers considering gender, rank, and age of practitioners. Under light contact category contestants are awarded as per awareness, sporting attitude, good timing, good form, and correct distance amongst other criteria.

To conclude, people who train for competitions can enter tournaments as a term or individual. Evaluation of skills is done by panels of judges or head referees with assistant referees. Fixtures are made basing on experience, gender, age, and weight. Tournaments can be for participants of specific style or open to martial artists with any style but confined to certain rules.