Karate is believed to have stemmed from ancient Shao Lin kung fu. Its history stretches back many centuries, and many details of its evolution are still vague.

It is said that the original karate-do was conceived in Okinawa, Japan. Apparently derived from the artistic martial disciplines of China, the ancestor-style of karate was introduced to the Okinawan people hundreds of years ago. Carefully studied by Japanese sages and monks, this style was eventually coupled with the native martial art of the region.

During this time of feudal sovereignty, weapons had become scarce; the Okinawan rulers feared revolt, and so banned all form of weaponry, including 'suspicious' farming tools. Overtly 'cautious' officials regulated such devices in order to prevent a future rebellion, leaving the populace bare and vulnerable. In defiance of those laws, the people began practising karate in secret, an art that had lain dormant for decades. They gradually developed their unarmed self-defence techniques, reviving the past spirit of karate. Understandably, these lessons usually occurred in the cover of darkness, with their students still dressed in their night robes (hence the origin of the gi).

Karate-do was later structured and organised into the modern form that is now seen today. This martial art was recently introduced to the world in the 1950s, when Japan sent its karate masters overseas as teachers to the people of the outside.