Why is it inaccurate to call Karate a martial art?

Sometimes, people can be a bit picky and funny when it comes to labeling Karate a martial art. For instance, if we’re going to get technical, then Karate actually isn’t a martial art…but then against most ‘martial arts’ aren’t either under that definition. At the same time, you could also claim that the likes of Sambo and Aikido are martial arts. Confused? You should be, but if you read on it gets much clearer.

Why is it inaccurate to call Karate a martial art?

Technically, some believe that the definition of a martial art is that it has to be created in line with military combat. That is, martial arts have to be by definition, that they were created with war in mind. At the same time, many people disagree – and argue that a martial art is simply something that is a form of self defense for any situation.

This is where people can get particular about what they call Karate. For example, from their perspective, it isn’t a real martial art due to not originating from a military background. Instead, Karate was created for civilians to use for their own personal self defense methods. In other words, the Japanese army never taught Karate as part of their curriculum, neither was it used on the battlefield. Does this make Karate any less legitimate? No. It’s just people nitpicking for the most part. Besides, their definition that a martial art has to be associated with the military is not set in stone either and is merely their own criteria.

What martial arts are used in the military?

As mentioned earlier, by this definition Karate isn’t actually a martial art. Similarly, the likes of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu isn’t either. However, what is known is that Aikido was originally designed for the battlefield when swords weren’t readily available. This idea was based off Judo and was meant to offer a solution for fighting with your fists. Similarly, in recent times you could fit Sambo under this criteria. Sambo was created by the Russian military for its KGB agents to use in combat. To this day it is still taught and used and is thought highly of.

Does this mean that Aikido is more legitimate than Karate or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu? For the most part no. Most of the time, people would argue that Karate is far more effective than Aikido which has been watered down over the years. According to many, Aikido is nowhere near as effective as Karate and isn’t as realistic. According to these people and most in general, Karate certainly is a martial art and a respectable one at that.

Is Karate a sport?

This brings us to the next point, is Karate a sport? Again, this depends on your personal definition. For instance, whilst many will call Karate a sport, others will say it’s actually a martial art. The reality is that it’s probably a bit of both. For instance, some Karate styles of Karate are more sports based and are heavily focused on competition. An example of this is Shotokan Karate that follows rules strictly. Further, Olympic Karate is considered a sport by most and is mostly focused on point fighting rather than self defense.

Having said this, the likes of Kyokushin is considered more of a martial art – as it mostly focuses on self defense aspects and is big on hard Kumite. Because of this, it really depends on your perspective.

Conclusion

Overall, Karate is considered a martial art by most people’s standards. However, as seen – some people deny this status down to it not being used in original Japanese warfare. Having said this, most people’s definitions don’t have these kinds of criteria – meaning that typically, most people believe that Karate is a martial art, especially the likes of Kyokushin.

Further, if you weren’t to count Karate as a martial art then this would mean that most martial arts wouldn’t be viewed as such too. As a result, if you can’t count Karate as a martial art, then it means the same for most. With this in mind, if we’re talking in a sensible manner then Karate should be considered as a martial art. To deny it this privilege is petty, to say the least.

If you want to learn more about Karate and its roots, then check out this interesting book for more information.