Disclaimer: This site is not the official website of the Karate Association of Manitoba. All the information you find here do not represent the Karate Association of Manitoba. The official site of the Karate of Manitoba is : http://www.karateman.ca

THE KARATE ASSOCIATION OF MANITOBA

Karate Manitoba
200 Main Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 4M2
Phone 925-5682
Fax 925-5703
Web page : http://www.karateman.ca
E-mail : meron210@mts.net 

The Karate Manitoba membership is approaching six hundred with members in all of the seven Regional Sport zones in Manitoba. We are especially encouraged with the growth in junior membership, and the development of karate in rural Manitoba.

Shotokan, Shito, Wado, Goju, and Chito make up the major different Karate systems in the world.  All of these systems are recognized by Karate Manitoba and have been members of this association since its inception 30 years ago.

The Manitoba Karate Association (MKA) was founded in 1969 by Mr. Richard (Tug) Wilson.  Mr. Wilson retired from teaching martial arts in 1977 with the ranks of 4^th Dan in both Karate and Judo.

Karate Manitoba is also a member of Traditional Karate Canada, which is a member of the International Traditional Karate Federation.  (ITKF, World-Wide Organization)

With it's increase in popularity, interest in holding competitions has grown. Karate Manitoba sanctions local, regional, and provincial tournaments.  Competitors go on to represent Manitoba nationally and internationally.

Karate Manitoba as a member of Sport Manitoba acts as a provincial sport governing body for Karate in Manitoba.

Through the affiliation with the Coaches Association of Canada, Karate Manitoba stands firm in the overall development of Traditional Karate in Manitoba.

What is Karate?

Karate appears fearful and destructive to many people. Movies have contributed to popularizing Karate in the wrong way. There are also many people who think that Karate is only a type of callisthenics or, perhaps, even a type of dance. This shows undeniably the lack of a proper view of what Karate really is.

Karate is a martial art, for many people it is a way of life, and it shares the common aim with Judo, Kendo, Aikido, the tea ceremony, calligraphy, and Japanese flower arranging of cultivating through physical and spiritual training. It is also within reason to claim that Karate, as the original martial art, through physical and spiritual training and discipline, makes the impossible possible, even to the unarmed, and helps one in pursuing the aim of his life. A physical training so strict naturally involves a demanding psychological training as well. Karate is a method of unifying the body and spirit and of making human life at once broader and deeper.

"Karate" is a combination of two Japanese words, "Kara" meaning empty or open and "Te", meaning hand, and is therefore used to describe a style of unarmed combat.  Karate not always had this meaning of empty hands, this modern phrase started in a meeting of the Okinawan masters sponsored by an Okinawan newspaper, at which the use of the T'ang character in the word Karate was discussed. The ideograph for Kara was altered to erase the Chinese connection for political reasons. So, the character " T'ang" (Kara) was replaced for "Empty" (Kara).

It is generally accepted that the origins of karate are to be found in India(525 A.D.). The credit is given to a Buddhist priest named Daruma Taishi,also known as Bohdidharma, who was the third child of a king and a brilliant student of Zen. Daruma studied the attacking techniques of animals and insects and the forces of nature, and, combining these with a special breathing technique, he created the basis for a legendary system of weaponless fighting and mental concentration. Daruma created in China the Shao-Lin temple in the province of Honan and in that monastery he instructed other monks in his particular style of unarmed combat.

The system developed at the temple gradually disseminated throughout Asia, spreading to Okinawa, Korea and Mongolia. By 1130 A.D., aspects of this system had even been incorporated into the indigenous military disciplines of geographically and culturally isolated Japan.

The Asia fighting arts were historically taught and refined in secrecy, as their practice was routinely prohibited in different regions. Consequently, various regionally and family-based styles and schools evolved, one of these being the Kempo style of Okinawa.

By 1901, Kempo was being taught openly in Okinawa, and in 1916, was demonstrated in Japan by master Gichin Funakoshi. There, under the name of Karate, practical applications of the system were further refined and united with the Zen-based philosophy of the Japanese disciplines. The popularity of karate as both a martial art and a sport spread quickly in Japan and beyond, contributing to the development of diverse systems and schools.

THE SPORT

The word empty also carries the connotation from Zen philosophy to 'render oneself empty'. That is, to achieve a psychological state of awareness without unnecessary emotion. The Karateka must operate like a mirror that reflects everything evenly. Through development of physical techniques and the psychological perception the Karateka learns to defend against a surprise attack. The process of karate training also builds character.

In the Japanese language, contests in the martial arts are called 'shiai' (she-i). Literally this means to 'test each other' or 'mutual try out'. It differs significantly in meaning from the idea of competition applicable to sports in general. Shiai means to test ones' personal level of attainment through the use of mutual engagement.

Two kinds of contest form the tournament competition. Kumite or free sparring and Kata or the formal exercises of Karate. These introduce the viewer to additional aspects of Karate and the Martial Arts.

Victory itself is not the ultimate objective of a Karate contest. A contest is but one of many methods of Karate training.