Karate @ FightUK.com

India.

Based on mans’ instinct of self-defense, different fighting arts were developed in most cultures, especially in central Asia, Egypt and Turkey. The principles of the Asian martial arts are believed to have spread from Turkey to India, where they were further developed to sophisticated arts (”kalaripayt”).

The history of Karate as we know it today can be taken back to India, perhaps two thousand years before the Christian Era. India was the birthplace of a bare-handed martial art called, in Sanskrit, Vajramushtthi. Evidence seems to indicate that it was commonly practiced by the Kshatriya, which was the Warrior Class of that time, and which can be compared to the Japanese Samurai and the medieval Knights of Europe.
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The true history of traditional karate is almost impossible to verify due to the secrecy surrounding the arts and the lack of written records. It is known that the martial arts of Okinawa and Japan were influenced in the development of their martial arts by various Chinese sources. It is also clear that at least one source of influence on Chinese martial arts came from India.
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