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3 Tae-Kwon Do, and Japanese Karate

"Karate" is a Japanese pronunciation of two Chinese characters which literally mean "empty hand." Another set of two Chinese characters, meaning "Kara hand" (or "the hand of the Kara Kingdom"), which is the original word for karate, was widely used in Japan until two decades ago. The latter is the original Chinese word that represents the word "karate" in Far Eastern countries and is still used by some karate schools or associations in Korea and China. Many Koreans describe the martial art of karate as "Kara hand" rather than "empty hand." Chinese words are indicated by one or more characters and have almost the same meaning in Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, but are pronounced differently in the respective countries. The people of those lands can read both "Kara hand" and "empty hand" and understand both to be nearly the same, but no Chinese, for example, can understand them when they are pronounced "tang soo" or "kong soo" in Korea.

Kara of "Kara hand" is the name of one of the old provinces in China. The Kara Province later unified all China, and was known outside as the Kara Kingdom. During this period, there was frequent contact with Korea, Japan, and other neighboring countries with cultural exchanges and international wars. However, during the period of the Kara Kingdom, the principles of karate were widely introduced to the people and further studied and developed. The martial art form, which presumably originated in the Kara Kingdom, became a symbol of national prestige, regarded with awe both inside and outside old China. The name given to it was "the hand of the Kara Kingdom," implying the use of the empty hand as a weapon. Such a descriptive title of the art indicates understanding and acceptance of the philosophy of the art by the public in the Oriental world at that time.

Okinawa-te is another example of a word with a geographical association which was used in Japan for several hundred years. Okinawa-te, meaning "Okinawa hand," is apparently a form of karate that derived from the preceding karate of Kara Province and was slightly changed in concept for the needs of the Okinawan people of that time. Perhaps "Okinawa hand" describes the possession of the art by Okinawan people who lived in a territory under the control of Japan and who trained and practiced karate secretly for themselves.

It is only recently that "Kara hand" has changed to "empty hand" in Japanese terminology. In describing this new word, there is more of an emphasis on the art itself than on its historical roots. A scientific study of the art has brought a great change, not only in its technical aspects, but also in its philosophical background. The "empty hand" is still pronounced "karate" as it was when it was written with the characters meaning "Kara hand" and this may imply a newly devised form of karate which originated from "the hand of the Kara Kingdom."

Tae-kwon is the Korean word for karate recently adopted by the Korean Tae-Kwon do Federation. Tae-kwon do (tae meaning foot; kwon, fist; and do, martial art) is identical to Japanese karate, and the title is a literal description of an art consisting of foot and hand techniques. Some of the Korean public still use the "karate" pronunciation in conversation, but Korean karate schools or associations have adopted such names as tang soo ("Kara hand"), kong soo ("empty hand"), tae soo ("foot hand"), etc. Many Koreans acknowledge the art as tang soo which is the traditional Korean title and represents the origin of the art as the term "karate" does in Japan. Whatever the titles may be, they were chosen by individual schools as an attempt at a descriptive expression for the martial art as it relates to their own individual philosophies. However, in spite of the various philosophies in the long history of karate, it has now evolved into a completely modernized form; its basic concept being the building of karate practitioners with the strongest techniques of sportsmanlike self-defense.

The karate title of "empty hand" and the tae-kwon do of "foot-hand" may give different impressions of the same art. The "empty hand" of unarmed fighting suggests more of an emphasis on self-defense techniques, whereas the "foot-hand" of foot and hand fighting implies a physical training of various techniques using the whole body. The latter more closely represents the sport of karate but it lacks the historical implications. Many Westerners, misunderstanding the term "empty hand" fighting, assume the feet play no part in karate techniques.