There are majorly two distinct varieties of Karate. Tampa, FL has quite a number of martial arts studios training people in various forms of combat sport. However, Karate is a name that arrived with us in the early 20th century and became the most legendary global phenomenon. It is not a sport, because it is a dangerous art with serious consequences if misused. It is a way of life, and a discipline which becomes a lifelong habit and comes natural to a student of the path. It is about unarmed combat, and believing that self defense is about having a strong enough offense. However, this is not an indication that Karate promotes violence.
There are two basic types of Karate as mentioned. These are –
Full Contact – Strength and victory are the two pillars of full contact Karate. The training of the Karate-ka preferably begins early so that his or her body can be prepared and seasoned to hardships and tolerance of pain. The idea is to overcome the physical agony by having a spirit and mind stronger than the force of pain. If you can self – hypnotize yourself into believing that the pain is not present, the body will eventually learn to ignore trauma and pains to push harder and allow human feats of strength and endurance like 300 man kumites where one man fights 300 trained fighters over days on end!
Technical – This form of Karate is about technique and perfection of body movements over mere strength. Where full contact schools of the art believes that impact is vital, and techniques can be improvised, the technical schools of karate concentrate on perfecting techniques and making sure that every kick, punch, block, and stance is 100% accurate by mathematical ratio and deep theoretical study.
Today, modern Karate has evolved as a development from both styles of the art. It focuses on learning the physicality of full contact, while keeping the theoretical knowledge of the technical school. It moderates between the two and has been compiled in various styles by various grandmasters over the last century. These moderate styles of the sport do not put the student under the extreme hardships of the full contact philosophy, and do not stress extremely on theory. A fixed syllabus and curriculum is developed for gradual learning and self development of the art of Karate. Tampa, FL based dojos are much renowned across America in nurturing many champion martial artists.
