American Karate was first introduced to American service men after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and Okinawan karate masters. Many of these US servicemen took their newfound skills to the United States and established their own dojos. Many Japanese karate instructors were also sent to popularize the martial art in the United States. Robert Trias was the first American to open a karate dojo in the United States. Joey Rhodes was one of the first karate instructors to transform point kumite (sparring) into full contact United States karate. As the captain of the Eastern Illinois University karate team, Rhodes transformed karate into a popular activity through his numerous invitational open style tournaments, clinics, and camps. Rhodes is the founder of Rhodes Karate Schools and started his training in 1968 with the Japan Karate Association.

History

In 1946 Robert Trias, a returning

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

veteran, began teaching private lessons in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

. Other early teachers of karate in America were

Ed Parker Edmund Kealoha Parker (March 19, 1931 – December 15, 1990) was an American martial artist, actor, senior grandmaster, and founder of American Kenpo Karate. Life Born in Hawaii, Parker began training in Judo at an early age and later studie ...

(a native Hawaiian and

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

veteran who earned a black belt in 1953), George Mattson (who began studying while stationed in Okinawa in 1956), and Peter Urban (a Navy veteran who started training while stationed in

Yokosuka is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

in 1954). Prior to 1946, most karate teachers outside Japan were in the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

(not yet a state). Many of those teachers taught Kempo, to Asians and locals only — one such teacher was

James Mitose James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

. It was through Mitose that one style of Kempo (Kosho Shorei Ryu) was introduced to the world through

William Chow William Kwai-sun Chow (July 3, 1914 – September 21, 1987, AKA William Ah Sun Chow-Hoon) was instrumental in the development of the martial arts in the United States, specifically the family of styles referred to as kenpo/ kempo. Born in Hon ...

, one of his black belts, who then went on to modify it and train

Adriano Emperado Adriano Directo Emperado (June 15, 1926 – April 4, 2009) was one of five martial artists who developed the kajukenbo self-defense system. Childhood and young adulthood Emperado had a difficult childhood living in Honolulu. He was born to F ...

, Ed Parker, Ralph Castro, and a host of other future grandmasters, some of whom brought the modified art to the U.S. In the 1950s and early 60s several other Asian karate teachers began arriving in America to seek their fortunes, and to aid in the popularization of the art. They included

Hidetaka Nishiyama was a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate.International T ...

Teruyuki Okazaki Teruyuki Okazaki (岡崎照幸, June 22, 1931 – April 21, 2020), was a tenth degree black belt in Shotokan Karate, as well as the founder and chief instructor of the International Shotokan Karate Federation ( ISKF). Along with Gichin Funakos ...

Takayuki Mikami is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate based in the United States of America. He holds the rank of 9th ''dan'' black belt in the art, awarded under the Japan Karate Association. In 1958, Mikami tied for first place in the All Japan Karate Cham ...

Tsutomu Ohshima is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).Richard Kim,

Takayuki Kubota is a Japanese American master of karate. He founded the Gosoku-ryu style of karate, and is the founder and president of the International Karate Association. Kubota holds the title of Sōke for his development of the Gosoku-ryū style of karate ...

and Kazumi Tabata. Several Koreans also came to America in those days to introduce the Korean version of the martial arts (not yet known by the term

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

). They included

Jhoon Rhee Rhee Jhoon-goo (January 7, 1932 – April 30, 2018), commonly known as Jhoon Rhee or Grandmaster Jhoon Rhee, was a South Korean master of Taekwondo who is widely recognized as the 'Father of American Taekwondo' for introducing this martial art ...

Henry Cho Henry Cho (born December 30, 1962) is an American stand-up comedian. His work can be heard nationwide several times weekly on SiriusXM Radio's Channel 98, Laugh USA, Sirius Radio's Jeff and Larry's Comedy Roundup Channel 97, and Pandora Radio's ...

, Kim Soo, and Jack Hwang. In spite of the presence of these Asian instructors, karate was primarily spread in the early days by American-born teachers. They included Trias (called the "Father of American Karate"), Don Nagle, Parker, Mattson, and Urban, plus pioneers like Harold Long, Steve Armstrong,

Allen Steen Allen R. Steen is an American martial arts practitioner, teacher, and promoter (entertainment), promoter. He was taught by Jhoon Rhee, the "Father of American Taekwondo", and was the first of Rhee's American students to reach black belt (marti ...

, Ernest Lieb, Pat Burleson,

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts champions ...

and Joe Lewis. The 1960s saw tremendous growth in karate's popularity in the United States. By the 1970s there were even professional karate tournaments, a precursor to

full contact karate Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar (also called Kumite) full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion. History Full contact karate competition comes in several different formats developed for the art of k ...

and kickboxing.

USA National Karate-do Federation

The

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) was the official

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences), is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

responsible for the running of all amateur sports in the United States, established in 1888. The AAU was officially charged with the organization and operation of many sports in the US. During this time, karate was one of the committees in the organization and was not an independent governing body. The

Amateur Sports Act of 1978 The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, signed by President Jimmy Carter, established the United States Olympic Committee and provides for national governing bodies for each Olympic sport. The Act provides important legal protection for individual athletes ...

enabled the governance of sports in the US by organizations other than the AAU. This act required each sport to set up its own National Governing Body (NGB). Each of these governing bodies would be part of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

, but would not be run by the Committee. Thus, the

USA National Karate-do Federation USA National Karate-do Federation is the national governing body (NGB) of karate for the United States Olympic Committee and as such is the official Member National Association (MNA) of the World Karate Federation (WKF) in the United States. ...

was born in 1996.

Founders of American Karate systems

No individual can truly claim to be the founder of "American Karate" because it is an eclectic mix of systems and styles. Many instructors have taken what they considered to be the best of different systems to devise a curriculum that worked for them and their students. Some individuals who have claimed to be founders of their own systems of "American Karate" are listed here, some of whom have claimed 10th degree or higher black belt ranks for themselves. In Asian culture, most 10th degree black belts (typically represented by a Red Belt) were awarded only upon the death of the Grandmaster by his successor.

Tsutomu Ohshima is a prominent Japanese master of Shotokan karate who founded the organization Shotokan Karate of America (SKA).Gichin Funakoshi was a japanese martial artist who is regarded as the founder of Shotakan karate, perhaps the most widely known style of karate, and is known as a "father of modern karate". Following the teachings of Anko Itosu and Anko Asato,Funakoshi, Gich ...

, traveled to America and brought

Shotokan Karate is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

, as well as creating the Caltech Karate Club, the first American university karate club, in 1957. Master Ohshima is a 5th degree black belt, the highest rank in

Shotokan Karate of America Shotokan Karate of America (米國松濤館; SKA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to teach traditional karate-do in the United States. It was founded by Tsutomu Ohshima, a direct student of Gichin Funakoshi, the father of Shotok ...

. The reason being when Master Funakoshi received his belt as a 5th degree and not caring for rank, Master Ohshima didn't want to go higher than his master, setting the limit at five levels of black belt rank. Allen R. Steen is a 10th degree black belt who earned his 1st degree in 1961, in

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

from

. Steen opened the first karate school in Texas in 1962 and became known as the "Father of Texas Blood and Guts Karate." He also gained fame for defeating Chuck Norris and Joe Lewis in a single evening to win Ed Parker's Long Beach International Karate Championships in 1966. Joe Lewis was often called the "Muhammad Ali" of American sport karate. He amassed many firsts including the first World Professional Karate Champion and the first U.S. Heavyweight Champion. He began his martial studies while a 20-year-old U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa in 1964. He earned a black belt in a record 18 months and due to his outstanding tournament career was named the "greatest karate fighter of all time" by his peers in a Black Belt Magazine survey. Lewis died in 2012. Joey Rhodes is a fifth degree Black Belt (following Master Ohshima’s rank philosophy) recognized as an innovative pioneer in the USA collegiate Karate community for introducing full contact Karate. His United States style blended Japan and Korean techniques, weapons training, and Tameshiwari, (breaking - Rhodes felt physical and psychological confidence were instilled in his upper ranking students because of this test and trial) along with adherence to Gichin Funakoshi twenty precepts, brought unity between many practitioners and schools. Many fellow law enforcement officers adopted Rhodes effective self defense and Tonfa techniques in the United States. Rhodes retired from martial arts to become an ordained minister. J. Pat Burleson is a 10th-degree black belt. He received his 1st degree black belt in 1963 in

. Burleson was

's first black belt student. Steen, in turn, was

's first black belt student in America in 1962. Burleson based his system on

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the ...

, and Wado-Ryu. His website says he is one of the founders of American Karate and his claims have been based on his legitimacy of winning the first National Karate Championships in 1964 in Washington D.C. Jim R. Harrison is a 9th-degree black belt. He received his 1st degree black belt in Judo and Jujitsu in 1962, Tang Soo Do in 1963, Shorin-Ryu Karate in 1964, having trained under Bob Kurth, Kim Soo Wong and Jim Wax. In 1964 he opened his Bushidokan dojo in Kansas City where he competed, trained several regional and national champions, and hosted major tournaments. Ernest Lieb was a 10th degree black belt. He received his 1st degree black belt in 1958. Mr. Lieb based his system on Chi Do Kwan, Karate,

Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

Jiu Jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subd ...

, and

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

. In 1964 Lieb was one of the first teachers to put the word "American" in front of karate. Edmund K. Parker, Sr. was the founder of American Kenpo Karate. He received his black belt in 1953 from William Chow. Parker based his system on Chow's Chinese

Kenpo Karate American Kenpo Karate (), also known as Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate, American Kenpo and Kenpo Karate, is an all-inclusive system of martial arts based on ancient martial arts methods applied to solve modern-day violent scenarios using logic and practi ...

. Parker was one of the first to commercialize karate in America and became known by many as the "Father of American Kenpo Karate" because he originated the first "Americanized" version of karate. Keith D. Yates is a 10th degree black belt. He received his 1st degree black belt in 1968 in

. Yates was

's youngest black belt student at the time. After a successful tournament career, Yates went on to become a respected teacher and author. He has served on the editorial boards of most of the major martial arts publications and has authored or co-authored 13 books. He also sits on the governing boards of several international martial arts organizations. Robert Trias is considered by many to be the father of American karate. He taught Shuri-Te Karate, learned from Choki Motobu, in Phoenix, Arizona starting in 1946.

International competition

America is not traditionally considered a "world power" in

Sport Karate (; ; Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts, particularly Fujian ...

, and its record in

Karate World Championships The Karate World Championships, also known as the World Karate Championships, are the highest level of competition for karate organized by the World Karate Federation (WKF). The competition is held in a different city every two years. Championshi ...

is poor for a country its size and wealth.

Karate World Championships

Reception

Following the inclusion of judo at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, there was growing mainstream Western interest in Japanese martial arts, particularly karate, during the 1960s. By the 1970s,

martial arts films Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

(especially

kung fu films Kung fu film () is a subgenre of martial arts films and Hong Kong action cinema set in the contemporary period and featuring realistic martial arts. It lacks the fantasy elements seen in ''wuxia'', a related martial arts genre that uses historical ...

and Bruce Lee flicks from Hong Kong) had formed a mainstream genre and launched the " kung fu craze" which propelled karate and other

Asian martial arts There are many distinct styles and schools of martial arts. Sometimes, schools or styles are introduced by individual teachers or masters, or as a brand name by a specific gym. Martial arts can be grouped by type or focus, or alternatively by r ...

into mass popularity. However, mainstream Western audiences at the time generally did not distinguish between different Asian martial arts such as karate,

kung fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to commo ...

and

tae kwon do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

. American Karate experienced an explosion of popularity in the 1970s and 1980s thanks to such movies as ''

The Karate Kid ''The Karate Kid'' is a 1984 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the first installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise, and stars Ralph Macchio, Pat Morita, Elisabeth Shue an ...

''. American Karate is still popular and can hold its own with other martial arts like

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

because today it offers many of these same techniques. In some cases, as with all arts, one of the major criticisms of martial arts teaching in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

is the common practice of teaching primarily for profit, at the expense of good quality

self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...

instruction. These are often mocked as McDojos; this model of instruction is not the case for all American schools.

References

Bibliography

# ''The Development of American Karate: History and Skills,'' Jerry Beasley (1983), Bemjo Martial Arts Library, # ''Martial Arts: Traditions, History, People,'' John Cocoran and Emil Farkas (1983), Gallery Books, # ''Korean Karate,'' Keith D. Yates and H. Bryan Robbins (1987), Sterling, # ''The Karate Dojo: Traditions and Tales of a Martial Art,'' Peter Urban (1997), Tuttle Publishing, # ''The Official History of Karate in America: The Golden Age: 1968–1986,'' Al Weiss (1997), # ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Tae Kwon Do,'' Karen Eden and Keith D. Yates (1998), Alpha Books, # ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Karate, Randall G. Hassell'' (2000), Alpha Books, # ''The Ultimate Martial Arts Q & A Book: 750 Expert Answers to Your Essential Questions,'' John Cocoran, John Graden (2001), Contemporary Books, # ''An Illustrated History of the Martial Arts in America,'' Emil Farkas (2007), Rising Sun Productions, # ''The Complete Guide to American Karate and Tae Kwon Do,'' Keith D. Yates (2008), Blue Snake Books, {{Sports in the United States