Many of these Americans, after attaining master levels in karate, opened their own schools in the United States and spread the learning of karate.
Many women take it up to keep themselves in shape.
As a means of self-defense, karate has long historical roots, but modern karate as it is practiced in mainland Japan was originally introduced by an Okinawan, Gichin Funakoshi, in 1917. He was a true karate master schooled in the genuine Okinawan tradition, and was credited with elevating karate into a scientific sport from a means of defending oneself unarmed. He died in 1957. Okinawan karate descended from the ancient Chinese art called kempo, gthe way of the fist, h which in turn is said to have been learned from Buddhist monks from India. Though little is actually known about the historical development of Okinawan karate, historians say that it was introduced locally about five hundred years ago.