Karate is a method of defensive fighting that originated in Okinawa, in which hands, elbows, feet and knees are the only weapons used.  The translation of the Japanese Kanji for Karate is "empty hand". 

Karate is a unique martial art with which a person can develop the ability to defend themselves and at the same time, cultivate qualities of the mind such as confidence, humility, perseverance and concentration.

It is interesting to note that about ninety percent of all types of Karate in use today come from Okinawan Karate.  This includes styles like Shotokan, Kokushinkai, Budokan and for that matter all the well known karate martial arts

Okinawan Shorin-Ryu Shorinkan Karate-do was founded by the late Master Choshin Chibana.  The present Grand Master is Shuguro Nakazato tenth Dan.  the art has the longest history among the karate styles in Okinawa, going back to the fourteenth century.

Karate-do, as we know it today, is, for the most part, the product of a joining together of different styles which has taken place over the centuries. It was in Okinawa that the well-formed Karate originated. Various methods of Chinese boxing blended with the indigenous system of Okinawan self-defence known as Te, which means hand, and through constant refinement by generations of great practitioners, classical karate came about.