Karate (空手), also karate-do, is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While modern karate is primarily a striking art that uses punches and kicks, traditional karate also employs throwing and joint locking techniques. A karate practitioner is called a karate-ka (空手家).
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. With the desire of becoming an actor, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he did odd jobs and worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Shotokan 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" through a series of public demonstrations, and by promoting the development of university karate clubs, including those at Keio, Waseda, Hitotsubashi (Shodai), Takushoku, Chuo, Gakushuin, and Hosei.
Kyokushin (極真) is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a full-contact style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training.
Full contact karate is any format of karate where competitors spar full-contact and allow a knockout as winning criterion.
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts sports action film directed by Newt Arnold and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner, who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims, the film was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to martial arts:
Johnny Cage is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. Introduced in the original 1992 game, he is an action movie star with an extensive martial arts background. The series depicts Cage as one of the primary heroes defending Earthrealm from various threats, as well as the comic foil. In the rebooted timeline, Cage is also the love interest to Special Forces officer Sonya Blade and the father of their daughter Cassie. He is inspired by martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, particularly Van Damme's character, Frank Dux, in the 1988 film Bloodsport. A staple of the franchise, Cage has appeared in various media outside of the games. Reception to the character has been generally positive for his role in the series, character development, gameplay, and Fatality finishing moves.
Gosoku-ryū (剛速流) is a style of karate which was founded by Takayuki Kubota. Gosoku stands for hard and fast, which suggests a combination of techniques both from the fast and dynamic Shōtōkan style as well as from the strength-focused Gōjū-ryū style.
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa is an American actor and film producer.
Masutatsu Ōyama, more commonly known as Mas Oyama, was a South Korean karate master who founded Kyokushin Karate, considered the first and most influential style of full contact karate. Oyama was an ethnic Korean; he was born Choi Yeong-eui and spent most of his life in Japan. He acquired Japanese citizenship in 1968.
Matt Mullins is an American actor and martial artist. At the age of 16, in 2000, he won his first World Kickboxing Association title in Dublin, Ireland. This would be his first of five championships in the next three years.
The Japan Karate Federation (JKF), a.k.a. Japan Karatedo Federation, is a national governing body of the sport karate in Japan. The JKF is officially affiliated with the Japan Olympic Association (JOC), World Karate Federation (WKF), Japan Sports Association (JSA), and Japanese Budō Association (JBA). The styles recognized by the JKF are Wadō-ryū, Shotokan, Shito-ryu, and Goju-ryu. Its headquarter is located in Tokyo, Japan.
The table contains a comparison of karate styles. Some of the distinguishing features are listed, such as lineage, general form of stances, the balance of hard and soft techniques, and the number and names of kata forms.
Jitsumi Gōgen Yamaguchi, also known as Gōgen Yamaguchi, was a Japanese martial artist and student of Gōjū-ryū Karate under Chōjun Miyagi. He was one of the most well-known karate-dō masters from Japan and he founded the International Karate-dō Gōjū Kai Association.
Black Belt (2007), known as Kuro-obi (黒帯) in Japan, is a Japanese film directed by Shunichi Nagasaki. It focuses mainly on the martial art of Karate. It is notable for excluding the usual exaggerations of the genre. The lead roles were played by karate experts, and no special effects were used.
Daniel Bernhardt is a Swiss actor, model, and martial artist. He made his acting debut in the leading role in Bloodsport II: The Next Kumite (1996). He also appeared in two of its sequels, Bloodsport III (1997), and Bloodsport 4: The Dark Kumite (1999). Bernhardt is also known for playing villainous characters. He starred opposite Chuck Norris in The Cutter (2005), Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kill 'Em All (2017), Sylvester Stallone in Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019), and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Reloaded (2003), John Wick (2014), and The Matrix Resurrections (2021).
Masashi Ishibashi, was a Japanese actor and martial artist. Ishibashi had an extensive career in Japanese television, where was famous as portraying villains in historical dramas, in roles such as bad lieutenants, shifty merchants, yakuza, bandits, and corrupt priests.
