Japan and Karate

日本本土の空手を代表するのは，いわゆる試合を中心に据えた「スポーツ空手」である。戦前戦後に大学を中心に広まった沖縄の伝統武術である空手は，本土ではことごとくスポーツ化し，現在の国際化に結びついている。スポーツ空手は，いわゆる古流の沖縄伝統空手とは，技術的にも見た目にも異なる。また，大山倍達先生が創始した極真空手も，全日本空手道連盟を軸にしたスポーツ空手と，技術的にも見た目にも異なる。日本本土を経由して国際化した空手はこのように，様々な身体様式へと多様化している。その一因は，スポーツ化（競技化）である。スポーツ化によって，武術の本質は失われていく。一方で，スポーツ化をあえて進めないことで，武術としての本質を維持することは可能であると考えられる。本土における空手をいかに武術として維持するかは，スポーツ化をいかに避けるかにかかっている。

The representative of karate in the mainland of Japan is so called "sports karate," which makes much of competitions (games). Karate, the Okinawan classical martial art, which has been popularized mainly among universities and colleges before and after the world war II, is being wholly sportized in the mainland of Japan and its sportization leads to its internationalization today. Sports karate is different from that old-style Okinawan traditional karate in techniques and appearances. Kyokushin Karate, which was found by Masutatsu Oyama sensei, is also different in techniques and appearances from sports karate that is represented by Japan Karatedo Federation. In this way, karate, which has been internationalized via the mainland of Japan, has increased in variation of physical forms. One of the reason is sportization (introducing tournaments). Sportization gradually makes martial arts lose their own essence as they intrinsically have. To put it the other way around, we can see that it is possible to maintain the essence of martial art in itself by keeping away from sportization. How well we can maintain karate in the mainland of Japan as a martial art depends on how well we can avoid sportizing it.