Okinawa is known as the birthplace of Karate. While karate means "empty hand", kobudo is the practice of using classical weapons such as bo (staff), sai (short trident), tonfa (handled club), kama (sickle), and nunchaku.
Th lineage of Okinawa Karate includes a number of schools including Naha-te, Shuri-te, and Tomari-te and various styles including Shorin-ryu, Goju-ryu, and Uechi-ryu.
The Okinawa Karatedo Kobudo Support Center is the Okinawa based non-profit organization. They publish a monthly newsletter and are very helpful to people who want to visit Okinawa to train.
Okinawa.com has a list of karate web sites under the Links section.
If you have a web site about Okinawan Karate you can contact us to submit a link.
Photos of the 2007 22nd Okinawa Prefecture Karate Kobudo Enbu Taikai can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.
If you are visiting Okinawa to do karate training, you should visit the Shureido martial arts supply store in Naha. The equipment is expensive but it’s the best.