Karate was developed from the same ancient traditions that led to the development of Kung Fu. By the fifth century AD, on the Okinawan Islands, a weaponless system called te (hand) had developed. Later, when the teachings of the Shao-lin Temple in China were carried to Okinawa, some of the Shao-lin techinques were fused with the te art.

During the 15th century, the Japanese who occupied Okinawa forbade the natives to carry arms and te began to flourish as an art form; at the time, it went by several names, including te and karate (a term which originally meant China hand, but which in the 20th century was redefined to mean empty hand).

In 1905, an Okinawan instructor named Gichin Funakoshi introduced Okinawa-te to Japan, teaching it in public schools. At that time, its name was formalized as karate. After World War II, American servicemen stationed in Japan learned the art, which helped to spread it worldwide.

There are in reality two divisions of "karate": as karate, it is an unarmed fighting style, which at advanced levels often teaches weapons use, and as kobu-jutsu it is an armed Okinawan fighting style, using bo (staff), sai, nunchaku, tonfa (threshing handles), and kama (sicles), as well as barehanded techniques being taught at advanced levels.

As an anecdote, the pracitioners of karate are called karateka.