What is the ruling on playing karate
Question

                What is the ruling on playing karate?
Praise be to Allah.Karate is one of the martial 
          arts, a form of self-defence using one’s hands, without any kind of 
          weapon. It allows hitting with the foot, fist or edge of the hand, focusing 
          on concentrating all one's energy in that blow. 
 The shar’i viewpoint 
          of this sport: 
 The sport includes numerous 
          physical, psychological and mental benefits, and it is in accordance 
          with sharee’ah in some ways, and goes against it in others. Among the 
          ways in which it is in accordance with Islam are: 
The concealing garments which cover all 
          the ‘awrah completely. The rules of this sport require wearing covering 
          garments composed of a shirt of thick white cotton, and trousers made 
          of the same material, which have to be wide to allow movement of the 
          legs and feet. 
 Combatants are forbidden 
          to direct blows that will cause harm to their opponents. The rules of 
          the game dictate that attacks must be restrained, and must not cause 
          harm to one's opponent, unlike the rules of boxing, for example. 
 But on the other hand 
          this sport is not free of things that go against sharee’ah, such as 
          allowing blows to the face. 
 In addition, it includes 
          some religious rituals that are derived from local Indian religions, 
          such as the exchange of greetings between the combatants, which take 
          the form of bows that are similar to rukoo’ (the Muslim does not bow 
          to anyone except Allaah), and the exercises such as keeping silent and 
          focusing or meditating, which are derived from the religious rituals 
          of Buddhism, etc. All of these are totally rejected by Islam. 
 But it is not forbidden to practise 
          this sport once these issues have been eliminated. It is possible to 
          eliminate them on an unofficial level, even if it is not possible to 
          do so on an official and international level.  It is not essential 
          to learn these skills at the level of championships and clubs which 
          adhere to these matters and view them as an essential part of the sport 
          which everyone who practises it must adhere to.