Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics
The karate competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will feature eight events. It will be the debut appearance of karate in the Olympics. Karate is part of the 2020 programme as one of five sports added specifically for 2020 rather than as a permanent sport. Two disciplines karate will be featured. Kumite ("grappling hands") is the sparring discipline and will have three weight classes each for men and women. Kata (martial arts) is the form discipline and will have one event each for men and women. Every event will consist of 10 competitors.
Karate in Japan
Karate (lit. "empty-hand") has its roots in ancient martial practice in India and China. There is a popular tale of an Indian monk by the name of Bodhidharma, who brought a system of exercise and fighting techniques to the Shaolin Monastery in China around 525 A.D. It is said that this was the beginning of a systematized martial practice that eventually spread to other Asian countries via traveling monks and traders.