Flourish Health & Wellbeing eMag - Latest Edition - Flipbook - Page 29
GETTING STARTED
WITH KARATE
ability, and dedica琀椀on to
lifelong learning.
PARTICIPATION AND
POPULARITY
Karate is one of the most
widely prac琀椀sed mar琀椀al arts
globally, with par琀椀cipa琀椀on
spanning across con琀椀nents
and cultures. Es琀椀mates suggest
that there are approximately
100 million karate prac琀椀琀椀oners
worldwide, encompassing
over 200 na琀椀onal federa琀椀ons
a昀케liated with the World Karate
Federa琀椀on (WKF) .
In Australia, karate enjoys
signi昀椀cant popularity, with
nearly 200,000 individuals
par琀椀cipa琀椀ng annually. The
sport is integrated into
school programs to promote
wellbeing, con昀椀dence, and
resilience among students.
KARATE AS A
SPORT: OLYMPIC
RECOGNITION
Karate recently showcased
its compe琀椀琀椀ve edge when it
debuted at the Tokyo 2020
Olympics. Athletes competed
in two primary disciplines:
• Kata (Forms): Athletes
perform precise,
choreographed rou琀椀nes
demonstra琀椀ng power,
precision, and control.
• Kumite (Sparring):
Compe琀椀琀椀ve matches tes琀椀ng
skill, strategy, and agility.
This Olympic recogni琀椀on
further highlights Karate’s
athle琀椀c nature, boos琀椀ng
its global pro昀椀le and
encouraging more people
to experience its health and
昀椀tness bene昀椀ts 昀椀rsthand.
Whether you’re looking
to improve 昀椀tness,
enhance mental
clarity, or simply try
something new, Karate
o昀昀ers an engaging,
comprehensive, and
enjoyable path towards
be琀琀er health and
wellbeing.
To ensure safe and
e昀昀ec琀椀ve prac琀椀ce,
(in Australia) join a
club recognised by
the Australian Karate
Federa琀椀on (AKF), the
na琀椀onal governing body
for Karate.
The AKF ensures that
clubs meet high safety
standards, quali昀椀ed
instruc琀椀on, and
structured
training programs.
For globally recognised
accredita琀椀on, look for
clubs a昀케liated with
the World Karate
Federa琀椀on (WKF), the
interna琀椀onal governing
body recognised by the
Interna琀椀onal Olympic
Commi琀琀ee (IOC).
