Though Kempo is often categorised as a style of Karate, in its original form it is a style of Kung Fu, being practised at the Shaolin Temple as early as the seventh century.

Karate was developed in Okinawa, an island between China and Japan which was ruled by China at the time, but now is part of the country of Japan.

The Shotokan Karate of today is recognized as a dynamic style with large linear movements and low powerful stances. It blends long flowing movements with high sweeping kicks and devastating strikes that at first glance gives the impression that as a style it works at optimum front medium to longer range fighting distances. Yet its origins lay in Okinawa and as such shares many of the same attributes as other Okinawan styles.

Many know Okinawa, an island 550 kilometres south of the Japanese mainland, as the birthplace of karate. But let's look first to Japan, considered home to most karate systems existing today. Karate is now practised in an estimated 120 countries and takes many forms. Of these, some of the most famous were founded in Japan after World War II, prominent examples being Mas Oyama's Kyokushin and Choiro Tani's Shukokai. At the same time in Okinawa, the dominant schools (Ryu) were Shorin-Ryu, Goju-Ryu, Uechi-Ryu and Matsubayashi-Ryu.