During World War II, many United States servicemen were deployed to an Okinawan base. While the Japanese were the enemy at the time, they still took the time to introduce the soldiers to their prized combat technique, karate. The U.S. servicemen understood what made karate different — discipline. The soldiers were eager to master karate and bring it back to the states to teach others about it.

Often called the godfather of American Karate, Robert Trias was one of the aforementioned servicemen that learned karate techniques while deployed in Japan. When he arrived back home, he opened the very first karate school in the United States in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. The school was a small success, but in an attempt to promote the sport further, he founded the United States Karate Association (USKA) in 1948. From then until 1999, the USKA helped set up and promote karate across the country. They even held the first karate tournaments. While the USKA was defunct in 1999 and replaced by the USA National Karate-do Federation under the governing body of the Olympics Committee, a lot of the rules and regulations that Trias set still remained.

In 1959, Americans fell head over heels for the amazing martial artist Bruce Lee when he made his first debut on the big screen in the United States. His carefully articulated and seemingly impossible combat skills blew Americans away, causing a wider audience to become interested in martial arts, but especially karate. Following Bruce Lee, were many other great martial artists who got the opportunity to show off their skills on camera and quickly became household names. Honorable mentions include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Donnie Yen, but of course, these are just a few examples, all of whom were influenced by Bruce Lee himself.

“Wax on...wax off.” Actor Ralph Maccio’s most famous role was as the titular Karate Kid. If you were a kid growing up in the eighties, you’ll likely remember the story of the bullied new kid, Daniel, who learns how to stand up for himself by learning karate from an old car mechanic, Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid was a huge hit and it introduced a new generation of Americans to the world of martial arts. Kids all over the country were suddenly begging their parents to sign them up for karate classes. But more important than combat, in the film, we saw Mr. Miyagi teach the importance of discipline and having honest morals. This movie was great at promoting karate as it showed kids and parents of the day that the martial art is so much more than just combat.

“Wax on...wax off.” Actor Ralph Maccio’s most famous role was as the titular Karate Kid. If you were a kid growing up in the eighties, you’ll likely remember the story of the bullied new kid, Daniel, who learns how to stand up for himself by learning karate from an old car mechanic, Mr. Miyagi. The Karate Kid was a huge hit and it introduced a new generation of Americans to the world of martial arts. Kids all over the country were suddenly begging their parents to sign them up for karate classes. But more important than combat, in the film, we saw Mr. Miyagi teach the importance of discipline and having honest morals. This movie was great at promoting karate as it showed kids and parents of the day that the martial art is so much more than just combat.

You may have heard of MMA, but which ancient techniques inspired these martial arts lessons? Learn more and sign up for martial arts programs at American Karate Academy!

Martial arts are traditional combat practices and techniques that can help a person in fighting situations but are also rooted in improving character. Mixed martial arts, or MMA, has been on the rise in popularity lately but what are the martial arts practiced in an MMA class? Well, this depends on the school, but all MMA classes will take inspiration from a few classic Japanese Martial Arts - Karate, Jujitsu, Judo, and Aikido.
At American Karate Academy, martial artists of all ages and experience levels are welcome to join our classes. We offer separate classes for each age group, even Little Dragons, which is our MMA class for toddlers! Aside from MMA, we also teach women’s self-defense classes as well as Kickboxing and Muay Thai classes. What are you waiting for? Get in shape, learn self-defense, and develop life skills at our martial arts institute in Miami, Florida.

Developed in Japan centuries ago, Karate is often considered the staple of martial arts. Translating to mean empty (kara) hand (te), Karate gets its name from its iconic open-hand techniques. The foundation of Karate’s techniques includes physical movements, yes, but this martial art is also heavily focused on developing the practitioner’s attitude, including discipline, fearlessness, and leadership. In Karate, individuals can rank up by proving to their Masters that they have diligently practiced the art enough to the expected experience and skill level. Karate’s ranks are determined by the belt color of the Karateka, or karate practitioner so that the current skill level can be disclosed at a glance. Karate can be practiced as an art, self-defense, or combat sport, which makes it desirable for many different people interested in learning martial arts.

Jujitsu is another century-old martial art from Japan. Then inspired by Jujitsu’s style, came Judo… but what is the difference? The most significant demarcation between the two martial arts lies within their word endings, -jitsu and -do. In Japanese, Jujitsu means the art of (jitsu) weakness (ju) and Judo means the moral teachings of (do) weakness (ju). It’s important to note that a lot of Japanese martial arts use these word endings. Even Karate can be broken down into two disciplines, Karate-do and Karate-jitsu. So why are these two forms of martial arts practiced separately, unlike Karate? Well, they were developed centuries apart. Judo was not developed until the late 1800s, when it became almost immediately popularized as an Olympic sport, while Jujitsu remained as a martial arts system, separating the two martial arts.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu takes its inspiration from the Japanese martial art but adds more fighting techniques into the mix. This Brazilian style seems to combine Judo, Japanese Jujitsu, Wrestling, and Kickboxing into one sport, similar to Muay Thai which is essentially stylized kickboxing from Thailand.

Another martial art from Japan, Aikido mainly focuses on self-defense techniques. Aikido is a relatively new martial art that was only developed in the 1920s based on a combination of other older martial arts practices. In Japanese, the word can be broken down to mean the way (do) of unifying (ai) energy (ki). Techniques are special to Aikido because the practitioner uses their opponent’s force or energy against them. Learning the art of Aikido will help you be more defensive during fight or flight situations, by teaching you to control any violence or aggression. The hope is that by learning to control this aggressive force, you can then redirect it onto your opponent. When practiced solo, Aikido can look like a way to meditate, since the practitioners “push” the force of the air around them slowly with their hands and legs. In Aikido, unlike some other forms of martial arts, all techniques are performed with the well-being of the opponent in mind.

As we mentioned, MMA classes can vary by martial arts institute, so no lessons are the same. While most MMA classes will focus on these three main Japanese practices, martial arts from other countries can be implemented as well. Some examples of more martial arts that may be included in MMA lessons are Tae Kwondo from Korea, Muay Thai from Thailand, and Kickboxing from America.