Sterling Karate

Sterling Karate teaches Tae Kwon Do, a form of martial arts. Most of what you will learn began in Korea and the Orient hundreds of years ago. The ultimate purpose of the martial arts was and is to make a good human being.

Legend has it that a monk named Daruma walked from India to China to start a monastery among the Chinese and to teach his beliefs. Daruma's students found the lessons hard, so he broke up the mental learning with periods of exercise. These disciplined movements gradually evolved into a form of self-defense. He drew from the examples of the animals in combat: aggressiveness from the cat, quickness from the snake and great fighting from the praying mantis. Whether or not this story is totally true, the early Kung Fu masters showed many of these animal-like moves and great imagination in their forms which were the forerunner of modern karate.

Over the centuries Kung Fu developed special styles, including the Crane, the Snake and the Tiger. Eventually, more styles developed such as Wing Chung first studied by Bruce Lee and Tai Chi Chuan, an exercise form. As Kung Fu spread to Okinwaw and then to Japan and Korea, adaptations were developed and karate was born.

Not only did martial arts provide exercise and self-discipline to its early students, it offered the people practical self-defense from outside invaders. As Korea unified under one kingdom in 670 AD, martial arts was an important part of its warrior system, the Hwarang do. Similar to the Knights of the Roundtable in the Middle Ages in England, the Korean warriors' self-discipline and self-defense raised the martial arts to national status displaying strength and bravery. At the end of the 1600's, historical records describe a Korean victory over Japanese invaders in which Koreans used only their bare hands and fists.

In 1790, General Yi Dok-nu was commissioned by the Japanese ruler to write a military manual of martial arts called the "Mooyedobotongji." While there are many similarities between Japanese and Korean forms, there are distinctive differences as well. The Japanese people tended to be shorter in stature, hence their form has more emphasis on hand movements. The word karate in Japanese means empty hand. Most of Japanese karate came from the island of Okinawa in the 1900's when Master Funakoshi brought his famous style of Shotokan to the Japanese royalty. He is remembered as the Father of Japanese Karate.

Another great master in the 1920's and 1930's was Master Mabuni who founded Shito-ryu, the most popular style of karate in Japan. Karate is the Japanese martial arts form. It is the form that U.S. military service men and women learned during W.W.II and brought back to the U.S. As popularity for all martial arts increased, the term karate has been used in the U.S. to mean generically all types of martial arts.

Tae Kwon Do developed among the Korean people whose larger build, led them to emphasizes kicks. The name, Tae Kwon Do, means "hand and foot." The style differences are easily identified in sparring and in karate "dances" or kata, where the Korean student will use powerful kicks with blocks and punches. The Japanese student uses intricate and powerful hand movements.

Many similarities exist among instructors (sobam) and schools (dojang) within Tae Kwon Do. There are also important differences. Sterling Karate teaches martial arts using a belt system which emphasizes goal setting around achievable increments of accomplishment, recognition and reward. Belts and belt tips, are awarded in this order: white, gold, green, purple, blue tip, blue, red tip, red, brown tip, brown, brown with a black stripe and first degree black belt. Students progress as they master combinations of defensive and offensive moves, forms, sparring, pad and paper kicks and eventually board breaks. Given a dangerous situation Sterling Karate students learn comprehensive self-defense. That is their first priority in protecting themselves. Offense is a last resort.

In the Sterling Karate program, most of the students' time will be devoted to mastering increasingly difficult moves, self-development and preparing for tournament opportunities. Blue belt students and above will also lead the class or teach at times. To train for a black belt, a student must develop lesson plans for a minimum of 10 hours, lead the class at times and create their own form. Putting children’s well being and safety first, Sterling Karate limits board breaks to the most advanced students, as young children can cause damage to their hands and feet by repeated blows to a board.

Ancient in origin, modern in application, the martial arts can provide a variety of benefits to the student. Physical fitness, flexibility, self-confidence, and satisfaction with achievement are some of the positives. Camaraderie among parent and child students can be a great extra. Whatever your reason for choosing martial arts, you can expect a challenging and fun experience.