Karate uses punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and some open-hand techniques like knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes. A person who practices karate is called a karateka. Karate can be done as an art, a combat sport, or for self-defense. The training for karate is divided into basic or fundamentals, forms, and sparring. There were no competitions for Karate before World War II. Now, the competitions for karate are divided into style organizations. Some of these organizations are AAKF, AOK, TKL, AKA, WKF, NWUKO, WUKFC, and WKC. These organizations organize competitions from local to international level. The tournaments are created to match the members of opposing styles or schools. Some of these competitions are separated by age, rank, and gender. There are different rules for each of these categories.
