Anka Itosu who was born in 1831 and died at the age of 84 is often considered to be the grandfather of modern Karate. He had been taught a form of empty hand fighting by Matsumura from China but then went on to develop this into a different style of fighting, that is now commonly recognised as Karate.

There are several different styles of Karate, and most of these can be found being taught n Dojos in and around Preston with the most widely recognised of these being:-
• Budokan a style of martial arts created in 1966 by Chew
• Goju-ryu a style originating in rigid systems of the South-Chinese hand
• Kyokushinkai a style of stand-up, full contact karate, founded in 1964 Masutatsu Oyama
• Shito-ryu a style created in 1965 in Santa Ana, by California by Fumio
• Shorin-ryu is an Okinawan hard-fisted system of self-defence.
• Shotokan-ryu is a style of karate, developed by Gichin Funakoshi and son Gigo
• Uechi-ryu is a style founded by Kanbun Uechi
• Wado-ryu is a style founded by Hironori Ohtsuka.

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The term Mc Dojo has come to be quite popular nowadays in the various martial arts business and trade journals and is a derogatory term used to describe certain types of martial arts schools. What are these types of schools and why is this term relevant to you as someone looking to get started in the martial arts? This article will first explain what a Mc Dojo is and will then give you some advice on how to avoid joining one.

As the martial arts have grown in popularity since the initial Bruce Lee craze that then lead to Jackie Chan, Steven Seagal, Jean-Claude VanDamme, The Karate Kid, and more recently the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers, martial artists across the country have begun to understand the potential of the martial arts as a money-making opportunity and a viable business.

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