Welcome to Florida Karate Academy!

Since 1994, Florida Karate Academy has been providing instruction in karate, jujitsu, and other martial arts. We are affiliated with the AAU-USA National Karate Program and the International Seibukan Shorin-ryu Karate Association. Our school is located in the heart of Vero Beach, Florida at 1140 19th Street.

We hope you enjoy our website and will stop by to see us, soon. Visitors are always welcome at Florida Karate Academy. This site is designed to give you information about our facility, our class schedule, our style of martial arts, our staff and provide you with information on how to contact us as well. Visit "coming events" to find out what is going on through-out each month at our school.

What is Karate?

"True karate is this: that in daily life one's mind and body be trained and developed in a spirit of humility, and that in critical times, one be devoted utterly to the cause of justice."
-- Gichin Funakoshi

Karate translated either means "Chinese hand" or "Empty hand" depending on which Japanese or Chinese characters you use to write it.

Karate is originally from the island of Okinawan. The oldest exisiting system is Shorin-ryu. Goju-ryu, Uechi-ryu and other styles (ryuha) were developed as well by various masters and still exist today. Gichin Funakoshi and other Okinawan masters moved to Japan and taught karate there. In Japan, new styles such as Shotokan, Shito-ryu, and Wado-ryu were developed based on the Shorin-ryu methods. From Japan, karate was spread all over the world and has become an international exercise and sport.

Seibukan Shorin-ryu Karate combines external training methods at the beginning level with internal training methods at the more advanced levels. The use of circular and linear techniques are emphasized. Both physical and mental training methods are used. The greatest emphasis being placed on the development of character and moral values. Okinawan Karate styles tend to place more emphasis on short range techniques for self defense application. Japanese styles tend to emphasize long range techniques for sport competition and physical conditioning.

Karate emphasizes high commitment to the attack, and a great variety of techniques, including kicks, punches, blocks, strikes, evasions, sweeps, throws, and joint manipulations. Karate stresses the balanced use of both hand and foot techniques. Important elements of Karate include stances, posture, body shifting, hip rotation, and breathing.

Training differs widely but most of the Karate styles emphasize a fairly equal measure of basic technique training (kihon), forms (kata), self defense (ippon kumite), and sport sparring (kumite). Forms are stylized patterns of attacks and defenses done in sequence for training purposes.

An art of self-defense as well as a sport, Karate has in recent decades proliferated worldwide. It is one of the most widely practiced of the Asian martial arts, with a large following in the U.S., Japan and Europe.