The most difficult sport of Japan riddles

Karate developed from the indigenous martial arts of Ryukyu Islands (today Japanese) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. The Ryukyu Kingdom was an independent kingdom from the 15th to 19th century, and despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East Asia. Until the 19th century, it has had much more in common with China, than with Japan.

Iaido is associated with the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard or saya, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard. There are no fights in iaido. It should not be confused with kendo, where bamboo sticks and protective clothing is used for fighting competitions.

Freestyle (randori, literally "chaos") practice with multiple attackers is required for the higher level aikido ranks. The techniques should be chosen based on how they reposition the student relative to other attackers. For instance, an ura technique might be used to neutralise the current attacker while turning to face attackers approaching from behind.

A hakama is a pair of wide pleated black trousers used in aikido and kendo. In most schools, its use is reserved for practitioners with dan ranks or for instructors, while others allow all practitioners to wear a hakama regardless of rank.

Aikido is basically self defence system. Its techniques require that one of the practitioners plays a role of uke (attacker), while the other is tori (defender). The lack of competitive format is often criticized as the weakness of aikido, leading to weak attacks of uke and lack of realism in training.

As of September 2007, there were 1.48 million registered dan graded kendoka in Japan.