the.com/karate

empty-handed combat so disciplined it turned violence into meditation with knuckles

means A Japanese martial art of striking, blocking, and kicking that relies on the unarmed body rather than weapons.

from From Japanese karate, written with characters meaning 'empty' (kara) and 'hand' (te) — literally 'empty hand,' i.e. fighting without weapons. The art developed on the island of Okinawa, drawing on local fighting traditions and Chinese martial arts, before spreading to mainland Japan in the early 20th century. Curiously, kara once was written with a character meaning 'China' (so 'Chinese hand'), but it was later swapped for the homophone meaning 'empty,' giving the name its more philosophical flavor. English borrowed the word in the mid-20th century, largely after WWII brought servicemen into contact with the art.

meaning: Japanese for empty hand, no weapons required
okinawan roots: developed when weapons were banned on Okinawa
belt myth: black belts came from white belts darkening with sweat
olympic debut: first competed at Tokyo 2020 games
the kiai: that shout sharpens focus and tightens the core

for instance

karate kid — 1984 film where daniel larusso learns karate from mr. miyagi in california

okinawan karate — traditional martial art from okinawa, japan, origins traced to 14th century

karate olympics — sport debuted at tokyo 2020 olympics with kumite and kata competitions