The origins of what its called “Karate” today can be traced to about fourteen hundred years ago when Daruma (Bodhidarma), the founder of Zen Buddhism left India and moved to China. Bodhidarma set the system of mind and body exercises and presented it to monks in Shaolin Temple. That system was to be known later as Shorin-ji Kempo.
It is known that simple fighting methods existed among the Okinawan population in Japan (called:Okinawa-te) and that system became strongly influenced by Shorin-ji Kempo.That influence was the basis for creation of Karate.