ATLANTA -- Rebel yells gave way to kiai (fighting shouts) when over 1,000 karate enthusiasts from five continents gathered in Atlanta recently for the Okinawa Karate-do World Championships.
Organized by the Okinawa Karate-do Rengokai, this marked the first time the championship was held outside Japan.
Participants came from places as diverse as Slovakia and Sri Lanka, Panama and Palestine, Brazil and Bulgaria. Nine came from Liberia, nearly 200 from Latin America and 90 from Japan.