How has karate changed?

Answer 1

Over the last one hundred years, not that much.

Funikoshi, the founder of Shotokan karate changed the names of the moves for the Japanese. Katas have changed a little and the intensity and seriousness is not quite the same as it was in the 60's. The Okinawan arts are pretty consistent with little change. The Japanese arts were split out and became more militaristic. Recently there has been a rebirth of the application aspect of the arts with bunkai becoming more prevalent.

The other change has been that some places have turned it into a sport, with point competitions and bizarre acrobatic moves that have no place in realistic fighting.

Answer 2

Modern karate is geared more toward the sport spectrum. There is very little contact. People are also trying to make their living from it. That's not what its about. Martial Arts or karate is a discipline. Karate in the past you would get hit. It could be hard or soft. You didn't know until it happened. You had to learn to take a punch. You couldn't say don't hit me that hard in a real fight; now could you? You had to learn how to perform the techniques with someone resisting. You had to earn your rank. Karate is an art that take years to learn and longer to master. Money cannot by experience.

There are still schools that focus on the martial art and not the sport aspect. Finding traditional schools can be a challenge, but they do exist.

Answer 3

It continues to evolve throughout time. In some cases, it has been codified to become a sport. In others, they try to teach it the same way it was taught hundreds of years ago.