Who made Karate a sport?

Answer 1

It all started two years after Gichin Funakoshi died when the majority of his students, decided to have it as a competition. While Gichin Funakoshi was alive, he strictly forbade any of his students form entering competitions, but after he died, they simply ignored his wishes (most, not all). This led to a division within Shotokan into two styles, Shotokai, and the other one known as, well, Shotokan. Shotokain has made minor modifications, made the Kata more circular and flowing, however the techniques are all the same. Here's what I'm saying; the Shotokai did not discard or add any techniques, it simply took what Master Funakoshi taught, and made the movements circular and interconnected. Shotokan, on the other hand, took away many movements within several Kata to make it simpler. Tae Kwon Do, a Korean version of karate, was codified and laid out as a sport to allow it to become a part of the Olympics like Judo.

Lets see what else; because the competitions drew massive crowds, Karate has remained a staple Japanese sport ever since, almost as big as Judo.

Answer 2

World Karate Federation (WKF)