Karate is said to have a very long history, going back further than 500 AD on the western calendar. At that time Daruma came to China, he was the founder of Western Indian Zen Buddhism. He brought Buddhism with him, But many of his disciples were unable to keep up with his demanding spiritual and physical teaching methods. Indeed, many of them would simply drop from exhaustion. So Daruma developed a new training system to make his followers stronger and to give them more endurance. He wrote a book (Ekkin-Kyo) about his system , which was the first book ever made about karate.
Daruma's teachings and Kung Fu (Shorin and Shokei specifically), were very influential on early Karate. Daruma's form of physical training and philosophy was taught in the Shaolin Temple as early as 500 AD. Shorin Kung Fu was popular in the south of China, and was a very dramatic martial art, with lots of kicks, jumps, and speedy movement. Shokei was primarily taught in the north, and it concentrated on slow powerful movements. All of these teachings eventually migrated to Okinawa. Okinawa already had their own unarmed fighting style which was known as Okinawa-te, or Te. Over time Te merged with the important Kung Fu schools to form Karate. The fighters in Okinawa became especially skilled due to long periods where weapons were outlawed, leaving unarmed combat as the only option.
Basically modern Okinawan Karate developed from the the imported Kung Fu techniques combined with the pre-existing art of Te. This made for a fighting art that was both violent and disciplined. Over time Karate spread all over the world. Chances are good that there is a someplace in your area that you can learn this ancient art. Try checking your local phone book under Martial Arts to find a training center near you. Who knows, with a little training and discipline maybe you too can become a black belt!