Kanji Symbols

• Kanji is one of the principal components of written Japanese, and Kanji symbols are the most commonly seen form of Japanese writing in the United States. These calligraphic symbols are great for art projects, though they require skill to capture their flowing elegance. The word karate can be written with two Kanji symbols and so it makes a good candidate for a pumpkin carving. You can even download, print and cut out the design for use as a stencil.
  
  

Club Symbol

• Most karate clubs have a symbol associated with them derived from traditional Japanese artwork. Tigers, trees, yin-yangs and dragons are all popular designs. Use your club emblem as a template for your carving project. You could even have a fun, club-based competition to add a nice social element to your karate practice.
  
  

Form Demonstrations

• The movements of karate themselves can create a perfect inspiration for a carving project. Use a photograph or picture of a person performing a particularly impressive move or stance and carve her silhouette into the pumpkin. Even better than this, use a string of moves, also known as a form, or a kata, and carve them into the pumpkin in sequence.
  
  

Target

• For some particularly inspiring karate practice, try carving the face of the villain from your favorite martial arts film into the pumpkin. Anyone will do, from the Pei Mei from the Kill Bill films to the blond bully in Karate Kid. Carve the faces using a downloaded picture. Make several and hang them from a branch. Now do your most deadly karate techniques on each in turn and see them disintegrate beneath your mighty fists.