The two most common martial arts practiced in North America are karate and taekwondo. Many wonder what the differences are between these two martial arts. This is especially the case for those who are just starting to look around for a martial arts studio. After all, most practitioners in both karate and taekwondo seem to wear the same type of white gi or dobok uniforms with various colored belts.
Modern traditional karate was developed in the islands of Okinawa in Japan after some influences from Chinese martial arts. There are actually different styles of karate but they are all commonly considered as Japanese martial arts today. The colored belt system was developed to show the various ranks of karate practitioners with white depicting novices and black belts (with various degrees) representing instructor levels and higher. There is a whole range of other different colors in between. Modern taekwondo was developed in Korea after much influence from Japanese karate during the occupation by Japan. Indeed, taekwondo is sometimes referred to as Korean karate. The Koreans adopted similar white uniforms along with a colored belt ranking system for taekwondo. Today, there are two main styles of taekwondo, one under the International Taekwondo Federation and the other under the World Taekwondo Federation. Many taekwondo schools have added a black collar to their white uniforms for black belt levels. A V-neck top is often seen in schools affiliated with the World Taekwondo Federation. There are also older Korean styles including tang soo do and moo duk kwan. Some of the more Americanized karate and taekwondo schools can also use uniforms with other colors such as red, black and blue in addition to the traditional white.
It can be generalized that in karate, one would use their arms or hands for 60% of the time for strikes or blocks while the use of legs for kicking will be about 40%. This breakdown is seen in the many forms or katas of karate which are set routines which simulate fighting against imaginary opponents using martial arts techniques. The forms or poomsae from taekwondo would have the opposite percentage breakdown with 40% hands and 60% legs. In taekwondo, there is also more emphasis on higher kicks to the head level than in karate. Taekwondo martial artists also utilize more jumping or flying kicks where one is airborne while executing kicking techniques. The taekwondo forms or patterns are generally a bit shorter and less complex than the karate forms. Some taekwondo schools have been known to use the odd karate form in its curriculum as well.
In North America as well as other parts of the world, there are separate traditional competitions for karate and taekwondo. However, the open martial arts tournaments in North America often have competitors from both karate and taekwondo competing together. Some of the larger open martial arts competition events will have separate forms divisions for Japanese karate and Korean taekwondo competitors but the fighting or sparring divisions will usually be combined. Many black belts in taekwondo end up studying karate as well and the opposite has been true too. Taekwondo has received more publicity in recent years since its introduction as an Olympic sport. The style and rules used for the Olympic version of taekwondo fighting comes from the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). Both karate and taekwondo are considered as hard style martial arts in North America today (as opposed to soft styles such as the many versions of Chinese kung fu).
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
The Difference Between Karate and Taekwondo
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
The Difference Between Karate and Kung Fu
For many people, especially those who are not familiar with martial arts, the question often arises on what is the difference between karate and kung fu. While watching someone practicing martial arts, the untrained eye will find it hard to tell whether that person is doing karate or kung fu. Even those who are beginning martial arts may sometimes be confused about the different styles until further exposure to them will reveal just how different they really are.
Historically, the people living in the islands of Okinawa just south of Japan got exposed to Chinese kung fu martial arts due to the close proximity to China. Over time, the Okinawans and Japanese developed their own styles of martial arts now known as karate from the original influence of Chinese kung fu. Although both karate and kung fu utilize many similar martial arts techniques, most kung fu styles will usually have more variety of techniques compared to karate systems. Itís almost like the Japanese streamlined the number of techniques from Chinese systems to develop karate. The Japanese also modified the way techniques are executed in karate as they became more linear compared to kung fu. This is especially evident in the forms or katas (traditional sequence of set moves) where karate techniques are performed with crisp movements that have distinct stop and go motions.
In kung fu forms, movements involve the use of more circular techniques, particularly with the hands. These circular motions give kung fu forms a more visually graceful look as techniques seem to flow from one to another. There is less stop and go with most kung fu styles. This is why some martial artists, especially in North America, often refer to Chinese kung fu as ësoftí styles while karate and tae kwon do are ëhardí styles. This is not to say that hard styles such as karate or tae kwon do are more powerful martial arts than kung fu and other soft styles. The term soft is a bit misleading because the power from circular kung fu moves is often hidden. Circular moves can generate just as much power as linear ones found in hard styles. Most kung fu forms are also usually more complex and longer in duration than most karate forms. To most martial artists, a kung fu form will look much more exotic while a karate form will look more straight forward in terms of martial arts techniques. Interestingly enough, there are karate styles such as goju which do have quite a lot of circular techniques similar to kung fu. Kempo styles are considered a hybrid of Chinese kung fu and Okinawan karate techniques with both circular as well as linear techniques. There are also many more different styles of kung fu compared to karate.
Martial arts weaponry is found in both kung fu and karate styles but different sets of weapons are utilized in each martial arts system. Much like the empty hand forms, the kata with karate weapons are also more linear compared to those with kung fu weapons which have more circular movements. As expected, there is a lot more variety of different Chinese kung fu weapons than found in the Japanese karate styles.
Traditionally, practitioners of karate wear a white uniform called a gi which features the overlapping kimono-like top. Less traditional schools like those in North America will allow colored uniforms. A colored belt will be the finishing touch to the gi with of course the black belt for those at instructor level ranking. Most of the time and especially inside a dojo studio, karate stylists will not wear any shoes while training. Most kung fu stylists will wear a very different looking uniform. Kung fu uniforms usually consist of tops with Chinese frog-style buttons rather than overlapping fronts like the karate gi top. The uniforms can be black or a variety of colors with often lighter fabrics such as satin and shoes are commonly worn. The modern acrobatic Chinese martial arts of wushu can feature satin uniforms with many different bright colors. Many kung fu schools simply utilize t-shirts and baggy pants as uniforms. Satin colored sashes are often worn to signify rank of students but this is actually more of a North American style as most kung fu schools in Asia do not show rankings in uniforms.
Overall, there is more variety of techniques, styles, weapons and uniforms found in the Chinese kung fu systems compared to karate. However, that is not to say that one system or style of martial art is superior to another. They are just different and to the observer, it could come down to personal preference. Some prefer kung fu and some prefer karate. Some ambitious martial artists who desire a full well rounded education practice both kung fu and karate.
