The Difference between Karate and Kung Fu
Clint Leung
For many people, especially those who are not familiar with
martial arts, the question often arises on what the difference
between karate and kung fu is. Upon watching somebody doing
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. It's 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 `soft' styles
while karate and tae kwon do are `hard' 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's 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.
Clint Leung is a lifelong martial artist with over 32 years of
training experience in kung fu, tae kwon do, karate, kickboxing
and martial arts weaponry. He has won Canadian and world
championship titles (NASKA, NBL and WSKF). He is also owner of
Free Spirit Activewear (
http://www.FreeSpiritActivewear.com ) , an
online retailer and designer of premium martial arts activewear.
Free Spirit Activewear has martial arts info articles.
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