Main differences between Chinese MAs and Karate?

[Bleeding Lion]

Im currently doing goju ryu (4 months) but i had the opportunity to go to a wushu (hard form) club. I saw some similarities between the two arts, but i was amazed by the speed of the techniques and the attack mentality. Actually it seemed like they were doing 95% attack and 1 or 2 parry moves here and there to counter attack. However I still liked it very much but I would like to know, what are the differences in general between chinese MAs and karate, style wise or training methods wise?

 

any input is greatly appreciated.

 

PS: when i decided to get into MAs i wanted to do wing chun or a similar MA but there was none in my area. I still like goju ryu anyhow.

[Ali]

Im currently doing goju ryu (4 months) but i had the opportunity to go to a wushu (hard form) club. I saw some similarities between the two arts, but i was amazed by the speed of the techniques and the attack mentality. Actually it seemed like they were doing 95% attack and 1 or 2 parry moves here and there to counter attack. However I still liked it very much but I would like to know, what are the differences in general between chinese MAs and karate, style wise or training methods wise?

 

any input is greatly appreciated.

 

PS: when i decided to get into MAs i wanted to do wing chun or a similar MA but there was none in my area. I still like goju ryu anyhow.

 

Please let me know what sort of style/school for Wushu

 

before comment.

 

Thanks!

[pineapple]

Generally speaking, Chinese arts use more circular moves, while karate uses more linear moves.

 

Many Chinese arts use the concept of circular moves based on the theory that circular moves are continuous, therefore creating quick combinations.

 

Karate uses the concept of the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, therefore making their strike faster.

[thebarkingdog]

I was lucky to study (in MI) with a master who studied in Japan and his master studied in China at a Shaolin temple, so we learned both. For me (being a small female) I found Karate to use more brute strength and force, being as the moves, as mentioned before, were more linear and straight foward. Where as with Kung Fu the circular moves emphasized more on getting out of the way of a strike or kick rather than hard blocks, saving my energy for strikes. I learned not to have to block much with side stepping and body rotation. Using that same body rotation to deliver stronger strikes and kicks. Kung Fu was much more effective for me.

[Shorin Ryuu]

A lot of these comments apply more to the differences between Chinese martial arts and the more Japanese styles of karate. Okinawan karate is much more similar to Chinese martial arts, employing all of the things mentioned as traits of Chinese martial arts in the above posts.

[Bleeding Lion]

thanks for the replies.

 

according to the master, his own master studied at shaolin. he only thing he told me is that he teaches "the hard form of wushu". i dont know any other precision.

 

By the way, not all forms of karate are the same and linear. goju ryu -and other okinawan styles- are much more circular. its just that the wushu class i saw relied a lot on quickness and attack, attack and attack.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Now, was he talking about "wushu" as it refers to the modern art? Or was he using the word "wushu" according to its traditional usage, which is what everyone (even many Chinese) calls "kung fu" nowadays?

 

Edit: Of course, I see now Drunken Monkey gave a similar reply already on a different topic. Oh well. That's what happens when you aren't here for a while.

[Emei89]

The most apparent difference i've noticed between gung fu and karate is that gung fu is based on a principle that bruce lee put as moving like bamboo. A tree branch that stays stiff breaks easier in the wind than bamboo which moves with it. Karate opposes force with force while gung fu teaches to move WITH the opponent. Yin cannot be without Yang. When the opponent expands you contract and vice versa. Karate was derived from the white crane style of gung fu, so it more a subsection then a seperate thing to compare. But thats mostly what i have to say.

[Shorin Ryuu]

Once gain, whether you can rightly call karate merely a subsection of White Crane style or not (there are enough differences to have me say "not"), your generalization holds true only for "hard" Japanese styles of karate (and not even all Japanese styles adhere to this either). Okinawan karate is not like what you say at all, Emei89.

[Emei89]

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Edited January 22, 2005 by Emei89