Different Styles

[lordtariel]

I know there are many different styles of karate out there. My question is this, are there significant differences between styles? Would someone from one style be completely out of place if they went to train in a different style? I'm not looking for a my style can beat up your style argument, I just am curious of the differences. Thanks for any reply.

[KaRaTe_KiD456]

All that I know is that shotokan is mostly defense based.

[Sensei Mark]

Osu lordtariel,

Being that styles are generally technique specific, all things being equal, the differences are obvious in some styles when technically compared and suttle in others such as Kyokushin to Kung Fu or Shotokan to Muay Thai or TKD to Ju JItsu etc.

Apart from the Ju Jitsu / Judo / Wrestling, Gracie Style styles of groundwork, the others can no doubt have very similure associations.

Lets take traditional Karate for example, we have many different styles and most of them no doubt can be traced back to an original founder somewhere down the line.

When we see Kata from most traditional Okinawa / Japanes styles we see that the early Kata are basically the same, most start with basic low stances like Zenkutsu Dachi and basic lower blocks and straight punch's and as the level of grade increases we then pretty much start to see the flavours start to appear.

I have even seen many Pinan Kata done by others such as Shotokan or Gogu which are very similure to ours in Kyokushin but when the techniques are compared, they are same but different, with suttle changes which is what makes their style different to ours.

Now lets go to another Style; Lets say Muay Thai, Because this styles founding was based on actuale battlefield combat, it is easy to see why they have such realistic and effective fighting skills which in turn has been turned into a Martial Art and is now entertainment in a boxing ring format.

When you compare most traditional Karate styles (with the exception of Kyokushin Karate) you will see the point style techniques in their training which are basically the norm, but when you look at the Smashing Roundkicks and Knees of Muay Thai, is becomes very obvious indeed, that one is more powerfull and brutal than the other.

It can be argued that one person is able to switch betwen one style and the other, but what tends to happen is the student becomes the apprentiece of many and the master of none.

Now we are only talking about how one would "train" in another style and how this training related to their own improvements etc let alone actuale "Compete" against each other.

That would be a case of Horses for Courses, being what rules are the fighters competed under and what training under those rules can be achieved.

[lordtariel]

Thanks for the reply. More specifically though, I was refering to different styles within Karate. For Example shorin-ryu vs shotokan, vs kempo, vs goju ryu, ect.

[shotokanwarrior]

Basics are almost all the same.

[Brandon Fisher]

Depends on the system and what your background is. There will always be slight differences.

[Fairfax_Uechi]

Basics are almost all the same.

I have to respectfully disagree. To pick an art, Lets say, I compare Shotokan to Uechi. From my limited knowledge of Shotokan, it seems that they do many things differently than we do in Uechi. They appear to have many low stances while we're more upright, they appear more linear while we're more circular. Even a style closer to Uechi such as Gojo is very different. And this is just the basic body positioning and foot placement. Sure kicks and punches are similar and some blocks are the same, but if your footing and stance are different it really becomes a totally different art. In my case, I can tell you after all of my training it would be a real disaster for me to attempt to train in an art with low stances with feet spread far apart. First it's not natural for me, and second it's the opposite of what all of my training reinforced.

[Brandon Fisher]

Farifax-Uechi,

That is what I have heard about Uechi. Please correct me if I am wrong but doesn Uechi Ryu incorporate alot of Sanchin Dachi? Many of okinawan systems are higher stance and more circular espeically those that ultimately came from Naha-te. Its interesting how the Shuri-te and Naha-te systems and how they evolved to what is basically Shorin Ryu and Goju Ryu and the systems that were created from there. Thats what I love about martial arts theres always something different.

[knarfster]

If you look at old pictures of Funakoshi Sensei, he was more upright than Shotokan is today.

[Brandon Fisher]

If you look at old pictures of Funakoshi Sensei, he was more upright than Shotokan is today.

Very true very much of the Okinawan Karate he originally was taught.