Which style is softest?

[Brandon Fisher]

I agree Shorin Ryu is not a soft style it is very hard but has its soft points.

[kc0bus]

Thanks for all the input. So far it looks like most of what I'm reading is tending to point toward Wado Ryu as being the most soft of all.

[Samuel]

# Wado-Ryu Karate is a combination of Shotokan karate, Jujutsu, grappling and Tai Sabaki.

# Wado-ryu karate does not practice many of the body toughening exercises common to other styles of karate, preferring rather to use Tai Sabaki to evade attack

I wouldnt call it very soft, just softer.

[Samuel]

Wado rejects hardening certain parts of the body, such as callusing the knuckles of the hand, and ineffective techniques. It uses different kinds of body shifting techniques, a more upright stance for mobility, fast movements, and reliance on evasion and counter techniques. Wado emphasizes technique as opposed to strength and its traditional Okinawan karate maneuvers give it softness, and it uses throws and joint locks. The aim of Wado is perfection of technique while being able to react intuitively to any situation.

Attacking is also considered defense, since offense and defense are part of the same movement. A blocking movement is often transformed into an attacking movement in one continuous motion. When one kind of attack is blocked, the attack instantly shifts to another type of attack aimed at a different target. Wado uses side-stepping to avoid attacks and simultaneous blocking and countering.

Theres some more reading about Wado-Ryu also.

[Traditional-Fist]

I'm new to Karate and haven't started yet but was thinking about it. I've done some research on the internet about the hardess/softness of the four main styles of Karate. Here's what I've found out so far:

Shotokan is hard and external

Wado-Ryu is soft and internal

Shorin-Ryu is soft and internal

Chito-Ryu is ???

I can't seem to find out how hard or soft Chito-Ryu is. Regardless, my question is this: Of the four styles, which one is the softest of all?

Many thanks,

I believe that all the karate styles you have mentioned are on the hard side of the scale. If you are looking for a soft style of karate then look into Shotokai. Shotokai is the style taught by the people who follow the Shigeru Egami lineage of karate that is directly decended from Gichin Funakoshi (he was one of Funakoshi's disciples).

Shotokai practice is very soft and uses many concepts that share more similarity with kung fu than with the typical karate training methods that most dojos practice. The aim of their training is to develop flow and cultivate Ki (internal energy). The power they aim to create comes from softness and not hardness.

Shotokai is not as wide spread as Shotokan and therefore it is not going to be easy to find a dojo. However, check out the following site which is a great Shotokai site, with loads of information, history etc., and has plenty of international links. https://www.shotokai.com

Edited June 21, 2006 by Traditional-Fist

[Brandon Fisher]

Why are you looking for a soft style of karate?

[patusai]

Oh, and whilst you're out and about looking around for a dojo, try your best to avoid any McDojos.

Maybe I can order a large order of fries there to go...after class