Kempo Vs. Ryukyu Vs. Shotokan

[EpicMasterpiece]

Hey everyone, I'm completely unpracticed in martial arts but have always wanted to learn, I now am finally in a position where I can afford the time and the cost to do so, but now I'm faced with the ultimate dillema: What to learn.

From what I have found there are 2 primary styles of karate taugh in my area: Kempo and Ryukyu, and Shotokan a little out of my way. And I of course want to find the best fit for me, or atleast a good opinion on where to start.

Now my reasons for wanting to learn are for discipline, to form a stronger body, and of course to defend myself.

Now recently I was in a fight with a guy of equal size and shape and won by dodging a punch and cracking the guy in the side of the skull. What concerned me the most after the fight was the lack of any kind of form, it was very all over the place. I also ended up hurting my arm a little bit, possibly a hairline fracture, so I want to strengthen that Also I want to learn to control my power effectively, see when I hit the guy it knocked him out for about a minute, and the whole time I was freaking out that I had really hurt the guy.

Now of course I want a style thats powerful when needed but has alternative methods to end a fight.

[Shui Tora]

I do Shotokan, and so be warned that my views may be over towards Shotokan...

From that little annecdote that you told me, it shows that you have good agility on your feet... Shotokan, being a sports stlye karate, will help you with larning to control your balance when fighting... The traditional Shotokan (some Sensei's will teach both) will teach you to move your body out of the way of the attack, and then learn how to deal with a counter...

Shotokan will also teach you how to control your punches and kicks... There is a punch called "Tate Tsuke" which is a verticle fist punch, and with control learnt from Shotokan, you will be able to see that with a flick from your hips, you can be able to throw a punch with a quick flick to say like the collar bone, and possibly be able to give it a hair-line fracture...

lack of any kind of form, it was very all over the place. I also ended up hurting my arm a little bit, possibly a hairline fracture

Shoto will show you how to block and punch in the correct way so that you won't be able to hurt your arm; it will teach you how to move and give form to your attacks and moves...

Shotokan will also teach you how to apply Katas (forms) in a self-defence position... It does teach self-defence too... As well as pressure points (which are handy if you want to really hurt the attacker, or paralyse him for 5 mins)...

Like i said, I am a karate-ka of Shotokan, so my views are leaning over to Shotokan (can't balme me can you? )

However, Kempo and Ryukyu are also very good styles, there will be difference bewteen them and Shotokan, but if you are looking at Karate (and not Kung Fu for example) then any style within Karate will give you what you want to learn... It's just seeing which one you want is the hardest!

Hope that helps!

[Angel05GT]

from what i have seen, all 3 styles are great. the Instructor is the biggest factor. are they going to push you? or do they want your money and let you fly through? are you going to get what you want out of the class? my suggestion would be to see if you can watch a class at each dojo, maybe even participate. and see from there.

I would say Kempo, but that form is not for everyone. I just happen to have a lot of fun in that class, and my sensei works our butts off, i deffinatly feel i have earned my rank by the time hes done with us.... and the fact that a lot of people call it "the art of dirty fighting" tends to get a lot of people in my area in there. if your in a situation where you are in trouble, dont be afraid to do what you have to do.

and dont be afraid to ask questions to see what each forms have that you like. some forms do a lot more kicking, some a lot more grappling, some punching.

Good Luck!

[cathal]

I practice Shotokan as well, but stress that Shotokan is not a sport style. It will teach you balance etc as Shui Tora indicated, but it isn't exclusively sport-like.

That said, Ryukyu and Kempo, as far as I know are very similar. A lot of hand combinations and not as much focus on leg techniques. Some versions of Ryukyu can be based off a Chinese art, and some Japanese (from the same base as Kempo). In some situations Ryukyu and Kempo are interchangeable.

My suggestion is to check out each dojo, try it on, and decide for yourself after chatting with the instructor and maybe a student or two.

Some questions to ask:

- What are your fees? (ask about all)

- When are your tests? (i.e. every 6 months, etc)

- Do you require me to sign a contract? (a major sign of a McDojo is that you're required to sign a contract locking you into paying no matter what happens.)

[P.A.L]

get a free lesson in each class and go with the instructor you like his/her teaching, ask around and make sure main structor is gonna be there most of the times, a good public dojo is the one which has a good instructor all the time and a good core of high ranks students, in some dojos one day you have 10 students and another they it's you alone with the sensei, like me ,some times i go to the class and no body is there, we practice for 30 min. then we start chatting. I used to practice in sensei Darrell Craig's dojo , "Houston Budokan" he never ever missed a class although he had like 5 high ranks in every class.

[css1971]

Now recently I was in a fight with a guy of equal size and shape and won by dodging a punch and cracking the guy in the side of the skull. What concerned me the most after the fight was the lack of any kind of form, it was very all over the place.

The style doesn't matter. It's completely irrelevant. What is important is how good the instructor is. How much he really knows and understands about all the aspects of fighting. Choose the class which performs the analysis of kata on a daily basis, and then practices the techniques. This includes grappling and ground fighting.

And all real fights lack any kind of form. The stuff you see in the movies and in competition isn't real, it's fairytales.

[Azula]

I heard that Shotokan karate is more for the sports and competition. But i may be wrong. The style i do is mixed with Shotokan, Goju-Ryu, Aikido, and Judo.

[bushido_man96]

All three of those styles can be good styles to learn, and you could probably get what you want out of all three. What it comes down to is checking them out, and seeing which one you like better.

Go meet with the instructors, and find out things like school philosophies and focuses. If there are multiple instructors, you will want to meet with both the chief instructor and the one that would be teaching your class.

Each school may offer different types of classes during the week as well, which may have different focuses. Also, some may offer weapons training.

Go visit, and see what you like. Good luck to you, and welcome to the forums!

[Jiffy]

I only know Shotokan and Kempo, but as always, it firstly depends more on the school than the style.

Okay, now that is out of the way. The primary difference between the two is the range, speed and power. Shotokan maintains a further distance, is a little more linier and concentrates more on power. Kempo on the other hand works at a closer range, does not have the power of Shotokan, but looks at more techniques flowing into a short space of time.

Your choice really.

[BLueDevil]

I practice Kempo and Ryukyu kempo and it has brought alot of form to my punching as well as the Chin-na practiced in Ryukyu kempo could end a fight by alternative methods.