Favorite style of karate?

[Nidan Melbourne]

As is the title what is your favorite style of karate? and why is it?

[Hawkmoon]

Kyokushin.

It was the fist 'fighting' art that I trained in and has always been the art I return to.

No matter who or what ryu I visit or has visited the dojo, its Kyokushin always has been!

For me when I'm in the dojo its ..natural..its normal...its the way it should be!

Its like coming home after a hard day or something..... to then do more work and the rush I feel as I train a euphoric feeling (an endorphin induced feeling I'm sure) then at the end meditating thinking back over what was achieved in the session.

[Harkon72]

Shito Ryu, it has strong elements of Nahate and Shurite and has moved with the times.

[Wastelander]

Well, I suspect pretty much everyone will be picking the art they currently practice . Of the karate styles I have personally experienced, I like Shorin-Ryu the best, which makes sense since it is my primary area of study. The focus on speed and technique over strength, and the practical approach to self defense through kata application and cross-training have really had a huge impact on me.

Outside of that, though, I find Uechi-Ryu and old, semi-obscure family systems to be quite interesting.

[GaryMo]

Shotokan is the only style I've experienced so that's where my vote went!

[GojuRyu Bahrain]

Having studied Goju Ryu, Shotokan and Uechi Ryu (and graded in each), as well as trained with Wado Ryu and Goju Kai (its not really different from Goju Ryu???), I find Goju Ryu most appealing to me (personally). ITS THE BEST!

[Nabil Kazama]

Shotokan. It's the style I've trained the most in out of Wado Ryu, Goju Ryu and Kyokushin.

[sensei8]

Shindokan Saitou-ryu!!

Imho, Shindokan has everything that I could ask for and then some. It has an indepth grappling system that's not seen in many other main stream Karate styles. It's brand of Tuite, imho, is complete in its totality; it's a get in your face and rub your face in the ground until your face is removed type of Tuite. It's close range techniques are simple, yet they are exciting across the board. This is just a small note of why Shindokan is my favorite karate style.

Is Shindokan complete? NO!! No style of the MA is complete! If a style says that it is, well, imho, they're not being honest with themselves and they're not being honest with the MA world. Soon as I meet that complete style of the MA, well, I'll quit Shindokan faster than a speeding bullet.

[Nidan Melbourne]

I still stick by good old goju ryu

[danbong]

Well, I suspect pretty much everyone will be picking the art they currently practice .

That.

For me, I like how the front stance and footwork of shototkan has allowed me to bridge the gap with hand techniques instead of kicks. Specifically the deep front stance (notice that I didn't say long) and the explosion forward when punching. For me this is useful for two reasons:

1. I have spent significant time in Korean arts where everybody else concentrates on kicks, so they aren't used to attacks that start with hand techniques. This is doubly true when they don't realize I can reach them with my hands from what they think is kicking range.

2. As you get older, your kicks get lower and slower, while your hand skills decay at a much slower rate.