Why did they call a Shotokan promo, Karate only?

[Prototype]

This is clearly a promo for Shotokan Karate, evident by some footage of Gishin Funakoshi and Nakayama.

Why was it not made clear that this is one of several Karate styles?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=471s&v=Pnaf665v9mU

I know Funakoshi refused to separate Karate into formal styles but they could have mentioned it anyway.

[sensei8]

"Karate" is a widely acceptable brand label for any style that might fit into that specific category. Sure, "Karate" styles are recognizable by their specifics methodologies and ideologies, but in this case, the "Karate" label serves the intended purposes.

[shortyafter]

I'm a foreign language teacher (and learner!) so I always like to make this comparison.

Shotokan and Kyokushin (for example) are both branches within the larger art that is Karate. Just like American English and British English are both varieties within the larger language that is English. Despite the fact that you will find drastic differences between them in pronunciation and vocabulary, and there may even be some confusion between native speakers about certain slang, both are without a doubt completely mutually intelligible. Just like this video, it's perfectly acceptable to say "I speak English". If you want, you can specify which variety you speak, but there's no intrinsic need. (And within those two sub-groups you have all kinds of fun accents, like Southern English, Boston accent, Cockney, RP, etc.!)

Now take the case of English and Spanish. The truth is you will find about 20-30% lexical (vocabulary) similarity between both languages. The grammar is even quite similar. The alphabet is obviously the same. That said, you clearly wouldn't say they are the same language. Just like you wouldn't say Kung Fu is Karate, even though they have many, many things in common. I remember watching a video of the Shaolin monks and thinking - "this reminds me of karate!" There's a reason for that.

Then you have fun cases like Portuguese and Spanish, for example, that are two different languages but quite similar. Maybe the Kung Fu / Karate metaphor would be more appropriate here? And English / Spanish could be something like Judo and Karate. Who knows. You can play around with it, but I think you get the point.

At what point does a variety of a style become it's own style? There's no definite answer, but, I think when you see it, you know.

[Prototype]

The difference between full contact Karate styles and Shotokan are in my opinion fundamental. You are conditioned to kick with the shin in Kyokushin. Not one punch one kill. Techniques, tactics, everything is different apart from some shared kata sequences.

[DWx]

I'm a foreign language teacher (and learner!) so I always like to make this comparison.

Shotokan and Kyokushin (for example) are both branches within the larger art that is Karate. Just like American English and British English are both varieties within the larger language that is English. Despite the fact that you will find drastic differences between them in pronunciation and vocabulary, and there may even be some confusion between native speakers about certain slang, both are without a doubt completely mutually intelligible. Just like this video, it's perfectly acceptable to say "I speak English". If you want, you can specify which variety you speak, but there's no intrinsic need. (And within those two sub-groups you have all kinds of fun accents, like Southern English, Boston accent, Cockney, RP, etc.!)

Now take the case of English and Spanish. The truth is you will find about 20-30% lexical (vocabulary) similarity between both languages. The grammar is even quite similar. The alphabet is obviously the same. That said, you clearly wouldn't say they are the same language. Just like you wouldn't say Kung Fu is Karate, even though they have many, many things in common. I remember watching a video of the Shaolin monks and thinking - "this reminds me of karate!" There's a reason for that.

Then you have fun cases like Portuguese and Spanish, for example, that are two different languages but quite similar. Maybe the Kung Fu / Karate metaphor would be more appropriate here? And English / Spanish could be something like Judo and Karate. Who knows. You can play around with it, but I think you get the point.

At what point does a variety of a style become it's own style? There's no definite answer, but, I think when you see it, you know.

That's quite a good analogy, will have to borrow that one

Does it matter that the video doesn't state it is Shotokan rather than Karate? I'm guessing most of the audience for the video wouldn't care too much.

[GojuRyu Bahrain]

This is clearly a promo for Shotokan Karate, evident by some footage of Gishin Funakoshi and Nakayama.

Why was it not made clear that this is one of several Karate styles?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=471s&v=Pnaf665v9mU

I know Funakoshi refused to separate Karate into formal styles but they could have mentioned it anyway.

at the beginning of part 2 of the video a text shows that the Japan Karate Association (JKA) produced the video(s). As far as I know the JKA is exclusively representative for Shotokan Karate, and they are not known to be modest.... So its no surprise that the video doesn't distinguish the nuances between Karate and Shotokan...

As to Shortyafters comment; there are a number of styles with very different Katas, mechanisms for power generation, training methods, principle strategies etc.. Tthese differences are so fundamental that the comparison to dialects of the same language is really stretched to the breaking point, in my opinion..

[shortyafter]

Bahrain, I won't claim to be on expert in any style, I've only been training karate/martial arts in general for 4 years. I must say though, what I learned in my first dojo (Kyokushin) gave me a great idea of what to expect in my second one (Shotokan), even though there were obviously some adaptations I had to make. If I had walked into my second dojo without ever having trained Kyokushin, I would have been much more lost and really wouldn't have an idea of what to expect beyond what I had seen in films/media.

I also did a 9-month stint of Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, after having already trained a bit in Kyokushin, and it was different enough that I was really missing my "karate". I couldn't find a Kyokushin Dojo in my new hometown, so I went to Shotokan, and my craving for my karate roots was more than satisfied there.

As you really dig into the styles I could see there being much greater differences, of course. But like I said, it's just an analogy - feel free to play around with it. If dialects of the same language is incorrect, you could think of it as Spanish vs. Portuguese. Both different languages, although also quite mutually intelligible. So both would fall under the broader category of "Romance Languages" or "Iberian Romance Languages". Draw the lines wherever you please...

[Shizentai]

This is clearly a promo for Shotokan Karate, evident by some footage of Gishin Funakoshi and Nakayama.

Why was it not made clear that this is one of several Karate styles?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=471s&v=Pnaf665v9mU

I know Funakoshi refused to separate Karate into formal styles but they could have mentioned it anyway.

As others have said, the first few seconds of the clip actually says "Nippon Karate Association," or "JKA," which was the largest shotokan organization then, and is now still among the largest inside and outside of Japan. So actually, it does stipulate. Funakoshi was opposed to the use of the term "shotokan" as he believed in keeping the styles of karate more connected and easy to train across, the way it was when he was a young man training in Okinawa. "Shotokan" was therefore used much more after his passing in 1957.

The difference between full contact Karate styles and Shotokan are in my opinion fundamental. You are conditioned to kick with the shin in Kyokushin. Not one punch one kill. Techniques, tactics, everything is different apart from some shared kata sequences.

This video, if I'm not mistaken was among those made in the mid 1950s by the Japan Karate Association. This video was, I believe targeted at a broader international audience, as the JKA under Nakayama was in the process of planning for an international expansion project (the International Shotokan Karate Federation, ISKF). Kyokushin was founded by Oyama in 1964. Therefore, it's unlikely any videos from this time period reference Kyukushin just yet.

As far as I know the JKA is exclusively representative for Shotokan Karate, and they are not known to be modest.... So its no surprise that the video doesn't distinguish the nuances between Karate and Shotokan...

I mean, what about this video is immodest? It's basically just saying "Men and women both practice karate. Sparing and basics and forms exist." It's not shamelessly promoting shotokan over other ryu. It was just made by the JKA... so why would they show anything other than JKA karate, which is shotokan? It seems to me that the targeted audience of this video are 1950s Americans who didn't know a judo chop from kung-fu grip. First things first: "Karate = from Okinawa" "There are kicks and punches and blocks"

[Prototype]

This is clearly a promo for Shotokan Karate, evident by some footage of Gishin Funakoshi and Nakayama.

Why was it not made clear that this is one of several Karate styles?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?t=471s&v=Pnaf665v9mU

I know Funakoshi refused to separate Karate into formal styles but they could have mentioned it anyway.

As others have said, the first few seconds of the clip actually says "Nippon Karate Association," or "JKA," which was the largest shotokan organization then, and is now still among the largest inside and outside of Japan. So actually, it does stipulate. Funakoshi was opposed to the use of the term "shotokan" as he believed in keeping the styles of karate more connected and easy to train across, the way it was when he was a young man training in Okinawa. "Shotokan" was therefore used much more after his passing in 1957.

The difference between full contact Karate styles and Shotokan are in my opinion fundamental. You are conditioned to kick with the shin in Kyokushin. Not one punch one kill. Techniques, tactics, everything is different apart from some shared kata sequences.

This video, if I'm not mistaken was among those made in the mid 1950s by the Japan Karate Association. This video was, I believe targeted at a broader international audience, as the JKA under Nakayama was in the process of planning for an international expansion project (the International Shotokan Karate Federation, ISKF). Kyokushin was founded by Oyama in 1964. Therefore, it's unlikely any videos from this time period reference Kyukushin just yet.

As far as I know the JKA is exclusively representative for Shotokan Karate, and they are not known to be modest.... So its no surprise that the video doesn't distinguish the nuances between Karate and Shotokan...

I mean, what about this video is immodest? It's basically just saying "Men and women both practice karate. Sparing and basics and forms exist." It's not shamelessly promoting shotokan over other ryu. It was just made by the JKA... so why would they show anything other than JKA karate, which is shotokan? It seems to me that the targeted audience of this video are 1950s Americans who didn't know a judo chop from kung-fu grip. First things first: "Karate = from Okinawa" "There are kicks and punches and blocks"

JKA is not a style of Karate even though it's exclusively a Shotokan organization. An inference a layman would not be able to make. As for the other Karate styles during that time, Wado Ryu was prevalent and bares little resemblence to Shotokan.

Any Taekwondo style is closer to Shotokan than Wado Ryu is to Shotokan

[Shizentai]

JKA is not a style of Karate even though it's exclusively a Shotokan organization. An inference a layman would not be able to make. As for the other Karate styles during that time, Wado Ryu was prevalent and bares little resemblence to Shotokan.

Any Taekwondo style is closer to Shotokan than Wado Ryu is to Shotokan

Yes, but there is nothing to infer unless you ARE savvy. It's like pointing at a hawk and saying "that's a bird." It's not wrong. It's a hawk, and it's a bird. Both are correct, and there is no obligation to stipulate that it is a hawk if you're talking to someone who doesn't know the word "bird" yet.

A "layman" now and what a "layman" was 65 years ago are very different. While the video is very technical, the voiceover was clearly aimed at an American audience that was not very savvy. Americans had to be told why they should care about karate in the first place, before they could be expected to listen up long enough to learn about the different ryu and organizations. This was the former, not the later.

Despite your obvious disliking of shotokan (not sure why), it is karate. Similarly, if someone was doing wadoryu and called it karate in a documentary, they would also be correct for doing so. Are you're suggesting that shotokan should not be called "karate"?