What is the difference between karate and kung fu?

The biggest difference between kung fu and karate

The martial arts Kung-Fu and Karate belong to the so-called "Martial Arts", as they say in English. Martial Arts actually only means the "Arts of Mars" or "Martian Arts". That sounds very manly. These sports are also traditionally designed for men. But girls and women can also learn it.

• The biggest difference between kung fu and karate is geographic. Kung fu is a sport and martial art that originated in China, and karate is a Japanese martial art.
• Karate was developed on the Okinawa Islands, which are now part of Japan. There the exercises were refined and expanded by Chinese influences from Shaolin Kung Fu. Only at the beginning of the 20th In the 19th century, karate came to Japan itself.
• There are so-called rules of respect in karate, some of which are strange. You may z. B. don't go behind the teacher, the sensei. A nice rule is: you must show respect to your opponent before and after the fight by bowing.
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• Respect is not required in Kung Fu, it is given automatically, since everyone gives their best - this includes behavior. The word kung fu does not refer to a martial art or sport in the Chinese language. Kung-Fu stands for any skill that you can acquire and master perfectly.


Karate and Wing Chun - the difference expertly explained

The physical application of Karate and Wing Chun is about creating a ...

• With the exercises of Kung Fu you train the flexibility as well as the muscles of your entire body and your mind. Kung-Fu was developed by a Tibetan monk in order to be able to endure the long hours of meditation.
• Karate means something like "empty hand" in Japanese. Karate is primarily a martial art, but it is mostly performed without weapons. In karate, you mainly train yours first poor and legs, because you practice hitting, blocking, kicking and pushing - with the aim of being able to defend yourself. Karate is not an attack technique.
• In karate, the exams for one dan, the respective next belt, are held in combat. In Kung Fu, the student performs the exam exercises alone in front of the teacher.

The commonalities of both martial arts

Despite all the differences, there are also some similarities between Kung-Fu and Karate.

• Karate originated after Kung-Fu and was influenced by the Chinese movements.
• The compound term kung fu has a philosophical meaning in the Chinese language. The words mark the endeavor of every person to perfect himself. With all endeavors, the inner constitution of the person becomes clear. This philosophy says that when you perfect your actions, you perfect yourself.
• Japanese karate has adopted a number of points from this philosophy. So it should not be trained as a fighting technique, but for body control. Before everyone training you will also have to meditate in good karate schools in order to internalize the peaceful character of the sport. Nevertheless, the fight is then tried out in every training session.
• In the western world today (2014), however, you will find many different styles of Kung-Fu that have relatively little in common with the original Shaolin Kung-Fu. Even Shaolin is sometimes trained differently in the western world than in China. Therefore, in some styles you will very well find the actually unusual "man against man" fight.

Which of these two sports is right for you is something you need to try. In kung fu you may feel a little strange at first because you are doing the exercises alone. But that is exactly what makes the difference. Kung Fu is about you, every muscle in your body and your mind. In karate, too, you have to practice the movement sequences on your own at first, but then you can try them out and train them with a partner.