Karate was developed by villagers in response to not being allowed to have weapons. Thus, they made weapons out of what they had…hands, feet, and farm implements.
Kung Fu developed over many thousand years in china as a method by which to train poeple for war. Yes, there were many(most?) who learned it for defense of a village or temple. But essential martial arts in china were honed by centuries of teaching people to wage war.
That and Kung fu gives you lots and lots of sharp pointy things (somtimes in pairs) and teaches you how to poke people with them. yay!
Hmmm, there was STILL a few missed items (from a female point of view)!!!
I think you guys have pretty much covered it, but there are some you left out. From a female point of view:
Silk~ how many hard stylists can get away with wearing a purple pur silk uniform and NOT get points docked for it?? WE CAN WEAR IT BECAUSE IT’S A TRADITIONAL UNIFORM!! No matter what color.
We can throw fancy, high flying aereal kicks to impress the guys! And, the other styles CAN’T use the kicks in their forms (during competition) or they get points docked!! WOOO HOOO!!
THE FLEXIBILITY!! Now, how many other martial arts get you flexible enough to put your foot over your head and HOLD IT THERE?? (That will impress the guys too)
You aren’t shameful for sweating, because the workouts kick your a$$, and everyone else is sweating as well!!
NO SCREAMING~ come on now…that’s just not cool when you are a female!!
The weapons~ There’s nothing cooler (in my opinion) than the double hook swords, and females look good while using them too!! The Fan as well!! They just are more feminine weapons. What girl wants to throw around sais or tonfa’s??
And last but not least~ ALL THE ASIAN GUYS YOU CAN CHECK OUT IN CLASS!!! WOOOO HOOOOOO!! I guess that goes for every style, but they look REALLY REALLY good in Kung Fu Pants!!
If you look at beginners in either, they are both just as rigid in their motion.
If you look at very advanced Karateka and advanced Kung Fu Practitioners, they are both fluid.
If you look at masters of either, you will see that the Karate Master will move in a more linear fashion while the Kung fu practitioner will move in more circular fashion, but they will both have power and fluidity and terrific ability.
The focus of training is different that’s all.
I know Karateka that are very good and can whip many a kung Fu player, I also know Kung Fu players that can whip many a Karateka.
Point is, the person will develop within the framework.
The framework of Karate practice is as correct as the framework of Kung fu practice.
If it wasn’t, it is unlikely that either art would have survived to current day and still be practiced by so many people in the hopes of achieving the peaks of each.
Here are some of the many uses you will find for your kung fu training.
1 Now that you have studied tiger claw and have your fingers conditioned you will never need to ask someone else to open a jar again…
2 None of your friends are willing to mess with you becouse your constantly covered in cuts and bruises, so they realise you take punishment for fun.
3 Most women will automaticaly think your either nuts or never going to make a good living. On top of that they ask you to beat up there ex boyfriends:confused:
4 Most men will always think they can fight better anyway. Dispite having never trained let alone had an actual fight.
5 Due to your ability to stand in difficault positions for hours on end you never fall standing on trains.
6 Thanks to your new found moral high ground most of your friends will secretly think your a moron.
7 When you bump your toe on something hard you can now attack it with full force. For retribution…
8 You can really annoy peoples pets by constantly trying to overpower there large aggressive dog.
9 Your forearms get bigger than your bicepts. Making you look like you have bowling pins instead of forearms. Im sure this is very attractive to.
10 After six mouths you will know everything… Then after 5 years you will realise just how little that really was…
As for the whole Karate vs Kung Fu debate…
Ive seen kung fu that looks more like karate and karate that looks like kung fu:confused:
Maybe its just an easy way of saying…
Karate=Japanese style
Kung fu=Chinese style
Based on that its pretty darn hard to come to an accurate conclusion.
2 You get to wear a cool coloured belt, then pretend it makes a difference when out on the street.
3 You now have the right to partake in tournaments where loads of guys[sometimes girls to] get together and grunt loadly for hours on end and then perform various feats for the audience.
4 You have a yell that can cause serious injury to peoples earlobes, should the skill ever be required.
5 You get to line up like its the millitary, be ordered around and constantly told to do everything harder and faster. [sounds like one of my ex girls]
6 You are now the sworn enemy of all building supplies, every peice of timber and brick will avoid you like the you have the clap.
7 You wear cool outfits that are covered in patches and badges of one organisation or the other. IE your a mobile advert.
8 You can proberly get your blackbelt, in just a few more payments!
9 You get to dress up in silly coloured pads then jump up and down in a ring thowing punches at a chest target… plus claim this is real fighting
10 All real karate guys\girls have a whole cabinet filled with tropheys of there various achivements. You could have a trophey to!
Plust the final most important reason to take Karate…
Japanese girls are dead sexy!
Leonidas
I think you may have slightly missed the message in my last post:p I AM a kung fu guy, ive done karate, im staying where i am for good reason. Every art has a funny side, not everything has to be taken seriously. Especialy not a question like the one posed.
There is a Karate school somewhere in Sweden that train Kyoshinkai (spelling may be wrong) and Tai Chi!! Their style is much more fluid and lose than Karate alone. It seems like a hell of a combo. They have a good rep. about producing fighters aswell. Thats cool me thinks.
