I always loved karate for its almost militaristic discipline when it came to training, and the way in which practitioners interacted with each other.
Kung Fu on the other hand; I’ve always enjoyed the Shaw Brother hero, not too serious, kung fu jacket unbuttoned, squatting confidently somewhere antagonizing people with truths they don’t want to hear.
I don’t know why I voice this.
Grandmaster Lum-Jo,
“Karate’s highest level technique is where Kung-Fu begins.”
Grandmaster Chang Tung-Shen-
“Karate is rudimentary Shaolin, Suitable only for children.”
(forgot who said this one, but I am fond of repeating it)
“Comparing Karate to Kung-Fu is like comparing paint by the numbers to fine art.”
I like to go into Karate dojos just to hear them yell “OOS, SENSEI!!!” I always enjoyed that for some reason.
I get a kick out of how people seem to have a need to place what they do as ‘higher level’ or ‘more advanced’ than what other people do.
Just an FYI for the entire forum here, especially those “liberals” 
China was doing the cultural arrogance, abuse of power, insensitive to minorities and ignorance of the outside world thing THOUSANDS OF YEARS before the US did…
And many people have it perfected to an art over there even today.
So what does that have to do with the price of tea?
[QUOTE=SimonM;885691]And many people have it perfected to an art over there even today.
So what does that have to do with the price of tea?[/QUOTE]
I was refering to Lum Jo and Chang Dung Sheng’s quotes
I cold really derail this thread if I suggested a little bit of jealousness might have influenced these quotes
[QUOTE=Ray Pina;885668]I always loved karate for its almost militaristic discipline when it came to training, and the way in which practitioners interacted with each other.
Kung Fu on the other hand; I’ve always enjoyed the Shaw Brother hero, not too serious, kung fu jacket unbuttoned, squatting confidently somewhere antagonizing people with truths they don’t want to hear. [/QUOTE]
Two sides of the same coin…and very broad sweeping over generalizations (one based on fictional accounts). I think they tend to be more of a reflection of the cultures in which they flourished. You can certainly find ‘militaristic’ kung fu and tons of undisciplined karate. I found Shotokan karate to be very stiff, structured, and somewhat unconfortable…always thought it was odd that kumite didn’t allow for stirkes to the head. My experience with Kempo Karate was quite different, much less rigid, very adaptable and fluid. Was one better or more effective than the other? Certainly not.
Karate’s original meaning: “China martial art method”
Kempo = “chuanfa” in Chinese = fist way
Shorinji = Shaolin Ssi = Shaolin Temple
ive seen karate guys put the beat down on kungfu guys and vise versa.
i thought we all knew by this point that its whole dependant on the individual and not the art…
some people still need to figure this out i guess.
One of the saddest videos for CMAists online is the Karate vs. Drunken Style video.
It is very informative for explaining to people why drunken style is stupid, stupid, stupid and doesn’t work though so I feel it serves at least that good purpose.
ive never trained in karate.
my first kungfu teacher said i fought like a karate guy though. must be my body type or the way i move as it certainly has nothing to do with karate itself.
[QUOTE=SimonM;885720]One of the saddest videos for CMAists online is the Karate vs. Drunken Style video.
It is very informative for explaining to people why drunken style is stupid, stupid, stupid and doesn’t work though so I feel it serves at least that good purpose.[/QUOTE]
haha, yes i remember that video now. those drunken guys got kicked in the head alot, to the point i dont think they were stumbling on purpose anymore.
Possibly true.
i do remember ONE of the drunken guys was kinda ok though. didnt impress me as a great fighter, but he seemed comfortable using his art.
the other drunken guys seemed hesitant and unsure
Having done both I can say that in many ways certain systems of Karate are far better suited for fighting than certain systems of kung fu, that said, advanced karate tends to look like “kung fu” more than it does when you first start out.
By look I mean, it characteristically becomes more fluid, gets more “complete”, you use more “specialty fists” and you do more “internal” work.
dunno about all the systems of karate out there, but nobody and i do mean nobody can look down their nose at kyokushin.(unless of course your name is ashida kim)
i’d put my money on a kyokushin fighter 9 tiems out of ten against most fighters training in systems of chinese martial arts.
[QUOTE=golden arhat;885837]dunno about all the systems of karate out there, but nobody and i do mean nobody can look down their nose at kyokushin.(unless of course your name is ashida kim)
i’d put my money on a kyokushin fighter 9 tiems out of ten against most fighters training in systems of chinese martial arts.[/QUOTE]
I 2nd that
I’ve trained both. They both have merit.
Disparaging one over the other is folly.
my 2 cents
I have also trained in both. I believe it all depends on the teacher. Wado Ryu is very popular here in Tennessee, but the level of instruction has gone downhill tremendously due to the art becoming too commercial. Yet, it is all hit or miss depending on the teacher whether it is MMA, karate, kung fu, or TKD.