

The stances used are mostly natural and there are 23 Kata plus 8 ura Kata. Unlike in sparring matches of other Karate styles, Kyokushin students are NOT encouraged to pull their punches, and potentially permanently damaging blows are allowed. In the sporting arena, it is also a particularly brutal form of Karate, known as Japanese full-contact Karate or knockdown Karate. However, despite the influence of Goju-ryu, it is known as an extremely hard style. Kyokushin Karate is a mix of techniques from Shotokan and Goju-ryu. Other styles that have been established are basically mixes of these four styles or offshoots of one of them. However, though these are the most well-known, they are not the only types of Karate out there. So far, we’ve talked about the big four styles of Karate. Japanese martial arts are often differentiated into different ryuha. The word “ryuha” can also stand alone and means “school” or “school of thought”. In written Kanji, it is used mostly as a suffix like you see here after the style names. In Japanese, “Ryu” can mean style, school, system, type, form, etc. You may have noticed that all the styles have the Japanese word “Ryu” as part of the name. The style has 26 kata that students must learn. Uechi-Ryu is a traditional Okinawan style of karate developed by Kanbun Uechi in the early 1900’s, following Kanbun’s training for a number of years in China. Beginner stances tend to be deep and become longer as the student advances. Students are taught to focus on speed, form, balance, and breathing as they perform techniques. As a whole, the art is comprised of about 70% hard techniques and 30% soft movements. Shotokan techniques are very strong and linear (as opposed to circular, fluid movements such as what you’d see in Kung Fu). It was developed in Tokyo by Gichin Funakoshi, the Father of Modern Karate. Joyner, Kyoshi, 8th Degree Black Belt Shihan, Master Instructor.

PHILADELPHIA UECHI RYU KARATE DO ACADEMY MANUAL
Buy Yours Today Uechi-Ryu Karate-Do Guia del Estudiante y el Manual 3 Edición Donald B. Shotokan Karate is one of the most well-known types of Karate in the world. Uechi Ryu Karate-Do Student Guide and Handbook Donald B. Though there are as many as 75+ Karate styles out there, there are four main styles that are most widely known. Check out this post to learn more about the origins and history of Karate.įrom there, various types of Karate split off as new schools and prominent Karateka further explored certain aspects of the art. Karate comes from the island of Okinawa and was later refined in Japan. For example, Tae Kwon Do comes from Korea, Kung Fu comes from China, Muay Thai comes from Thailand, etc. However, the basic categories we have today come from distinct places.

Nearly all martial arts styles have had some influence on each other at some point in their histories. All Karate styles have their roots in Japan, Okinawa, or both. Most of it has to do with how the styles were developed. However, something such as Tae Kwon Do, which looks similar to Karate, is not considered Karate. What do we mean when we talk about different Karate styles (Karate types) as opposed to different styles of martial arts? Shotokan Karate and Wado-ryu are quite different from each other, but both are considered Karate.
