# Karate Do



## Manny (Aug 19, 2014)

Well let's talk about karate do, the martial art of the empty hand. Here in my town the more available karate dojos are Shotokan, some guy told me about a Goju dojo but I don't know wehere to locate it and somebody told me about another ryu and the husband of the sabonim that takes care of the a tkd dojan said to me he is a 1st dan black belt in Shito Ryu and he runs a dojo.

Well I want to know the diferences and similarities  beetwen  shotokan (the most accesible karate in my city) and taekwon do.

Some people said to me both are alike with minor diferences, other told me shotokan is a good workout like tkd but nothing else, some others tell me there is nothing afther shotokan (the best of the best) some other told me karate do shotokan is sport oriented, etc,etc.

I would like the point of view of karatekas with exposure to ykd or tkd with exporsure to karate.

Manny


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## Hanzou (Aug 19, 2014)

Manny said:


> Well let's talk about karate do, the martial art of the empty hand. Here in my town the more available karate dojos are Shotokan, some guy told me about a Goju dojo but I don't know wehere to locate it and somebody told me about another ryu and the husband of the sabonim that takes care of the a tkd dojan said to me he is a 1st dan black belt in Shito Ryu and he runs a dojo.
> 
> Well I want to know the diferences and similarities  beetwen  shotokan (the most accesible karate in my city) and taekwon do.
> 
> ...



A lot of it comes down to the school itself. My TKD school was very sport oriented, while my Shotokan school attempted to be very traditional. In the end, I found both to be very similar to each other in terms of drills, and basic hand and foot movements. There were some minor differences in the form/kata work, and TKD does tend to favor kicking over punching. Both give you a good workout, and develop your coordination and balance.


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## harlan (Aug 20, 2014)

You decide.


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## Grenadier (Aug 21, 2014)

I've studied both Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan Karate, so I may be able to offer some insight here.  

Much of how similar or different Tae Kwon Do may be from Shotokan depends on the specific system of Tae Kwon Do, along with the instructor's emphasis.  

Some Tae Kwon Do schools put a strong emphasis on competition, yet even then, the rules of competition can greatly vary from one organization to another.  For example, some Tae Kwon Do tournaments will not allow you to attack the back of a fighter, or may penalize you for trying to sweep, etc.  Some tournaments will be quite similar to the rules used by the World Karate Do Federation (currently the governing board for most).  

Some Tae Kwon Do schools will put a heavier emphasis on kicking, while some will be more balanced.  


From the Shotokan aspect, it's a hard, striking style of Karate, and places a premium emphasis on using the lower body to power the upper body techniques (just as any decent martial arts system would).  "Softer" techniques are generally taught at higher levels.  

The cirriculum for Shotokan Karate depends on the organization, but for the most part, it should be fairly consistent from one school to the next.  Most schools will tend to follow the JKA methodology in some form or another, even if they aren't affiliated with the JKA.  As a result, there should be a very strong emphasis on perfecting one's basic technique, especially in the legs and hips, and not so much on advanced kata prior to the black belt level.  

The Heian kata series is a more modern invention, that was designed to simplify the learning process.  Each particular Heian kata was derived from a handful of more advanced kata, and each Heian kata has its own focus.  This way, a beginner or novice isn't going to be overwhelmed, and can focus on developing strong fundamental technique.  

Once you hit the brown belt levels, that's where you start learning the more advanced kata.  


Kumite will be a similar thing, where there will be a strong emphasis on ippon kumite at the lower levels, so that students can develop a better sense of distancing, power, speed, etc., and executed in a controlled, non-threatening manner.  By developing these fundamental techniques at the lower levels, by the time they enter the world of free sparring (jiyu kumite), they're actually quite well-prepared to handle it (didn't develop flinching reactions, not sparring in a scared manner, etc).


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## Manny (Aug 27, 2014)

Grenadier said:


> I've studied both Tae Kwon Do and Shotokan Karate, so I may be able to offer some insight here.
> 
> Much of how similar or different Tae Kwon Do may be from Shotokan depends on the specific system of Tae Kwon Do, along with the instructor's emphasis.
> 
> ...



Last night I visited to my friend Gerome he his a 4th dan black belt in Karate do Shotokan, he listened to me and gladly acepted me in his black belt class, I told him I need a break from TKD and do something else because in the dojang I go I haven't found what I am looking for.

I want tio visit my firne Omar he is a 4th dan black belt in kenpo karate let's se how it works.

Manny


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## Manny (Jan 23, 2015)

Well the day finally came, today I am going to visit the shotokan dojo, I will enter as an invitation and can use my dobok and tkd black belt, I am a little exited and and a little worried too, I think it's normal but will try to enjoy the class more than sumerge in deep waters inside Shotokan.

I need a rest of tkd and need some fun too, so let's take out the stress and enjoy the class, any advice?

Manny


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## tshadowchaser (Jan 23, 2015)

my advice  wear a white belt until they say you can wear the black, if you are joining the school.  If you are only a "guest" then your personal rank belt is fine. Never say "well we do it this way" unless you are specifically asked about a technique.
Best of luck I hope this works out for you


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## drop bear (Jan 23, 2015)

Manny said:


> Well the day finally came, today I am going to visit the shotokan dojo, I will enter as an invitation and can use my dobok and tkd black belt, I am a little exited and and a little worried too, I think it's normal but will try to enjoy the class more than sumerge in deep waters inside Shotokan.
> 
> I need a rest of tkd and need some fun too, so let's take out the stress and enjoy the class, any advice?
> 
> Manny



be present in the moment and do all the style.

So if the karate is different to the tkd just do the karate. More importantly you will be able to perform tkd better than karate and so will think the tkd is more effective or more natural. Resist the urge to tkd yourself out of problems you are supposed to be karateing.

And you can be natural and fluid at two different styles at the same time. You just have to train those styles honestly. 

Finally be prepared to suck and be frustrated by that. Embrace it. You are learning something new.


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## RTKDCMB (Jan 24, 2015)

One of our classes has a Shotokan class straight after it and sometimes I will catch the start of their class as I am leaving.. I can certainly see the similarities in some of the techniques and kata but the fundamental difference that I can discern from what I have seen is that we tend to have more emphasis on twisting the hips in our techniques than they do.


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## Manny (Jan 30, 2015)

tshadowchaser said:


> my advice  wear a white belt until they say you can wear the black, if you are joining the school.  If you are only a "guest" then your personal rank belt is fine. Never say "well we do it this way" unless you are specifically asked about a technique.
> Best of luck I hope this works out for you



Hi, infact I was a guest so I could use my dobok and black belt, and offcourse I adhere to the etiquette,protocol and all.

Manny


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## Grenadier (Feb 3, 2015)

If you're a guest, then wearing your old belt is fine, if the school allows it.  As a guest, they would see you as someone who wants to get a taste of what they do, while also possibly learning things from you as well.  

If you're there as a regularly enrolled student, then it's entirely up to the sensei to make the decision.  There are several possibilities here.  

If you came from a significantly different system, then you would most likely start as a white belt, but would probably progress significantly faster through the ranks.  After all, you're there to learn Shotokan Karate as a "pure" student.  

If you came from a somewhat similar system, then they may do the same as the above, or might make other arrangements, such as letting you wear your old brown belt until you test for Shodan with them.  Results will vary from dojo to dojo.  


Regardless of what happens, congrats on getting your first taste of Shotokan Karate.  You'll probably find that your lower body's muscles will be sore in areas you might not have felt in a long time.


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## PhotonGuy (Feb 3, 2015)

Manny said:


> Well let's talk about karate do, the martial art of the empty hand. Here in my town the more available karate dojos are Shotokan, some guy told me about a Goju dojo but I don't know wehere to locate it and somebody told me about another ryu and the husband of the sabonim that takes care of the a tkd dojan said to me he is a 1st dan black belt in Shito Ryu and he runs a dojo.
> 
> Well I want to know the diferences and similarities  beetwen  shotokan (the most accesible karate in my city) and taekwon do.
> 
> ...



Aside from the one day class I took when I was visiting Hawaii I haven't trained in Shotokan but my primary training style is quite similar to Shotokan. I've also done some TKD here and there, I've gotten a gold belt at this one place in TKD (level three) and I've got friends whose main style is TKD. 

Anyway, from what I can tell you the differences are this. TKD generally places more of an emphasis on kicking and on jumping techniques. I once knew this guy who took some TKD classes and about 95% of the class was all kicking with very little emphasis on hand techniques although I've never had a TKD class like that. I would say in your typical TKD class you can expect about 70% emphasis on kicking and leg techniques.

Aside from that in TKD you tend to stand sideways when facing your opponent while in Shotokan you face them more forwards and square off against them. Also, in much of the TKD I've done they don't allow hand strikes to the face but they do allow kicking to the face. And they don't allow striking to the back in TKD which they might allow in Shotokan. Hope I helped.


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