Practical Differences in Karate Ryu's ?

[teekin]

I find that when I watch Karate I end up smiling and wishing to see more. I wish I could understand what I was looking at so......
please excuse the ignorance as I am clueless here, I know. I am just figuring out that there are different types of Karate and that they have some major differences that need to be taken into consideration.
As I understand it there are the "hard" types of Karate where you meet force with force and you hit first, and each blow is meant to end the fight.
Then there is the softer Karate that allows for sweeps and grappling, even some judo type throws.
There is also a difference in the way the hands are held and the punches are thrown. Is this is true of kicks too? I know some have lots of Kata and some have very little Kata. ( I like Kata)
Without getting into the tiny little variations can you guys give me the basic styles and the basic variations/differences these styles carry in their syllabus? Thanks very much for any knowledge/ help you can give me. I'm sure it will lead to more questions, but at least they will be the right questions.
lori

 

[arnisador]

There are lots of differences. The Okinawan and Japanese styles differ greatly, but within the Japanese styles there's a varying amount of jujutsu influence, for example. The four major Okinawan styles are Shorin, (Okinawan) Goju, Uechi, and Isshin. Thefour major styles of Japanese Karate are often held to be Shotokan, (Japanese) Goju, Shito, and Wado.

There are too many variations to mention! The Okinawan styles have a more apparent Chinese influence. They tend to fight more upright (shorter stances) and more forward-facing and with more open-handed techniques and lower kicks. But Uechi and Isshin especially have some really distinctive features. Wado-ryu has a very strong jujutsu influence that's very noticeable.

 

[dancingalone]

Yup, your request is too broad to answer with any real meaning, so I'll try to focus on one aspect, kata, since you like kata.

Lots of kata (greater than 15): shito-ryu, shotokan, shorin-ryu, okinawan kempo, kyokushin (surprisingly to me)
Few kata (less than 10): uechi ryu
Medium amount of kata (10-15): isshin-ryu, okinawan goju-ryu, wado-ryu

If you want to consider the various Korean off-shoots of shotokan, you can add taekwondo and tang soo do to the lots of kata list.

 

[teekin]

Well Thanks for the replies. I need to do more research so I can ask the right questions. I know some styles are just wrong for me, I need to find out which ones are right. Thanks again,
lori

 

[seasoned]

Lori, it depends on what you are looking for. Sport based or self defense based. All styles will claim to be for self defense, but I would not believe this. I advocate low kicks, which I feel are more practical. I also feel that the traditional styles, with their kata base along with their appropriate drills will give you the whole ball of wax. With the above info, and some leg work on your part, you should be able to find a serious minded Sensei, that is sincere, that runs a well disciplined DoJo. Good luck.