What is the connection between karate and kungfu?

Kung Fu or Wu Shu? Modern or Traditional? Performance Art or Fighting Art? What’s the Difference? And Who Cares?


By Sifu Gino Belfiore





For those of you whom have stayed around long enough to figure out the differences, there still may be some of you who do not know what this title means. After many years of research, study and first hand experiences I have found a lot about the reasons for training and what styles to train under. Why are we taking any type of self defense course? Why do we train in this style of Kung Fu? Why not just join the armed forces? All of these questions and many others will be answered in this article.


Kung Fu or Wu Shu?


There have been many students that asked me “What is the difference between kung fu and wu shu?” Let us first go into the translation of these words from Chinese into English: “Kung Fu” = Time and Energy. Then “Wu Shu” = War like Technique. Neither of these two words separately can be translated onto a fighting style or some type of self defense. However, placed together they represent generalized Chinese martial arts.


Kung Fu: A term normally used in the Chinese language for anyone who gains a skill through time and effort. A carpenter would have good kung fu in laying carpets, a tailor would good kung fu in sewing clothes, a fighter would have good kung fu in defending himself.


The term “Kung Fu” got it’s connection with martial arts and Shaolin in the 1960’s when Bruce Lee and other movie actors used the phrase: “Your Kung Fu is good” which actually meant that there skill was good, not to say that kung fu was there style. From that point onward most average people thought kung fu meant a type of fighting style like karate or tae kwon do.


Kuo Shu: Kuo = National and Shu = Technique. National Technique, a term used starting in early to mid 1900’s by the Chinese government. They were trying to unify the martial arts into a public sport. Later the term Wu Shu would replace Kuo Shu as the term most of us recognize.


Wu Shu: A modern term used for the martial sport popular in China today. Wu = War like and Shu = Techniques. War Techniques or Wu Shu became popular in the 50’s - 60’s and China has now made an application for Wu Shu to become an event in the 2008 Olympics.


Modern / Traditional?


There are plenty of arguments of what is considered modern and what is considered traditional. The only difference between the 2 should be: Something made or developed long ago or Something made or developed recently.


Modern kung fu or martial arts seam to focus on the needs of the people today. Which for the most part is health and fitness and a little bit of self defense. There are very few hard core individuals interested in the brutish power and aggressive nature needed to become proficient in any type of worth while street defense.


If you look at everyone on a whole, 75% of us will never get into a fight or need martial arts in our lifetime. There is a 25% chance that some of will get into some type of self defense situation or you could look at some woman and children being physically assaulted. Most likely you will never need kung fu skills to defend yourself. For the most part, today's society is gun happy and you can not effectively use martial arts against firearms.


Anything that has to do with an older, more original way to do something can be considered “traditional”. In that respect, kung fu styles that use older more original forms and techniques could be considered traditional.


However, due to the destruction of all the old records and manuscripts, it is virtually impossible to correctly know if a kung fu style is authentically “Traditional” or not. Many kung fu teachers claim to be teaching traditional styles but, are only using this ploy to lure prospective students into their schools. There are also many teachers who may not actually know if their style is traditional or not, they just teach the kung fu that was taught to them by their teacher or father.


For most people here in the USA, modern or traditional may not even matter. Our society is relatively peaceful in nature. There are no civil wars going on right now. Our government is not an evil tyrannical regime that constantly thwarts the people at every turn. So the need for all people to be at their top kung fu skill just to stay alive is practically none. So this peaceful society usually leads most people to martial arts, not to stay alive, but to get in shape or to get some self defense in. For parents, kung fu can build confidence, discipline for their children.


Fighting Art / Performance Art


I have heard many say “I wish to learn a art form”. An Art Form can be anything from dancing, opera, gymnastics or Kung Fu. As we look at kung fu, the art form most people see is the “Form or Pattern”. This Form are techniques linked together to create a pattern or sequence. Older more traditional forms are more practical, but still are beautiful and graceful to watch. Newer forms such as in the style of Wu Shu are a bit more gymnastic / acrobatic in nature. The practitioners of Wu Shu look spectacular as they do a dazzling array of jumps, flips and aerial kicks. There are those who say that Wu Shu is just a performance art and not a real kung fu style. That is a wrong assumption. As most of us go to competitions or demonstrations, we tend to see the modern Wu Shu player as only doing the “Form” and not fighting or sparring at all. If taught correctly and with traditional fighting values, Wu Shu can be an effective and devastating kung fu fighting style. Just because something looks beautiful does not mean it is not deadly.


No matter what reason you think you are supposed to be taking kung fu, whether it’s for self defense or for the “Art Form” or just to get into shape. Just take kung fu because you enjoy what you are doing. Keep training hard and don’t worry about anything else.





Sorry i missed out this part.





Karate is a martial art that developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and Chinese kempo. "Karate" originally meant Te, or hand, i.e. Chinese hand, which was later changed to a homonym meaning 'empty hand' in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints/traps, throws and vital point striking also appear in karate. In fact, Karate is one of the most widely practiced martial art forms in the world. Martial arts rely on acute physical coordination and mental focus. They were developed in Asia (primarily India, China and Japan) over the course of several thousands of years. In all this time, there have been countless martial arts variations, and there are hundreds of disciplines practiced today.


Modern karate developed out of martial arts forms practiced in Okinawa, an island that is now part of Japan. For hundreds of years, Okinawan martial arts experts honed a variety of combat styles, in part due to the political situation in the area. From time to time, the ruling authorities would ban peasants from possessing any weapons, leaving them with only their own bodies and household items to protect themselves








Overall, there’s more variety of techniques, styles, weapons and uniforms found in the Chinese kung fu systems compared to karate. However, that is not to say that one system or style of martial art is superior to another. They are just different and to the observer, it could come down to personal preference. Some prefer kung fu and some prefer karate. Some ambitious martial artists who desire a full well rounded education practice both kung fu and karate.|||Karate developed from the White Crane style that was brought to Okinawa by a Shaolin monk.|||Just to add a little bit to what beatchanter said. (he's right) The Okinawans at the time also had a local art called Te, they mixed that with what they learned from the chinese to get karate. ( China hand )|||One word. Okinawa.





It was the go between from mainland china to Okinawa to Japan. Kenpo is one style for example that is a mix if Chinese and Japanese art.





The okinawans used what was known as tou-te and combined it with chinese gung fu.





Now this is not necc fact and is debateable but some have said t hat the crane style mentioned erived from India. This I am not sure of without research, but is interesting to consider.|||kanryo higashionna 1851 - 1915, his students included chojun miyagi, juhatsu kyoda, kenwa mabuni, kanken toyama, and tatsuo shimabuku...yasutsune itosu 1830 - 1915, his students included gichin funakoshi, choshin chibana, chotoku kyan, kentsu yabu, kenwa mabuni, and kanken toyama...sokon matsumura 1796 - 1893, his students included yasutsune itosu, chotoku kyan, and choshin chibana...shuri - te and naha - te fighting systems are the fathers of the present shotokan and goju - ryu fighting systems of today, further studies reveal that these pioneers of modern karate learned their craft in china and returned to okinawa to teach and spread what they have learned, kara - te was changed from china hand to empty hand in translation/ this is a historical fact.|||They're both a form of martial arts|||Okinawa, before it came under Japanese Rule (which it still is, actually a mix of Japanese and US rule it seems with all the military bases) was on Chinese Rule... Not only did Chinese officials come to Okinawa and teach karate (which in Okinawan just meant "Chinese-Hand") but many merchants from Naha traveled to China to sell their goods, leaving relatives there to study Kung Fu. In addition, there were many Chinese imigrants to Okinawa, not only after the Boxer Rebellion, but before as well. All traditional Karate comes from Kung Fu... Most of it from the Fuzhou Chuan Fa styles closest to Okinawa. (Monk-Fist, Five Ancestors, White Crane, Whooping Crane) The main difference, in my mind, is that the Okinawan Karate men didn't see a need to keep the "Animal" forms, instead taking moves out of them to restructure the kata. (Chuan)


So, the various styles of Karate could easily be seen as varying schols of Kung Fu. To view it this way, would not be wrong.