kivanoconnor

i myself trained in karate for six years untill i had to quit due to injury.
I agrea that karate is over popular but i disagrea with TsuaSai statement that 'karate is easy'
I had been to many training camps while i was doing karate and i also tried different martial arts, finding karate one of the most challanging. Karate teaches self-defence while some other focus on attack. That may be another reason why karate is so popular, due to the high crime rates people may feel safer knowing ways to protect themselves

TsuaSai

Your right its wrong of me to say karate is easy in general. In my area all the karate school are targeted to soccer moms and kids. So most of the school don't even teach these kids how to do a push kick right. Its almost like its just a day care. But that is why I also said that traditional karate schools are not easy. Don't get me wrong I am sure there are plenty of other arts that do that same thing with there "programs." Karate just happens to be the one I see all the time in my area.

kivanoconnor

I understand your point of view. In the dojo which i was trained at we also had to learn the true name of the moves and also background information on the ogigin of karate. So we were also studying the art aswell as learning it.

I myself started off doing shotokan karate, learning kata's but then moved into the freestyle fighting area in which i enjoyed more. One thing i never did quiet understand is how can the sport be semi-contact ? i have seen and suffered many injuries from hard hits and combo's

TsuaSai

I am not 100% sure. But I think when they say "semi-contact fighting" a lot of times there will be no head shots. Or some kind of rule like that. Where as full contact is no pads and I think normally head and groin are aloud. But don't hold me to that. Just what I have always thought.

roundhouse87

A close friend of mine studies Shotokan Karate in a very big way. When he teaches his students in the dojo he makes them learn technique names both in Japanese and English. There are written exams, surprise physical tests and awareness activities put into his regime's.

Everyone seems to respond well to the cultural approach.

sparky

This is exactly how I was taught shotokan Karate, this was in fact the martial art I enjoyed the most.

I think its so popular due to the fact it is the most easily recognisable art to the regular joe on the street. The movies in the late 80's early 90's such as Karate Kid makes most people associate martial arts with karate and thus if anyone wants to start some form of martial arts/self defence then karate is the first thing that springs to mind.

And in response to the person claiming Karate isnt that effective on the streets in real fights then all can say is someone who knows karate (and practices it properly) V someone who doesnt know any martial art will always fare better. I was unfortunate enough to be in a position back at school to have to rely on my Karate for self defence and without it I dont know what would have happened to me.

platinum

I am fairly new to the world of martial arts and it wasnt long ago I was an 'outsider'. When I first got interested in the possibility of taking up martial arts I did some research into what classes were running in my area. I had the choice of Karate or Judo. Karate seems a bit more glamorous than Judo hence why I picked Karate. Other Martial Arts dont seem as accessible to the everyday member of the public. Now I have spoke to a few like minded individuals at my karate classes I have found out that there are several other martial arts running in the area that I never really knew about. I think these Martial Arts need to promote themselves more as if I had never started my karate classes I would never have known about the others.

easyG

Karate is possible because its the most accessible. Its easy for someone to find a local karate class - but you try to find a Capoeira class - its not that easy - not where I live anyway.

Ensicon

It was definately Karate Kid that made Karate big, whenever you say martial arts to anyone, people automatically think Karate, too bad actually because there are much more martial arts out there.

rogue

You bring up a good point in that its what is readily available. I'm sure if there were BJJ classes on every street corner it'd easily be one of the most popular ones around.

Do you think that there are this many karate schools though because of the media? Or because of movies? Why Karate? I guess thats what the real question is. How come Karate is more widely taught as opposed to another art form?