Some features that differentiate different martial arts from each other
There are many different styles of martial arts. What can be daunting is figuring out which is the right martial art for you. This article will give you some general characteristics of commonly seen martial arts styles, in a simplified way so that you don't have to dig too deep to know the difference from one style to another.
The categorization will be by country of origin.
Chlnese Martial Arts (Kung Fu)
Choy Lay Fut Kung Fu - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized by long, circular, swinging powerful arm movements and fluid footwork. Some movements derived from animals, such as the Tiger, Panther, Crane, Snake, Dragon. Lots of pad striking drills, application drills, and forms.
Wing Chun Kung Fu - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized by lots of linear strikes and minimal footwork. Lots of application drills, and sensitivity exercises.
Tai Chi Chuan - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized by slow movement for building internal health. Lots of form work, meditation, and sensitivity exercises.
Wushu - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized by theatrical acrobatic movements. Lots of work on forms.
Hung Gar - a style of Kung Fu that is chracterized by powerful arm movements and low stances. Some movements derived from animals, such as the Tiger, Panther, Crane, Snake, Dragon. Lots of pad drills, applications, and form work.
Shaolin - a style of Kung Fu that is chracterized by long arm movements and acrobatic kicking techniques. Some movements derived from animals, such as the Tiger, Panther, Crane, Snake, Dragon. Lots of form work, meditation, and sensitivity exercises.
San Shou/San Da - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized as a method of sport fighting in a ring, allowing punches, strikes, and take-downs. Lots of pad drills, conditioning, and sparring
Praying Mantis - a style of Kung Fu that is characterized by grabbing, pulling, and striking techniques. Lots of application drills and sensitivity exercises.
Japanese Martial Arts
Karate - characterized by hard linear punches and kicks. Lots of application drills and form work.
Jiu Jitsu - chracterized by throws, joint locking techniques, and choke holds.
Aikido - characterized by lots of throws involving wrist, arm, shoulder, and neck control. An internal art that has meditation.
Judo - chracterized by lots of full body throws and tripping techniques.
Ninjitsu - characterized by punches, kicks, locks, weapons, and "sneak attacks".
Iado - characterized by sword movement and meditation. Emphasis on form.
Kendo - chracterized by dueling with wooden swords in full body armor.
Kempo - characterized by quick and continuous striking techniques, derived from Chinese martial arts.
Korean Martial Arts
Taekwondo - characterized by lots of kicking, jump kicks, and spinning kicks.
Hapkido - chracterized by lots of kicking, joint locks, and throws.
Kuk Sul Won - chracterized by lots of striking, locks, throws, and weapons.
Filipino Martial Arts
Escrima - characterized by emphasizing combat using a stick as the foundation. There is also empty handed striking, but training with sticks is the foundation.
Thai Martial Arts
Muay Thai - characterized as a kickboxing oriented ring sport based martial art focusing on power kicks, knees, and elbow techniques.
Israeli Martial Arts
Krav Maga - characterized as an aggressive combat system designed to take on multiple armed opponents.
Brazilian Martial Arts
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu - chracterized by ground grappling techniques, involving positiong, locks, and chokes.
Capoeira - characterized by dance-like movements, using big circular kicking techniques with some acrobatics.
Eclectic Martial Arts
Jeet Kune Do - Martial art created by Bruce Lee, emphasizing all ranges of combat, including weapons.
Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) - a martial arts ring/cage sport that has most commonly a mixture of kickboxing, wrestling, and grappling.
Obviously there are many more martial arts styles, but these are some of the most commonly seen available. As a practitioner, it is important for you to find the style that best suits your needs. The beauty of martial arts is its diversity. But it is difficult to navigate your journey if you don't know about the various arts and what they offer. This article was designed for you to have a very general overview of the different style of martial arts commonly found in cities that offer martial arts programs.