Is Karate and Taekwondo a style or system?

If you haven't had any previous martial arts training these names may go straight over your head.





The most important aspect of any form of learning is experience! Once you have gained substantial experience in martial arts you will come to the understanding that a name or look is a label or more normally referred to as a style.





However the more secretive side hidden behind a style is the awareness of timing, distance and execution of your kung fu tools achieving this has nothing to do with style. Therefore style no longer matters as you are working on a higher plain of thought called concept and principle. This level of understanding has to be built in a learning process of layering. We call this method "system".

Is Karate and Taekwondo a style or system?
"Style" and "System" can be used interchangeably in this regard. A system is a style and a style a system. The words have similar connotations here.
Reply:Is a matter of style. Taekwondo is concentrate in leg attack and karate is concentrate on fist and hand attack.
Reply:well it would be a style because it is a style of fighting ect..TKD is good with feet Karate is good with Hands
Reply:Look man, I do kyokushin karate, and we learn all that stuff you are talking about by doing something called full contact sparing, how the hell do you learn those things? You do kunf fu right? i knew i herd someone talking about it in Blitz magazine, well ofcource if you do kunf fu which is mostly forms and techniques you should be asking yourself what you are actually learning, believe me in karate or any other full contact sport you dont have to ask yourself this questions because when you do sparing you leanrn what works when it works and how far you need to be to make it work, how does kung fu teach it since i know most kung fu schools dont spar???
Reply:The titles that you ask about have far more to do with place of origin than specific discipline. Karate -Southern Japan, Taekwondo- Korea, Kung-fu-China.


I don't know what your distinction between system and style refers to but I do know that anyone who adheres to any traditional style no matter the level mastery will get his azz handed to him by even mildly skilled MMA practitioners.


-rj
Reply:If you think about it, fighting is fighting. The only difference between one style/system and another is what they focus on and what they call a move. TKD might call a kick a roundhouse, another style may call the same move a round kick.





Isshin ryu punches from the waist with the fist in a position like you'd shake hands. (knucles pointed to the side of body)





Moo Duk Kwan punches from higher up under the arm starting with fist palm up and twists to end the punch palm down.





But in a real fight, neither punch will actually be used as is taught in class. Some points in a fight, you may punch like MDK with the twist....twist causes the skin to tear and this would mainly be used for head shots. And other times you may use the Isshin ryu way when aiming for the solar plexes.





In reality, a punch is a punch and a kick is a kick. There are only so many different ways you can do either and still be effective.
Reply:They are both.





Martial arts are systems of codified practices and traditions of training for combat.





By definition they are systems, and each system has a different style, tae kwon do's style focuses on kicking, and karate on punching.
Reply:style = system = martial art = fighting method they are the same thing same meaning different words
Reply:The problems with your presumptions begin with your use of a new (began in the 80s or so) martial arts term, "System," and applying it in retrograde to the past.


Karate is a system and a style, but if there are modern requirements put into what a "system" is, then Karate may or may not meet those requirements.


Karate, up to the 20th century, was one style, and split up recently into many styles. However, Karate is a full "Civil-Self-Defense" system, as it is referred to in it's most important book, The Bubishi.

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