Why does karate have better kicks than hands?

[qianfeng]

From what i seen on the internet (srry if im wrong) but it seems karate has better kicks then handwork which some seem to consider bad. Why is this? I thought karate was based on southern Kung fu styles like white crane (goju-ryu) and reverent tiger fist (Uehci ryu) which are known for their handwork.

 

[drop bear]

Lack of face punching in some styles.

 

[Buka]

I guess it would depend on the Karate in question. We have better hands than feet.

 

[tshadowchaser]

I agree with Buka on this it depends on what system and who you study with. My instructor had one heck of a front kick but used his hands almost exclusively

 

[Tez3]

As has been said...depends on style, our is good with punches and kicks as well as other techniques...and we are full contact so plenty of practice with all of it.
Watching videos is not the best way to judge any martial art or anything else to be honest. Recently there was a big problem with people 'teaching' ballet online and little girls were 'learning' to go en pointe, a very dangerous thing for young feet and something that should be taught by a qualified professional teacher so you see all sorts of junk gets put up purporting to be either the 'real thing' or' the best', very rarely is anything any good.

 

[Danny T]

From what i seen on the internet (srry if im wrong) but it seems karate has better kicks then handwork which some seem to consider bad. Why is this? I thought karate was based on southern Kung fu styles like white crane (goju-ryu) and reverent tiger fist (Uehci ryu) which are known for their handwork.

First off, if you are getting your information mostly from the internet ["From what i seen on the internet..."] I would seriously question your source/s. Though the internet can be a source of a lot of information much of the information on the internet is misinformation.

Though it was many years ago the karate I trained was very strong on handwork, (punching, grabbing, and locking) lots of throws and takedowns as well.

 

[Tony Dismukes]

As others have pointed out, your premise is flawed. Some karateka are good with their hands, some are good with kicks, some are good with both ... and some are crappy with both. I wouldn't say that karate as a whole favors one over the other, although individual karate styles or practitioners might.

From a Western point of view, I can see one factor which might lead some casual observers to make the mistake of thinking karate was better for kicks. We have, in Western boxing, a native, highly advanced system of punching which is widely practiced from casual practitioners up to world-class professionals. We don't have such a widespread tradition of kicking in the West. (There's Savate, but it's not so widespread and it comes from Chinese origins anyway.) As a result, some Western observers might be impressed on a gee-whiz level with karate kicking, but not so much with karate punching.

 

[Mephisto]

For any kind of "better than" discussion you have to frame your comparison. Better at what and against who? Even than you're on rocky territory. IMO boxing sets the bar for punching it's an easy go to comparison. Is karate punching as developed as in boxing? Does that mean that karates kicks are automatically "better"? This is a tough comparison and given the breadth and variety of karate systems you're not likely to find one concise answer.

 

[drop bear]

I guess it would depend on the Karate in question. We have better hands than feet.

I was Thinking of kuyokoshin. Who are in general pretty terrible boxers. And who swear loudly and often at the concept of face punching.

(ours do anyway)

 

[PhotonGuy]

From what i seen on the internet (srry if im wrong) but it seems karate has better kicks then handwork which some seem to consider bad. Why is this? I thought karate was based on southern Kung fu styles like white crane (goju-ryu) and reverent tiger fist (Uehci ryu) which are known for their handwork.

It really depends on the style and the way its taught. There are many different styles of Karate and many different teaching methods. In the main dojo that I trained at there was an equal emphasis on kicks and hand techniques. As for those who consider it bad about a style lacking in handwork, that depends on what a person is looking for in the martial arts. Some people are looking for more hand techniques and styles that emphasize such and to find such a style would require some in depth research.

 

[Buka]

In the real world the majority of punches are to the face. I mean, think of every fight you've ever seen since you were a kid, how many body punches have you seen by people who have never trained?

I live in New England. Right now there's about four feet of snow and it's everywhere. It's hard enough to punch while on a slippery surface, never mind throwing a kick. And to anyone who thinks that wouldn't affect their kicking....

 

[Dirty Dog]

Flying side kick!!!!
Forget kicking someone off a horse, try kicking them off a snow drift...

 

[qianfeng]

As others have pointed out, your premise is flawed. Some karateka are good with their hands, some are good with kicks, some are good with both ... and some are crappy with both. I wouldn't say that karate as a whole favors one over the other, although individual karate styles or practitioners might.

From a Western point of view, I can see one factor which might lead some casual observers to make the mistake of thinking karate was better for kicks. We have, in Western boxing, a native, highly advanced system of punching which is widely practiced from casual practitioners up to world-class professionals. We don't have such a widespread tradition of kicking in the West. (There's Savate, but it's not so widespread and it comes from Chinese origins anyway.) As a result, some Western observers might be impressed on a gee-whiz level with karate kicking, but not so much with karate punching.

I wasn't comparing it to boxers i was comparing to southern Chinese styles like Hu Zun Quan and Bai He Quan. It was jst what seems like i was wrong.

 

[drop bear]

In the real world the majority of punches are to the face. I mean, think of every fight you've ever seen since you were a kid, how many body punches have you seen by people who have never trained?

I live in New England. Right now there's about four feet of snow and it's everywhere. It's hard enough to punch while on a slippery surface, never mind throwing a kick. And to anyone who thinks that wouldn't affect their kicking....

It would completely change the system you use. You might even kick more like the savate guys do because you have to hang off something.

 

[Zero]

From what i seen on the internet (srry if im wrong) but it seems karate has better kicks then handwork which some seem to consider bad. Why is this? I thought karate was based on southern Kung fu styles like white crane (goju-ryu) and reverent tiger fist (Uehci ryu) which are known for their handwork.

At least two of the early renowned karate masters had suffered severed hands through being wounded while fighting samurai in the Japanese wars of oppression on Okinawa. They practiced therefore only with their feet and some with their elbows. Many of their disciples then copied their style in wrote. The results of this can now be clearly seen on YouTube.

In contrast, there are no documented instances of Chinese handless sifu.

 

[Hanzou]

Frankly, yes Karate's traditional hand techniques are seriously lacking in modern MA, which is why so many Karateka adopt boxing when they're actually sparring or fighting someone. Boxing sets the standard for hand techniques for a variety of reasons.

Karate's hand techniques are fine for training purposes. Unfortunately, they have heavy drawbacks in terms of actual application.

 

[K-man]

At least two of the early renowned karate masters had suffered severed hands through being wounded while fighting samurai in the Japanese wars of oppression on Okinawa. They practiced therefore only with their feet and some with their elbows. Many of their disciples then copied their style in wrote. The results of this can now be clearly seen on YouTube.

In contrast, there are no documented instances of Chinese handless sifu.

Seeing that the Samurai were not around when karate began I am wondering who might be the two renown masters who lost their hands. It is news to me.

 

[K-man]

Frankly, yes Karate's traditional hand techniques are seriously lacking in modern MA, which is why so many Karateka adopt boxing when they're actually sparring or fighting someone. Boxing sets the standard for hand techniques for a variety of reasons.

Karate's hand techniques are fine for training purposes. Unfortunately, they have heavy drawbacks in terms of actual application.

Karateka punch like boxers because that is how we train. The punching you are describing is once again the kihon, something you seem to have difficulty comprehending and obviously never progressed beyond in your karate training. You know nothing of advanced karate techniques.

 

[Zero]

Seeing that the Samurai were not around when karate began I am wondering who might be the two renown masters who lost their hands. It is news to me.

Crickey K-Man, do I have to put smileys on everything for you?

 

[Tez3]

Crickey K-Man, do I have to put smileys on everything for you?

It helps if you do, we have no way of knowing how you mean something if you don't.