I mentioned in this thread that I had heard it said that karate is 40% Chinese in origin, 40% native Okinawan systems, and 20% unspecified "other". I believe that the Chinese influence is greater than that, and in an article in "Martial Arts Presents...Masters of Karate" (May 2002) noted historian of the Okinawan arts Patrick McCarthy states that, in his opinion, karate is almost entirely Southern Chinese kung fu--that prior to Chinese influences, most notably in the 1800s, there was relatively little unarmed martial arts knowledge in the Ryukyus, and that in any event what survives today is almost all inherited from China. he lists very specific examples of well-known karateka studying in China or with Chinese living in the Ryukyus, and discusses the Ryukyuan experts practicing the kung fu.
But I can look at someone doing kung fu and someone doing karate and 10 times out of 10 I will correctly identify the kung fu practitioner as such and the karateka as a karateka. I can't always correctly tell an Okinawan karate form from a Japanese karate form, or a Korean TKD/TSD form from a Japanese form (without the uniforms, which differ) but I wouldn't mistake even Five Ancestors Fist kung fu for karate despite the great similarities, nor Southern praying mantis kung fu for the similar Uechi-ryu.
Karate is different from kung fu, but if Mr. McCarthy is right then in the 1800s karate was kung fu and there was relatively little native Okinawan martial knowledge to mix with it. Why is Okinawan karate so clearly different from kung fu then?
(* Corrected Link to include /forum/ RP *)
But I can look at someone doing kung fu and someone doing karate and 10 times out of 10 I will correctly identify the kung fu practitioner as such and the karateka as a karateka. I can't always correctly tell an Okinawan karate form from a Japanese karate form, or a Korean TKD/TSD form from a Japanese form (without the uniforms, which differ) but I wouldn't mistake even Five Ancestors Fist kung fu for karate despite the great similarities, nor Southern praying mantis kung fu for the similar Uechi-ryu.
Karate is different from kung fu, but if Mr. McCarthy is right then in the 1800s karate was kung fu and there was relatively little native Okinawan martial knowledge to mix with it. Why is Okinawan karate so clearly different from kung fu then?
(* Corrected Link to include /forum/ RP *)