The two most popular martial arts worldwide that many people practice are Aikido and Karate. The martial art concepts of these two martial arts are opposite from each other.
Although they are different forms of martial arts, they share many similarities.
Key Takeaways
- Aikido is a Japanese martial art focused on blending with an opponent’s movements and redirecting their energy rather than using force to defeat them; Karate is a striking-based martial art that emphasizes powerful punches, kicks, and blocks.
- Aikido techniques involve joint locks, throws, and pins, emphasizing flowing movements and circular motions; Karate techniques involve striking and blocking with various body parts, including hands, feet, elbows, and knees.
- Aikido training emphasizes discipline, meditation, and partner cooperation; Karate training emphasizes physical conditioning, sparring, and competition.
Aikido vs. Karate
Aikido is a popular soft martial arts style which originates from the idea to diffuse a fussy situation rather than combat. It gives mental and physical balance to an individual. Karate is another martial arts kind which includes knee and punching tricks to take down the rivals. It mainly focusing on assaulting the enemy.
The similarity that Aikido and Karate share are the techniques. Both techniques are based on triangular, circular, or square movements.
The training of the students is done differently, but the evolvement of techniques is mostly the same.
Also, the fighting abilities and strategies levels are very similar in Karate and Aikido. The first level comprises the ability of a student to control his/her opponent by movements or a combination of movements, and so on, as the levels progress.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Aikido | Karate |
|---|---|---|
| Developed by | Morihei Ueshiba developed Aikido. | Karate was developed by Itosu Ankō, Arakaki Seishō, Sakukawa Kanga, Matsumura Sōkon and Higaonna Kanryō. |
| Country of origin | Aikido first originated in the country Japan. | Karate first originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, a part of modern Japan. |
| Main uses | Learning Aikido is mainly for self-defense and defusing a violent or aggressive situation. | Learning Karate is mainly used for self-defense and striking and attacking an opponent. |
| Main focus | The main focus of Aikido is Grappling and softness. | The main focus of Karate is striking. |
| Predominant moves | Some of the predominant moves of Aikido are standing holds and locks, soft blocking, takedowns using joint locks and, pressure points and nerves. | Some of the predominant moves of Karate are elbow strikes, knee strikes, punching, kicking, palm-heel strikes, knife hands, and spear hands. |
What is Aikido?
Aikido is a famous martial arts form that originated in Japan. Morihei Ueshiba was this martial arts founder.
It is a combination of peace, harmony, and self-defense. This art form is said to provide a physical and psychological balance to the individual who practices it.
Aikido’s basic concept is not to fight but to diffuse an aggressive and violent situation. To one’s surprise, this martial arts form condemns any violence.
As an alternative, it recommends its practitioners use the opponent’s weight against them and defeat him.
To do this, it is compulsory to practice how to discern the direction of an attack coming towards the practitioner and use all the momentum he can get to use the attack of the opponent to defeat the opponent.
What is Karate?
Karate is a famous martial arts form that originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, now a part of modern Japan. Its founders are Sakukawa Kanga, Matsumura Sōkon, Itosu Ankō, Arakaki Seishō and Higaonna Kanryō.
This martial arts form utilizes knee strikes, kicking, punching, elbow strikes, and other techniques to take down the opponent.
Karate has a lot of different techniques and styles. To take down an opponent or defeat them, the practitioners of this martial arts form use a series of postures called kata, which can be either defensive or offensive.
The students first learn to focus all their power on their punches and kicks so that when they use them against their opponents, they greatly impact them. Modern Karate techniques use striking, restraints, throws, grappling, and joint locks.
Main Differences Between Aikido and Karate
- The main focus of Aikido is Grappling and softness, while the main focus of Karate is striking.
- Morihei Ueshiba developed Aikido, whereas Itosu Ankō, Arakaki Seishō, Sakukawa Kanga, Matsumura Sōkon, and Higaonna Kanryō developed Karate.
- The predominant moves of Aikido are standing holds and locks, soft blocking, takedowns using joint locks and pressure points, and nerves. In contrast, the predominant moves of Karate are elbow strikes, knee strikes, punching, kicking, palm-heel strikes, knife hands, and spear hands.
- The uses of learning Aikido are self-defense and defusing a violent or aggressive situation. At the same time, the main uses of learning Karate are self-defense and striking and attacking an opponent.
- Aikido originated in Japan, whereas Karate originated in the Ryukyu Kingdom, a part of modern Japan.
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pms.1997.84.2.609
- http://www.lifesciencesite.com/lsj/life0904/206_11995life0904_1365_1371.pdf
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
