A few years ago, a layman term was “Judo Karate” to represent any sort of martial arts. And as per their point of view, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee beating a gang in movies was named as “Judo Karate”.
Both the terms were being used alternatively for each other, and it created an illusion that both are the name of the same thing.
Like Muay Thai, an art represented by two words, the same was the case for “Judo Karate”. So this article is for those who still think the same about both the fighting techniques.
And we start it by saying
Judo is not the same as Karate, both are different fighting styles and are used for different purposes depending upon different situations.
Let us dig deep to have a quick comparison of both the fighting arts to learn the differences.
The difference in fighting techniques for judo and karate.
The first difference is the difference of type; Judo is a Soft Martial Art and is related to grappling, Choking, and Joint Locking.
It is to naturalize an opponent like a checkmate in chess where the opponents have no way to proceed fighting but to quit due to severe pain because of a devastating chock of air blocking or a joint lock causing a restriction in the flow of blood, resulting in unbearable pain.
Karate is a hard Martial Art and is famous for hitting opponents with different strikes using hands and legs. Karate is about damaging opponents with brutal punches and kicks from different angles.
In short, we can say, Judo is a bit defensive while Karate is an offensive fighting style.
So the Karate is one of the best self-defense tools because it comprises of striking and kicking which declares it a great pre-emptive approach for self-defense, but Judo is focused on grappling and tackling a threatening moment without necessarily passing injuries to the opponents.
So, as we have witnessed how different both the fighting styles are, Judo is not about beating while Karate is about beating opponents.
Difference between Judo and Karate as a Sport
In Karate, the points are scored on the basis of punches and kicks landed during a bout, while in Judo, judges count how well a Judoka grappled, wrestled an opponent along with takedowns and ground and pound supremacy.
These are during a professional or amateur fight where there are rules and regulations to be followed.
In Karate, there are five rounds, each comprising of three minutes with one minute rest between the rounds. It is for the championship bouts, while in non title bouts, there are only three rounds.
On the other hand, in Judo, there are no rounds but a defined time. One can say it a fight of a single round.
When the time is over, the winner is announced on the basis of the activeness and effectiveness of a fighter during the time period.
The fight ends earlier if a Judoka scores an Innop, which is equal to a complete point. Innop occurs when a fighter dominates the opponent for 20 seconds.
It might be a ground and pound or holding. Holding might be a lock or choke like an armbar or rear naked choke or any allowed way of choking or locking. Or throwing excellent flurries for 20 seconds.
It is called maintaining a pin. A pin can be maintained when:
- A fighter beat and then throws the opponent at his back.
- A fighter quits and refuses to continue
- A Fighter does a foul game and is disqualified. It is called Hansoku Make
If both the fighters are failed to score an Innop during the regulation time, a sudden death procedure is applied where one who scores the first point wins the bout, this sudden death is named the “Golden Score”.
Here we saw the difference in rules and regulations, which clearly show how different both the supports are.
The difference between the Origins of Judo and Karate
Karate was developed in different countries in East Asia ages ago, and during the 17th century, it was patterned and systemized by Japanese fighters in Okinawa, Japan. And it came to the limelight in the 20th century when the Japanese evolved it further by adding many strikes and fighting styles to comply with the current needs.
The recent picture of Karate is what we see in Japanese art.
Judo was developed in 1882 in Japan. Kano Jigoro Shihan derived it from the ancient Japanese fighting technique, Jujitsu along with mental disciplines. So, Judo is under influence of Jujitsu which itself is derived from one of the oldest fighting styles, Sumo.
From the 12th to 19th century, Samurai ruled Japan, and they developed Jujitsu from Sumo to cope with the unarmed situation during a battle where hand to hand fight takes place.
Jujitsu kept growing along with the army in Japan. But in 1868, the Samurai era came to an end, and the same happened with Jujitsu when Meiji Restoration occurred. But in 1882, Kano picked some big things from Jujitsu and built a new form called Judo.
Hence we saw there is a difference in origins and difference of time between Judo and Karate, so it also proved both are different things.
Since both the fights are different from each other,
Which fighting style should I chose from Karate and Judo?
It depends on one’s own choice. If we see about self defense, the vote goes for judo, and if the demand is an offense, then the ultimate choice is Karate. That’s what we get from the apparent look but let us see in detail related to the ground realities.
In Judo, there are too many restrictions during an amateur and professional bout. Like in kids fight, armbar or other choking tricks are not allowed.
But do we really don’t need an armbar during a fight? Are there some rules and regulations during a street fight? Does an attack of goons ends without injuries? Do the assailants see things like restrictions of illegal strikes or low blows? The answer to all these questions is No.
The reality is until you don’t hurt assailants or the bullies during a street fight, the fight keeps going and growing.
So hurting opponents with severe shots belongs to Karate. So the actual defense is enwrapped in offense in fact.
Furthermore, a street fight or bullying attack is usually not supposed to be with a single opponent, but goons and bullies come in the form of a group.
So Judo is not the answer because Judo is about tackling a person from a very close distance and taking his gas tank away by using the opponent’s energy against him.
It can be good in the case of a single opponent, but not in the case of more than one fighter.
On the other hand, Karate is about landing strikes while staying at the safe distance and keeping opponents at bay by landing jabs and then proceeding with power strikes combining punching combos and flurry of kicks.
Final words
Karate and Judo are not the same, and Karate is better for defense and offense purposes as compared to Judo, which is a too restricted fighting style. Judo is good for grappling while Karate is good for striking, if you are an adult or you need help for choosing the best martial arts for your kids we wrote both article.
