Whats the Difference between Kung Fu, Hopkido, and Karate?

Question

I know I am being very vague, becuase there are different styles of each but I would like to know becuase I really want to take one thats fits these requirements:
1.I like showy Flips and Handsprings
2.To fight with weapons
3.to get in shape
4.Relieve Stress
5.break cynder blocks with my fists

I know I watch too many movies But I have been dying to take some kind of martial art and I really want to learn somthing.
please Help!

* I already know that they are all from different countries, but I need to know how they compare to what you learn in the classes.

Answer 1

O.K. It sounds to me like you want Kung-Fu.
Kung-Fu is Chinese and is the oldest of them. It's got alot of flash and is very showy, they use some real cool looking weapons and it's good for winning tournaments. You will not break blocks or boards with it but you will do all the other stuff. It is not a very effective art for real life self defense.
Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_martial_arts
Hapkido is a Korean art that involves locks and throwing. It has no weapons and doesn't sound like it meats any of your requirements. It could be effective in real life self defense after years of training.
Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapkido
Karate is a Japanese art and involves punching and kicking. This is the art where you break boards and blocks. Karate is the art that teaches how to throw a proper punch or kick using all of your body. The breaking of boards is used as an example to demonstrate this power. The weapons they use are Bo (staff), sword and Nunchaku (nun chucks). It only fits numbers 3 and 5 of your requirements. It is very effective for real life self defense.
Link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate
Go to your local clubs and watch some classes
Good luck and HAVE FUN!

Answer 2

There is no short answer. All the martial art styles have much in common with each other. The things that you seek will depend more on the instructor than the style. The best approach is to visit some classes to get an idea of what is being taught, then talk with the instructor if you are interested in learning more. A good instructor will be happy to make time for you. If they don't, run away!

Don't expect to learn flips and handsprings in a traditional martial arts class. Try a gymnastics class for that.

Answer 3

I have experience in Hapkido and Karate...some knowlegdge of Kung Fu so here goes:
First...Flips and Handsprings ... you are looking for XMA which is extreme martial arts and designed to be flashy but not effective in a real fight. You try and kick someone in the head and you just lost the fight... But it does look cool.
2) Weapons - all use weapons
3) All of these will get you in shape
4) all will relieve stress
5) Karate does breaks, Hapkido not really into breaking as its cousin art Tae Kwon Do is and Kung Fu does not do breaks (from what I have seen).

So, with that said...here are the basics.
Hapkido is, in layman's terms, a mix of aikido, karate, and tae kwon do. It includes defenses and strikes of karate, kicks of TKD, and joint/circular movements of aikido. There are differances, however, that is at a more detailed level. In a good school you will be required to kick, do rolls/flips (not handsprings etc but how to roll out of a lock).
A key principal of Hapkido (and Aikido) is to take the attackers energy and use it against him/her much like steven segal.

Karate is more force on force. Requires more strength training but an opponent whom is stronger is more likely to win than a weaker one. As to the physical training vs. Hapkido it really depends upon the school. I moved from NYC doing Hapkido at a great school to Vegas where I took up Kempo Karate where the school required almost no physical training (quite and found a good Hapkido school again).

Kung Fu will fall closer to Karate but a good school will also include some joint locks etc. Training again will be dependant upon the school.

Your best option is to figure out what style you like to learn first. I am cross training at this point which is a good balance. No art is better than the next as each has its strong/weak points. Try doing gymnastics and one art at a good school rather than gymnastics and an art you really like at a bad school...

Answer 4

Well, the difference is more in the school and not the style. if you want a more traditional training in the martial arts, you will fight with weapons, and relvieve stress. if you want something flashy, then you will break boards and flip around all over the place you'll get in shape with any art you take, depending on how seriously you study it. just like the guy before me said, visit some schools around your area and look at what they do. if you like what you see, try it out. But keep in mind that real martial arts are very little like what you see in the movies.

Answer 5

Kung Fu - Chinese
Hapkido - Korean
Karate - Japanese

All traditional martial arts. Hapkido works the best in the street.

Answer 6

well, if you want to do all those, i will recommend you something like ninjitsu, they do flips,fight with weapons, you get in shape and can be able to break stuff with your fist, even tho the last one i mentioned takes more practice than the others.

heres the thing, hapkido is more about using your opponent's attacking momentum against him (i used to practice hapkido) and its more about smooth movement making the opponent lose balance etc.

kung fu...theres different types of kung fu, from shaolin, seven stars praying mantis, to tai chi wich is a more calm style of kung fu.

same thing with karate, theres a lot of styles out there that maybe you can do all what you are looking for.

Answer 7

kung fu the moves you do reflex the image of different animal's it good for speed flips .hopkido came from akido basically it the same thing but you add kicks to it good for throwing people breaking bones coming out on top of a group of people and flipping them all at once the are good with swords and BO or staff
but the training is very intents. karate is good for kicks breaking block with fist but if i was you ill go for hopkidp its the best out of them all you learn more out of it and love the forms frome it

Answer 8

from what you described as what your looking for in a martial art, it sounds to me like wushu kung fu would be good for you.. you say you watch a lot of movies, you know jet li right? well, his primary art is wushu, he was actually a national champion in china when he was a child. wushu has become less of a martial art in sense of defense and more acrobatic in style, older masters and practioners call modern wushu, contemporary wushu, but none the less, it's a beautiful art full of high flying moves, deep stances, amazing aerial acrobatics, beautiful weapons forms and more.. http://www.ckfa-kungfu.com/wushu/

as for hapkido is an effective self-defense and as such employs joint locks, pressure points, throws, kicks, and other strikes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapkido

karate, on the other hand is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes, open handed, and breaking techniques: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karate

but from what you listed as your interests, i'd say wushu kung fu, or some form of chinese martial art might suit you best...

good luck!

Answer 9

Hapkido is a korean martial arts that uses force redirection. It has lots of joint locks.

Karate is okinawan. It has lots of strikes.

Kung Fu (more appropriately "wushu") (and its chinese) is so varied and distinct that it defies easy definition. ALthough schools are very external (striking, strength based)


Just search wikipedia. I believe that they recently cleaned up the martial arts articles.

Answer 10

all your requirements = kung fu

for flips, handsprings, acrobatic/gymnastic type stuff will be wushu, monkey style (5 animal form kung fu), and kung fu

fight with weapons, kung fu and the rest

relieve stress, get a punching bag and unleash your kung fu

breaking cinder blocks, kung fu