which is older karate or kung fu??

which is older karate or kung fu??

There are thousands of different styles under the umbrella of martial arts. Each martial arts discipline has different techniques that originated in specific parts of the world. Two of the most popular subjects, karate, and kung fu, are sometimes used interchangeably. Although each originated from similar styles of martial arts, karate and kung fu are fundamentally different forms. Here is some information you can differentiate between the origin of two styles.

History of Chinese Kung Fu:

Tai chi chuan Chinese Tai Chi Chuan Kung Fu, an ancient sport popular in China, has a very long history, during which a wide variety of skills were created and vastly improved. Originating from hunting and defense needs in primitive society (1.7 million years ago - 21st century BCE), it first included some basic skills such as cleaving, chopping, and stabbing.

History of Karate

Karate, the Japanese word for “empty hands,” was born in the Okinawan Islands as a form of self-defense, at a time when weapons were banned by invading Japanese forces. It began as the (hand), a fighting style used by the natives of the Ryukyu Islands, and was later influenced by Chinese kenpō, introduced through the Chinese families that settled on Okinawa after trade relationships between China and the islands were established.

From three Okinawan cities (Shuri, Naha, Tomari), each closely spaced but with very different societal demands, three separate styles emerged:

Shuri-te

Naha-te

Tomari-te

Collectively, these styles were called Okinawa-te or tode (Chinese hand), and over time, the styles merged slightly to become just two: Shōrin-ryū, developed near Shuri and Tomari, and Shōrei-ryū, near Naha.

Because of increasing Japanese influence, the label of te was eventually lengthened to karate-Jutsu (Chinese hand art). It then changed to karate-do after an Okinawan master altered the meaning of the word kara (also pronounced tode) to mean “empty” rather than “Chinese hand.” karate-do translates into “the way of the empty hand.”