Does karate come from Kung Fu?

Answer 1

Partially; Karate is a martial art native to Okinawa dating to the year (roughly) 300 A.D. according to oral tradition, its original name was Ti, the native Japanese translation being To Te Jitsu. The martial art was developed following a weapons ban that occurred after a catastrophic war between the two Ryukyuan kingdoms, a war so devastating it destroyed 90% of Okinawa's population. The population devastation was so thorough, legend says it took the living 20 years to bury the dead. The king banned weapons, and to enforce the law, weapon bans, and for his own personal safety, commissioned his royal guard to develop a method fighting without weapons.

A couple of centuries later, when they heard that a similar philosophy was being practiced in China, the Okinawan King sent envoys to China to study from Chinese masters. So, you see, Kung Fu and Karate had an ongoing relationship spanning over 1,000 years, that did not really end until the early 19th century. Okinawa's Ti experts took what techniques from various southern Kung Fu schools they felt where the simplest and most practical, as well as the training methods, and took said methods back to Okinawa. The so-called soft styles of Karate for example, are influenced by Tai Chi Chuan. The most advanced Kata in the Goju Ryu system, all resemble Tai Chi routines. Most Okinawan experts, even the very old red belts, do not like being called "masters;" having skimmed through a Martial Arts book somewhere, I THINK though I could be mistaken something called "Karate Masters," one of them said that word is too lightly thrown around these days. The real masters of martial arts in Okinawa, he said, all died in the 1960's.

The most influential style of Kung Fu on the development of Karate is the Fujian Crane style, the truth is, the Okinawans of old were greedy for knowledge and every single style of Kung Fu contributed some bit of knowledge to Karate. However by far the single most influential style, was the Fujian Crane style. If To Te Jitsu is the father of Karate, then the Fujian Crane style can be said to be its mother.

Answer 2

Karate has its roots in China and then underwent substantial development with Ryukyu to become the martial art we know today.

Answer 3

Karate came from Okinawa, but owes some of its techniques to the Chinese arts.

Answer 4

No it doesn't. originates on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Answer 5

Karate was created in Okinawa, which is now a part of Japan. It was created by combining local Okinawa Wrestling with elements of Chinese White Crane Kung Fu.

Answer 6

Karate can trace its roots through China and to India.

Answer 7

Karate is a combination of Okinawan wrestling and White Crane Kung Fu.

Answer 8

Indirectly. Karate is a combination of Okinawan martial arts with Chinese kung fu.