henrymac50 said:
hi, this is my first thread....
i need help. i want to learn the most popular karate, and kung fu with a katana.
thank you.
Shotokan is the most popular form of karate, but some other popular desciplines are Goju-Ryu, Isshin-Ryu, and Kempo (although American Kempo is a style on-to itself, especially by integrating elements of Kali).
There are thousands of varieties of Kung-Fu and you should be really careful whom you have instruct you in the art. For example, Wushu is a popular form of Kung-Fu, where many people in China are taught the art in school as a gymnastic activity. However, it's questionable how applicable it is in real world combat, especially considering the Chinese government permits it being taught because it is so acrobatic orienated, instead of say combat effective.
Even though many Kung-Fu's employ weapon use, the katana is a Japanese weapon, where Kung-Fu is widely a Chinese practice. If you wanted to learn how to use a katana, you should seek out a school for Kendo or Kenjutsu. That is, if you can find one. Kendo's a popular art in Japan and can be found in a lot of places in the United States. Kenjutsu is it's predecessor that's harder to find today, and it uses a bokken (wooden sword in the form of a katana) over Kendo's Shinai (which, is a very large bamboo fencing foil with a deal of padding across areas' of the tool).
If you wanted to learn a style that employs the katana and other weapons, you may want to find a school for Ninjutsu. Ninjutsu is a Japanese practice whose roots are found in Chinese martial arts and science. It makes use of the weapons popularized by Okinawan karate (originally tools for farming, items like the sai, nunchuk, tonfa, and kama, or sickle), which is what some believe came to be known as Isshin-Ryu. But like with really any martial art, you should try and check to see if the instructor is legitimately licensed in the style. A lot of people claim to have studied martial arts, but it's one thing to say you were and another to be legitimate.
