What is the difference between kung fu, karate and taekwondo?

I know they%26#039;re all martial arts, but what makes them different? What is the strongest?|||There is not strongest martial art. All arts are as good or as bad as the individual using them. Here are some basics about the arts you mention:





Kung-fu is from China. There are estimated to be between 300 and 400 different styles. They cane be very different from each other, yet similar too.





Karate was developed in Okinawa. It is based on indigenous Okinawan fighting methods but was influenced by Chinese arts in some cases. There are multiple styles of karate. The Okinawans introduced Karate to Japan in the early 1900%26#039;s. Be fore that time the Japanese did not have Karate. They did have other martial arts.





Taekwondo is Korean there are at least 75 different styles recognized in Korea as being legitimate. It was created by General Choi. Choi created it out of indigenous Korean martial arts that had existed in Korea for hundreds of years. Choi had studied Shotokan Karate (Japanese). Choi used the format for Shotokan as a model in designing the way Taekwondo would be practiced. He also adopted the use of color belts as the Japanese karate styles were doing. He did not include karate in Taekwondo. Taekwondo is purely Korean in its technique. Some people incorrectly call Taekwondo Karate. They claim that it came form karate, however, that is not true.





****


EDIT: Saranathan Some of your comments are a bit off. Although what you say is essentially correct, you seem to have a view of kung -fu that is not quite accurate. It is easy to do since there are so many styles. However you make a generalization that is not founded. Kung-fu varies in its emphasis on what is practiced and what the percentage of hands vs. feet.





****


EDIT:





Eat F you obviously don%26#039;t have a strong background in any of the martial arts you put down here. If you did you would not make such strong opinionated statements about them. You seem to think you have the experience to be able to pass judgment on them. Your comment about them being outdated shows your ignorance. fights happen the same way today as they did hundreds of years ago. We still have only two arms and two legs. Fights generally happen when someone punches, kicks, or grabs. The same techniques work today. If you want to talk about guns, then the whole game changes. In that case your modern arts fare no better than older arts. The guy asking the question asked for objective, factual information, not your opinion.|||The main difference is their place of origin. Most Martial Arts came from the Chinese arts. They were then transported to Japan, Okinawa, and Korea. Each of the arts developed very much like their culture. The Japanese arts were very strict and rigid. Using maximum effort for maximum results. They worked equal punching and equal kicking. Their fighting style was very linear, strong and straight forward. The Korean styles were predominately kicking styles. They work about 80% kicking and about 20% punching and are very sport oriented. Most Chinese styles work equal punching and equal kicking. You鈥檒l work high kicking as well as low kicking into the legs. You鈥檒l work outside fighting, as well as inside fighting, using elbows and knees. Joint locking, throws, ground fighting, and a full array of weaponry. You鈥檒l do straight line fighting as well as using a lot of side stepping, and evasion. So you learn how to use their power against them. The Chinese styles were usually very complete arts.|||They come from different countries, times and origins. They are taught differently and have different philosophies and applications.





No art is stronger or better than another art. It is all about how hard a person trains.|||the only one so far with a great answer is pugpaws2,


there is no perfect system. every one has its, pro%26#039;s and con%26#039;s. it all depends on how good your instructor is and how hard you train.


Pugpaws2 has a good break down of them, there is little to add.|||Kung Fu - lots of circular movement, wasted motions, wierd positions mimicking animals that hurt your ability to fight. Looks pretty.





Karate - tons of different styles, so hard to say. Much more linear moves. Direct strikes. Kata.





Tae Kwon Do - was developed from Taekyun for soldiers. It was assumed the soldiers would be holding a weapon, so it focuses almost exclusively on kicks.





In the end, all these styles are out dated and almost useless for self defense. So just do whetever one you think would be most fun to you. For real self defense, look into:





Krav Maga - defense against weapons if you%26#039;re worried about thugs


Muay Thai/BJJ - unarmed self defense


Owning a HK USP Compact 40 cal with hollow points - real self defense