Karate vs. Judo
Quick answer
In their modern form karate and judo grew up in the same Tokyo environment: in 1922 Jigoro Kano invited Gichin Funakoshi to the Kodokan and karate then took over from judo the kyu and dan grades and the cut of the training uniform. Karate works at the distance of a punch and a kick with contact according to the style, judo with full resistance in throws and on the ground, without strikes. Judo has been Olympic since 1964, karate was on the programme only at Tokyo 2020.
At a glance
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Japan |
| Origin | 20th century (present form) | 1882 |
| Founder | Anko Itosu (codifier) | Kano Jigoro |
| Contact | Semi-contact · Full contact (depending on style) | Full contact |
| Sparring | Medium contact · Full contact (depending on style) | Full contact |
| Competition format | Point fighting | Point fighting |
| Olympic status | Former Olympic sport | Current Olympic sport |
| Ranks | Yes (belts) | Yes (belts) |
| Rank recognition | fragmented | by federation |
| Attire | Gi required | Gi required |
| Weapons | No weapons · Weapons optional (depending on style) | No weapons |
| Forms | Forms at the core | Forms optional |
| Relative cost | low | low |
| Katas and forms in the encyclopedia | 67 | 5 |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 230 | 104 |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
In their modern form the two arts met in Tokyo. Judo was created by Jigoro Kano in 1882 from jujutsu, karate came from Okinawa. In 1922 Kano invited Gichin Funakoshi and his pupil Shinkin Gima to the Kodokan for a demonstration of kata and Funakoshi then stayed in Tokyo.
- Judo: the Kodokan was founded in February 1882, the first dan grades in August 1883.
- Karate: arose in Okinawa (Ryukyu) from local and Chinese techniques, on the main Japanese islands since 1922.
- In 1924 Funakoshi awarded the first dan grades and took over from judo the kyu and dan system, a training uniform modelled on the judogi and the black belt for dan.
- The kata of Kano Seiryoku Zenyo Kokumin Taiiku from 1930 relies almost only on strikes. Gima saw karate techniques in it, the extent of the influence is not documented.
- The Nippon Budokan hosted Olympic judo in 1964 and judo and karate at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
Technique
- Distance of punch and kick, punches, kicks and blocks from stances.
- WKF kumite: 1 point for a punch to the body, 2 points for a kick to the body, 3 points for a kick to the head.
- The head may be hit only with a light touch.
- Prohibited: contact to the neck, attacks on joints, elbows and knees.
- Kyokushin: full contact, no punches to the head.
- Grip and ground: throws (nage-waza), holds, chokes and joint locks (katame-waza).
- Ippon for a throw is judged by speed, force, landing on the back and control.
- A hold on the ground wins after 20 seconds.
- Prohibited: punches and kicks, joint locks other than on the elbow, grip below the belt.
Judo excludes strikes even from free practice and knows strike techniques (atemi) only from kata. Some styles of karate, for example Wado-ryu, on the other hand also practise joint locks and throws.
Training
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pillars of instruction | kihon, kata, kumite | throws, ground fighting, falls (ukemi) |
| Fighting in training | from agreed (yakusoku) to free kumite | randori at various intensity, the main form of training |
| Practising technique | kihon: stances, punches, kicks and blocks | uchi-komi: fitting in a throw without completing it |
| Forms | kata, roughly one hundred across styles | ten Kodokan kata, the emphasis lies on randori |
We have not been able to confirm the training frequency or the ratio of forms, sparring and conditioning for either of the two arts. A study of ten judoka with brown and black belts measured a heart rate of 174 to 183 per minute during four randori of five minutes.
Progression and ranks
| Karate (JKA, Shotokan) | Judo (Kodokan) | |
|---|---|---|
| Student grades | 10 kyu | 6 kyu, belt colours differ by country (in Europe from white to brown) |
| Master grades | 10 dan | 10 dan, from 6th dan red-and-white, 9th and 10th dan red belt |
| Waiting between 1st and 2nd dan | 1 year | we have not found the minimum times of the Kodokan |
| Age limit | 3rd dan from 18 years | 1st dan from 15 years in the United Kingdom, in the USA usually from 16 |
Belt colours differ between styles of karate and in some the white belt is worn until the first dan. In judo a competition can also lead to a belt, in Ireland points for victories over brown belts are collected for the black belt.
Physical load and risks
- Meta-analysis of 28 studies of sport kumite: 88.3 injuries per 1,000 starts.
- Most injuries of the mildest severity, mainly contusions (median 68.3%).
- Most often the head and neck (median 57.9%).
- Concussion at the WKF World Championships 2008–2014: 0.43 per 1,000 starts.
- Olympics 2008–2016: 9.6 injuries per 1,000 minutes of fighting, 35.9% with an absence of over 7 days.
- About 70% of injuries occur in a fall after a throw, almost 85% standing.
- Most often the knee (up to 28%), shoulder (up to 22%) and fingers (up to 30%).
- International competitions 2005–2019: the most common type a sprain (43.31%).
Who it suits
| Karate (WKF) | Judo (IJF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Competition youth | under 14 years (12–13), cadets 14–15, juniors 16–17 | cadets 15–17, juniors 15–20, at IJF events only from 15 years |
| Seniors | from 18 years | from 15 years, no upper limit |
| Higher age | we have not found WKF veteran categories | veterans from M6 (55–59 years) to M9 (over 70), in M7 to M9 without chokes and with a shorter bout |
| Women | at the World Championships since 1980 | Olympic medals since 1992, mixed team since 2020 |
| Para sport | para-karate, World Championships since 2014 | judo at the Paralympics, for example Tokyo 2020 |
Children
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest competition category | WKF from 12 years, national competitions earlier, for example Shotokan SKDUN from 10 years | IJF from 15 years, national competitions earlier, for example Australian Judo Victoria from 6 years |
| Protection of children in competition | under 14 years helmet and body protector compulsory, bout of 1.5 minutes | Judo Victoria: up to U15 without joint locks and chokes, in U9 not even throws from the knees |
| Injuries in youth | Slovak tournaments for children: 45.3 injuries per 1,000 starts, most often the head and neck | Polish study of 6,468 judoka (1977–1980): injuries in 5.7% of youth against 22.5% of adults |
| Positions of experts | the 2016 report of the American Academy of Pediatrics ranks karate and judo among activities that can improve fitness and motor skills | the AAP leaflet describes judo as closer to wrestling than other martial arts |
Self-defence
- Kumite from agreed attacks (yakusoku) to free fighting.
- In WKF resistance is limited by the point rules and a light touch to the head.
- Kyokushin fights in full contact without gloves.
- Throws and joint locks are practised only by some styles.
- Randori with full resistance standing and on the ground.
- Falls (ukemi) are practised from the beginning.
- Strikes are not practised even in randori, atemi remains in kata.
- The self-defence kata Kodokan goshinjutsu and Joshi-goshinho.
Karate trains punches and kicks with resistance according to the style, judo grip, throw and ground with full resistance, but without strikes. Defence against a strike is therefore practised in judo only in kata, work in a grip and on the ground in karate only in some styles.
Practical use
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| Self-defence | we have not found a federation programme, according to a 2009 review no study compared traditional arts and self-defence for women | the self-defence kata Kodokan goshinjutsu and the women Joshi-goshinho, we have not found a study of self-defence in women |
| Older age | randomised study of 89 people around 70 years: after 5 months an improvement in reactivity and attention | review of 23 studies (2023): in part lower fear of falling, in postmenopausal women higher bone density |
| Competition at higher age | veteran categories, for example Shotokan SKDUN up to over 68 years | IJF veterans up to over 70 years, the British federation has since 2022 banned chokes in a bout with a participant over 60 years |
The studies concern small groups and short programmes. No general conclusion about suitability for women, seniors or people with sedentary jobs can be drawn from them. How close the training is to a situation under pressure is shown by the Transfer to self-defence scale.
Competition
| Karate (WKF) | Judo (IJF) | |
|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | only Tokyo 2020, the 2024 and 2028 Games without karate | since Tokyo 1964, missing only in 1968 |
| Senior bout | 3 minutes | 4 minutes |
| Weight classes of seniors | 5 for men, 5 for women | 7 for men, 7 for women |
| End before the limit | a lead of 8 points | ippon or two waza-ari |
| Forms as a discipline | kata of individuals and teams | we have not verified a kata competition in the IJF rules |
| Teams | team kata with bunkai analysis in the medal bout | mixed team of 3 men and 3 women, at the Olympics since 2020 |
Gear and costs
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing | karategi and belt, in WKF kumite a red or blue competition belt | judogi: a heavy cotton jacket, lighter trousers and a belt |
| Colour in competition | WKF kumite: karategi without personal embroidery, the colour is given by the belt | white or blue judogi, the competitor must have both |
| Competition protectors | gloves, mouthguard, body, shin and instep protectors | we have not found compulsory protectors in the IJF rules |
| Relative costs | low | low |
Karate adds protectors only for WKF competition, judo needs a second, blue judogi for IJF competition.
Availability and organisations
| Karate | Judo | |
|---|---|---|
| World sports federation | World Karate Federation | International Judo Federation (Budapest) |
| Other organisations | styles and their organisations (JKA, JKF, IKO and others) | national federations in five continental unions |
| Who awards dan grades | the organisation of the style, there is no central register | the Kodokan, for judoka from all over the world |
| Recognition of grades when changing club | depends on the organisation, we have not found a general rule | we have not found a general rule, conditions differ between federations |
Karate split several times after the deaths of the founders of styles, for example Shotokan after 1957 and Kyokushin after 1994, and grades split together with the organisations.
Switching and combining
- Belts, examinations, etiquette and terminology remain.
- Falls and throws are learned from the beginning.
- Getting used to the grip and full resistance in randori.
- Punches and kicks are not used even in training.
- The kyu and dan system, the uniform and the etiquette remain.
- Newly mastering punches, kicks and blocks from kihon.
- For WKF kumite controlling contact to the head.
The left column describes the transition from karate to judo, the right from judo to karate. What is carried over is mainly the environment that karate took over from judo. The technique hardly overlaps, one art scores a strike, the other a throw.
Philosophy
- Suffix do: a way with a spiritual dimension, the name karate-do since 1929.
- Dojo kun: character, effort, courtesy.
- The Niju kun of Funakoshi: humility, respect, patience.
- Seiryoku zenyo: the maximally efficient use of energy.
- Jita kyoei: mutual benefit.
The pair of softness and hardness appears in both arts: in judo as the basis of the system (softness overcomes hardness), in karate in the name and the breathing of the Goju-ryu style.
Forms and terminology
Karate places forms at the centre of instruction, across styles there are roughly one hundred. Judo differed from its predecessors by its emphasis on randori instead of kata. The Kodokan recognises ten kata, for example Nage-no-kata with 15 throws to both sides and Katame-no-kata with 15 techniques on the ground. Strike techniques are preserved by judo precisely in kata.
Training culture
The main dojo of the Kodokan in Tokyo has 420 tatami and the building also has separate dojo for women and boys. The Shotokan dojo in Tokyo Mejiro, built in 1936, was destroyed by an air raid in 1945.
Common misconceptions
- The kyu and dan grades and the training uniform are not an Okinawan tradition of karate, Funakoshi took them over from judo in 1924.
- Judo is not only a throw: the rules also score holds on the ground and permit chokes and joint locks on the elbow.
- Karate does not have one set of rules: point kumite of WKF and full-contact Kyokushin differ in contact and in permitted techniques.
- Judo knows strike techniques, but only in kata (atemi), they are not used in randori or in competition.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Did karate take anything over from judo?
Yes. In 1924 Gichin Funakoshi took over from Jigoro Kano the kyu and dan system, a training uniform modelled on the judogi and the black belt for dan.
Which of them is Olympic?
Judo has been Olympic since Tokyo 1964, missing only in 1968. Karate was on the programme only at Tokyo 2020, the 2024 and 2028 Games do not have it.
Is there contact in judo?
Full resistance in the grip, in the throw and on the ground, but without strikes and kicks. Karate has contact according to the style, from a light touch to the head in WKF to full contact in Kyokushin.