The question often arises to what are the differences between karate and jiujitsu; first the origin of the two arts must be considered. The Samurai were trained in many different martial ways because they needed to be prepared for any situation including empty handed combat on the battlefield. The samurai utilized jiujitsu for this purpose. Samurai weaponry and armour were an integral to the development of empty handed combat. Would a punch or kick be effective against a trained warrior wearing armour? Also consider that these warriors had many years of physical conditioning and training in many ways of life including breathing techniques that would reduce the damage of an empty handed strike.

Samurai also needed to wield weapons in combat and therefore needed full mobility. Close examination of Japanese armour reveals that the joints are fully mobile. Jiujitsu techniques are very effective against armour because they attack the opponent’s joint. Elbows, shoulders and wrists need to be free in order to swing a spear or strike with a sword. Jiujitsu emphasizes locks on elbows, wrists and shoulders. Since the samurai needed to be equipped for all situations, there are many other techniques involved in jiujitsu training.

Karate was developed in Okinawa by a group of people that did not have access to samurai armour; therefore kicks and strikes were very effective. The average person needed self defense and empty handed fighting techniques were adopted from China. Considering that the southern most Okinawan islands are almost equidistant from Japan’s main islands and China, China was in a position to influence Okinawa. Over many years Okinawan honed the empty handed techniques into what is now known as karate.

The histories of jiujitsu and karate are too extensive to be covered in this brief article, but hopefully some light has been shed to the differences between the two.