What is the difference between judo, jujitsu, karate, kung fu, and tae kwon do?
Judo, jujitsu, and karate are Japanese in origin; kung fu is Chinese and tae kwon do is Korean. Jujitsu (also spelled jujutsu, jiujitsu, jiujutsu) is a weaponless series of holds, throws, and thrusts used to overturn or disable the opponent – and judo is a refined version of these movements that focuses on quick movement. Both jujitsu and judo translate to ju ‘soft’ + jitsu ‘art, skill’. Karate (translating to ’empty hand’) is similar to jujitsu but involves sharp, quick blows to sensitive parts of the opponent’s body. Kung fu (‘art, skill’) is the Chinese version of this, but weapons are sometimes used. Tae kwon do is similar to karate and the term translates tae ‘to trample’ + kwon ‘fist’ + do ‘way’ – or ‘way to defeat/trample with the fists’.
