As far as your first question goes, it might be better to phrase it as "What are the best styles for ________" replacing the black space with what your goals are. Martials arts are a form of tool, and you want the right tool for the job at hand. This doesn't mean you can't change your goals, and any martial art should be able to be changed to suit your needs. There are two defintions of style, the set of basic concepts and techniques you're taught at first and the unique style of personal adjustments to meet your own particular goals that you invariably develop while you train. As far as fighting goes, even that depends on your goals. For example if you want to kill someone... Buy a gun. If you want self-defense... practice running away. Read Meditations on Violence by Sgt. Rory Miller to determine what kind of violence you want or need to use and deal with if that's your goal. Generally speaking the best form of Martial Arts is whatever you're practicing at the moment. Ryu Te Karate for me. As far as question #2 goes; show us a video if you want us to be certain but as far as we know now. YES, it could be a different style. We dunno. Define "newer." Shotokan was founded in 1939 according to its wikipedia page. Funakoshi (Founder of shotokan) modified earlier okinawan styles to impress (and defeat) many others especially Judo and Judokas. It is considered the earliest "Japanese" style due to it's being the first to be widely adopted in the main islands of Japan. However, karate was originally many many systems passed down through the male line in an Okinawan Bushi (samurai) caste family. Every time the family art was passed on the concepts and techniques would change a little, sort of like a folk-tale. Other okinawan styles of kempo and karate became popular in Japan over the years. Other styles that developed, like my own, skipped Japan altogether and went straight to America and other countries. Karate may be able to be defined as a martial art that can trace most of its primary influences back to the original Bushi families of Okinawa. If you were to draw a line from when the original okinawan art of Te (hand) changed to karate (chinese hand) to the present, shotokan would be far closer to the present than it would be to the beginning. There are a huge number of basic concept and technique styles ( as opposed to individual styles )that have been formed more recently however. Erm, long answer wasn't it?
In terms of the martial art being effective, I guess it comes down to the training methods and how much time we spend on particular techniques. I can understand why some people think Kyokushin is the "most effective", because they spend so much more time practising sparring while the other styles are doing 1000 chudan punches. Like boxers spend most of their time punching and Judokas spend more time with throwing which is why they are so damn good. Like this guy said, they spend less time with pointless stuff (sorry to be so bold) and more time with the highly practical low kicks and active hand work. It's true that each style of Karate has low kicks, but what good is it if you spend 95% of the time doing other stuff and only 5% of the time with low kicks. The human body just won't get into the habit of using these moves. To answer the second question, there are a lot of watered down Shotokan schools where they put business and competition first, before the true martial art, so it's makes sense that the standards will be lower.
Training is what makes an effective fighter, fighting styles are distinct from training methods. Any style can use any training method and at club level you will find a lot of variety based on who is training and why.
The OP referred to the issue of what the best form of Karate was. There are two ways to view the issue IMO - a generalistic assessment of all forms of karate without consideration of the person doing it - which I think is the OP's intent, and having experienced only one form I am nowhere qualified to produce an answer. Then there is another way of looking at it - what is the best form of Karate for any one person doing it. I guess some people have done several different types and might have a more informed view, but I guess everyone who hasn't so much experience will probably pick the one they are doing (familiarity is a great guide for what is 'best' isn't it ;-) ) As such I am pleased to be doing Wado Ryu (all 7 months of it!). I have read about other forms and think some of the others wouldn't have been so good for me starting as old as I did. I like the focus on defensive techniques and the fact that (at my level at least) there is not quite so much being dumped on the deck - we do a little, but luckily not so often (I am old enough to know that I am breakable). The Kata appeals a lot and I like doing 'basics' in the lines. There are some folk in the Dojo that speak of being injured doing it in competition and training, but from what I read of other forms Wado Ryu might be a form with less chance of injury - at my age this is a consideration, and I think I am lucky that my closest Dojo (which was my choice factor) did this form, as when I decided to do this I had no idea that other forms of Karate existed and I certainly didn't fancy the idea of Judo (in terms of being dumped on the deck) to get fit!
Dumping on the deck!? In Wado!? Nahh [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3kari_F56o"]Wado Ryu - Kihon Kumite 5 - YouTube[/ame]
isshin ryu I like this style because it fits to my body. I am short like the people from Okinawa. The style is part Gojo-ryu and Shorin-ryu. It calls for close in techniques. I can't kick real high and this system does not call for that.
This is pretty spot on. A good karate ryu will use whatever works to improve its instructors and students abilities. The closer you lean to an Okinawan 'style' (I hate the word style when describing any Okinawa Te, I prefer 'approach to training') then you lean more towards barehanded combat efficacy over dogmatic repetition and (in my humble opinion) a Japanese imperialistic hierarchy. Function over form to put it simply. Any karateka worth their salt should be ready and willing to approach and train for a variety of situations and confrontations be it standing or on the ground (admittedly, the catalogue and scope of karate groundwork leaves a lot to be desired in many schools; in my own personal case I sought out judoka and BJJ guys to train with to actually build confidence). You'll also find a solid emphasis on conditioning the body to be both strong and durable (I know many Goju ryu have some fantastic hojo undo practices). Karate is a tough one to put a finger on these days. It's a very much catch-all term for just about anything that has folks in white pajamas in. In my personal opinion I think it's best to look closer to the 'purer' Okinawan branches if you're looking for something that can be useful in actual fighting but that is only because I have no experience of practicing karate for competitive reasons. But herein lies the real beauty and diamond in karate. You can start in whatever style you like. Eventually (if you're really serious about BEING a martial artist and not just DOING martial arts) you will start to build something all your own from your foundation. If you're hungry for understanding, for knowledge and answers then you'll go out and find them. Eventually, pure sourced or not, you'll want to go and make the karate yours. Want to really find the use of kata? You have to work at it. And I don't mean mindless repetition and convincing yourself you're practicing a fight against a bunch of people. I mean dissecting everything and stripping it down to find the underlying principles at multiple levels and then ensuring there are places where they can be applied. Then taking all that you think you've learned and turning it on its head to try and find all the weaknesses in it (and so on, look up shimeijurasan). Literally thinking through every process you do, right down to punching so you can apply chinkuchi in a split second. Then learning to actually apply that kind of knowledge against non conforming opponents. Pushing your body and mind to its limits through progressive hojo undo. Nothing worth having in karate is handed to you. But that's all my opinion of course. Is there an ultimate 'style' of karate? Nah, I don't think so. But I think there are people who 'do karate' and then there are real karateka.
