The Difference Between Shotokan and Kyokushin

Both styles are different on a contact level. Kyokushin karate believes more in full-body contact, this ranges from medium to hard contact during sparring to full contact during competition.

Kyokushin karate deals with strikes on all parts of the body except the head. It repeatedly does a lot of legwork and makes a lot of use of the legs to make knee hits or kicks. On the other hand, Shotokan karate deals with strikes to the head, face, neck, side of the body, chest, back, and abdomen, but the lower body region is not touched.

Shotokan karate tends to focus more on Katas than on sparring, hence their scoring. Kyokushin karate, you’d have guessed by now, focuses on sparring more than Katas.