# Judo vs. Karate
- Source: The Mancunion (https://staging.mancunion.com/societies/judo-vs-karate)
- By: Kate Bullivant
- Published: 2012-10-15T23:00:00.000Z
- Section: Societies
**This weeks Society Swap - find out about the pros and cons of Karate and Judo.**

This week, I managed to get the Karate society to swap with the Judo society. A lot of people think they're very similar but this is not the case as Joseph Perry and Michael Pearce found out.

**Name:** Michael Pearce

**Society**: Karate

**What were the things you enjoyed about your Judo session?**

Well it was quite different, so it was good to pick up some new skills. It was also really good exercise, and very physical. I really enjoyed the amount of partner work they do, I ended up meeting a lot of new people.  It was good how they have a range of abilities in the same class and this means that the more experienced can teach the beginners.

**Bad things:**

Coming from a Karate background, we show a lot of respect for the heritage of the sport. This is through bowing every time we get on and off the mat and a series of other things. I thought this was lacking from Judo a bit, because you can still show appreciation for the origins and have people turning up for the session.

**You said you liked the paired work in the Judo, is that something you would like to add to your Karate sessions?**

Well Joe was a bit unlucky in his session, because we usually do more paired work but because we were in a different venue there wasn’t that much room. Where Judo is 100% paired work, Karate is a mixture of individual and paired. Individual work helps you practise the different techniques, and then the paired work teaches you about distances and timing.

**Would you go again?**

Definitely, I thought their coach was fantastic – and I’m pretty sure he just won award for 50 years in Judo coaching.

**Score out of ten?**

10 – there was nothing bad about Judo it’s just very different from Karate.

**Name:** Joseph Perry

**Society:** Judo

**What were the things you enjoyed about your Karate session?**

I loved how strongly focused it was on discipline; in Judo there are a lot of throws where you can just hurl yourself into it. Whereas Karate you have to be so aware of your body because accuracy is everything. I would say Judo was a bit more of a scrappers sport so Karate teaches you how to be precise in your movements. I also thought that the coach was really good, although sometimes I got a bit lost!

**Bad things:**

It’s hard because they are so different and good in their own ways. But I didn’t like the theater that surrounded Karate,I understand that they have to be vocal because it adds power to each move but I thought there was a slight undercurrent of demonstrating your aggression, which doesn’t appeal to me.

**Would you go again?**

Yes

**Score out of ten:**

7 -  I was a bit disappointed I didn’t get to have a one-on-one fight but I think that’s because I was a beginner but the coach was great and I felt I learned a lot.