I often get asked, "how are my karate classes?" and I have to explain we don't teach karate classes, we have kuk sool hapkido classes and have to go into explaining karate is a specific type of martial arts and not the genre or general term for them. They will usually follow up listing any style they have heard of, "oh so it's taekwondo kung fu or is it brazilian jiu-jitsu?" So, I thought it would be an interesting blog topic to address: what martial arts is as a whole to me and their differences.
Marital arts is a general term to a system of self defense, which can be further broken down into the categories such as sports, traditional, exercise, and even spiritual or healing. The art that you choose may help decide which one is more geared towards your goals and wants. If you want to compete, it would make sense to look for more sports focused styles like MMA, boxing, muay thai, wresting, judo and so forth, if you were interested in learning something about a culture and how they protected themselves, you may want to search for a traditional martial arts school such as wing chun, capoeira, or escrima.
Please note, just like anything, the instructor will usually guide students towards their stronger suit. As for me, I believe application is the most important aspect of training. It gives students confidence and something tangible to justify the thousands of reps and hours of practice. I assume thats why I was considered an MMA school because I teach Kuk Sool Hapkido as the foundation, but during application it will depend on the student's natural abilities and comfortably. I take in a sense of pride knowing that students feel safer and are more capable of protecting themselves not just copying what I can do or other instructors/senior students. Others may look for specific positioning in forms, or how well they're able to express themselves through the movements. Their ability to have full control over their bodies is something beautiful to behold. So always be aware that your goals match those of the instructors for the best experience.
Hopefully that provided some insight as to why we don't teach karate and how martial arts is properly address. Have a great one!