King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Karate vs Krav Maga

Karate and Krav Maga side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.

KarateKrav Maga
Country of originRyukyu KingdomCzechoslovakia and Israel
Typemartial arts and Olympic sportcombat sport, self-defense and martial arts
Competition at the OlympicsYes – 10 Olympic events recorded—
Notable practitioners here8781
Top countries of practitionersJapan, United States and FranceIsrael

Karate

Karate (空手) (; Japanese pronunciation: [kaɾate] ; Okinawan pronunciation: [kaɾati]), also karate-do (空手道, Karate-dō), is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called te (手), "hand"; tī in Okinawan) under the influence of Chinese martial arts. While modern karate is primarily a striking art that uses punches and kicks, traditional karate training also employs throwing and joint locking techniques. A karate practitioner is called a karate-ka (空手家).

From the Wikipedia article Karate (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Krav Maga

Krav Maga ( KRAHV mə-GAH; Hebrew: קְרַב מַגָּע, IPA: [ˈkʁav maˈɡa]; lit. 'contact combat') is an Israeli self-defence system. Developed for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), it is known for its focus on real-world situations.

From the Wikipedia article Krav Maga (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q11419, Q184733. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.