I will try to keep this succinct. There are books written about these questions. I will start with our core curriculum which is Five Ancestor Fist. This is a Southern Style/Fujian Chinese martial art. Historically it is generally accepted that both the Okinawan and Japanese karate styles find their origins in the Fujian arts. These arts are small frame/short fist styles. There is arguably more focus on hand technique and Qin Na (joint locking/seizing techniques). There is a heavy focus on physical development and body hardening practice. This is similar to most karate systems. The difference with Five Ancestor Fist is incorporating the “softer” style of white crane as well as internal practice into the practice.
In terms of Taekwondo there is little that compares with our curriculum at JDMAA. In the US, taekwondo is primarily taught as a sport karate. It is very heavily focused on kicks, and especially high kicks. This is actually the antithesis of a Southern style practice. It is argued that Taekwondo has its roots in the Northern/Long fist styles of Chinese martial arts. I don’t necessarily ascribe to this because the fundamental fighting theory of these arts are not similar. We teach some Long Fist methods at JDMAA. Tan Tui and Hua Chuan would be considered more akin to Long Fist because of the “large frame” style of these arts. Although, surprisingly, application of the technique is in close and matches the Southern styles in terms of utilizing Quin Na, Seizing, grappling and striking.
