Although there are some parallels between karate in Clearwater FL and kickboxing, they are two distinct forms of martial arts, each with their own disciplines. If the desire is to get involved and learn either one, there are a number of things to take into account before the final choice is made and the best thing to do is to locate a martial arts academy, visit it and talk to the instructors and perhaps see demonstrations of the two fighting forms while you are there. Neither one is better than the other, regardless of what certain practitioners might want you to believe.
Karate in Clearwater FL is a martial art; it is backed up by many hundreds of years of tradition having originated in Okinawa Japan. During the 19th century this form of martial art spread across greater Japan and by the 20th century there was no more widely practiced form of martial arts than Karate. Karate teaches the practitioners of the art to embrace a series of postures which are both offensive and defensive, the idea is to learn how to focus all their power into punches and kicks which are very high impact in nature.
Karate is used as a competitive sport as well as a form of exercise. Although Karate is used as a form of self defense its origins lie in the spiritual realm and many people who practice Karate do so for this reason. Physical prowess and mental discipline go hand in hand in this sport, people see it as a way to focus their minds and develop their bodies.
In contrast to the discipline of Karate is kickboxing. Kickboxing embraces a number of different sports; as a matter of fact there is considerable disagreement as to what actually constitutes kickboxing. As a general consensus, kicks that have been borrowed from Karate and other forms of martial arts along with traditional boxing can be seen as kickboxing. The sport itself is relatively new, having come on the scene only in the 1950s.
A number of kickboxing moves are evident in aerobics where the focus is weight loss and overall fitness. Like Karate in Clearwater FL, kickboxing is also taught as a means of self defense but without the spiritual or mental component.