The different styles of karate:

Shotokan :
   Shotokan Karate is one of the four main schools of Karate in Japan. It is best characterized by its long and deep stances and its use of more linear movements.
The Shotokan style is the most practiced in the world, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi. Shotokan is divided into three parts: kihon or "basics", the Kumite (fighting) and kata (forms or patterns of movements).
The techniques of Shotokan are characterized by deep and long positions that provide stability, powerful movements and position reinforcing the legs. The strength and power are often demonstrated by movements slower and more successful. Kumite techniques mirror these positions and movements to a lower level.

Goju-Ryu :
  The literal transition of the Japanese terms Gojo is "hard\soft" –go meaning hard and ju meaning soft. Ryu means school thus Goju-Ryu is the hard/soft school of karate.
Goju-Ryu Karate is one of the four original Okinawan styles of Karate and was established by Chojun Miyagi (1888-1953).
Goju-Ryu karate is a traditional material art that was mastership from the founder sensei Chojun Miyagi to his student Sensei Anichi Miyagi and then to sensei Morio Higaonna in an unbroken line which means the art has been not diluted or ornament through the generations like many others martial arts have. Instead Gojo-ryu Karate persists as a highly effective fighting system today.
Goju-Ryu Karate has a great kind of hand and foot techniques and devotes hard and soft techniques with both circular and linear movements .particular emphasis is placed on strengthening the body and mind with supplementary exercises.
The basic notion of the hard and soft style is use a soft blocking technique to block a hard strike or to avoid the strike rather than to meet force with force.

Wado-ryu :
  Wado-rue karate was developed by Otsuka Hironori and is one of the four main styles of Japanese karate. Hironori used his knowledge of Shotokan karate Jujutsu and Tai Sabaki(Body movement) to form his own style .
Wado-Ryu Karate does not practice many of body hardening exercise common to other styles of karate preferring rather to use Tai Sabaki to avoid attacks.

Shito-Ryu:
   Style Okinawan Karate created in 1939 by Kenwa Mabuni. The founder was a brilliant student of two great masters of the island: Anko Itosu of Shuri-Te, Kanryo Higashionna (or Higaonna) of Naha-Te.
Trips are based out consistently dodges the attack line of the opponent. The height and width of the positions change constantly: Shiko Dachi, Sanchin Dachi,     Neko Ashi Dachi ... The techniques are short, curled, the blockades are powerful and often used seizures ... The placement of the hips is a primordial of this style.
Shito-Ryu was formed by the combination of the Kata and techniques of these two styles.
Characteristic for Shito-Ryu karate are the square –on stances and linear strikes traditional Okinawa weapons are also taught in the shito-ryu style of karate..

Kenpo:
  Kenpo Karate is a complete fighting system that is particularly popular in the United States.
Kenpo places equal emphasis on the use of hands and feet and uses similar fighting techniques to other Okinawan fighting styles. Kenpo also practices Kata or forms like other martial arts. Whereas most Karate styles use white gis (uniforms) throughout a optical characteristic of Kenpo is its use of black Gis for higher grades and even the mixing of black Gi tops with white pants and vice versa.

Kyokushinkai:
  Style created in 1964 by Oyama Masutatsu from Goju-ryu and some elements of Shotokan. Kyokushin Karate is based on the combat.
The search for efficiency outweighs the rest. The work of kata, very close to those of Goju-Ryu goes well after the fight. Work online and sequences of punches to the body are preferred.

Uechi-ryu:
  Style Okinawan Karate inherited teaching Kanbun Uechi. Kanbun Uechi moved to China and met a Chinese master Zhou Zihe (Shu Shiwa in Okinawan). Shu Shiwa, expert from a school of Chinese boxing pangainon name, will teach this style to Kanbun for ten years.
The pangainon is based on the boxes of tiger, crane and dragon. Its originality is the job open hand, blows with the toes, spikes in the eyes, blocking circular.
The style combines offense and defense in the same movement and promotes the hardening of the body for attack and defense, especially during the Sanchin Kata.

Shotokai:
  This style is meant to be an extension of research Yoshitaka Funakoshi (Shotokan) and integrates techniques and concepts unique to aikido to make the method more relevant to the Japanese martial traditions (Budo).
Two currents dominate the current Shotokai that of Tetsuji Murakami (also subdivided into several groups because of his death and the dispersal of his students: Kiseikai, Shotokai Europe Mushinkai ...) and the Mitsusuke Harada.

Shorin-ryu:
  The Shorin-ryu is one of the styles of karate from Okinawa's oldest, which has its roots in Shuri-Te. Its founder is Sokon Matsumura.
The specificity of Shorin-ryu is the subtlety and mastery of the blockades. This style is thus bringing forward the mastery of technique rather than power. The development of techniques through a thorough job of kata.

Shinshokaï:
  The Shinshokai is a style of karate adapted for disabled. It was developed by Sensei Jacques Debatty (Belgium). 
It is the result of years of practice and research with people with different disabilities. Karate shinshokai is that everyone, whatever its difficulties, can be overcome, be reinstated and fully engage.
Martial art to the full shinshokai allows everyone to develop his mind and his ability to fight for survival by imposing a disability, for example, practice kihon, kata or fighting with one arm behind his back.

Tokitsu-Ryu jiseido:
  The jiseido is a form of unarmed combat / ("kara-te" empty hand) / percussion whose main goal is efficiency. Effective immediately, which finds its expression in the fighting techniques. Long-term effectiveness , which means to maintain and enhance their health and well-being over time. Developed in more than 30 years of studies and research conducted by Kenji sensei Tokitsu, the method adopts the concept deeply rooted in Eastern culture as which body and mind form an indissoluble unity
This style synthesis develops a particular practice "the art of percussion with his bare hands" with the fluidity, continuity and flexibility of body movements mainly driven principles of Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong Martial (Kiko).