Karate vs Tae Kwon Do Pros/Cons

[Don Juan Wannabe]

I've wanted to take martial arts for a while but never got around to it. Now Im serious about taking one and while these two, karate and taw kwon do arn't my first choices they are the only ones close enough to the house to keep things practical.

Now I realize that at the end of the day martial arts are just that...art, but still I believe they would give anyone a little upper hand in a fight, especially agianst someone your own sized with no experience. Which one would be more practical in a real fight if I ever was forced to defend myself? Do you only use bo staves in karate? What are the cons/pros of each

Thanks...

 

[PeterNorthisawesome]

...don't take karate if you do there's something called KYOKUSHIN KARATE which is a more advanced and better version, it's designed to inflict more damage but you probably need a black belt to take the course. I personally think the best martial art to learn for a fight is Ju-Jistu. But between karate and Tae Kown definitely do do Tae Kwon Do, it's both offensive and defensive and focuses on kicks and jumping kicks. Karate is only offensive but focuses on punching and kicking.

One reason I don't like karate is because I actually been in a fight with kid who has black belt in that and still kicked his ass. One punch in the gutt he was on the ground crying like a b*tch, if he knew Tae Kown Do he prob would have blocked it and kicked me in the face.

 

[dannowillbookem]

listen to peternorth. he's asian, so he knows.

 

[PeterNorthisawesome]

listen to peternorth. he's asian, so he knows.

Half Asian get it right.

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

it's designed to inflict more damage but you probably need a black belt to take the course.

What does that mean? You need a black belt to start in KK?

 

[PeterNorthisawesome]

What does that mean? You need a black belt to start in KK?

Ya my friend who started karate when he was 5 got his black belt when he was 15 and started taking the KK. So ya if you take Karate and go up to KK it's worth it, eventually if you become master at KK you'll get the red belt.

 

[Dust 2 Dust]

TKD and karate are obsolete by todays standards. Karate and TKD are not effective styles of self defense. You could train in TKD for 10 years and anyone with two months of BJJ training will beat you easily. I got a black belt in TKD when I was 11 and eventually abandoned it. Karate,TKD, and Kung Fu have more in common with dancing than fighting.

Although quick on their feet as soon as you get a karate or TKD guy on the ground all their training and concentration goes out the window. The easiest way to defeat a karate or TKD guy is to close the distance and clinch which will render all their kicking techniques useless. They'll usually turn their back to you once you achieve the mount setting you up for an easy rear naked choke or they'll throw punches from the bottom position setting you up for an easy armbar.

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

I got a black belt in TKD when I was 11 ...

That alone makes wherever you got your belt from a bull**** dojo, you dont know about real karate or TKD.

I did Kyokushin karate and we did full contact sparring, plus once a week we did "MMA training", which means that our coach taught us groundwork and takedowns.

Thats the other side of karate, you can never say "karate sux" or "karate is great" without going to that school and checking it out yourself.

Although quick on their feet as soon as you get a karate or TKD guy on the ground all their training and concentration goes out the window. The easiest way to defeat a karate or TKD guy is to close the distance and clinch which will render all their kicking techniques useless. They'll usually turn their back to you once you achieve the mount setting you up for an easy rear naked choke or they'll throw punches from the bottom position setting you up for an easy armbar.

Yeah it looks easy when you watch it on the ultimate fighter, right tough guy?

 

[PeterNorthisawesome]

That alone makes wherever you got your belt from a bull**** dojo, you dont know about real karate or TKD.

I did Kyokushin karate and we did full contact sparring, plus once a week we did "MMA training", which means that our coach taught us groundwork and takedowns.

Thats the other side of karate, you can never say "karate sux" or "karate is great" without going to that school and checking it out yourself.



Yeah it looks easy when you watch it on the ultimate fighter, right tough guy?

There's a man who knows what he's talkin about! Ya once you go up to KK it gets pretty dangerous. BTW what color belt do you have black or red?

 

[Don Juan Wannabe]

See this sucks, I wanted to take up a martial art or boxing, just something. I hear too many bad things about like tae kwon do and karate though and these things called MCdojos, well god how do you know if the place im looking at is a cheesy half assed gym. I would hate to waste my time on a obsolete art with ****ty teachers.

I don't know, maybe theres other places, whats the best way to figure out what places are located around you. I live up in minnesota and there isn't much, checked the yellow pages online but it sucks ass...

 

[Slevin]

There's a man who knows what he's talkin about! Ya once you go up to KK it gets pretty dangerous. BTW what color belt do you have black or red?

Kyokushin is just another style of karate. Sure it's tougher than most but you don't start in another style and "go up" to it, you can start training without any experience.

 

[Slevin]

See this sucks, I wanted to take up a martial art or boxing, just something. I hear too many bad things about like tae kwon do and karate though and these things called MCdojos, well god how do you know if the place im looking at is a cheesy half assed gym. I would hate to waste my time on a obsolete art with ****ty teachers.

I don't know, maybe theres other places, whats the best way to figure out what places are located around you. I live up in minnesota and there isn't much, checked the yellow pages online but it sucks ass...

Forget about styles. The most important thing in a ma school is whether they train realistically. Go watch both classes, if things seem dodgy, like they advocate disarming a knife with a spinning kick, or they don't spar, go elsewhere.

edit: If you have a boxing gym near you go there now!

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

There's a man who knows what he's talkin about! Ya once you go up to KK it gets pretty dangerous. BTW what color belt do you have black or red?

Seriously man, Ive never heard of somebody having to work up to Kyokushinkai, its a different style of karate and and you can start whenever you want. At least thats how my gym was.

I have a blue belt in Kyokushinkai, I had to move away though so I quit that and have been doing Muay Thai for the last two years.

 

[Dust 2 Dust]

Phoenix, my TKD Quan Jang Nim was a korean immigrant, 8th degree black belt, and was a certified instructor by the World Martial Arts Federation. I began my training at age 8 and was given my black belt after 3 years at age 11.

TKD is a very easy art to master because it is a stlye that relies primarily on speed and foot work. The biggest cons of TKD from my own personal experience is that it 70-80% of the techniques don't work especially the chopping strikes and many of the kick combos they teach you are pure flash and would never work in an actual street fight. The only pros to this style would be increased flexibility and endurance, but you can get that from just doing cardio exercise.

Every NHB session I've ever seen between a karate or TKD guy and a grappler the karate practitioner always loses like in these clips of karate and kung fu masters getting b1tch slapped and humiliated in front of their own students by Royler and Rorion Gracie. In the first clip Royler Gracie takes on a "street lethal" karate master.
http://www.sosuave.net/forum/showthread.php?t=96520

To the original poster. Any legit school is going to allow you to pay as you go and offer you a few lessons for free so that you can check out the school and cancel your training if you're not satisfied. No legit school would ever ask you to sign a contract. If you would like further examples of deceptive martial arts practices there are some things here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDojo

 

[Phoenix_of_the_ashes]

Phoenix, my TKD Quan Jang Nim was a korean immigrant, 8th degree black belt, and was a certified instructor by the World Martial Arts Federation. I began my training at age 8 and was given my black belt after 3 years at age 11.

I cant confirm that, but no legit school gives out black belts to 11 year olds.

 

[royenbryan]

Yes I agree Phoenix of the ashes!

No legit schools give black belts to 11 year old kid. As far as training concern I think karate would be more helpful for defense. I am aware of the school that provides free trial introductory class of both martial arts as well as karate.

 

[Huffman]

If you do choose Karate, you kinda have the choice between sports Karate (meaning: WKF-Style no-contact point sparring) and traditional Okinawan Karate (meaning: theoretically deadly but arcane and super complicated). Either way, know what you're doing vs. not doing. After training IOGKF Goju-Ryu for 6 years I certainly know what we are doing vs. other martial arts.

If you want to be a successful fighter (and not wait 20 years), then neither Karate nor TKD are for you. You should take a common MMA combination like Muay Thai + BJJ etc.
If you want to do realistic self defense, then neither is for you. You should take a modern class such as Krav Maga (or, really, join the military).

Otherwise: Go for the fun!
Traditional Karate is fun because of the history and technical development. TKD is fun because you do lots of crazy flashy kicks. Find what's fun for you. I'll be the first to say that you can even try some weird Kung-Fu styles - if it's fun, stick with it.

Finally, the practical side: if you are not very flexible or have hip joint problems, don't try TKD. Also, I understand TKD is kinda standardized; but Karate has lots of McDojos in the US and every goon teaches some crazy bullsh!t. Try to find a school that is either affiliated to a reputable organization (ideally based in Japan), or - if you like tournaments - one that has a good fighting record.

 

[Huffman]

I amend; Kyokushin is out there too, which focuses on contact fight. Although I can't really see the merit of this, because nowadays we have MMA schools that focus on the same but with more success.

There are many flavours of the fighting arts out there - the most effective is not for everyone. Different ppl like different arts. My advice: go to a club, see if you like the people, then stay.

 

[hanni]

baloney, NO style renders you anything like any type of fighter in 2 months. In fact, very few guys can do much more than hold their nuts after 6 months, they way they teach in the US these days (in all styles)