Thursday, November 12, 2009

What is the difference between Karate and Taekwondo?

I%26#039;m trying to find out what the differences are so I can make my decision on which is best for me and my 3 year old daughter. I%26#039;ve been looking at schools but I don%26#039;t know what the differences in the types of martial arts are. Thank you all for you time.|||I do not know where people get their answers, but most of them are dead wrong. Capital, the answer man, and Lord to an extent are the only ones who gave half way decent answers.





The first difference is that TKD originated in Korea, although it was influanced by the Japanese ocupation. Karate has two main branches, the original Okinawin styles, and the styles that were adopted and changed by the japanese. Yes I know Okinawa is part of Japan, but the karate that originated there is distinctly different than the japanese versions.





TKD does focus primarily on kicks, but if you find a good traditional school with a good instructor they do use a lot of hand techniques, as well as throws and chokes, etc.





Trying to say karate is so much hands versus so much feet is like saying all apples are the same. In the okinawin styles there are huge variances. Some use more hands, some use more feet. Some use the majority of open hands, others closed. Some use thrusting kicks, others use snapping kicks. there are styles that do mainly circular blocks and others that use more linear blocks. There are hard styles and soft styles of karate. The style I train is Isshin-Ryu, which is a blending of a harder and a softer style of karate. It is very raelistic and self defene oriented, but no better than any of the others.





Both karate (any style) and TKD take a long time to learn, but that is because they were meant to be tarined for a lifetime.





The bottom line is I would not worry so much about the style as I would the school and instructor, as well as your main goal for you and your daughter in training. Capital provided a pretty good list of things to look for and what to avoid, and I would only add to watch the senior students with the darker colored belts. If they have attitudes, are cocky, or treat the lower belts bad, or have sloppy movements, well that kind of thing comes down from the top.





Any good traditional TKD or Karate school that has a good instructor should provide you with good self defense, and help you and your daughter to gain self respect, respect for others, confidance, and discipline. I would caution that i too feel that 3 is probably to young to start serious training, as it takes being able to focus well, and I have never known a 3 year old that can focus on something for very long. I hope thsi answer helps, and I hope you do not give up on the idea of starting, because it could be the best gift you ever give your daughter. if you have any more questions feel free to E-mail me. i may be able to recomend some schools in your area.





Good Luck.|||Karate: Japanese, mainly arm%26#039;s sport (blocks and so on).


Tae Kwon Do: Korean, mainly AMAZING kicks.





My daughter has been practising TKD for 5 years. I recommend this martial art to everybody.|||It can be generalized that in karate, one would use their arms or hands for 60% of the time for strikes or blocks while the use of legs for kicking will be about 40%. This breakdown is seen in the many forms or katas of karate which are set routines which simulate fighting against imaginary opponents using martial arts techniques. The forms from tae kwon do would have the opposite percentage breakdown with 40% hands and 60% legs. In tae kwon do, there is also more emphasis on higher kicks to the head level than in karate. Tae kwon do practitioners also utilize more jumping or flying kicks where one is airborne while executing kicking techniques. The tae kwon do forms or patterns are generally a bit shorter and less complex than the karate forms.


I would suggest looking for a Cuong Nhu class somewhere near your home. Cuong Nhu is a mix of hard(cuong) and soft(nhu) styles of martial arts which include 7 martial arts i think, everywhere from judo to tai chi showing a wide variation of the %26quot;hard soft%26quot; method. There are weapon training methods also, and a great trainign syetem for younger students. Ive been in Cuong Nhu for a long time and am on my way to black belt, and would highly suggest that if possible you get your daughter into a dojo. It uses a lot of mental teaching along with the physical training, And would help your daughter a great deal through school and such.|||In most modern schools in America, there isn%26#039;t a lot of difference anymore. Stylistically, there are traditional differences.





Taekwon Do is traditionally concerned with utilizing the legs to deliver strikes while the hands are merely around to set up a good kick.





Karate on the other hand does not gravitate towards any particular striking method and is not, in most styles of karate, a very dynamic art. Keep in mind that karate is a broad catch-all that encompasses a large number of hand-to-hand fighting styles that originated with the peasantry of Okinawa and, to a lesser extent, Japan.





Really, you shouldn%26#039;t base your decision on where to go based on the style. You should base your decision on whether or not the schools that you look at appeal to you, your daughter (even though I personally believe she is too young to start martial arts training), and your checkbook.





You should go to the school with the best quality of instruction, the most qualified instructors, and to the place where you feel most comfortable.





If the style still concerns you, I suggest you use Wikipedia to research the origins and style particulars of the two arts.|||...... lol just watch this video





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvj


vugJ2rFM





(TKD K.O%26#039;s)


anyways ive used to go to TKD about 2 years ago, TKD is a lot more freestyle then Karate as Karate is more of an art. But if you are learning for self defense or live in a bad hood or something imagine dropping a guy in one kick like the way the people in the video did on the streets......


anyways if you do it for defense and for protection i suggest TKD because karate also uses kicks but more punches and I dont think you want to get technical and have like a 9 round boxing match with someone off the streets.


If you are fending from a boxer or karate and you have some distance between you, the guy your fighting is KO%26#039;d hands down.











PS DONT WORRY IF YOUR NOT A KICKER AND CANT KICK HIGH AFTER FEW WEEKS IN TKD TRAINING YOU GROW HUGE MUSCLE ON YOUR LEGS AND WORK OUT YOUR HAMSTRINGS SO YOUR ABLE YO KICK MUCH HIGHER.|||Since there is way to much to offer in such a short space, I%26#039;m not going to talk about TKD vs. Karate. I want to caution you on the 3 year old aspect of it....





As a teacher of pre-schoolers, make sure what your child is learning is martial arts. If they are not learning traditional martial arts (regardless of art) but rather they are learning stuff like how to skip, how to get out of the house during a fire, look both ways before you cross the street, etc. (all good things, but...), you are part of a very expensive daycare service. Those things can and should be taught at home, not in a martial arts school. That being said, those can be aspects of the training, but should not be the focus.





On the flip side, make sure that what they are learning is age appropriate. There%26#039;s no point training a 3 year old the same way you%26#039;d train a 30 year old.





I have seen both extremes, so be cautious.|||Karate I think a little easier at first some of the TKD kicks are complicated, and take longer to learn Both are good exercise and that is great. TKD is an Olympic sport, Karate is not, at this time|||If you are looking for actual self-defense then go with either Tang Soo Do or one of the many Karate styles.TKD has excellent kicks, but most TKD schools focus on tournament play. Karate has quite a few tournament competitions but the schools seem to be more oriented towards self defense. Your daughter may actually be better served waiting a year or two before you sign her up for classes. Assess what you are looking for in the instruction and proceed from there.|||karate is 80% punching 20% kicking





Tae Kwan Do is 80% kicking 20% punching





they both should do some take downs. but yeah good luck|||Karate is more of a focus, in touch conection. Taekwondo is more kicking for balance, focus, and indiviual reflection,|||Karate originated in Okinawa, adopted by the Japanese. Taekwondo is Korean. Karate came to the U.S. first. When Koreans started coming to the states, they marketed taekwondo as Korean Karate. They are both comprised of mostly of striking. Taekwondo focuses more on kicking. Karate incorporates take downs in competition while Taekwondo doesn%26#039;t. Other than that, they%26#039;re pretty similar, as far as I know.|||Karate-Do is Okinowan %26amp; Japanese martial arts that are 50% kicks %26amp; 50% punches. TKD is a Korean combat sport that is 70% kicks %26amp; 30% punches. Both have belts but the routines in Karate-Do are called katas %26amp; in TKD their called hyungs. If you%26#039;re looking for exercise you could do either. If you%26#039;re looking to defend yourself I wouldn%26#039;t choose TKD. If you are looking for self defense purposes I would recommend Isshin-Ryu Karate-Do http://www.isshindo.com/background.htm but if not any Karate style is okay.

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