Saturday, May 15, 2010

What is the difference between Taekwondo and karate? Is one superior or more challenging than the other ?

The real only differance between TKD and Karate is TKD is on Korea and Karate is from Okinawa/Japan. The Koreans took many parts of the Japanese Te and did not want Shotokan to be their art, so they developed TKD so it would be a Korean art.





Sure TKD kicks more than Karate but they share a lot the same heritage and are both good arts as are most, it is the teacher more so than the art that will make you a superior MA.|||It depends on what you mean by better. Are you looking for a workout or to learn to defend yourself? In simple terms, Karate is focused more on punching and Tae Kwon Do is focused more on kicking. Both are very aesthetically pleasing, however offer very little efficacy in actual combat, as both are very repetive, robotic and predictable.





Also, your body type can determine what you will gravitate more to. If you are big, stocky and/or muscular, you may choose Karate; as kicking may not be a strong point. If you are lean and limber; TKD may be more for you as you can keep the distance with your kicks.





Both offer the benefits of disclipline, friendship, and added health. So why limit yourself to one? Study both. Or better yet, learn MMA. (Okay I%26#039;m a little biased) Either way, good luck!!!|||Tae Kwon Do is Korean %26amp; emphasizes foot techniques. Karate is either Okinawan, which emphasizes hand techniques or Japanese which does about 50/50. Many practitioners wil swear that their style is far superior, but I will not. I practice Tae Kwon Do (3rd dan black belt) but respect other styles.|||No one style is better than the other, it all depends on the person that does that style of martial arts.|||I did both





Ji Do Kwan Tae kwon Do - (WTF Sports Tae Kwon Do) Has a good solid base in fitness and can give you a great workout and add to your flexability not very good real life fighting skills





Go Kan Ryu Karate-Do - Focus is on technique and they tend to ignore real fighting they have poor fitness inclass as they expect you do all the fitness stuff outside of class yourself same with flexability





They are both good TKD more for fitness Karate more for technique both are poor for self defence|||Karate is kind of a catch all phrase refering a wide range of martial arts. Tae Kwon Do is a particular style of martial art, like Judo, Go Shin Khan, or Jujitsu. Different styles may emphasize different tyles of things. Tae Kwon Do places a lot of emphasis on kicking, Judo on throws and Jujitsu and Akido on joint manipulation.





If you are interested in karate, but not sure what style, visit a number of schools and see what style interests you the most.|||I.M.H.O. no martial art is better than any other. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Have you thought about Aikido, or Jujitsu?|||Tomcatjak you must be in TKD and an American one at that for you would know there is a difference between Karate and TKD.





I have a Third degree in Karate and a First degree in TKD, Korean style lineage. Meaning my teacher knew who his teacher was and so on back to the founding father of TKD.





n Korean, derived from hanja, tae (跆) means to destroy with the foot;kwon (拳) means to strike or smash with the hand; and do (道) means art, or way of life. Hence, taekwondo is loosely translated as %26quot;the way of the foot and fist%26quot;. Taekwondo%26#039;s popularity has resulted in the divergent evolution of the martial art. As with many other martial arts, taekwondo is a combination of combat technique, self-defense, sport, exercise, entertainment, and philosophy.





Foreign influence





During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), the practice of taekyon was banned. Although practice of the art nearly vanished, Taekyon survived through underground teaching and folk custom. As the Japanese colonization established a firm foothold in Korea, the few Koreans who were able to attend Japanese universities were exposed to Okinawan and Japanese martial arts with some even receiving black belts under Gichin Funakoshi. Koreans in China were also exposed to Chinese martial arts. By 1945, when the Korean peninsula was liberated from Japanese colonization, many martial arts schools were formed and developed under various names such as Tang Soo Do reflecting foreign influence.





At the end of World War II, several Kwans arose. They were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Jidokwan (or Yun Moo Kwan), Chang Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, Kang Duk Won, and Song Moo Kwan.





[edit] Modern taekwondo





By the end of the Korean War, nine martial arts schools (translated as kwan) had opened, and South Korean President Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. A governmental body selected a naming committee%26#039;s submission of %26quot;tae-kwon-do,%26quot; submitted by General Choi Hong Hi, a general in the South Korean army and the founder of the Oh Do Kwan, for the new unified form. Following taekwondo%26#039;s official name submission on April 11, 1955,[4] The Korean Taekwondo Association (KTA) was formed in 1959 to facilitate the unification. [5] Shortly thereafter, taekwondo made its debut in North America. Standardization efforts in Korea stalled, as the kwans continued to teach differing styles. Another request from the Korean government for unification resulted in the formation of the Korea Tae Soo Do Association, which changed its name back to the Korean Taekwondo Association in 1965 following a change of leadership. This new leader was General Choi Hong Hi who ended up falling out of favor in South Korea following a trip to communist North Korea. This resulted in Choi%26#039;s separation from the KTA and the founding of a new, private organization, the International Taekwondo Federation, in 1966.





In 1972, the Korea Taekwondo Association Central Dojang was opened. A few months later, the name was changed to the Kukkiwon, which means %26quot;National Technique Center.%26quot; The Kukkiwon remains the World Taekwondo Headquarters to this day. The following year, the World Taekwondo Federation was formed. The International Olympic Committee recognized the WTF and taekwondo sparring in 1980, and the sport was accepted as a demonstration event at the 1988 Seoul and the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympic Games. It became an official medal event as of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. Taekwondo is one of two Asian martial arts (judo being the other) in the Olympic Games.





The public WTF and private ITF, the two largest taekwondo organizations, operate and train in hundreds of nations and teach the martial art to millions of people each year. Although competition has always been a significant feature of Taekwondo, the majority of practitioners compete and practice taekwondo for personal development, self-defense and fun.





There is a little history on TKD for you.





Karate is just as good for self defense as any other art is. NO style is better than another. IT is the teacher that makes a style or art effective or not.





Try a Karate class of a traditional school with a teacher of good reputation and you will not think it is bad for self defense and it is just as good as TKD is. That is my point. All the arts have a similar history the use of empy handed combat. They are all good and effective if you are taught by a good teacher and you are a good student learning too.





Thats that. None is superior to the other, only a teacher is or is not.|||Karate is a martial art that developed from a synthesis of indigenous Ryukyuan fighting methods and kempo.[1] %26quot;Karate%26quot; originally meant Chinese hand, but was later changed to a homonym meaning %26quot;empty hand%26quot; in Japanese. It is known primarily as a striking art, featuring punching, kicking, knee/elbow strikes and open handed techniques. However, grappling, joint manipulations, locks, restraints/traps, throws and vital point striking also appear in karate. A practitioner of karate is called a karateka.





Taekwondo (also spelled taekwon-do or tae kwon do) is a martial art and combat sport originating in Korea. One of the most widely practiced martial arts in the world[1], it is the national sport of South Korea and one form of sparring, shihap kyeorugi, is an Olympic sporting event.





No martial art is superior to another, it all comes down to the practitioner.|||Looking at some dojos today, you might not be able to tell the difference, but I%26#039;ll explain this... it%26#039;s historical. Karate was developed off Southern Chinese Kung Fu, mixed with Okinawan Te. (Striking) It only came to be called Karate in the early 20th century (before that called Chuan Fa, Tode, or Kempo) when the Japanese government took over Okinawa. (Okinawa is as Japanese as Hawaii is American... meaning it is, but culturally, it%26#039;s different) Karate (Japanese Empty Hand) replace the Chinese sounding names used before this time so it could go on to become popular in Japan. Gichin Funakoshi took the Okinawan highschool curriculum (Karate without much bunkai and torite) to Tokyo where it later became called Shotokan. When the Japanese took over Korea, they brought with them Shotokan Karate, and taught the Koreans, and in Korean Kara-te-do is pronounced Tang-soo-do. After WWII when Korea regained it%26#039;s independence Japanese Tang-soo-do was not popular, so they renamed it Taekwon-do, and expanded onto it Korea%26#039;s high kick system.


So, in a way, Taekwondo is like Japanese Karate (watered down curriculum) with higher (less effective, but potentially more aerobically healthy.... Note how Jhoon Rhee was instrumental in our American Presidential Physical Fitness in the 80s) kicks. Since Taekwondo became an Olympic sport though, it has become even less effective.


Now, Karate dojos try to keep up with the acrobatics of Taekwondo, and you see uneffective Karate, and uneffective Taekwondo. There are few effective dojos of either, unless you seek out a very %26quot;traditional%26quot; dojo. (dojang) And I%26#039;ve seen effective Taekwondo, and I practice a style of Okinawan Karate that has managed to remain fairly traditional, Isshinryu. (no high kicks, sitll has grappling techniques, and based off the Chinese Bubishi... Kempo Gokui)


ps. I agree with Fenris|||Tae kwon dae is self defense karate isnt|||there is no difference. both taekwondo and karate focus on punching and kicking boards. Both school have the same kicks (front, spin-side, back, roundhouse, etc). Both school make you stretch your legs like crazy.

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