tae kwon do focuses more on kicking(flashy) and tournament stuff. karate focuses more on hand techniques with basic kicks. they both have katas(forms) but karate focuses more on the vital parts like speed transition, power, body dynamics and bunkai(application). in tae kwon do, they have the forms to see if you can do the moves. from the tae kwon do forms that i have seen(trust me ive seen alot), it just looks like the robot and there isnt much application to the moves. however i could be wrong. it all depends on the teacher and student and a good tae kwon do teacher is very hard to find nowadays. if you want to do alot of tournament stuff, breaking boards, doingshy jump kicks, tae kwon do is for you. if you want to have a goode base in self defence, fond a good karate school that teaches okinawan karate or shotokan or any other traditional styles(kyokushin is also good too). there are mas like muay thai, juijitsu, and boxing that provide good self defence too. |