TKD and Karate

[MA-Furious]

what are the differences between these 2?

[Motion]

Your question can be a difficult to answer because I think for the most part there's one style of TKD but there are many styles of Karate(Okinawian and Japanese styles). I have heard of TKD being referred to as "korean Karate". That was in the title of my TKD school. Anyway,general speaking TKD puts more emphasis on kicks in comparison to Karate styles in general.

[PlasmaShock]

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.

[sapatiero]

You're askin' on a MMA/BJJ forum?

Hehehehe... Most answers will be along the lines of 'both crap, try Maui Thai'. To be honest, it depends what you're looking at acheive. If you like the idea of traditional martial arts (ie. more spirital/less practical) then try one. Karate's Japanese, TKD's Korean.

To the best of my knowledge, the kicks in TKD are a little faster, and the kicks in karate a little more powerful (because of the application of the hips). Some (not all) TKD practicioners rely on the feet to the extent that their hands are useless. This makes the art impractical in some situations (ie. against someone who has mastered all distances - kicking, striking, grappling). But if you just want to keep fit & flexible, either art will give you that.

Enjoy.

[Motion]

Originally Posted by sapatiero

You're askin' on a MMA/BJJ forum?

Well that question can go with the mix martial arts part of this forum. In order to "mix" martial arts you'd have to have some understanding of them.
I'd agree that the question could get better elaborations in either the Japanese or Korean arts forums.

[sapatiero]

Originally Posted by Motion

Well that question can go with the mix martial arts part of this forum. In order to "mix" martial arts you'd have to have some understanding of them.
I'd agree that the question could get better elaborations in either the Japanese or Korean arts forums.

Interesting wordplay, but 'mixed martial arts' nowadays actually means a mixture of the arts used in the modern day vale-tudo matchups. These arts are normally a practical standup art (usually boxing/kick boxing/maui thai) combined with a practical ground art (usually BJJ/wrestling). Other arts do feature, but are really in the minority (yes, we can name the odd tkd or kempo stylist in the UFC, but they've long since outgrown those arts IMO)

So if someone is to get answers from guys that have more experience in karate or TKD then I agree the more traditional forums would be better. I'm sure there are plenty of guys willing to help on this forum, but we're gonna be biased lol

[PlasmaShock]

especially on a mma forum lol.

[Rebiu]

Originally Posted by MA-Furious

what are the differences between these 2?

I have experience with TKD and Shotokan Karate.

My experience was that Shotokan focused more on a stable base and a philosophy of fewer but more powerful shots. They typically used simpler kicks, more hand strikes, sweeps, grabbing the gi and counters.
TKD focused on a greater variety of kicking techniques including spins and jump spins as well as multiple kicks with a raised leg.

Shotokan usually trains on a hardwood floor and love to knock people who use to many risky kicks down on those floors.
TKD usually trains on padded carpet where they are not so easily swept and can torment a Shotokan opponent relentlessly at extended kicking ranges.

Both spend to much time on forms and testing and not enough on realistic sparring.

I learned a great deal from both by sparing against them.

From TKD I learned to make front stomp, round, and sidekicks look the same by chambering the knee the same. The spinning and jump spinning sidekicks I have found to be very useful. The have a nice double round kick and spinning kicks in general have a great deal of power and can be very useful if you know how to apply them.

From Shotokan I learned about how to sweep or even push an opponent to off balance him and follow up with punches or kicks while you still hold him. The round kick with the ball of the foot while holding his sleeve is a nice short and usually unexpected attack.

That said Muay Thai or Boxing will make you a much better fighter much faster.

[kuk sool won]

Its funny how immediately people go into the application of the art straight away, regardless of the question and what the person wants to know about the art.

[Wiseman1]

Is not comparison that we are looking for is the diffrence, well its basic, tae kwon do its korean and it a lot younger than karate, it is not from karate but influenced by it, karate is japanese or okinawa which is the same. Karate bases it self in tradicional movement, well most styles anyway, and tae kwon do on kicking movement, tradicional, or olimpic.

Both are not real selfsuficient for street fighting unless the practioner has a open mind.

If we are looking at the down fall, ill say both lack realistic fighting move ments, thought tkd, has the upper hand, since kicking is a plus on street fighting, but it lacks punches, and karate is still to tradicional(useless). Thats just looking from the point of view of styles, really it all depends on who teach is it, and how well the student grasps it.

[jubaji]

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[Shoot]

About 1-3 years. Just kidding. This has been answered. But keep in mind "Karate" is kind of generic. I'd say that Shotokan Karate and TKD are virtually identical, except TKD will focus more on high kicks.

"I won't try to punch your foot if you won't try to kick my face." That says it all.

[bigboywasim]

Since you ask about TKD or karate I will tell you to pick karate. Try to find a full contact karate place. Some places have full contact karate after a year or two of training. These are more common than full contact from white belt. I have a background in Muay Thia and Kyokushin full contact Karate. Both own like no other.

From the tradional striking martial arts karate is one of the best.