Tae Kwon Do / Hapkido Comparison

[G Money Slick]

They both have their strengths and weaknesses. From what I've learned, Hapkido is closely related to Aikido as opposed to TKD. Tae Kwon Do seems to me to be more for show and Hapkido is more practical for self defense applications. Of course I'm sure plenty of TKD'ers will bomb this topic with angry bashing.

 

I mean, would you use an axe kick or a 540 in a street fight? Maybe if you wanted to scare the attacker off with some flashy moves, but you'd probably want to subdue the enemy with a wristlock, low strikes aimed at the knee, chickenwings/shoulder locks.

[ramymensa]

Yes, I'd subdue an attacker with a flashy kick, if it's done properly, with a fair amount of force and I've done it so it became a second nature. Sometimes these techniques work, sometimes they don't. It's all up to the very situation. Sometimes the attacker could for instance block a punch, but a spinning kick done with speed and force could take him by surprise.

 

Any martial artist should put emphasis on the techniques that best suit him/her. I'm not looking for fancies, but I can kick really good and feel the legs more suited for my attacks than punches. For some people punches are better. We are not all build the same, some could have injuries and rely on other limbs to compensate ... Know your technique and then it will work even if it's flashy or the most boring in the world

[Fat Donkey]

I studied both and in street fights I've combined them. I use the TKD kicks as my long distance or counter attack weapons, and the Hapkido as my grappling\close in technique. The kicks taught in hapkido are identical to TKD and there are also a lot of judo throws. For stopping a fight before it starts I use Hapkido wrists and joint locks to convince my opponents that to continue the altercation would be stupind and painful. If I had to choose for self defense I would have to go with Hapkido. For just plain fun, TKD.