TaeKwondo, Lethal Art compared to Karate?

[jarrettmeyer]

Both of them can be lethal - Karate is supposed to be on strike-one "kill" as Shukokai2000 said!

 

What is all of the "one-strike" stuff? I'll just tell my sensai that I don't need to practice all of these combos anymore.

[shotochem]

Hey everyone,

 

Heres a little bit of history.

 

http://www.sos.mtu.edu/husky/tkdhist.htm

[Ottman]

I train at a WTF school, and yes my instructor does teach the sports aspects of TKD, but only because she has a substantial amount of students who are in TKD for sport. But she definately focuses on the personal development of each individual student primarily, which is really what martial arts are all about, and having been to many other TKD schools, (both ITF and WTF) and also having met a number of different masters and instructors, it's all about finding the right school for you, regardless of which style you want to train in. If you have the right instructor, it doesn't matter what style you train, you'll be able to grow into the type of martial artist YOU want to be, and your instructor will be there to guide and support you. Almost all of the other TKD schools I have visited, (the vast majority of which were owned by korean masters) whether they were ITF or WTF, were very sports, and business oriented, and I would never train at any of them. The masters rarely show up on the premises and even more rarely teach classes. Maybe I'm just biased, but my instructor works very hard to make sure that each student is able to train to meet his or her own goals, so if your goal is sport, she'll help you get better at the sport aspects of TKD, but if you're a traditionalist who wants the self defense and philisophical aspects of TKD, she's more than happy to oblige, and recently, she's incorporated a lot of ITF forms and training style, as well as other martial arts (Ju Jitsu, Tai Chi, Nunchuckudo, etc.) into her school. I can't say that the same devotion to the student is held by any of the other TKD schools I've visited, so I guess the lesson is shop around, and choose your instructor wisely.

 

As for TKD being more lethal than Karate or vice-versa, I've never thought that it's so cut and dry as that. Bruce Lee changed all that with Jeet Koon Do. Now the style is up to the student to develop, whereas before Bruce, you had to train the master's way, or you were an outcast, so it's no wonder that different styles could be compared so rigidly in the past. This is not the case anymore.

[Goju 4 Life]

How come when I watch tkd on tv they don't use that hands? Is it like soccer. hehehe

[cross]

How come when I watch tkd on tv they don't use that hands? Is it like soccer. hehehe

 

They are fighting for points, in that type of competition punches dont score very well in comparison to kicks.

[Ottman]

There are actually two different types of sparring in TKD (in my school anyway.) Olympic style where hand techniques to the head are NOT allowed, and Point Sparring where hand techniques to the head ARE allowed. And yes I've been to TKD tournaments where both are included in the competition. I actually don't like point sparring as much though, not because of the hand techniques, but because it isn't full contact. Olympic style is full contact and in the adult black belt division, knockouts are legal. You just can't knock them out with a punch to the head, and it is definitely more difficult to get all the judges to see a punch to the body and score you on it. That doesn't mean that we don't train in the use of hand techniques, but they aren't very effective in the sport of TKD. We're still taught how to use hand techniques, throws, trips, and locks for self defense however.

[AngelaG]

How come when I watch tkd on tv they don't use that hands? Is it like soccer. hehehe

 

They are fighting for points, in that type of competition punches dont score very well in comparison to kicks.

 

I can (sort of) understand why they don't use their arms if it doesn't score very well (although kind of see it as a cop out) but I still don't understand why they don't keep up their arms to protect their body and head a bit, a kick to the arm is not likely to score - a kick to the head will so why not afford it some protection?

[Ottman]

You're right about the 'no arms up' phenomenon angela, and this trend of keeping your arms down in TKD is just laziness in my view. I was perplexed by it when watching the olympics this summer. The most mentioned advice about sparring I've heard, given, and gotten in my TKD training is "KEEP YOUR ARMS UP!" Just because no hand tech's to the head is a rule in olympic TKD sparring, is no excuse for letting your guard down, and I have never heard an instructor say 'keep those arms down' so I'm not sure where these guys get it from.

[47MartialMan]

Most people that write for those books, magzines, publications, even dictionaries, are non-martial artists and they tend to not completely convey a concise description.

[AngelaG]

You're right about the 'no arms up' phenomenon angela, and this trend of keeping your arms down in TKD is just laziness in my view. I was perplexed by it when watching the olympics this summer. The most mentioned advice about sparring I've heard, given, and gotten in my TKD training is "KEEP YOUR ARMS UP!" Just because no hand tech's to the head is a rule in olympic TKD sparring, is no excuse for letting your guard down, and I have never heard an instructor say 'keep those arms down' so I'm not sure where these guys get it from.

 

Well I've never joined in a TKD lesson but I know a few mates that were TKD practioners and like you say they had their guards up. I think Olympic TKD gives the art a bad name. Still, from the sounds of it it may not be in the 2012 Olympics anyway!