Tae Kwon-Do a martial art or a sport ?

[Adonnis]

It seems to me that training in tae kwon-do is hardly very advantageous to defending oneself. I am only a 1st Dan in Karate and have decided to train in a second martial art, when training there is little or no contact in sparring, I always said if you keep kicking the air you will get very good at kicking air and nothing else. The kicking tecniques are slow and easy to counter, finally when your compete in protective wear you dont respect the punishment you recieve, ie if you werent wearing protection you would not be so willing to do those risky techniques.

[Jack]

Adonnis, while other martial arts may become more effective at defending oneself in a street situation, Tae Kwon Do is still advantageous. If you are training in Karate, a good martial art to crosstrain in would be something like Ju Jitsu or Hapkido, since thye incorporate a lot of ground work. Some schools may only kick air, some may only teach for the sport, but in others there is semi-contact and rarely full-contact sparring also, along with bag work and pad drills. The kicking techniques in TKD can also be some of the fastest, since TKD is renowned for its fast, precise kicks. And yes, the majority of competitions with TKD practicioners involve them wearing lots of protective gear, but hey in the Olympics what do you expect?

[Joecooke007]

Tae kwon do. I believe that it started out as an extremely effective art with strong kicks and horse back riding. That was a long long time ago in a galaxy far away. Now it's evolved into more of a sport art. It would be nice if all of the "arts" went back to the exact same way that they used to be.

 

 

[three60roundhouse]

Different schools teach different arts in VERY different ways, so really whether it is an "art" or a "sport" is entirely up to the instructor and the curriculum he wants to teach. Like my school and my instructors try to incorporate a little grappling, practical solutions to fend off attackers, breakfalls, rolls, kicks from the ground, you get the picture. Always remember that tae kwon do, one of the most "mainsreamed" martial arts and the one with some of the flasiest moves is also the easiest art to be changed into a McDojo or a total sport. Some of the traditional schools are too hard for me. Look for something in the middle. It's also good to cross-train in other arts. :pony: :pony:

[KickChick]

That is so true three60roundhouse!

 

There used to be just two main branches of TKD earlier, WTF (World Tae kwon do Federation) and ITF (International Taekwon-do Federation) and some Korean only branches. Nowdays, however, there are at least ATA/ST (American Taekwondo Association and Songham Taekwondo) and GTF (Global Taekwondo Federation) in addition to others.

 

WTF is the official tae kwon do style involved in the Olympics.

 

There are several differences beatween WTF and ITF styles, but techiques are the same. The way in which both WTF and ITF TKD schools instruct can be different. Instruction and styles frequently vary from school to school for several reasons. One may be a lack of continuity in curriculum among different schools in the same organization. Another may be that traditional instructors don't want to incorporate newer patterns and/or styles of technique into their teaching. Perhaps a very liberal instructor has taken to altering the pattern himself in order for it to be more in line with his own style. Also, patterns naturally and frequently mutate at they are passed down from one master to his student instructor.

 

Competition rules are different also. Competitions/tournaments differ also!

 

The ITF practices semi-contact sparring where hand attacks to the face and kicks to the groin are allowed. The WTF emphasizes full-contact competition style sparring, which is why many people call WTF Taekwondo a sport rather than a martial art. In the WTF, participants are not allowed to attack the face with hand techniques, to attack below the waist, or to grapple. Otherwise, they use full contact techniques. They use a scoring system that emphasizes the real delivered power of the technique. Both organizations REQUIRE competitors to wear protective equipment while training and competing.

 

I disagree with many of your points Adonnis.

 

As Jack posted some schools conduct their kicking drills diferently. Slow? Don't respect the punishment we receive? Risky techniques?

 

 

_________________

 

ITF/TKD Black Belt (1st dan)/Fitness Kickboxing Instructor

 

(KarateForums Sensei)

 

 

 

[ This Message was edited by: KickChick on 2002-01-27 18:26 ]

[spinninggumby]

To me, martial arts is something that should be and can be enjoyed in a variety of different ways, whether you like to study it for health, self-defense, body toning, interest in the philosophy and traditional aspects, or just for personal pleasure and fun. There are many different sides to each art alone, let alone martial arts in general. TKD can be practiced as either a sport or for self-defense or just for personal accomplishment or well being. Just as each person may gravitate toward a certain specific art, each person may also become more partial to a certain aspect or side of a specific art. There are also those who enjoy all the sides and also go further to enjoy all the sides of many different arts. It's all about what you prefer. Yes, the traditional and first purpose for martial arts was self-defense, but in a society (at least here where I am) where the ability to keep from getting killed is not quite as necessary as it was in olden times, people have found many more reasons to practice karate, kung fu, taekwondo, muay thai, etc., even though some may have had a primary purpose when the art was first conceived. Just my two cents It just kind of gets to me when you see all these people asking 'tkd vs. kung fu, or muay thai vs. kung fu, who would win' because to me personally it's all about bettering yourself b/c if you want to be the best you might as well quit since there will always be someone better than you. It's not about beating someone down, and all that stuff about 'it all comes down to last man standing' may apply to some people but sure don't apply to me.

[jakmak52]

Can it be both , first and foremost an art? I'd like to think it can, Hmmm

 

 

[SBN Doug]

I think I'm with Spinninggumby on this one.

[Cory Reynolds]

Adonnis, being a first dan in Karate, I'm sure you know as well as any of us that the school you come from can be very similar or very different from other Karate schools. The same goes for TKD. Some may focus more on the sport aspect, some may focus more on self defense. Some may be good at incorperating both.

 

From my own experience, I've found it funny that even though Olympic TKD might be thought of as the extreme end of the sport side, it's also one of the fastest and most agressive forms of TKD that I've ever seen. At the school that I visited, the techniques were EXTREMELY fast and accurate and their defensive skills were second to none. Plus, in Olympic TKD they run longer continuous rounds that don't break for points to be called. More time + no breaks = tougher workout.

[ATAFury]

After many stitches, several broken ribs, and many LARGE bruises... I can atest first hand that TaeKwonDo is anything but slow. I found it to be true, though, that the first 2-3 years (average amount of time to move up the colored belt ranks to get to 1st Degree Black) is merely a "training" period where students learn the techniques of the punches, blocks, self-defense and kicks. Once a student enters the realm of the Black Belt, the true training begins, and techniques are slowly mastered.

 

TKD is more also known for its Powerful Spin kicks. The ability to stay 2-3 feet away from your opponent gives an advantage, especially when multiple round kicks or crescent kicks are followed by one or two Spinning Hook Kicks. It is lethal. In the South-Eastern area of the US, my instructor, 5th Degree, is known as the "Steam-Hammer" for his constant barrage of spin attacks and in-your-gut boxer/brawler lightning fast punches. But the key thing is that ATA-TKD has two very different types of sparring: Classroom and Tournament.

 

Anyways, any martial art is a sport for someone who takes it for a work-out class or just to learn to fight. It is a Martial Art for someone who learns its roots, and follows it teachings, and allows it to become part of their lives.

 

Fury