Karate = Tae kwon Do??

[bushido_man96]

I think the main reason for this is the popularity of the name Karate. If you mention it, anyone will know what you are talking about, or think they know. On the other hand, names like TKD and TSD are not as popular, so these owners throw them in the window to get people looking. They can give the real name later, they just don't want to miss out on the people who have only heard of "karate."

[bushido_man96]

I know that all the local ATA establishments advertise "Karate For Kids" as a program they offer. I visited their website and it's located in the national ATA also.

Don't ask me why. I've never studied at an ATA.

It is just a catchy name that they trademarked for their kids program. It is a pretty good program, too.

[ps1]

Thanks bushido_man96.

[bushido_man96]

Thanks bushido_man96.

No problem

[Ottman]

My TKD school calls the kids program 'Kickin' Kids', so you understand that we are a Martial Arts school. Even though TKD is the art we teach, we also have BJJ classes, and we used to have Aikido, and we also incorporate Hapkido into our self defense program. For 3rd degree Black Belt testing in TKD, we're required to learn some martial art outside of TKD, be it a weapon or a different style, and present what we've learned to the school at our test. All of this encouragement in cross training prompted my master to change the name of the school from 'TKD Academy' to 'Martial Arts Academy'. Why don't all of the schools that you see with 'Karate' signs, just change it to 'Martial Arts'? Who knows? But I think that if you're a beginner and don't have the vast knowledge of martial arts and their histories as the members of this forum have, does it matter? The students are trying to find an activity to better themselves, and the schools are providing one, so as long as the instruction is of good quality what's the problem? As most of us here have come to realize through our martial arts experience, we all end up with our own individual style in the end anyway.

[Mitchell]

I have noticed that especially American martial arts schools tend to use the label "karate" to give more immediate meaning to their art. They tend not to differentiate as much as other countries.

TKD is in my opinion definitely not Karate-Do. Karate-Do possesses rich philosophical and inner strength syllabi. While TKD possesses something of the kind, the sheer richness and depth of both these syllabi seen in acceptable Karate-Do Dojo is not seen in TKD circles.

I find it interesting how TKD follows a "Kata" format similar to Shotokan. The kata syllabuses practised by both seems to be very similar. However, in Shotokan and similar styles of Karate-Do, much greater attention is paid to detail; the interchange between hard and quick kime; hip vibration, rhythm; breathing method, and so on.

TKD versions of the kata such as Heian (Pinan, I think, in TKD); Jion and so on, purely bore me.

Hm. Enough of my talk. Silence is more golden, afterall, and far more eloquent.

[Kieran-Lilith]

TKD versions of the kata such as Heian (Pinan, I think, in TKD);

Ping Ahn, in what I think is TKD. When I was about 10, I went to a martial arts school that had "Patterns" (which I now know are kata). Pattern #6 (as I also later found) was Ping Ahn number three....or, Heian Sandan. I finally found the old kata list, and I decided after comparing its kata list to the standard TKD list that that school had to have been TKD...you know, it's funny, but I don't think we were ever told WHAT we were studying...we all called it karate.

In my own school, we have Pinan instead of Heian, but we're a heavily Japanese-influenced karate school.

[Andrew_Patton]

actually with the interchangability of terms, I've talked to more than one person who was a TKD blackbelt (I know the school) who said that they were such and such rank in 'traditional karate' coming only from a TKD school.

I've seen flyers (in a chinese restuarant of all places) that promoted a 'kids karate' program, with the WTF logo in the lower corner. (in fact this particular flyer had 'not karate morons' written on it, probably by one of the ten people in the area that knew the difference)

Also, after the first few UFCs I've talked to people that knew Ju jitsu... and after I asked them to spar... um, well, can you say they didn't know an arm-lock from a whole in the ground, and for that matter didn't know what mount, guard, side-control, etc. were, but knew how to do a sub-par pinan nidan... and had a 'black-belt' in their system

In this country it seems to be whatever the 'buzz term' is gets the people in the door. go figure money = happiness to some people.

[kschilke]

I noticed the same thing several years ago when I was shopping for a Karate school. Recently I have not only noticed Tae Kwon Do schools on the rise, but alot of XMA schools. Most advertise themselves as "Karate" schools.

[PlasmaShock]

to illustrate the dislike between the koreans and japanese, I've got a korean friend whose dad says:

"God created the japanese. Then he realized he could do better, so he created koreans"

That is purely disgusting.