Hapkido or tae kwon do?

Question

Ive been doing freestyle wrestling for three years im 16 and my grappling is pretty good and I have to pick between tai kwon do or hapkido wich one do you reckon i should take

Answer 1

Hi.

That depends on a few of your personal preferences.

Tae Kwon Do is generally a sport; Hapkido is a self defense style.

Tae Kwon Do uses a lot of kicking and a little striking, Hapkido uses more striking and less kicking.  Also, Hapkido uses throws, joint locks, pain submissions and is all around just a more diverse, well rounded style.

Hapkido will probably supplement your wrestling where as Tae Kwon Do will be more of a contrast to it.

Neither one is better in and of themselves, it's all about what you want to get out of training and which one is the best fit.  If you're looking to compete and you want to do a flashy style then Tae Kwon Do would be best.  If you're looking for good, practical self defense then go with Hapkido.

I hope this helps and good luck choosing a style :)

Answer 2

The answers above are all good.  I would choose Hapkido.

Hapkido has various strikes, weapon defense, weapon fighting, standing grappling, throws, limited sparring, ground work and focuses on self-defense situations.  Usually not considered sport, though some styles have sparring it has less rules than in Taekwondo.  Usually reserved for adults.

Taekwondo has more focus on kicking and sparring and is definitely a sport.  Taekwondo also has breaking and self-defense components.  If you want to complete, I would choose Taekwondo.  

Both are Korean, both take [on average, you can't speak for every style, organization or instructor] about 3 1/2 years to get to black belt.  Some schools have Taekwondo for kids and Hapkido for adults.

Answer 3

i have studied both. and i can tell you that there is nothing tkd can teach you that hapkido cannot. tkd is forms, one steps, punching and kicking, usually as a sport.

hapkido is like learning to use those tkd moves for self defense, while at the same time learning jujutsu.

and actually depending on the lineage of hapkido. it has more kicks than tkd anyway.

but hapkido also teaches strikes, kicks, knees, elbows, pressure points, throws, sweeps, breathing and ki. its a wholistic art.

Answer 4

Which do you like more, Kicking or Small joint locks with strikes?

Hapkido has more variety.

TKD is great to.

Most importantly go find a good school no matter the style.

Check it, take free classes if you can, and enjoy it!

Answer 5

Tae Kwon Do, u have to put alot of hard work and effort, and tae kwon helps u alot, i started 5 months ago, still white belt and i have i more form for me to learn and then i will practice and keep doing it to get it right, then i will be ready for testing...