I'm not very strong, but I want to do martial arts?

Question

I think that I'm starting Tae Kwon Do right after school starts. I have hardly any upper body strength, but I've got incredibly strong legs. I actually have the strongest legs in my grade because I've played club soccer since I was 4 (I'm 15 by the way).

What I was wondering is does TKD require a lot of upper body strength? Should I try to buff up before starting TKD? Or do I develop all the strength I need while taking the class. I mean, I probably can't break a board or anything with my hands right now. I have tiny arms and I'm actually scared that I'll break one of them. I have small arms, and small chest muscles. You can actually see some ribs...I have pretty strong abs though. Should I be worried about my upper body strength now?

Help please!

Thanks!

Answer 1

The upper body strength will come with training.

Answer 2

Doesn't matter. That's what martial arts are for. To get stronger.

Answer 3

judo or jiu jitsu you use the other persons weight against them

Answer 4

if you do any martial art you'll eventually become stronger, you can take a marital arts class and if you feel that your not getting any stronger you can try going to the gym.

Answer 5

Strength isn't all that important.  It will never hurt you and is a good tool, but there are other factors...

Speed

Tenacity

Balance

Flexibility

Timing

Willpower

Creativity

Reflexes

Dedication

Concentration

Endurance

Any one of these things (including strength) can make the difference all other things being equal.

I've spared with people twice my size (and more) - turns out that sometimes I loose because I did something stupid and sometimes I win because my opponent tried to use their strength and it didn't work.

You use what you have and learn how to maximize your own strengths - sure, I'm not strong, so as I get stronger through practice, I also learn to use the speed and flexibility I already have more effectively.

Here's a little physics for you to consider:

Force = Mass x Acceleration

Consider two people - one twice as big (rating 2 for mass), the other twice as fast (rating 2 for speed).

When the big person throws a punch you have:

Force = 2*1 = 2

When the fast person throws a punch you have:

Force = 1*2^2 = 4

The smaller person has the more powerful punch because of speed.

Answer 6

You don't really need upper-body strength for TKD, but it could help.

Good thing you have stong abs. The stronger your abs, the better you'll be able to take kicks to the stomach.

Answer 7

Do it.  You'll enjoy it.  Typically calisthenics and punching will be part of the training program, so it should help with your strength.  If you play soccer, you're reasonably strong and you'll do fine.

Answer 8

You will develop your strength through training, but Tae Kwon Do is not a serious Martial Art in the US. You should consider a form of Kenpo or a more respectable art if you are serious about training in Martial Arts. If you want a quick Black Belt and aren't worried about effectiveness then you have found your style.

A good Martial Art will develop your upper body strength though.

Answer 9

Try BJJ. It's a form of martial arts that requires technique and leverage more than speed and strength. Sorry to say I've offended karate practitioners by say earning my 2nd BB in karate was a waste of time. They misunderstood. The time I spent which was a Little over 26 months was more than i felt was necessary. I am grateful to have learned kicking and striking techniques in karate. They do help but aren't as efficient as jiu jitsu is especially if a weapon is involved or feel you aren't as physically gifted as others. Yes karate is a grate form of martial arts but I feel  BJJ  techniques are necessary to become a complete martial artists. To those practitioners who feel I'm being disrespectful to other forms of martial arts. Just try BJJ before you recognize my reply as uneducated answers. When I was in high school and a karate practitioner, I was blind sided with a pair of brass knuckles. The guy then jumped on top of me and worked his ground and pound. If a good Samaritan hadn't helped me i might not be here today. I'm from a bad neighborhood and have found myself in this position may times. BJJ saved my life once. I was just about out cold and everything was blurry. Technique was what prevented from getting my head bashed in again with a bat this last time. I'm am grateful to be a jiu jitsu practitioner and will testify it to be the most efficient form of MA in the world.

Answer 10

Don't worry about strength that much. TKD, in my experience, was more kick based and not as much upper body. Upper body can;t hurt though. If you worried about being embarrassed don't fret, most TKD garb will conceal your upper boy, and the people you train with will most likely respect you. You'll gain strength if you try to make your workouts as intense as possible and are not slacking. If that not enough just do pushups, and chins in your spare time. Leg strength will put you ahead of a lot of people too. If your focused in your training upper body won't be that much of a problem. Good luck training.

Answer 11

Martial arts has very little to do with strength. You train skills over and over to become proficient at them.  But, more strength never hurt anyone.

Answer 12

martial arts help you get mussel. strength has a lot to do with winning a fight, but so does speed and intimidation.

Answer 13

im the same way man

played soccer from 5 till 14

my lower body is BUILT! but my upper body lacks

my core falls somewhere in the middle

i train MMA

and find no problem when fighting people my weight class and even less experienced guys who are bigger

that being said a 240 pounder gets ontop of me 170 and yea, i can do about as much as a rock there, just take the punches

good luck tho, TKD should work out nicely

you might be surprised also but your legs will prolly be very flexible so it will be easy for you to do high kicks and such just from playing soccer so long