Opinions on Taekwondo

Question

Few years ago I took Taekwondo, and got up to a green belt. I was kind of lazy back then being a computer nerd. I did good at the beginning but I thought my teacher was a meathead and he was always shouting. I was getting bored too so I quit. Then I took wrestling in 6th grade and I became more health concious and started to like fighting and martial arts. I watched bruce lee movies, mma movies. I used to practice just at my home, go to the gym. etc.

Now I want to get a black belt before I want to get stronger. so I'm deciding if I sdhould take tkd again. Though now that I'm more educated in martial arts I'm wondering if TKD would be practical outside the dojo. Whether it would be light sparring with a friend or a life threatening fight. sometimes I've noticed that it could be easy to just lay a kick to the balls when you do some fancy stance. I took traditional Taekwon do I think. we had sparring every fridays.

Answer 1

as far as you are determined to become one the greatest martial artists both of these will be good for you but if you don't just stick with your old one.

Talent isn't everything, hard work and determination will always defeat raw talent.

Answer 2

I see no problem going back to TKD now that you may have a more mature attitude. Taekwando can by the way be used offensivly. It is after all a military art. Karate is good also. I think the quality of the instructor is more important than the particular art with the exception of a few arts that are a joke.

Go for either and take a can do positive attitude and you will do well.

Answer 3

Tae Kwon Do is a fine martial art.  WTF version and ITF version are not really that different, the sparring rules and forms are different, but the fundamentals of kicking are the same.  

You should try going back for a couple of weeks, and also try the karate place for a couple of weeks, and pick which one you like better.

Good luck!

James

Answer 4

just try it out and see what it's like... my tae kwon do place igo to is traditional i think...

Answer 5

TKD  is sumthin that is  for defense  more then offense if thats wat u want

but  if  u want alot  of  both and  a  more variety try mix martial arts

it keeps you more active and teaches  u much more

Answer 6

tae kwon do (which i take) is very good for kids that are disobediant. i enforses more respect  than karate. it teaches kids not to be shy.it teaches them physically and mentally. very good sport

Answer 7

TKD is more for defense than offense, I got my black belt and decided that wasn't what I was looking for. Try taking Kung Fu, its easy to learn and will help you in any "situation"

Answer 8

You don't sound serious. Your examples are very generic and you should know that color of belt, in real martial arts, does not matter.

Lifetime of fighting and Muay Thai

Answer 9

Just go to a few schools near you and try to take like...an intro class and see if that's what you like.

@emory. The amount of respect a given style gives/receives is dependent on the school, but i don't think you can say one style has more respect then the other.

Specially when TWD takes a lot from SBD karate.

Answer 10

tkd doesnt enforce more discipline than karate.

tkd IS karate. it comes directly from karate. it has evolved and changed, but its still basically japanese karate, mixed with tae kyon kicks indigenous to korea.

personally i think karate is much better though as far as fighting goes.

tkd is mainly a sport now days. most of them do hyungs/forms/kata, but have no idea what they are used for.

in a good karate school you will learn the applications of the movements in the forms.

i dont agree that tkd is a military art lol...especially in the west. its a sport. tip tap point sparring, meaningless forms, 1 and 3 step sparring, and not much more.

one question you might consider. what kind of karate is available to you? is it japanese karate? or is it okinawan (original) karate? there is a difference.

Answer 11

It's the person that trains in the art that makes it work. Regardless of what style you study. You may come across a person that has far better skills than you, it then boils down to out thinking your opponent and using the tools you have at the right time to have a positive out come. So if you choose to study TKD by all means do so. Give it your all and learn all there is about the art. Always keep an open mind.