Taekwondo vs kickboxing ???

Question

i currently do jujitsu and tried kickboxing this week, it seems good. But im wondering if it would be better than taekwondo, or is Taekwondo better??

I know you cant really compare the 2, but what is more effective for a street fight, because I think kick boxing is more powerful, and less acrobotic.

Thanks

Answer 1

kickboxing :)***

Answer 2

Kick boxing will give you more in the way of meaningful contact and experience at stand up fighting.  That is important as your distance and balance is a little different when trying to make hard contact.  Some schools don't do a good job of teaching self-defense though.  That is equally important as it can make a difference when wrestling or grappling with your opponent or on the ground of knowing how to more efficiently use your hands, fingers, elbows, knees to do the most damage as quickly as possible.  You will get some of that in your Ju-jitsu I think but as to how much of  that you get in your kick boxing is debatable.  Since kick boxing does not carry with it any ranks or promotions why not do it for six months or a year and develop your stand up fighting ability and during that time look around for something or a school  that will teach you some of those self-defense aspects that the other two sometimes miss or don't address unless the instructor is well versed in different aspects and teaches them.

Answer 3

Well, both kickboxing and taekwondo are striking arts. They are similar in that respect. The other similarities depend on which type of taekwondo you're practicing. WTF focusses mostly on kicks, as you get more points for them in sparring, whereas ITF taekwondo is more traditional, and is a complete self-defence system, involving both kicks and punches, like kickboxing, and some schools do weapons training as well.

Another difference between taekwondo and kickboxing is, in taekwondo sparring, you aren't allowed to strike with your knees or elbows, but in kickboxing, you are. As I do ITF taekwondo, I know that there are 24 forms. These help you to improve the precision which you perform moves with and helps you focus on your stances, whereas I'm not sure about kickboxing.

You can learn kickboxing quicker than taekwondo as well, as traditional taekwondo is also more of an art, and involves a lot more acrobatic moves. As far as I know, kickboxing is a hard martial art, concentrating mostly on strength, and taekwondo is a soft to hard martial art, and is more varied.

You could say that kickboxing is more practical in a street fight because you are allowed to use your knees and elbows, but the rules that apply in a sparring competition don't apply on the streets, so any taekwondo practitioner could also use them if they had to. In the end, it all depends on what you feel you're more suited for. You could also try a taekwondo class and compare it to the kickboxing class to see which you like best. If you're interested in self defence, I recommend an ITF dojang. And don't get into street fights on purpose.

Answer 4

Kickboxing would be better in most situations.  For breaking boards and forms Taekwondo would be superior!

Answer 5

I think that anyting that gets you fighting is great.  There are good things to be said for both kickboxing, which is very practical, and TKD, which provides forms for you to do everyday.

Personally, for a fight I think kickboxing is a bit more practical as it is really an MMA, taking the best from different arts and using them to form kickboxing, between kickboxing and jiu-jitsu you will have an arsenal of ground and stand up tools.

I study Combat SAMBO, a Russian derivative of Judo, including some very lethal stuff, as it is taught to Spetnatz and KGB.  I am also a Krav Maga teacher and understand the value of a good stand up game and versatility.  In my youth I was IDF Sayaret, and Krav Maga came in very handy.

The one thing I would try to get training for is weapons, whether it is in Jiu-Jitsu or kickboxing, as the street involves guns, knives, baseball bats, etc, both Krav Maga and Combat SAMBO deal with street weapons from day 1.

TKD and many of the traditional arts involve the use of weapons which no longer exist or tactics not relevant to the streets of the day.  I would find out about weapons training in addition to just being able to throw good hands.

I also still study Shaolin Kempo, and I have interjected many weapons defeneses whick is allowed in SKK as we are an MMA that evolves.  TKD, Shotokan and many others are stationary in this respect.

Answer 6

Try out both and stick with whichever one has the best TEACHER.  The styles are very similar.

Answer 7

There the same. You just need to know how to use it. I can give you a gun, but if you didn't know how to switch of the safety then you're still going to get your rear end beat.

Answer 8

neither is better than the other, I'm surprised that only a few of the answers  said that already. Kickboxing and Taekwondo especially ITF taekwondo, are very alike they both incorporate the use of punches, kicks, elbows, knees, and sweeps. Of course Taekwondo has many jumping and spinning kicks, however when not in use they increase your skill with your more basic kicks.

Kickboxing is very powerful and doesn't use much acrobats, and it could easily save your life in a self-defense situation. Really neither one can be truly better than the other, one may work for you better than the other, but that doesn't mean the other is weaker or inferior.

Answer 9

I never realized arts could fight.

Neither is better than the other. You should know that already.

Answer 10

Actually taekwondo is completely worthless in real life situations and has been turned into a competetition-only sport where the only thing counts is points.

Kickboxing would hands down smash taekwondo

Unless your opponents head is a plank of plywood, you're going to need kickboxing

Answer 11

When you say 'kickboxing' you need to differentiate between Muay Thai and Western Kickboxing. Muay Thai is much more vicious and street lethal than Taekwondo. Western Kickboxing and full contact Taekwondo are so similar that they often overlap. Taekwondo fighters and Western Kickboxers both compete in full contact karate tournaments against one another in a kickboxing ring. You don't need acrobatics in a street fight, you need a style that delievers hard, effective strikes to your opponent and allows you to escape.