Why does everyone think Tae-kwon-do is useless?

Question

I am talking about real world situations here, not competion.

I am a second dan black belt, so I know about tkd alot, and i have found it very useful.

I just keep running into alot of people that think it is useless.

Is it cause of ignorance, or do they truly know what they are talking about?

Answer 1

The simple fact is that TKD has become very sport focused and money driven. People see films of competitions were the forms are mostly dance moves and gymnastics rather than solid martial arts techniques. They also hear on the street and gyms everywhere that TKD is only good for distance fighting and nothing else. The common belief is that if you put someone that studies TKD on the ground they could not defend themselves.

Unfortunatly with the flashy junk being the only side that most martial artists and the public see of TKD it is very easy to believe.

Everyone can agree that the junk that is displayed in tournaments would not save your life in a true life/death situation. Heck we are not even allowed to really hit each other anymore when we spar in competitions. People see and hear about this and they automatically see TKD practitioners as soft, and the see TKD as useless.

Unfortunately so many people are driven for the trophies and name making publicity that comes from tournaments that they lose sight of the self defense aspect, and so it is now a "sport" in the eyes of the world and not seriously considered a serious martial art except by serious practitioners.

Sorry if this offened anyone, but these are my opinion, and the progression that I have seen over the years.

Answer 2

Whoa,..TKD Rocks!  Peoples have all kinds of opinions for all kinds of situations.  From what I understand, most situations end up on the ground so one may suggest added grappling techniques are needed.  I would never say TKD is useless or inferior.

Hmm, Been there Done that indeed!  As a student of American Kenpo Karate I have many such arts/skills at my disposal.

I'll just leave it at that!

Answer 3

it is very usefull in a street fight against a average guy.  but if your fighting somebody who has training in other aspects of martial arts they are gonna beat you down because they are gonna take you to the ground where tae kwon do IS USELESS.  a guy that is a good jiu jitsu fighter or an excellent wrestler (real wrestling not wwe)  Once on the ground you will lose

Answer 4

As a sport TKD is fine. In the 1960's there was still a lot of self-defense involved in it. Unfortunately it has become so commercialized that it has become more of a sport and fitness activity.  Now I'm not saying that it is useless. Against an untrained attacker it has some merit. Against someone that has studied one of the more combat centered martial arts it is less effective.

Consider this also:  To be an effective fighting art a martial arts must teach the student to fight well at all four ranges(Kicking, punching, trapping, grappling) Most arts tend to teach one or two ranges well and the other either very little or not at all.  Boxing for instance is deadly at punching range but not so effective at other ranges. TKD is good at kicking range but less effective at closer ranges.   See my point?

Answer 5

The truth is the average person dont know S H I T about your skills.  When they hear Tae-Kwon-do all they think about about is the competition they have seen on TV.  Its a dying art in competition but in real life situations its extremely helpful.  If your not competing in cage fighting then keep doing what you do.  Its all about your confidence and how you feel anyways.

Answer 6

Really depends on were and how you train. Karate and TWD are the worst martial arts of all. Lets say you were in a street fight against an average boxer or wrestler you will get beaten up pretty badly. But if you train hard enough it is pretty useful in case of stamina and life but not in the aspect of fighting.

And really don't get in a fight with a boxer because they'll just beat you up no matter how good you are.

I am a boxer so don't try fighting one.

Answer 7

What has happened is that a lot of Taekwondo people have gotten beaten up in real fights.  These people are usually people who thought that just because they had a yellow belt they could go pick a fight with a hoodlum whose years of street fighting experience, were it measurable, would add up to a brown or black belt level.  I know this because I started asking people what rank they were when they got their butts kicked, and it's usually a yellow belt, a white belt or someone who got ranked at a McDojo.

What these people don't know is a lot of the people who beat them in real fights have also had, get this, Taekwondo training.  Several people I consider to be "streetfighters" and who even call themselves that, were actually at one time or another Taekwondo students.  Remember, Taekwondo used to be about the only martial art people knew, so there are lots of people who learned for a while but did not get ranked.  

So if you only have a yellow belt and you go up against someone who has more experience than you, you will typically lose.  This means that if you are a beginner and you go against an ADVANCED wrestler, ADVANCED boxer, ADVANCED kungfu, ADVANCED whatever, you will lose.  Why?  Because they have been fighting longer and better than you have.  

There is no use in talking to these types.  Even though my own street-fight experience shows TKD and Boxers beating up grapplers, those who don't believe choose not to.  

People also will throw the early days of UFC up in your face.  Why?  Because they don't read.  They didn't read up on the early grapplers and find out that those guys trained for more than 8 hours a day.  Those were PROFESSIONAL wrestler types against AMATEUR strikers.  Notice how strikers started dominating UFC once pro-level strikers came in?  They were putting guys who live to wrestle against security guards who sit behind a desk without the benefit of getting their own pro-level coaching.  Don't believe me?  Get some older issues of martial arts magazines and read for yourself.

One time some kid half my age and about half my size tried to MMA me in a Taekwondo class.  He was trying crazy things that he had no business trying, tried to do a takedown, tried to go full contact, it was nuts.  What he didn't know is that I also play Judo, so at least I could pin him, and arm bar him, safely.  When that didn't float his boat, I stuck with TKD and still beat him.  Frustrated, he ran out.  I guess life did not work out like TV tells you it should.

I tell lots of people the story of how ONE Korean guy who trained in Korean martial arts beat up 3  marines in a sparring match.  No one believes me.  Why?  Because they think Korean Martial Arts suck.  They don't.  There are some lazy people who call themselves Korean martial artists who suck.

And these same dumb-*** yellow belts end up going over to other styles and actually end up not getting a black belt in that style too.  Why?  Because they don't want to work, that's why.  If something is not easy, they lose interest.

Becoming good at TKD takes work. But once you put in the work, it is worth it.  

There is also, I think, some carry over from Asian countries and cultures. Other Asian cultures can be bigotted towards Koreans, so therefore, they have taught students of their arts to be biased against Korean martial arts.

Answer 8

I am eighty-eight and have seen a lot of life . Never once would I have been better off by knowing tae-kwan-do .

Answer 9

tae kwon doo is not useless every different kicks are thrown and when everything kick is thrown your in trouble thats if that person is good at it.

Answer 10

because it is.

Answer 11

ignorance !!!

Is the main reason as any martial art style will work well for individual people,firstly you need to be able to adapt and feel confident in using it whether competition or on the street and learn what works for you personally.

Best wishes :)***

Answer 12

I never said it was useless...Anderson Silva is a TKD black belt and his striking abilities are unmatched

Answer 13

Anyone who says a martial art is useless doesn't know what their talking about, since the rise of MMA people have been more inclined towards Jiu Jitsu and Muay Thai, because that's what's popular on TV. Since Taekwondo isn't on tv much and it has very little grappling people dislike it. TKD also has a lot of Mcdojos that claim they teach it, when there really just scamming you. Just try not to pay attention to the many MMA wannabes that feel that after watching a few UFC fights make them experts on what works in a fight and what doesn't.

Answer 14

I would not say that TKD is useless, I would say that a few of the people (or more) who claim to know it are, in a fight. Most of the time the people who say this are people who know nothing or are just jumping on the bandwagon.

A few people who know what they are talking about will say this, but I guess TKD is not their thing or they have had just a bad experience with it. But whatever the case TKD must be doing something right to have survived as long as it has.