Karate & Taekwon-do Difference?
I took Karate for a couple of years but I never took Taekwon-do. My sensei described one of the differences between them. He said in Taekwon-do, they do many of their kicks higher, above the shoulders or even above head level. They raise their feet up high to generate speed and power for heel strikes. They bring their legs down hard like an axe. Karate is more direct strikes and it’s easier for older or less athletic people . Sensei would say that a properly executed Karate kick to the knee was just as effective as any other kick and much easier to master and to use even in street clothes.
Hey chinmusi (“I took Karate for a couple of years but I never took Taekwon-do. My sensei described one of the differences between them. He said in Taekwon-do, they do many of their kicks higher, above the shoulders or even above head level. They raise their feet up high to generate speed and power for heel strikes. They bring their legs down hard like an axe.”) just wondering what type of karate do you do because I actually do karate and we learn all those kicks you mentioned. My senpai and senseis are always encouraging head/above head level kicks. I have heard that karate has ‘reformed’ and one point that was mentioned was that there has been more leg work in the past few years.
I’ll skip all the long history, etc. Basically, TKD focuses more on the kicks and has high-flying arial techniques. It is more for the people who like to jump high, spin fast, like to fight using the feet more than the hands (although hands are still used), and wants to combine all of the above together into one move. In olympic and sport stye TKD blocks are not used often because a hard kick to the arm, wrist, or hand can cause serious injury. Karate is a martial art that focuses more on the hands and on the ground fighting. It is known primarily as a striking art. The stances also tend to be much deeper than in TKD. Neither one is better than the other. It is just a mater of personal preference. Some people don’t want to do a lot of high kicks and jumping and spinning techniques, so they choose Karate. Some people prefer not to fight with their hands and like how many of the techniques in TKD are physically strenuous and challenging (like me). It all boils down to personal preference
No doubt the koreans use a form of close quarters for their troops but anything you see in a western dojo isn’t it. Mac 1 hull listed all the reasons it wouldn’t be used in combat .Try that tournament crap in a rice paddy a dense jungle up to your ankles in desert sand or a feild full of mortar shell pits you get killed. The idea of war is to kill the enemy not impress him with your form.People who say tkd bjj karate kung fu etc as we are taught these arts are war effective have never been in a kill or be killed situation.A situation no matter what you know or can do he has to kill you or maybe you think a judge is going to jump out of the bushes and award you a point . Men have been shot stabbed and still won the fight and not by doing any hokey tkd kicks.
