Comments on: whats the difference between karate and tae kwon do?

By: zynga

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By: karatescientist

karatescientist — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 18:27:59 +0000

I cannot really talk about TKD as much as someone who has practiced it but Karate is an art from the island of Okinawa that was introduced to Japan and is now considered any punching and kicking art from Japan with roots in Okinawa. There are differences in the traditional Japanese Karate and the Okinawan Karate (yes the distinction is made by traditional karateka) but both use kicks and many identical kata. Lineages are important to these styles as it shows both a the history of the arts and the founders as well as who the founders learned under.
TKD is most popular for being an olympic event though it has other applications.

Due to shady business practices in US and EU karate has been used as a marketing ploy to mean any thing you want it to but I figure that you wanted to know about real karate
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By: Emz C

Emz C — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:49:59 +0000

In Taekwondo they will teach you how to kick and test how high you can kick (it is quite brutal for example – one kick on the jaw, there is 68% of breaking the jaw); taekwondo can improve your flexibility and strength stamina. In Karate they teach you how to snap heads, necks, legs and arms, there are more movements in karate and fancy way of attacking people (Karate can improve your movements and ways of attacking someone then taekwondo)
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I prefer Taekwondo

By: pugpaws2

pugpaws2 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:30:59 +0000

I will not go into a lot of detail but first let me say that Karate is not from Japan!!!! There are many styles of Japanese karate, However Karate came to Japan from Okinawa. Okinawa has many different styles of karate. Tae Kwon Do is a Korean martial arts that was created by General Choi. Choi had studied Shotokan karate in Japan. Therefore originally it had a similar basis, but made much greater use of kicks. The originally TKD did use hand techniques but favored kicking techniques. The commercialism has changed TKD further away from what it once was and more towards sport competition. What many people do not know is that the name Tae Kwon Do is generic. Karate is a generic term that can be used to describe many different styles of karate. Tea Kwon do has more than 75 different versions or styles as recognized in Korea. A few are Chi-Do-Kwon, Jee-Do-Kwon, Chung-Do-Kwon, …etc. All are different styles but are collectively known as Tae-Kwon-Do.

As for someones comments about some styles being more offensive than others, that is purely a matter of opinion. No one should be making that kind of comment. It clearly shows their lack of knowledge of the martial arts. All martial arts are inherently defensive by nature and philosophy. However all have techniques that can be used offensively. It is up to each person as to if they are more offensive of defensive in their use. But that is personal not a characteristic of the style. Y/A and the internet in general are full of opinions put forth by those who have limited experience yet think that they "know what they are talking about". Guess it is up to those of us that have more experience to set the record straight.

References :
Over 41 years of martial arts training (since 1967)
Teaching martial arts over 35 years (since 1973)

By: tre_494

tre_494 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:44:59 +0000

there are many different types of TKD as well as many different types of Karate. True,TKD is from Korea and Karate – Nihon,but there’s a difference in technique as well as the different types. It would be a more accurate comparison if you asked the difference between specific styles like Oh Do Kwan vs. Kyokushin. You see? Korea has many different styles, Japanese arts are constantly referred to as Karate, and chinese martial arts are often referred to as Kung-fu or Wushu, you’ve always got to specify to be accurate. Also, TKD is very kick-oriented.
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By: Dhaliwal_pavan@hotmail.com

Dhaliwal_pavan@hotmail.com — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:33:59 +0000

hey sensei did you ever think that tae kwon do can be used in the streets any martial art can be used in the street
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By: Sensei Rob

Sensei Rob — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:01:59 +0000

WOW. There are so many "experts" on here giving you information. The only problem is that they are all wrong. It’s amazing how quickly someone will give bad information. Most of these people just don’t know. If you are one who doesn’t know then PLEASE stop spouting off bad answers.
It’s really quite simple…
Karate is Japanese and involves kicks but mostly punches, offensive and deffensive. Karate can be used in real life situations to let you take control of the fight and end it how you want. (hopefully peacefully)
Tae kwon Do is Korean and involves mostly kicks and little punching. It is both offensive and defensive. I would not use TKD on the street because it has evolved into mostly a sport.

Bro Dan (If you spar with any karateka or taekwon do practitioner, they would be practically the same.) – No way! They are completely different martial arts.

Light Warrior – (Tae Kwon Do is a type of Karate) No, They are different arts from different countries.

Jeff – (In my opinion from a book stand point a lot of martial arts are the same if you look at the pictures.) Even in just pictures you can see a difference. Stop looking at books and go take some classes.

Jason M – (Another difference is T.K.D is more offensive than Karate.) Both arts are both offensive and defensive. Karate is a much harder art. Meaning that it is considered more offensive than TKD.

yuvid6 – Nice list but I’m not sure how it answers the question. By the way, I’m Shitō-ryū myself.

billh – (I remember karate does not refer to a specific martial art but rather the nature of the martial art as being "empty hand, as opposed to using weapons.) It has been a while because that statement is absolutely wrong! It is a very old martial art that does use weapons also.

I’m sorry for my rant, but it sickens me when I read such blatent bull. If you don’t know, please don’t answer. This is why the real experts get fed up and stop answering questions.

Here is a video you might like…

Karate is the older guy, TKD is the one who is always kicking. Please watch the whole video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iedxtg0N_KE
References :
13 years of training and teaching Karate

By: George Seiffield

George Seiffield — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 15:12:59 +0000

Traditional Taekwondo is typically not competition-oriented but stems from military roots with great emphasis on offense. Modern Taekwondo, on the other hand, tends to emphasize control and self-defense. Formally, there are two main styles of Taekwondo. One comes from the Kukkiwon, the source of the sparring system sihap gyeorugi which is now an event at the summer Olympic Games and which is governed by the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF). The other comes from the International Taekwondo Federation (ITF).

Although there are doctrinal and technical differences between the two main styles and among the various organizations, the art in general emphasizes kicks thrown from a mobile stance, employing the leg’s greater reach and power (compared to the arm). Taekwondo training generally includes a system of blocks, kicks, punches, and open-handed strikes and may also include various take-downs or sweeps, throws, and joint locks.

Karate (空手, Karate?) (listen (help·info)) or karate-do (空手道, karate-do?) is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands from indigenous fighting methods and Chinese kenpō.It is primarily a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands and ridge-hands. Grappling, locks, restraints, throws, and vital point strikes are taught in some styles. A karate practitioner is called a karateka.
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By: billh

billh — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:25:59 +0000

It has been quite some time for me but I remember karate does not refer to a specific martial art but rather the nature of the martial art as being "empty hand, as opposed to using weapons. therefore boxing wrestling and many combat sports would be accurately described as karate. however,tae kwon do is dtinctly Korean in origin along with tang soo do.The main functional diference I have seen is that tai kwon do relies fairly heavily on kicks and leg work as opposed to punching and upper body work
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By: section8

section8 — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:51:59 +0000

It seem you have your answer. To give a little added note, Karate means empty fist or empty hand. Tae kwon do means hand foot art.
References :
Me. Brown belt in wado ryu. Lived in S. Korea for a year while in military.