Should i do taekwondo or karate

I attribute his new found confidence with the discipline, encouragement, and positive reinforcement he gets from his Masters at Wu-Yi Taekwondo Academy. Ever since both have become more popular in North America, people have been wondering about what is the difference between these two. This poses a problem especially for those who are just looking around for a martial art school or studio.

In this article, we will take a look at the differences, the similarities, and give an overall impression of both of them to help you make a more informed decision when deciding which one you would like to learn. Karate, as we know it today, was originally developed in the islands of Okinawa, in Japan, and draws some influences from Chinese martial arts. In fact, there are different styles of Karate, and originate from different parts of the world, but they are all commonly considered as part of a Japanese-based martial art.

The coloured belt system was developed to show the different ranks of Karate practitioners. White belts depict novices — the starting point for newcomers. Black belts, by contrast, represent the top tier of Karate practitioners and instructors alike. Between the white and black belts, there is a whole range of other colours, with different requirements and skillsets acquired along the way. Modern Taekwondo was developed in Korea after much influence from Japanese martial arts, like Karate.

The Koreans adopted the same white uniforms, along with a coloured belt ranking system for Taekwondo. Many Taekwondo schools, however, have added a black lining to their white uniforms for black belt levels. Only a true martial artist keeps their mind strong through the best and worst of times. There are so many different styles of martial arts that a person could learn, and they are available to learn at any age.

There are self-defense martial arts you can learn like Krav Maga, or more traditional arts like Tae Kwon Do. The martial arts world is yours to explore, however, this guide will give you a better idea on where to start. There are still ways to get a good MMA style workout at home. Many martial artists would be surprised to see boxing on this list. However, boxing is one of the purest forms of martial arts in history.

It is highly effective in MMA as well, teaching fighters head movement and footwork technique. It is also extremely effective in self-defense situations, as most fights start standing up. Boxing is a sport that has been celebrated by the masses throughout history.

Conor is actually a fantastic boxer with a karate style stance. This is how you know MMA is special, a boxer with a karate style stance that has been able to win multiple UFC titles. A normal training day in boxing can include a variety of different training techniques. One day you could be working on head movement and footwork, while others are focused on punching power and speed.

There will be days you can spar with a partner, but almost every boxing gym will give you the freedom to choose whether or not you want to spar. Boxing is something that almost everyone should try at some point in their lives. Boxing helps with reaction time, footwork, and head movement. There is no substitute for a good trainer and boxing gym. Research nearby boxing gyms you can usually find reviews from beginners on Yelp , but take them with a grain of salt and take a drop-in class.

Most boxing gyms offer at least one free day to prospective members. You can check out my at home MMA workout guide for some suggested boxing combos to start with at home.

If you want to jump start your progress, check out some of the instructional videos offered by Dynamic Striking they have boxing videos from Anderson Silva, Cain Velasquez and other huge names in MMA.

Teddy Atlas, who helped train Mike Tyson and other world champion boxers, has a great Fundamentals of Boxing course with Dynamic Striking that provides a solid overview of boxing for beginners:. View Course. Muay Thai Kickboxing is a great starting point for a beginner martial artist. Muay Thai is a kickboxing style sport that started in Thailand. Believe it or not, children in Thailand start having Muay Thai fights at the young age of 5.

Thai people celebrate Muay Thai in the same way Americans do Baseball. Muay Thai also focuses on the clinch technique which is useful for many other martial arts such as judo and wrestling. There are many professional MMA fighters that focus solely on Muay Thai techniques to help them win fights. Edson Barboza is a good example of a traditional Muay Thai fighter.

Muay Thai is also popular with celebrities that want to both learn to fight and get in shape. If Kihon is our vocabulary, then kata is the grammar of karate. The last K stands for Kumite, which means sparring or partner work. Partner work helps to introduce you to drills that, in return, help you get used to kicks, blocks, punches, and strikes.

Through these drills, you can apply your counter attacks and defensive movements against actual self-defense scenarios. Kumite is the sentence formation of karate and depends on how you express yourself using vocabulary Kihon and grammar kata. When it comes to rules, scoring in Karate competitions is very simple. A score is awarded when a practitioner performs a technique that conforms to the following criteria and lands on the above-mentioned body parts:.

Fighters can score one, two, or three points for attacking techniques; three points are awarded for a Jodan kick or any scoring technique performed on a fallen opponent. Two points are given for mid-level kicks, and one point is awarded for mid or upper-level punch. On the other hand, scoring for a taekwondo match is very simple.

For head kicks, when electronic scoring is not used, panels of four judges have to push a button when they see scoring points, and when three judges agree to the score, a point is awarded. A Taekwondo uniform is white and is known as the do bok. A colored belt is tied around the middle, which signifies what rank you are. The belt colors range from white to yellow, green, blue, red, and then lastly, black, specifically in that order.

On the other hand, all competitors for Karate have to wear a traditional gi, which is plain as well. Karate also wears different belt colors to signify their rank, but also have stripes to indicate progress within that belt color.

Other equipment includes body protection, foot protectors, gum shield, and shin pads. Both Karate and Taekwondo belong to the same branch of martial arts. They have very few differences in terms of form and ranks, and both provide you with a good workout while keeping self-defense as the main focus. Karate tends to focus more on solid stances, power, and strength, whereas Taekwondo focuses on flexibility, speed, and mobility.

Karate also tends to give equal time on foot and hand techniques, whereas Taekwondo focuses entirely on kicks. But when it comes to self-defense, Karate works more on-street self-defense with minimum preparation for tournaments, whereas Taekwondo focuses on tournaments more rather than self-defense.

These form the foundation for learning the more advanced moves. These will be done slowly, and each move is held to help you get the right form. The stances are meant to be used as a training tool. Fight movements need to flow quickly from one to the next to be effective. Karate is best known in pop culture for its shuto uchi, or karate chop. This fighting style emphasizes hand techniques and uses kicks as backup.

Taekwondo involves more kicking than karate. It puts a heavier emphasis on kicks and uses hands as backup. You will learn a variety of kick moves, including spinning and jumping kicks.

Because karate uses many more hand attacks, legs often stay grounded. Taekwondo, on the other hand, uses a different leg stance because the body needs to be ready to perform fast kicks. The first form of karate originated around years ago, on the Japanese island of Okinawa. People began using hand-to-hand combat to defend themselves.

Karate has both Japanese and Chinese influences, as the two cultures were exposed to each other. The first known Okinawan karate master, Funakoshi Gichin, was born in and dedicated his whole life to spreading karate teachings across Japan. His followers picked up where he left off and established the Japan Karate Association in for promoting the martial arts style.

The first dojo karate training space was opening in the U. Over the years, karate spread throughout the world and different styles began to emerge. Karate is constantly evolving as a martial arts form.