# Can my daughter take Karate and Taekwondo at the same time?



## JasonJ (Apr 24, 2014)

I created an account to ask this question. My daughter is 7 and wants to take both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Me and my wife are thinking she coukd do Karate and Mondays and TKD on Fridays. But, I heard from some people that Tae Kwon Do and Karate are very similar, so would she get confused if she did both at the same time? Or are they different enough?Can she do both at the same time, or should she dedicate to one till she is a black belt and try the other one later?


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## Flying Crane (Apr 24, 2014)

focus on one.  she can explore the other later, but as a beginner it is just too much and not realistic.

understand: there are good reasons to train multiple systems, including simple interest.  however, it is absolutely NOT necessary.  One system, well understood, is plenty.  For most people, more than one is too much.  Working on one is hard work enough for a lifetime.


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## K-man (Apr 24, 2014)

Flying Crane said:


> focus on one.  she can explore the other later, but as a beginner it is just too much and not realistic.
> 
> understand: there are good reasons to train multiple systems, including simple interest.  however, it is absolutely NOT necessary.  One system, well understood, is plenty.  For most people, more than one is too much.  Working on one is hard work enough for a lifetime.


Amen!


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## tshadowchaser (Apr 25, 2014)

Flying Crane said all that needs to be said


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## Brian R. VanCise (Apr 25, 2014)

tshadowchaser said:


> Flying Crane said all that needs to be said



Yep!!!


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## Xue Sheng (Apr 25, 2014)

tshadowchaser said:


> Flying Crane said all that needs to be said



Agreed.

My daughter started out with TKD went to multiple classes a week and then started to not want to go and eventually decided she did not like it and took some time off. She eventually (6 months later) wanted to give something else a try and it was down to Judo or Aikido and she went with Aikido and it has been almost 2 years and she still loves it.

My only additional, useful advice is, don't sign a year long contract if you can avoid it. Kids change their minds and you could be stuck with paying for classes she does not go to or she is completely miserable at

7 is young, let her figure it out by doing, she'll figure it out


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## drop bear (Apr 25, 2014)

Xue Sheng said:


> Agreed.
> 
> My daughter started out with TKD went to multiple classes a week and then started to not want to go and eventually decided she did not like it and took some time off. She eventually (6 months later) wanted to give something else a try and it was down to Judo or Aikido and she went with Aikido and it has been almost 2 years and she still loves it.
> 
> ...




Which is the advantage of giving a kid multiple interests. It gives them more exposure to choose what they want to do.


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## Monkey Turned Wolf (Apr 26, 2014)

This is a bit against what's being said, but at 7 there's nothing wrong with introducing her to multiple arts and seeing if she likes one/likes the instructor & classmates (which shell honestly care more about) better. However, I'd suggest dropping whichever one is less liked relatively quickly (about 6 months), not because there's any issue with it, especially at 7, but because there's no real point in pursuing two separate arts long-term as a kid, so it's cheaper and easier for the kid to have her choose early rather than later.


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## Xue Sheng (Apr 26, 2014)

drop bear said:


> Which is the advantage of giving a kid multiple interests. It gives them more exposure to choose what they want to do.



Yes...and no.... I did not do both at the same time (TKD and Aikido) and I would not recommend it at such a young age as it applies to MA

However she was in Gymnastics, Piano, TKD and swimming that is multiple interests in my opinion, I do not feel that Karate and TKD would be considered multiple interests, they are similar interests.

But to each his own, my only additional recommendation to this entire conversation is be careful with the contracts


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## arnisador (Apr 26, 2014)

At her age, if you're mostly just looking for an exercise-related activity for her, it could work out. But if the hope is that she'll gain skill and continue, choose one. They're too similar but still enough different that they'd interfere with one another. Better to choose, say, Karate (striking) and Judo (wrestling), or some other pairing of arts that work primarily in separate spheres.


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## arnisador (Apr 26, 2014)

Flying Crane said:


> focus on one.  she can explore the other later, but as a beginner it is just too much and not realistic.
> 
> understand: there are good reasons to train multiple systems, including simple interest.  however, it is absolutely NOT necessary.  One system, well understood, is plenty.  For most people, more than one is too much.  Working on one is hard work enough for a lifetime.



Overall agree, esp. for this age--but as you progress, getting out of your shell and interacting with others in other arts, and adding in some things gained from cross-training, is important. (I know you wouldn't disagree.) At this age one art is likely best.


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## Makalakumu (Apr 26, 2014)

Seven years old is young to start a martial art. At that age, the art itself may be less important than the teacher. I would recommend that you try a bunch of different teachers and watch for the one that you think is giving the most developmentally appropriate instruction. Also, ask your daughter's opinion, what classes were the most enjoyable for her? I see kids all of the time who have tried martial arts and have quit after a few months and now are not interested in trying it again. If she has a good experience in the class, even if she wants to try something else, like tennis or dancing, she may be interested in martial arts in the future.


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## WaterGal (Apr 26, 2014)

If she wants to study two styles, that's fine, but one class a week for each isn't going to cut it.  If you can commit to taking her to 2-3 classes per week for each, go for it.  Otherwise, just stick to one.  Though I do think it would be better to study styles with less overlap.


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## elder999 (Apr 26, 2014)

I've posted most of this elsewhere, so my two cents:

I started judo and TKD at the same time, when I was 11. There was no overlap or interference at all, and both teachers encouraged my participation in the other.

Three years later, still going at it, I was exposed to kyokushin karate in boarding school, and it was all that was available to me, besides boxing, wrestling and fencing. So I did kyokushin at boarding school, and TKD and Judo when I was home-luckily, this was long ago enough that the TKD forms were variants of the same kata I did in kyokushin-so it took adjusting and remembering where I was as far as hand placement sometimes, but I did okay with both, _with the consent of both teachers_-earning dan grades in both-until I had to decide to give one up. I also wrestled and boxed for a time, though I didn't stick with fencing......

Short answer-especially for a kid-dissimilar forms like a grappling form and a striking form aren't going to cause much interference with each other at all. Striking forms of something as similar as TKD and karate can be might be confusing-.

There is a lady in Albuquerque who holds ranks similar to mine, and her program consists of Okinawan karate and TKD, and her kids' program works well, but I think she's rather anomalous in that regard.....


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## oftheherd1 (Apr 28, 2014)

Makalakumu said:


> Seven years old is young to start a martial art. At that age, the art itself may be less important than the teacher. I would recommend that you try a bunch of different teachers and watch for the one that you think is giving the most developmentally appropriate instruction. Also, ask your daughter's opinion, what classes were the most enjoyable for her? I see kids all of the time who have tried martial arts and have quit after a few months and now are not interested in trying it again. If she has a good experience in the class, even if she wants to try something else, like tennis or dancing, she may be interested in martial arts in the future.



All the answers here are good.  But I think, considering your daughter's age, this one deserves more attention that only one post would seem to give it.


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## Touch Of Death (Apr 28, 2014)

JasonJ said:


> I created an account to ask this question. My daughter is 7 and wants to take both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Me and my wife are thinking she coukd do Karate and Mondays and TKD on Fridays. But, I heard from some people that Tae Kwon Do and Karate are very similar, so would she get confused if she did both at the same time? Or are they different enough?Can she do both at the same time, or should she dedicate to one till she is a black belt and try the other one later?


Oh, hell no. One art will suffer in favor of the other, and... just no.


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## granfire (Apr 28, 2014)

Pick one. There is always time for the other.
Most kids are over scheduled. No need to add by picking two similar differences to deal with (and yes, 2-3 classes each week on one art to get something out of it.)

You are thinking of something like having her play the flute on Tuesdays, clarinet on Thursdays...many musicians pick up a second or third instrument over time, but in the beginning they stick with one until they somewhat mastered the basics. Unless it's like flute and drums....

Also, I do agree with the importance of the teacher (and the rest of the students) is almost more important right now than the particular style. (it also depends on the child of course)
In my (limited) experience with girls, I think they depend a good bit on a good, friendly instructor to get them out of their shell.


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## wingchun100 (Apr 29, 2014)

Not a lot of kids stick to an art for long, unless they get really fired up about it. Pick one, and my guess is within a year or so you may find yourself taking her to the other.


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## Reedone816 (May 2, 2014)

All the advice here are sound, but for such a young kid, it is best to look at the way your kid training, is it fully supervised? look at training method, is it save? Fun? Do they have kid class/curriculum?
And look at the contract, the length, the agreement, the penalty...

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## skribs (May 12, 2014)

The problem is that they're similar...but different.  I think having knowledge of one would help with the other later on, but doing both you're going to be constantly corrected on little things that are different between the two (for example, a front kick in karate usually aims to strike with the heel, while in TKD you use the ball of the foot).  Not to mention differences in sparring rules, required gear, and testing requirements.

I would say try them both; or try one and then the other and see which she likes better (or, try one, and if it isn't abhorrent just stick with that).


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## drop bear (May 13, 2014)

Could your daughter take up soccer foot ball and tennis?

Could she learn 3 languages?

Could she learn salsa sambo and ballet?

Kids do this all the time without confusing them.

I am not sure why martial arts has this special category.


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## skribs (May 13, 2014)

Soccer football and tennis would be a good analogy for taking Judo and Karate.  Badmitton, tennis, and racquetball would be a better analogy for karate + TKD.  They would be very similar, but with slight differences in trajectory and how you swing.


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## Danny T (May 13, 2014)

I am a proponent of children, teen, and adults having the capacity to learn and excel in multiply things over the same time periods.
I so am certain of this that our youth programs include, Shotokan and Combat Submission Wrestling for our beginners, at 4 -6 months we advance them into our intermediate program which adds Muay Thai & Pekiti-Tirsia Kali to the curriculum. At about the 2 1/2 year level we start moving them into our youth Master Program and here they continue with Shotokan, CSW, Muay Thai, Kali, and we add Wing Chun to their training. Each is taught as a part of their training but is taught as a separate aspect of training. We do not combine or blend the instruction but the students do when it comes to sparring. They are allowed to use whatever works in whatever manner they can. 
The thing is they are learning several different martial systems and methodologies. They have an understanding of how the different movements can be different applications and they can use them in a multitude of ways to solve the problems they face in sparring; whether it is standing and striking, standing and clinching or grappling, on the ground striking or on the ground grappling and with or without weapons. And, they learn all of it over the course of the same time period. 

Biggest draw back. They don't do great in Forms Competition because nothing we do is flashy. They have never done well in Weapons Competitions because we don't throw our weapons, we hang on to them and use them properly. We do ok in the point competitions though we get a lot of points taken away and lots of D.Q.s for being overly aggressive. (Gotta love that.) We do very well in continuous sparring, boxing, muay thai, wrestling, no gi and mma competitions.

The thing is people can learn at lot in a relatively short time and can be quite good at it. If it is presented in a manner that allows that to happen. There are numerous schools, gyms, training centers that instruct multiply arts to their students at the same time. I'm certain you child has the capacity to learn multiple arts as well.


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## skribs (May 13, 2014)

> Biggest draw back. They don't do great in Forms Competition because  nothing we do is flashy. They have never done well in Weapons  Competitions because we don't throw our weapons, we hang on to them and  use them properly. We do ok in the point competitions though we get a  lot of points taken away and lots of D.Q.s for being overly aggressive.



If you're going to be competing in something, you should try to win, which includes properly preparing for the competition and learning the rules.  Getting a lot of penalties is NOT a good sign.  I'm not sure about your competitions, but the forms competitions I've done are based on pacing, stance, technique, etc...not on flash.


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## drop bear (May 13, 2014)

skribs said:


> Soccer football and tennis would be a good analogy for taking Judo and Karate.  Badmitton, tennis, and racquetball would be a better analogy for karate + TKD.  They would be very similar, but with slight differences in trajectory and how you swing.



Dance is the best. And dancers often multi discipline. Salsa samba tango all very similar but also very precise in their differences.


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## drop bear (May 13, 2014)

skribs said:


> If you're going to be competing in something, you should try to win, which includes properly preparing for the competition and learning the rules.  Getting a lot of penalties is NOT a good sign.  I'm not sure about your competitions, but the forms competitions I've done are based on pacing, stance, technique, etc...not on flash.



Our guys do the occasional bjj comp for giggles. Nobody bothers to specifically train for them.


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## skribs (May 13, 2014)

> Our guys do the occasional bjj comp for giggles. Nobody bothers to specifically train for them.



Still, if you have a lot of penalties, such that you lose a lot of points and are sometimes DQ'ed, that reflects badly on you.  If I was going to a competition that I wasn't specifically trained for, I would at least read the rules and try not to break them.


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## Mark Lynn (May 16, 2014)

JasonJ said:


> I created an account to ask this question. My daughter is 7 and wants to take both Karate and Tae Kwon Do. Me and my wife are thinking she coukd do Karate and Mondays and TKD on Fridays. But, I heard from some people that Tae Kwon Do and Karate are very similar, so would she get confused if she did both at the same time? Or are they different enough?Can she do both at the same time, or should she dedicate to one till she is a black belt and try the other one later?



In reading the posts on this discussion there is a lot of good advice on your problem.

From my perspective as an instructor who teaches kids your daughters age, FWIW here is my opinion.

All of the posters who expressed views about the instructor and the class hit the nail on the head, this is the most important thing.  Does your daughter enjoy the class and the instructor, and is the curriculum sound (as in age appropriate).  I don't see the need in studying multiple arts at this age as in TKD/Karate, but it would be wise to have her try out different classes at different schools and watch them.  Then base your decision on both her input (which classes she likes) and your observation of the class and the teacher and the schools requirements (as in attendance, costs, schedules, sign up fees, contracts etc. etc. etc.) and go from there.

Yes the TKD and the Karate can be similar but they can be at other ends of the spectrum as well, but similar enough to cause confusion in a young mind.  Say school A teaches more on a self defense mode on the karate base, and the other school B teaches a more tournament style based on the TKD. At the beginning levels it might seem the same but fast forward a year or so and things start to widen apart, as she gets into advanced intermediate stage of her training even more so, and in advanced levels (under BB) what might be good in one school is anathema in the other school.   For instance in the SD focused school you would never throw your sword in the air and catch it for a kata, but in the tournament school she might be required to do that over and over and over again to get the timing of the move down for her to compete with.

Or let's say the TKD school is based on Olympic style TKD (continuous sparring, emphasizing kicks) and the Karate school does semi contact point sparring, similar techniques but different strategies, different games to play etc. etc.  Or how about the one school possibly counting in Japanese or using the Japanese names for techniques and the other using Korean.

In regards to the students learning more than one art at a time from the same instructor, I've done that in my classes as I teach Modern Arnis and the TKD (which is a blended or bastardized version itself).  I use to let my advanced TKD students cross train over into the Modern Arnis when they reach 13, yeah they had a good time but eventually their training suffered by them having to choose one or the other.  Trying to make both classes they weren't able to focus on the one.  Now that I teach a complete Junior Modern Arnis program I'm making the students choose one or the other I also lowered the age that would teach Modern Arnis to)  I .  I still have two that I let cross train between programs; the younger one is an exceptional student at 10, the older one (who's 13/14) has a more difficult time with it, both are learning the two programs earning rank in both of them.  I also have two younger ones at 10 who are transitioning over to the JMA class, but they are struggling in doing both, so they will be forced to decide which program they will learn.

I'm a firm believer in the whole cross training thing, and I felt the Modern Arnis (The Art within you Art) would be a nice bridge, in fact for the advanced belts in my TKD program most of the self defense related material is based on the Modern Arnis.  It works well, but for students trying to learn another complete art; new terms, different concepts, different ranges, different drills, different forms (kata, Anyos), locking etc. etc. it can be very over whelming especially to the younger students.

As adults we have the life experiences to base our understanding on, we can think conceptually, we can place things in the proper boxes.  I think that is a bit much for the young kids. 

As to your last question should she stick with one till she is a BB then go to another, again that depends.  Especially having been grounded in one art such as the TKD (or the karate); if you moved, or the class fell out of favor etc. etc. then she could without to much of a transition go to the other style and pick it up.  This can be done at any level below BB or above.


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## PhotonGuy (Jul 15, 2014)

I would have to agree with some of the people here that doing both arts at the same time would be too confusing especially for a beginner and especially for somebody who is 7 years old. I would recommend starting with Karate as usually in Karate they don't go crazy in trying to get you to learn a hundred different techniques within your first few weeks. Instead, in Karate they focus on only a few techniques but they are effective. From my experience with TKD they often try to teach you too much too soon.


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## cqbspartan (Oct 10, 2014)

Correct,both are similar...except one is Japanese and one is Korean...but after that are similar in the grand scheme of things...she could do both because there are minor differences but not necessary to do so...you said it is she who wants to do both...that is a 7 year old asking to train both...I say don't spend your money on both arts that are so similar...if you want to do more than one, try Judo or Aikido, Jeet Kune Do, or something entirely different...or wait til she gets older to do a second art...maybe now you could get her into gymnastics, softball, volleyball, soccer or some other sport for the cross training to develop more of her athletic skills


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