# Karate, TKD or other?



## Mark1985 (May 17, 2016)

Hi everyone. I am looking to get back into martial arts again and wondering which one to choose. As a child I did karate for a while and then TKD for a while. I'm veering towards TKD again (I haven't done either in about 15 years), but what do you lot think? I am doing it not just for fitness purposes but for enjoyment as well. What are the pros and cons of both? Thanks in advance!


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## oftheherd1 (May 17, 2016)

Hapkido is my art.  You have taken both.  Tell me the pros and cons as you have seen them.

BTW, welcome to Martial Talk.  I hope you enjoy it here.


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## Bill Mattocks (May 17, 2016)

Mark1985 said:


> Hi everyone. I am looking to get back into martial arts again and wondering which one to choose. As a child I did karate for a while and then TKD for a while. I'm veering towards TKD again (I haven't done either in about 15 years), but what do you lot think? I am doing it not just for fitness purposes but for enjoyment as well. What are the pros and cons of both? Thanks in advance!



I do not know if I can speak to pros and cons of both without painting with a very broad brush.  The high-level concept is that TKD uses higher kicks in general and tends to use feet more than hands in current training.  If I am wrong, I am sure someone will correct me.

I do Okinawan type karate.  We use lower kicks and our fists in a closer to 50-50 mix.

I can't say which is better for you.  I'd check out what's near you and then take a look at the various schools and make a choice based on that.

Welcome back to martial arts training!


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## dowz (May 17, 2016)

Mark1985 said:


> Hi everyone. I am looking to get back into martial arts again and wondering which one to choose. As a child I did karate for a while and then TKD for a while. I'm veering towards TKD again (I haven't done either in about 15 years), but what do you lot think? I am doing it not just for fitness purposes but for enjoyment as well. What are the pros and cons of both? Thanks in advance!



Why not go for a trial class for both karate and TKD? I am sure you will know whichever fires your blood more, so as to speak


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## JR 137 (May 17, 2016)

Choose a school, not an art.  Find a school that you see yourself training at for a long time.  The teacher(s) and students have far more to do with you doing well than the art itself.

I study karate.  I like everything about the dojo I attend more than any other dojo in the area.  It's the right fit for me.  If there was a TKD school that was a better fit for me, I'd go there instead.  It would be pretty stupid for me to say that any karate school is better than every TKD school, wouldn't it?

Visit the schools and make a decision based on the schools themselves, not by which is the "better art."


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## MAfreak (May 17, 2016)

i think (depending on which karate style) they are that similar, that it just doesn't matter. if you are flexible and love very cool kicks, choose tkd. but karate might have (depending on the style) more grappling and specific self defense in its curriculum.
if you have problems with or just like one of the languages japanese or korean more, then you cold also chose from that.


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## Tez3 (May 17, 2016)

MAfreak said:


> just like one of the languages japanese or korean more, then you cold also chose from that.



That would have to be one of the most random reasons for choosing a martial art that I have come across.


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## Mark1985 (May 17, 2016)

dowz said:


> Why not go for a trial class for both karate and TKD? I am sure you will know whichever fires your blood more, so as to speak


 
'Firing the blood' is a great phrase to use as thats really what will decide it for me. I will look into classes for both, as well as for different schools of Karate and go along to a few to see which one really does it for me. I think the following will help me decide:

Location
Training nights/times
Cost
X Factor (a combination of it 'firing the blood' so to speak and whether I get a good feeling from the teacher and other students)

Over the next few days I will aim to send out some emails to enquire after a few local schools so I can attend a training session to gauge the school. Does anyone else have any things they use to judge schools by?


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## Touch Of Death (May 17, 2016)

Tez3 said:


> That would have to be one of the most random reasons for choosing a martial art that I have come across.


No, the most random reason, is that you chose the guy down the street, from where you live. LOL


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## dowz (May 17, 2016)

Mark1985 said:


> 'Firing the blood' is a great phrase to use as thats really what will decide it for me. I will look into classes for both, as well as for different schools of Karate and go along to a few to see which one really does it for me. I think the following will help me decide:
> 
> Location
> Training nights/times
> ...



Those are the things I look out for too. In addition, I would also consider if it's those mcdojo's... where they do not really teach any functional self-defense (if that is what you are after)


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## JR 137 (May 17, 2016)

Mark1985 said:


> 'Firing the blood' is a great phrase to use as thats really what will decide it for me. I will look into classes for both, as well as for different schools of Karate and go along to a few to see which one really does it for me. I think the following will help me decide:
> 
> Location
> Training nights/times
> ...



Other than what you've said, ask yourself if what they're doing makes sense to you.  Is it practical and/or realistic, or is it absurd stuff like no touch knockouts?

Once you've narrowed it down, go watch a few different classes on a few different nights.  Maybe the one class you saw was an anomaly.  Maybe it was the norm.  Only one way to find out.

One last thing... Find out who's teaching and when. You might watch the head instructor teach when you visit and really like him/her, but that person may only teach once a week or even less.  My school is small, yet 4 different people routinely teach.  My head instructor teaches all nights except Tuesday, and he alternates Monday night with one person, and Saturday with another.  The other teachers are quite good, and I like the different viewpoints I get with each teacher.  But that doesn't mean it's the same everywhere.


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## Mark1985 (May 18, 2016)

Yeah, I don't want a school that claims to teach me how to knock out 10 people just by raising my eyebrows at a jaunty angle. I want something more traditional I suppose. I will visit a few schools and see if I connect with any


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## KenpoMaster805 (Jun 15, 2016)

Go take American Kenpo Karate its the best


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## EvanWinther (Jun 15, 2016)

Tae kwon do focuses on teaching kicks and using kicks for sparring. From what I hear karate is similar but with a lot more punching. Just an info blurb


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