how's tkd ranked amoung other MA?

[Manny]

I know TKD is the largest MA practiced around the world but just wonder:

1.-How many tkd people are out there?
2.-How many countries practiced TKD?
3.-What's the ratio amoung TKD practicioners and other MA like Karate, Kung Fu,etc?

Manny

 

[dancingalone]

No one keeps statistics like that. That said, if you count the people around the word that practice tai chi chuan (the health version with little regard for martial applications), you might be stunned at the numbers,

 

[granfire]

well, they say TKD is the most popular MA in the world. Nearly all countries practice it. But here is the kicker : in one form or another.

So while from the outside it looks all Uniform and stuff, we know it's not.

Though BJJ has had a boost in recent years. But it has a few reasons why it is not as universal appealing. (I for one don't like it. I know it's supposed to work for small people on big people and maybe I had already lost too much muscle tone, but I could never get the techniques to work right. I did not enjoy it at all)

 

[Omar B]

I think TKD's claim to be the most widley practised MA int eh world is fudging it a bit. I think there are more people who practiced boxing or wrestling.

 

[Shaderon]

I think TKD's claim to be the most widley practised MA int eh world is fudging it a bit. I think there are more people who practiced boxing or wrestling.

I don't know, if you put the kids into the statistics it's gotta be more people doing TKD than Boxing or wrestling.

Boxing and wrestling get more publicity and TV time than TKD but if you look around at the schools and look at the numbers of students of any type in each school and the numbers of schools I reckon you may find that TKD is bigger to be quite honest.

TKD is taught to kids as young as 4 or 5 and to older people of thier 60's + , also many, many women do TKD, a lot do it purely for fitness or for a hobby, add those people in and I can't see boxing and wrestling keeping up with them.

I'm not saying it's the most widely practised. I thought that was Karate to be honest but I reckon more people do it that you think.

 

[granfire]

well, a lot of schools teaching 'Karate' do TKD.....

 

[ralphmcpherson]

I know a lot of people do tkd because its a great aerobic workout , great for flexibility and general physical fitness . These are the reasons I do it , and I think these are the things that get a lot of women doing it and people who want to feel better physically. Its not seen soley as a way to learn how to fight and these attributes bring in a lot of children also. The fact you learn how to defend yourself is just a bonus.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I can think of a couple reason why TKD might be considered the most widely practiced MA in the world.
All variants of TKD are clumped togther for the sake of numbers. But the many Japanese variants, for example, are not all clumped together under the generic heading of Karate, which makes the claim somewhat suspect, to my mind.
And too, TKD is part of the curriculum in the Korean school system. That's going to inflate the numbers as well.