Tae Kwon Do or Karate?

[MushyMushy]

DD is signing up for some martial arts classes and there are only two studios (?) in our town -- tae kwon do and karate.

Can anyone explain the differences to me?

 

[becjlek]

my DS has done RyuKyu Kempo karate for 3 years. His intructor has also done Tae Kwon Do. From what I understand, these are the differences and what we have been told.
Karate, no competitions. Teaching for competitions is a different sport and teaches aggression. Karate is for life protection only. In my son's program they don't break boards. It is the original karate from Okinawa.
There are fewer belts for karate and it takes longer to get each one. It takes about 3.5 years to get a black belt in the program my son is in.
Part of earning the advanced belts is teaching others. Karate has different levels together because they believe we all learn from each other and even the advanced belts can learn from the beginners.
The cost for the program we do is 35.00 every 6 weeks. This is much cheaper than the TKD program in our town plus we don't have to pay for competition fees and traveling.
I hope this helps and I hope someone else can fill you in about TKD.

 

[aprilgail2]

My daughter takes taekwondo and her favorite thing is going to competitions, I think if they didn't have those she would have dropped out. Karate schools around here are mosre expensive, I know people paying 150 a month for karate while I pay 85 a month for lessons 5 times a week. It will take my daughter about 3 1/2 years to reach black belt, they do change belts more frequently than karate which for us was good because it gave my daughter some sense of accomplishment, she would have been bummed to stay the same belt for 6 months.
"Taekwondo is a Korean art, while karate is a Japanese art. Taekwondo uses most of the same hand techniques as karate but emphasizes the kicks more. Taekwondo is well known for its flashy, high, aerial and/or spinning kicks. "

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

My DD and DH are taking classes together in Tae Kwon Do and they chose it over the other martial arts in town because they wanted to break boards and the flashy kicks.

DH had taken some before and thought it would be a confidence booster for her as well as help her with balance and coordination.

 

[donnajon]

You should probably check with the individual schools to see their differences. DS9 is a black belt in American Karate. It took him 5 years to earn it. When he first started, they got new belts every two months and then when they got to the higher belts, it was every six months. It was a year between brown and black. His instructor said he wants his black belts to know they really earned it. I know he said they don't break boards because they don't think that is good for developing bones but I don't know any other differences. DS does go to occaisional tournaments but nothing regularly.

 

[Serena]

My oldest was in Shotokan karate. I really liked it. I didnt want her in it for the competitions. I wanted her to learn other things. And I really liked her sensei.

 

[golfgal]

One thing to keep in mind is that you don't HAVE to go to the TKD competitions. DS14 LOVED the competitions so we went to a lot of them. The twins didn't like them at all so they didn't go. In our gym the regular practices were not geared toward competitions at all. They had an open gym on Saturdays for everyone that wanted to go to practice for the competitions.

 

[MushyMushy]

I spoke with the tae kwon do instructor last night (the master?) and he said that they don't go to competitions as a school, but will support anyone who wants to go. This school is $50 a month with classes on Monday and Thursday for an hour and a half (yikes!). Mondays are great for me, while Thursdays only so-so.

I haven't talked to the karate instructor, but I know it's the same price, with classes on Tuesday and Thursday for 45 minutes. Tuesdays and Thursdays aren't so great for me, but I'd work it out for her.

She's asking to take tae kwon do for whatever reason (maybe the name is cooler to her ) but I just want her to go into it knowing what to expect from either one.

 

[golfgal]

It probably really doesn't matter one way or another which one she does. If she wants to do TKD, just sign her up for that. It will save you some arguments down the road if you let her be in the one she wanted.

Yes, he would be referred to as Master Lastname, unless he is a higher degree belt (7th degree or higher) then he would be Grand Master Lastname. Our kids' instructor is an 8th degree and is a Grand Master.

 

[pixiepower1971]

The most important thing to do when looking for a martial arts school is to go into the school and observe a class. How are the kids reacting to the instructor? How is the instructor with the kids? Are they organized? Is the class ALWAYS moving and doing something? Talk to the parents in the lobby...what are THEY saying about the school? Most schools provide a free trial class for potential students. Its also not unusual in the martial arts world to have to sign a 6 months or 12 months contract.