Whats better for kicking TKD or KENPO or Karate. Need to know

[J-kid]

Hey first off this post is not to see what art is better in general i just wanna know which has stronger kicks. If you have done 2 or 3 of them please post what you think. at this time thinking of joining Kenpo. Is this a wise choice . MORE INFO on these arts and there kicks please add thanks much Your friend Judo-Kid

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Skim thru the Kenpo forums for info on their kicks...

From my limited research if you are looking for a power kick, look at Muay Thai. Nothing fancy, just power. Swing your leg like a baseball bat is how its been described to me...and they hurt when they land..took one a few weeks ago...ouch.

If youre looking for the 'fancy' kicks, check out Savate. French kickboxing. If youre a pro wrestling fan, some of their stuff has found its way in (in modified form) for use by guys like Stan Lane (savate instructor) and Shawn Michaels.

I'd say TKD is another good source for the 'fancy' kicks.

:asian:

 

[J-kid]

Please pick one of the three and then tell me why you choose that one out of the three if you will thanks.. There is no Kickboxing training centers close to my house of any kind....:armed: :biggun:

 

[Damian Mavis]

They all incorporate great kicks, but TKD is HEAVY on the kicking.... alot of TKD schools will train a whole class on just 1 or 2 kicks. I find that kind of boring but in TKD thats the way its done sometimes...kick, kick, kick. As an instructor in TKD that has visited many schools I feel that TKD offers the best for kicking.... but not much for hand techniques, I'm pretty sure Kenpo would be the place to go for hands between the 3 you are looking at but TKD definately for kicks. We train speed kicks, power kicks, sneaky kicks..... every type of kick from every angle. I took karate for a while too and all I can say is... almost every karate school is different, some train like TKD and others do something completely different, like grappling. I'm thinking Kenpo is more standardised?

After saying all that, if your looking outside the 3 arts you mentioned, Muay Thai has the strongest round house type kick I've ever trained or been hit with. When kicking with the shin the difference is like a baseball bat compared to a fist. (shin instead of top of foot/instep) However Muay Thai doesnt have alot of different kicks in their arsenal, instead they have knees, elbows and boxing.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Bob Hubbard]

of the 3, I'd lean towards Kenpo. Its the more 'complete' are -in my opinion-.

That said, take a look at the ciriculum at each school, ask the instructors a lot of questions, and watch a few classes to get a feel for the school. Let them know what -you- want to get out of it, and see if they only want your cash or will help you reach your goals.

Case in point... I want to learn sword...but not kendo. I study at a Modern Arnis school and the head instructor has been helping me reach that goal. Let them know, and maybe they can help.

:asian:

 

[Bob Hubbard]

quick clarification..when I say 'fancy' kicks I dont mean anything bad by it... think 'complex' or 'advanced'. Crecent kicks, hook kicks, spinning axe kicks, etc.

Regarding TKD - take Damian Mavis' comments on its techniques as a good referal. He's a LOT! more knowedgeable on it than I.

The spending along time on 1 or 2 techniques (be it punching, kicking, etc) is the best way to really work it (IMHO) as it really gets it into your bodys 'memory'.

Good luck!

:asian:

 

[Carbon]

I know someone in my school who was quite advanced in TKD and was near assistant instructor level.

He is of small build, he is asian and isn't the strongest. I mean he has been in it for awhile and I don't know where he studied but he knows all the forms.

He says that TKD has alot of fancy kicks and he knows all of them, but they lack the ability to generate stopping power. I mean a Muay Thai kick has the power to stop someone dead in their tracks and I would love to take it but no schools are around me unfortunately

 

[KennethKu]

"...He says that TKD has alot of fancy kicks and he knows all of them, but they lack the ability to generate stopping power...."


I would not count on that when you go up against a TKD practitioner

I respectfully submit to you that your friend was wrong on that assessment.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I spar on a regular basis with a guy whos a Blue in TKD and a Green in Modern Arnis... let me say that his kicks have some power in them. We dont go at it full out, but I've taken some good shots. If they were full power, I woulda taken some damage. (well, alot more than I did)

 

[Damian Mavis]

The Muay Thai round kick is stronger than the TKD one because of different attacking tools, the shin is simply a better weapon than the top of the foot.

As for the rest of TKD's kicks.... they are as powerful as they get. Go watch any TKD demo and youll usually see the head instructor kicking through 7 to 9 inches of wood..... that is not an easy accomplishment and takes alot of power granted from good technique (not muscle power). However not all schools have the same goals, I know some go for speed as opposed to power, theres actually different styles of TKD that do indeed aim for different things. I trained in a TKD school that worked on both speed and power. Some schools train alot of fast tappy tap kicks with their lead leg that score well but dont do any damage. Other schools do alot of rear leg kicks and put their whole body behind their kicks and try to tear right through their target each and every time but have a harder time scoring on a fast moving target. Ideally you would want to have both speed and power but I guess if you focus on one more than the other you get really good at it.

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[Kenpo Wolf]

I may be a bit biased but go with the kenpo school, which offers some of the best self defense techniques you can find, and supplement it with tkd kicks which you can learn with books, videos or friends who study tkd. Tkd is a fine art in itself but I don't like how they overemphasize kicking and breaking. This is just my opinion and I don't want to get into a flame war over it

 

[J-kid]

Kenpo sounds ok but really wanted to do the mui ti but nothing that is kickboxing which is close to me. I might sit in on each class , is kung fu any good at kicks or is there more powerful kicks in kenpo so many questions, . Hope someone can make a detailed thing on there art if it is a kicking one please post here, i wanna read what you have to say about your kicks and how you train . thanks your friend Judo-kid

 

[Damian Mavis]

Just like to remind you guys that Judo-kid originally asked what art had the strongest kicks.

We arent discussing which art is better.

Sorry guys but an art that spends 99% of its time kicking is going to have the best kicks...its just the way it goes. TKD gets to claim best kicks but guess what else they get? The award for most incomplete martial art! oh ... besides judo of course HA!

Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[J-kid]

So there.:duel:

 

[vincefuess]

I trained in TKD for a few years before I started Kenpo. The kicking skills that I learned in TKD served me very well when blended into the Kenpo concepts. Kenpo keeps the kicks in very practical application- they are very strong, but only applied where they are the most effective.

As a beginning student, a mastery of basics is key to the development of strong skills. The jumping, spinning, high flying kicks I had to learn in TKD gave me a terrific sense of balance and confidence as a BASE from which I employ the simpler, more practical kicks used in Kenpo techniques.

You cannot "over master" any basic skill.

There is no such thing as a magic can of whup-***... remember you are on a journey, and your destination will continue to change as you pursue it. Hone every skill you learn to the finest edge you can.

 

[Damian Mavis]

"There is no such thing as a magic can of whup-***... "

uh, yes in fact there is! and if you send me $9.99 I will mail your can to you within 6 to 8 weeks.

Judo kid, I know judo is good for grappling haha, to me judo and TKD are just very incomplete cosidering they never touch certain ranges and almost exclusively focus on one range.


Damian Mavis
Honour TKD

 

[vincefuess]

You got insomnia too??? It's 3:30 in the dog gone morning! I thought I had this place all to myself.

Yep- I see those ads for the magic cans of whup-*** in EVERY issue of Black Belt Magazine! :rofl:

I sure wish these eyelids would get heavy...

 

[Carbon]

Ok, Damian Mavis that first post about Judo and TKD made me laugh

Yes, I agree that TKD is focus'd all around kicks and yes kicks are neccessary and I don't know any technical names of any TKD since I'm not a practioner but I would like to know where are you going to use all the jumping kicks they have?

Like the infamous kicks Jon Claude van Dame uses and got famous for in his Kickboxer movies :0

And yes I do know its just a movie.

 

[fissure]

I would like to know where are you going to use all the jumping kicks they have?

There's nothing like 'buying into stereotypes', to help with the spreading of miss- information.

 

[Nightingale]

I've taken both TKD and Kenpo....

From my experience (with 2 different TKD Schools, and 3 kenpo schools) is that TKD will teach you how to kick. TKD will teach you how to kick well. Kenpo will teach you how to kick just as well, and more importantly, kenpo will teach you WHEN to kick.

As I said, this is IN MY EXPERIENCE. Maybe I just hit TKD schools that weren't doing what they were supposed to.

Judo-Kid.... i'd say that kenpo would work in better with what you already know than TKD would. Ask the instructors if you can try two weeks at each of the schools, and make up your mind, because only you can decide what works for you. For me, Kenpo was the best choice, but for you, that may be different, depending on what you want from a martial art, and the teachers involved.