Which martial arts would compliment or blend well with my Taekwondo training?

[BmillerWarrior]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and new to traditional martial arts. I'm about to start my Taekwondo journey and I was curious as to which martial arts would compliment or blend nicely with my TKD training? Is it smart to train in something concurrently with TKD or should I wait till I reach first dan in TKD before I cross train in something else that compliments or blends well with my TKD? I wont stop training TKD when I reach first dan by any means. I see first dan as being the beginning of my journey. I just want to study other arts as well especially ones that blend well with TKD.

A little about me.... I have played sports my whole life, high school football, college football, Arena football, and boxed amatuers, competed in amatuer MMA and submission grappling tourneys about 8 years ago. I'm now 30 years old. Thank you for any advice guys!

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Welcome to MT!

With your background, I starting from the assumption that you’re leaning toward a “traditional” art (since you already have boxing and submission grappling). I like the way TKD matches with traditional grappling (Jujutsu, Hapkido, etc.). One of the best technicians I know in Nihon Goshin Aikido (my primary art) also carries rank in TKD.

 

[BmillerWarrior]

Yes I'm leaning towards the "traditional" martial arts these days. I'm going to train until the wheels fall off. I was thinking Judo or Hapkido or possibly Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Thanks for the response!

 

[Martial D]

Honestly? TKD offers lots of cool kicking techniques but comparatively lacks with hands. What about boxing?

Edit - I must have missed the part where you said you have boxed already. More boxing?

 

[DanT]

Honestly? TKD offers lots of cool kicking techniques but comparatively lacks with hands. What about boxing?

Edit - I must have missed the part where you said you have boxed already. More boxing?

Some TKD schools practice hand techniques more than others. If OP feels like his Hand Techniques are good, then perhaps a grappling art (Judo, JJJ, BJJ) would compliment his TKD well.

 

[BmillerWarrior]

I have decent hands. I trained and competed in pure boxing but that was 8 years ago. Compared to an average guy on the street I would say my hands are real good. I'm sure I would dabble again with a little boxing in the future when I have the time especially since it's cheap to train and I have all the gear for it. I'm looking to train in traditional arts for now and I want to be well rounded. So I'm looking for something to compliment my TKD journey.

 

[BmillerWarrior]

Would you recommend Hapkido or Judo later in my TKD? Also is it smart to train two arts concurrently? I'm a TKD newbie.

 

[hoshin1600]

Also is it smart to train two arts concurrently? I'm a TKD newbie.

We here at MT have been debating the whole 2 art thing, so your answers will vary.
I would advise to stick with the TKD for a year and see how it goes before looking for other stuff. Unless you are already super flexible, your body is going to be sore a lot from the new routine and your going to need down time to recoup.
I would hesitate on the Hapkido because of the overlap in skills and look for a judo school.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

Would you recommend Hapkido or Judo later in my TKD? Also is it smart to train two arts concurrently? I'm a TKD newbie.

You’re going to find differing opinions on this. It’s pretty individual. Since you are not new to training, I’d say do what feels right. If you want to jump into two at the same time, have at it. Your early development will probably be slower, but by percentages, not by an order of magnitude.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

We here at MT have been debating the whole 2 art thing, so your answers will vary.
I would advise to stick with the TKD for a year and see how it goes before looking for other stuff. Unless you are already super flexible, your body is going to be sore a lot from the new routine and your going to need down time to recoup.
I would hesitate on the Hapkido because of the overlap in skills and look for a judo school.

That past is a very good point. If the OP were not already starting TKD, I’d suggest looking for a Hapkido school with good emphasis on kicks, and get the blend all in one place.

 

[DanT]

Would you recommend Hapkido or Judo later in my TKD? Also is it smart to train two arts concurrently? I'm a TKD newbie.

Personally, I would wait until 1st dan before adding a second art.

I would recommend Judo as Hapkido kicking mechanics might mess up your TKD.

Don't drop your TKD though, keep it up while you practice Judo and continue to improve both. Then, when you hold a black belt in TKD and Judo, you can maybe add Hapkido or whatever interests you the most then.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

It's all great. Sign up for everything.

 

[oftheherd1]

We here at MT have been debating the whole 2 art thing, so your answers will vary.
I would advise to stick with the TKD for a year and see how it goes before looking for other stuff. Unless you are already super flexible, your body is going to be sore a lot from the new routine and your going to need down time to recoup.
I would hesitate on the Hapkido because of the overlap in skills and look for a judo school.

Personally, I would wait until 1st dan before adding a second art.

I would recommend Judo as Hapkido kicking mechanics might mess up your TKD.

Don't drop your TKD though, keep it up while you practice Judo and continue to improve both. Then, when you hold a black belt in TKD and Judo, you can maybe add Hapkido or whatever interests you the most then.

I think you would want to check out any Hapkido schools near you before discounting them. The kicks in the Hapkido I studied would not have caused problems for a TKD practitioner. I don't know if every TKD school would have had all the kicks we had, but if not, you would just have some additional tools while studying TKD.

And I don't see an overlap in skills, but again it would depend of the schools of the arts you try to learn. There would have been little overlap in the Hapkido I learned and the TKD I studied in the mid-60s. We used our hands more for blocking. In Hapkido, it being a grappling art, hands are used a lot more.

You might find you like a grappling art more that a striking art, unless the teacher has decided to incorporate a lot more grappling into the TKD.

But the bottom line is its all up to you. Try whatever you like and discontinue anything that bothers an art you like. Have fun doing it.

 

[hoshin1600]

The kicks in the Hapkido I studied would not have caused problems for a TKD practitioner.

my thinking is not that there "problems" or contradictions but rather a redundancy. for the hours spent on an additional art i personally would not want the same stuff in both classes.

 

[oftheherd1]

my thinking is not that there "problems" or contradictions but rather a redundancy. for the hours spent on an additional art i personally would not want the same stuff in both classes.

That is an interesting point worth considering. But in the Hapkido I studied, versus the TKD I studied, we practiced more kicks in Hapkido, and it was also cardio as well as learning kicks so they could be used effectively. Also of course, in TKD, we studied forms more that just kicking. kicks were also used to teach mental sharpness when we did series of kicks as given by our GM. May not sound like much but I thought if helped me. Maybe I was just a big dummy when I started.

 

[hoshin1600]

That is an interesting point worth considering. But in the Hapkido I studied, versus the TKD I studied, we practiced more kicks in Hapkido, and it was also cardio as well as learning kicks so they could be used effectively. Also of course, in TKD, we studied forms more that just kicking. kicks were also used to teach mental sharpness when we did series of kicks as given by our GM. May not sound like much but I thought if helped me. Maybe I was just a big dummy when I started.

just remember things cost money too. if your paying $100 a month for TKD is it then worth another $100 a month to learn hapkido? i would rather choose one between the two and go for BJJ as the add on or Judo.

 

[Gerry Seymour]

That is an interesting point worth considering. But in the Hapkido I studied, versus the TKD I studied, we practiced more kicks in Hapkido, and it was also cardio as well as learning kicks so they could be used effectively. Also of course, in TKD, we studied forms more that just kicking. kicks were also used to teach mental sharpness when we did series of kicks as given by our GM. May not sound like much but I thought if helped me. Maybe I was just a big dummy when I started.

And you're not, now?

 

[Gerry Seymour]

just remember things cost money too. if your paying $100 a month for TKD is it then worth another $100 a month to learn hapkido? i would rather choose one between the two and go for BJJ as the add on or Judo.

I guess that would depend. If I really liked the kicks, I might just see it as more opportunity to tune them, under different instructors.

 

[Buka]

Welcome to MartialTalk, BMiller.

Sounds like you're well on your way to a great Martial Journey. Wishing you all the best on it.

 

[BmillerWarrior]

Personally, I would wait until 1st dan before adding a second art.

I would recommend Judo as Hapkido kicking mechanics might mess up your TKD.

Don't drop your TKD though, keep it up while you practice Judo and continue to improve both. Then, when you hold a black belt in TKD and Judo, you can maybe add Hapkido or whatever interests you the most then.

yes I agree to what you're saying. I was thinking of not cross training till I reached first dan but was never going to stop tkd at first dan. My plan was to continue tkd beyond first dan and add either judo or Hapkido to the mix but was more considering judo than hapkido then like you said maybe later blend in some hapkido with everything else.