Why TKD is not effective for self defense and sometimes rejected

[pnoy_kickfighter]

I hear stories of martial artists who have switched to different martial arts because they got whupped and their previous art was TKD. It's really bothering me and kind of losing my faith not only in TKD but also in the martial arts

 

[arnisador]

It's all about how you train it. That makes a much bigger difference than the art itself. Before switching, consider cross-training in something that complements your art. Do you need grappling? Work on aliveness and attributes? Weapons? Pick something that'll help--Judo, Boxing, whatever.

 

[still learning]

Hello, TKD does a lot of competition fighting, works for them in the arena.

Street fighting anything goes, no rules, no two fights will be the same. Once someone come in full force swinging,slugging away,most of us are not prepare for a fight to start. So when the other starts our minds are going " IS this happening? " Marc the animal has some good thoughts on this. You may want to get his books and others like it. ...............Aloha

 

[MJS]

All arts have something to offer, and things will have their strong and weak points. Arnisador made some great points!! Its going to come down to how you're training. What are your goals in the arts? If SD is your goal, then your training needs to be geared to that. You may also consider cross training or cross referrence other arts, to help round out your skills.

Mike

 

[silatman]

A good martial artist can make an average art outstanding whilst a bad one can make an outstanding art very average.

 

[evenflow1121]

I would tell you to not lose faith and certainly dont give up on TKD for what anybody says. People that usually put other systems down, usually cant fight using their particular style of practice to begin with. If you do want to try something new then look around and see what you like, maybe you are just not all about kicking and want to try something else, but simply because someone says something about TKD shouldnt be enough for you to lose faith in it. I run into people that critque EPAK every now and then. Some just want to learn how a particular move would be executed, others want to make it look like if their form of Kenpo is the original source although they cant document a word of it. Just ignore those kinds of people, if it works for you, and if you like it, if you feel good about going to your particular dojang, then thats all that matters.

 

[Flatlander]

There are TKD practitioners out there that I'd be inclined to just leave alone. I have to agree with the previous thoughts here - if you're having difficulty feeling confident in your attributes, its time to switch up the way you train. This doesn't necessarily mean the art. Maybe the dojo, though......

 

[Jonathan Randall]

I hear stories of martial artists who have switched to different martial arts because they got whupped and their previous art was TKD. It's really bothering me and kind of losing my faith not only in TKD but also in the martial arts

As others have mentioned, it depends entirely upon HOW you train and WHO you train with. Your profile mentions boxing. If you've spent any serious time in a boxing gym, you probably have good hand techniques. Add TKD kicking, although self-defence applications require lower kicks than point sparring, and all you are lacking technique-wise is some grappling and groundwork. Don't switch styles at the drop of a hat. TKD is not a homogenous style - it ranges from hardcore and practical to the overly commercial and sport oriented. Also, get a book such as Sanford Strong's "Strong on Defense" and study it. Assault prevention and escape is far more important in most situations than is superior unarmed ability.

 

[Grenadier]

People will compare apples to oranges, sometimes claiming that "Tae Kwon Do isn't good for defensive purposes, Jiu-Jitsu is good for defensive purposes" and so forth. I will take it one step further, though, and not only compare apples to apples, but rather try comparing winesaps to granny smith apples.

Tae Kwon Do can be rather diverse. Some schools of Tae Kwon Do teach techniques are well-balanced, incorporating a good mixture of hand and footwork, even some grappling, while some schools try to optimize their students for things such as Olympic-style competition, while ignoring the use of grappling, and even discouraging the use of handwork.

It's no secret that if you try to rely on Olympic-style fighting techniques, trying to kick almost all of the time, going for risky high kicks, then you're going to be in trouble against a skilled opponent.

 

[jkdhit]

in my opinion, i have to agree with cross training. most tkd schools today wont teach you actual combat but they'll train you for competitions. if you're looking for something with a lot of power then try something like kickboxing, boxing, muy thai, qigong, etc

 

[Shane Smith]

Any martial art will do if you will.

 

[Han-Mi]

It's about the fighter not the style

 

[pnoy_kickfighter]

I balance my time in the bixing gym and in the dojang. I've got into some fights( I didnt intend to ) and the push kick is my best weapon. Would BJJ be a good idea to learn grappling

 

[Marginal]

Couldn't hurt. OTOH, depending on your age and location, a school wrestling team might be a cheaper way to get in some grappling exp.

 

[searcher]

It's about the fighter not the style

AMEN, to that!!!!

Typically people streotype that because the WTF has Olympic ties that it can't be effective. Most of the time if a person gets the crap kicked out of them they don't want to take the blame for being a bad fighter so they blame it on the training they received.

 

[arnisador]

Yes, BJJ is a great way to learn grappling, but as suggested, wrestling may be cheaper!

 

[evenflow1121]

That is a very good point above, especially if you are still in high school, you could probably take up wrestling without having to leave TKD, and it would be cheaper.

 

[Jerry]

It's all about how you train it. That makes a much bigger difference than the art itself.

"The art is irrellevent" is, I think, one of the biggest myths propigate in martial arts (like the "size doens't matter", and "register hands as deadly weaopns" myths). Of course the art matters.

Of course, the art is part of "how you train". I would be impressed to see a person training by regular limited-rules sparring against people of various arts who was still doing something which resembeled the TKD cirricculum.

I hear stories of martial artists who have switched to different martial arts because they got whupped and their previous art was TKD. It's really bothering me and kind of losing my faith not only in TKD but also in the martial arts

There are a couple of different factors involved here. Despite my comment above, there most certainly is the problem of training emphasis, but from the instructor and by the student.

But let me start by discussing TKD as a fighting art. I took up martial arts originally becuase going to a gym was boring. For a variety of reasons, TKD was my first art. The cirriculum for TKD (WTF/ITF/ATF) simply isn't focused on fighting. The focus on kicks, the poor handwork, the complete lack of grappling skills, the essentially non-existant weapon skills, the use of flashy but low-percentage techniques (takes a long time to move a foot 9 feet), the tendancy towards point sparring, in armor, without footgear, etc.

TKD makes some amazing gymnasts, and certainly can be used effectively combatively; but the attempt to make a true fighting art out of it is more of an after-thought than anything else.

Because of all of these factors (poor choice of technique, lack of experience in limited-rules fighting, lack of experience fighting people of other styles), TKD practitioners do not tend to fair well against similarly skilled members of many other arts.

 

[terryl965]

Jerry no disrespect here towards you but you are putting all TKD together please leave Olympic or point sparring out of the mix. traditional TKD teaches joint locks take downs and some weapontry. I relize there are alot of TKD school that teaches nothing but the above mention but there are some school that teaches traditional TKD.
Terry Lee Stoker

 

[KyleShort]

Jerry makes a very good point though. The vast majority of TKD schools teach just as he mentions. Yes of course such an observation of TKD is stereotyping and does not apply to all dojangs, but sterotypes serve a valuable roll. It is all about probability here. If you were to simply pick a TKD school out of the phone book, there is a greater probability that you will find a school like Terry describes than one that is focused on hard core combat. The same is true for most generic Karate schools.

And of course someone can train train their TKD in a realistic, combative way...but that person would be the exception, not the rule. A hard core fighter could beat someone down with a Pepsi can or Billy Blank's signature Tae Bo...but again, the exception.

All in all TKD is not a good art to study for self defense if you were to consider this holistically. In other words, if someone I cared about were to ask me what art to study if they want to protect themselves I would not suggest TKD because they would likely not end up at a self defense / combat oriented school.

Now if you do study TKD and want to be the exception...just engage in friendly sparring with Boxers, MMA, Jeet Kune Do, Kickboxers etc. and asses your gaps...spend a lot of time on the heavy bag and take it from there.