Karate vs Tae Kwon Do vs Kung Fu ?

[Ultimate Gohan]

Hey guys,
Iam 17 year old guy who is planning to join any one these martial arts . I have know idea about any of these martial arts .

1. What is the difference between these 3 martial arts ?
2. In what way these 3 martial arts are similar ?
3. What martial art do u recommend out of these 3 for beginners like me ?
4. Which is easier to learn ?
5. I want to learn defense, attack, punches and kicks . what is best for all of these ?
6. Which martial art can improve my speed, strength, stamina, agility, defense etc ?
7. Which martial art can make me mentally and physically strong ?
8. In which martial art can i obtain black belt easily ?
9. When a karate person, kung fu person and tae kwon do person face off each other who has an upper hand ?
10. What kind of moves are taught in karate, kung fu and tae kwon do ?

Thanks in advance for your reply .

[Deusvult]

Karate isnt just one style, neither is kung fu, there are many different styles of karate, such as tae kwon do, or uechi ryu, or others that I don't remember their names. There is a lot of them.

[Kasierith]

8. In which martial art can i obtain black belt easily ?

This part right here pretty much contradicts all of your other goals... you learn the art that fits you and then embrace it, if you wish to make it a significant part of your life. All your questions are pretty much off due to each of them having varying levels of ability in each area. Also, in terms of physical and mental attributes, those are independent of which martial arts to take, and are dependent on the individual.

[Deleted]

Go Jiu Jitsu dude.

[Deleted]

Tae Kwon Do is 90% kicking

[steveyboy]

Taekwondo = korean kick boxing basically. Well the style I did anyway. Can get very tiring very fast if you are very unfit. got a red belt

Did kung fu for a while and that seems to focus more on punches and the odd kick. Also it was about putting your firsts through bricks and various other things. got a red belt in this too

Karate is more about grappling from the little I did of it. Never had any formal training or qualifications in it.

All can make you stronger in all aspects especially if you fight other competitors.

None of them are easy to get black belt.

[ngc2440]

5. I want to learn defense, attack, punches and kicks . what is best for all of these ?
8. In which martial art can i obtain black belt easily ?
9. When a karate person, kung fu person and tae kwon do person face off each other who has an upper hand ?

Sounds like you might be going into it for the wrong reasons. Martial arts is a way to improve your mental and physical well being (and spiritual depending on personal beliefs and which one you choose). It is not something you can walk into and be super awesome in just a very short period of time. It takes time and dedication. Heck Bruce Lee associated martial arts as an art form.

[Dragkin]

Style itself doesn't matter - its the teacher that does. The best thing you can do is to find a good teacher in your area and study from them. With the guidelines you've listed - pretty much any of the three would work for you to be honest.

Kung Fu - The most diverse branch of the three simply because its an umbrella term for any form of martial art found within China itself. To be a bit general, northern styles of kung fu (Shaolin, Eagle Claw, Mantis, etc.) tend to be more kicking oriented and a bit more acrobatic in nature (you won't be flying through the sky, but their are more jumps and spins and such). Southern styles tend to be more about using your hands and typically tends to have more of a wide, circular nature to them. Kung Fu styles tend to have a very wide array of weapons training involved, which act as strength training within the style.

Karate - Another umbrella term, but a little more specific than Kung Fu is. Karate comes from the southern okinawan islands of Japan and tends to have more rigid power than the fluidness of kung fu. However, because Karate has its roots to Chinese Kung Fu, you will find some similarities between the two. The biggest difference I find is that its got more short power techniques than my kung fu style does and only has a handful of weapons training within it. Karate can be a very good system, but like Taekwondo its VERY hard to find a good teacher because most of the schools that teach it tend to be very commercial.

Taekwondo - *sigh* Taekwondo CAN be good, but I've only seen a handful of good Taekwondo. Its a kicking oriented art, there are some hand/elbow/palm techniques within it, but most schools teach kicking 90% of the time. Why? Because most schools teach/train for competition, and in sparring you score more points for kicking than you do for hand techniques - therefore, the emphasis on kicking. HOWEVER, if you want to compete then Taekwondo could be a good choice.

Really - I can't emphasize this enough - just find a good teacher and a good school. In the end, most fighting styles are the same.

[steveyboy]

Style itself doesn't matter - its the teacher that does. The best thing you can do is to find a good teacher in your area and study from them. With the guidelines you've listed - pretty much any of the three would work for you to be honest.

Kung Fu - The most diverse branch of the three simply because its an umbrella term for any form of martial art found within China itself. To be a bit general, northern styles of kung fu (Shaolin, Eagle Claw, Mantis, etc.) tend to be more kicking oriented and a bit more acrobatic in nature (you won't be flying through the sky, but their are more jumps and spins and such). Southern styles tend to be more about using your hands and typically tends to have more of a wide, circular nature to them. Kung Fu styles tend to have a very wide array of weapons training involved, which act as strength training within the style.

Karate - Another umbrella term, but a little more specific than Kung Fu is. Karate comes from the southern okinawan islands of Japan and tends to have more rigid power than the fluidness of kung fu. However, because Karate has its roots to Chinese Kung Fu, you will find some similarities between the two. The biggest difference I find is that its got more short power techniques than my kung fu style does and only has a handful of weapons training within it. Karate can be a very good system, but like Taekwondo its VERY hard to find a good teacher because most of the schools that teach it tend to be very commercial.

Taekwondo - *sigh* Taekwondo CAN be good, but I've only seen a handful of good Taekwondo. Its a kicking oriented art, there are some hand/elbow/palm techniques within it, but most schools teach kicking 90% of the time. Why? Because most schools teach/train for competition, and in sparring you score more points for kicking than you do for hand techniques - therefore, the emphasis on kicking. HOWEVER, if you want to compete then Taekwondo could be a good choice.

Really - I can't emphasize this enough - just find a good teacher and a good school. In the end, most fighting styles are the same.

There is 2 styles of Taekwondo thats why.

Besides when training for your grades you still need to be able to do proper blocks and punches in able to pass your grades.

Did martial arts for 10 years.

[Dragkin]

Same here, but for me kung fu. I really don't know much about Taekwondo to be honest. Just makes me cringe a bit when I see Taekwondo students fight with their guards down and keep their head open for any ol' attack.

[Kasierith]

There is 2 styles of Taekwondo thats why.

Besides when training for your grades you still need to be able to do proper blocks and punches in able to pass your grades.

Did martial arts for 10 years.

But grades are ultimately a.... materialistic approach to martial arts, which in reality do not help to truly embrace them. Focus on competition and belts has pulled a lot of the spirituality away from martial arts, and taken what has always been a unity of body and mind in many different styles and turned it into a real life video game. I have focused on Aikido for most of my life, and for me the art itself is more precious than any belt.

[Dragkin]

Well, historically speaking spirituality has only been in martial arts since modern times. You have to realize that the emphasis on martial arts development has always been as a trade skill, so to speak. People in the past would study them to find jobs in the military or security guards, and not as any form of spirituality or anything like that. Not to say that there isn't a metaphysical component to martial arts, but the original practioners couldn't give a furry monkeys behind about that for the most part. That's actually the problem about it today - people think it SHOULD be metaphysical, and less about actual fighting. And that's just one of the reasons why the arts themselves have lost a lot of ability in the past couple of generations.

[naesich]

Karate isnt just one style, neither is kung fu, there are many different styles of karate, such as tae kwon do, or uechi ryu, or others that I don't remember their names. There is a lot of them.

karate is japanese and tae kwon do is korean....they are not related

[Howard Moon]

What do you want to learn it for?

If it's so that you can kick people's ass on the street, go with Jiu jitsu like someone already said.

If you want it for physical and mental exercise, any of the 3 you mentioned will probably be good.

[Jegerhellig]

4. Which is easier to learn ?
An easy to learn, yet highly efficient martial arts style, is Krav Maga. A middle eastern modern martial arts, who really only focuses on rendering your opponent harmless.
A combat style you can as you would say actually be able to use, if you were attacked in real life.
I've been practicing Tae Kwon Do, for 4 years and in a real fight it ain't worth much other than knowing some right techniques.

5. I want to learn defense, attack, punches and kicks . what is best for all of these ?
Again in real life it is all about making sure, that your opponent is neutralized as quickly and as efficient as possible.
Krav Maga.
6. Which martial art can improve my speed, strength, stamina, agility, defense etc ?
This really depends on the place you find, how much they focus technique compared to warm up, and exercise.
7. Which martial art can make me mentally and physically strong ?
Mentally it all depends on the place you train and how traditional they are(discipline). If you mean having mental resources in a fight, again Krav maga.
physically strong depends how much they focus on that, but all martial arts will most likely put your body in a great shape.
8. In which martial art can i obtain black belt easily ?
Dunno about this one, varies A LOT even with in the same style of martial arts.
9. When a karate person, kung fu person and tae kwon do person face off each other who has an upper hand ?
In a ring or in a real fight?
Giving Kung fu has so, so, so many techniques and if you ever fully master some of the most notorious of them (you will most likely never do this), it will probably be your best bet. But unless you plan on training for hours each day, forget about this. Krav maga, will make you an excellent street fighter, because it practices real world encounters and are the designed by the Iranian military (i think) to quickly dispose their enemies without giving a crap of their state of health afterwards.

[Kasierith]

Well, historically speaking spirituality has only been in martial arts since modern times. You have to realize that the emphasis on martial arts development has always been as a trade skill, so to speak. People in the past would study them to find jobs in the military or security guards, and not as any form of spirituality or anything like that. Not to say that there isn't a metaphysical component to martial arts, but the original practioners couldn't give a furry monkeys behind about that for the most part. That's actually the problem about it today - people think it SHOULD be metaphysical, and less about actual fighting. And that's just one of the reasons why the arts themselves have lost a lot of ability in the past couple of generations.

No.... anyone who's studied ancient Chinese religion knows they had a completely different view of spirituality than western civilization, and had a number of views that mixed themselves not only into martial arts but things like medicine and politics. Balance was a crucial element for them; in fact, they called themselves the "middle kingdom" because they believed themselves to be the balancing force between the upper world and the lower world, the central focus between two plane.

As for having "lost a lot of ability..." do you truly imagine ancient warriors to be anything like Hollywood or other media present?

[Somebody]

I took Tae Kwon Do for about 7 years, but for the first 4 years I was in a children's class and unfortunately couldn't take advantage of the Hap Ki Do training. Tae Kwon Do, as stated above mostly emphasizes kicking, but more importantly precision and technique. Hap Ki Do is mainly an art of defense where you use the power of your opponent against them. I've learned a lot of practical defense. They trained my how to not only block a punch, but flip someone on their back if they try. Its not limited to defense against punches - I was also taught to defend myself against various kicks, what to do if being held at gun point and how to get myself out of certain types of wrestling binds (full nelson).

Let me just say that in retrospect, comparing my Tae Kwon Do training to my Hap Ki Do training, I felt like a robot just performing techniques with Tae Kwon Do, whereas with the other, I felt like I was tuning my reflexes to react to more lifelike situations.

In case you want to know, In those 7 years of training I was just one hefty payment away from second degree black belt (yeah the place I went wasn't cheap, you had to pay for every belt promotion and quite heavily for the more important ones). I didn't take any test or anything, but I still have all the training and I'm happy with that.

P.S. Its been about 6 years since I quit going and I can hardly remember the art, but I do remember some of the more important defense techniques.

[Dragkin]

No.... anyone who's studied ancient Chinese religion knows they had a completely different view of spirituality than western civilization, and had a number of views that mixed themselves not only into martial arts but things like medicine and politics. Balance was a crucial element for them; in fact, they called themselves the "middle kingdom" because they believed themselves to be the balancing force between the upper world and the lower world, the central focus between two plane.

As for having "lost a lot of ability..." do you truly imagine ancient warriors to be anything like Hollywood or other media present?

The Chinese view of religion is more to approach it as philosophy than it is a religion. Is there religious aspect of what they do? Yes, but for most people they don't follow it. For them, it's ok to be Confucist in the family, Buddhist in how you work with society and Daoist in your view of the world. The only aspect that's metaphysical within Kung Fu is Qi, and to be honest its not a heavy emphasis in classical training as people make it out today. Even Tai Chi and Bagua, the most metaphysical of Chinese styles, the aspect of Qi was put there as part of its commerical gimmick to get rich people from the Imperial court to hire them as tutors. So, no - I'm sorry to break it to you, but there really is not religious or spiritual connection to kung fu. Only monks, Shaolin or Wudang, approached it with any spiritual aspect but that was because they wanted balance - normal people didn't put any religious or spiritual part to it at all.

Secondly, the Middle Kingdom - you are incorrect about WHY they called themselves that. The Chinese viewed themselves as being the center of the universe, that everybody else revolved and lived around China. To them, they WERE the MIDDLE of the world. They also viewed that they should own the entire world too, which never really happened - but if you see Chinese relations with neighboring kingdoms, they pretty much had them set up a vassal states that paid tribute to whatever Emperor was in charge at the time. I have absolutely no idea where you picked up your notion of them being the middle of existence of what have you.

Lastly, as for loss of ability - no, the idea of them flying through the air with the greatest of ease is silly and ridiculous. What I mean is that if you put a skilled kung fu fighter from ages ago to fight a kung fu person from today - the one from ages ago would win. Why? Because the aspect of training like your life depended on it was the basis of their training. Like I said, they trained to try and enlist to be a General, or to be a member of a security detail - things like that. For them, it was college - not as much as a hobby as it is for us today. They fought, regularly. Hell, I live in China right now and when I go to practice in the park I get someone wanting to challenge me on a daily basis. Fighting is a HUGE part of what Kung Fu IS and not some incorrect metaphysical mumbajumba. There is Qi Gong, which has a heavy basis of spirituality - but that's quite a bit different than Kung Fu.

---------- Post added 2012-06-23 at 09:14 AM ----------

I took Tae Kwon Do for about 7 years, but for the first 4 years I was in a children's class and unfortunately couldn't take advantage of the Hap Ki Do training. Tae Kwon Do, as stated above mostly emphasizes kicking, but more importantly precision and technique. Hap Ki Do is mainly an art of defense where you use the power of your opponent against them. I've learned a lot of practical defense. They trained my how to not only block a punch, but flip someone on their back if they try. Its not limited to defense against punches - I was also taught to defend myself against various kicks, what to do if being held at gun point and how to get myself out of certain types of wrestling binds (full nelson).

Let me just say that in retrospect, comparing my Tae Kwon Do training to my Hap Ki Do training, I felt like a robot just performing techniques with Tae Kwon Do, whereas with the other, I felt like I was tuning my reflexes to react to more lifelike situations.

In case you want to know, In those 7 years of training I was just one hefty payment away from second degree black belt (yeah the place I went wasn't cheap, you had to pay for every belt promotion and quite heavily for the more important ones). I didn't take any test or anything, but I still have all the training and I'm happy with that.

P.S. Its been about 6 years since I quit going and I can hardly remember the art, but I do remember some of the more important defense techniques.

I really like what I see from Hapkido. It has some really amazing techniques and training theories. I really like how it uses the body's natural mechanics to do a lot of what it does. Not a style I'd ever see myself training in, but have nothing but really good things to say about it.

[Kasierith]

The Chinese view of religion is more to approach it as philosophy than it is a religion. Is there religious aspect of what they do? Yes, but for most people they don't follow it. For them, it's ok to be Confucist in the family, Buddhist in how you work with society and Daoist in your view of the world. The only aspect that's metaphysical within Kung Fu is Qi, and to be honest its not a heavy emphasis in classical training as people make it out today. Even Tai Chi and Bagua, the most metaphysical of Chinese styles, the aspect of Qi was put there as part of its commerical gimmick to get rich people from the Imperial court to hire them as tutors. So, no - I'm sorry to break it to you, but there really is not religious or spiritual connection to kung fu. Only monks, Shaolin or Wudang, approached it with any spiritual aspect but that was because they wanted balance - normal people didn't put any religious or spiritual part to it at all.

Did I.. ever disagree that the Chinese view of religion is different from the western view of it? In fact, that is exactly what I said. Study things like traditional Chinese medicine, ancient political systems, actually the entire basis for things like Daoism.... it is based on balance, and achieving balance. It perforated many, many parts of their culture. And for "normal people" spirituality is often even more important, so I don't really get how you figure that spiritualism didn't matter at all for people outside of the nobility. Though it is also entirely possible that we're talking about different time periods.

Secondly, the Middle Kingdom - you are incorrect about WHY they called themselves that. The Chinese viewed themselves as being the center of the universe, that everybody else revolved and lived around China. To them, they WERE the MIDDLE of the world. They also viewed that they should own the entire world too, which never really happened - but if you see Chinese relations with neighboring kingdoms, they pretty much had them set up a vassal states that paid tribute to whatever Emperor was in charge at the time. I have absolutely no idea where you picked up your notion of them being the middle of existence of what have you.

I'm aware of that aspect as well, and considering that north was barren wasteland, west was mountains and desert, south was mountains and jungle, and east was a neverending sea, it stands to reason that they would see themselves as alone in the world. But there are several older religions that view humankind as the uniting, balancing force, mostly element based religions that are older parts of Chinese culture. China was not always Buddhist/Daoist/what have you.

Lastly, as for loss of ability - no, the idea of them flying through the air with the greatest of ease is silly and ridiculous. What I mean is that if you put a skilled kung fu fighter from ages ago to fight a kung fu person from today - the one from ages ago would win. Why? Because the aspect of training like your life depended on it was the basis of their training. Like I said, they trained to try and enlist to be a General, or to be a member of a security detail - things like that. For them, it was college - not as much as a hobby as it is for us today. They fought, regularly. Hell, I live in China right now and when I go to practice in the park I get someone wanting to challenge me on a daily basis. Fighting is a HUGE part of what Kung Fu IS and not some incorrect metaphysical mumbajumba. There is Qi Gong, which has a heavy basis of spirituality - but that's quite a bit different than Kung Fu.

You have outlined exactly what I addressed in a previous post. While I understand that my two posts weren't directly connected, if you had actually read my original post you would have seen that I was very directly asserting that if you focus on the accolades of something, you do not fully embrace it. It stands to reason that if you do not fully embrace something, you will always lack that essential focus to master it beyond the bare minimum required to gain recognition by others. Although... its also a proven fact that modern humans are taller and stronger on average than our ancestors, likely due to diet.... so you would have to put that into consideration as well.

What's more, kung fu is not the only martial arts style, and personally I find it more crude even than Muay'Thai in its concepts, primarily because its become so mixed that its cultural roots are essentially nonessential making it only meaningful for fighting. If you look back at what martial art I study, you'll possibly understand why I disagree with the concept that martial arts only focus on spiritualism in a modern sense.

[Stir]

I''l just try to answer the OP's question in as good a way as I can:

1. What is the difference between these 3 martial arts ?
2. In what way these 3 martial arts are similar ?
3. What martial art do u recommend out of these 3 for beginners like me ?
4. Which is easier to learn ?
5. I want to learn defense, attack, punches and kicks . what is best for all of these ?
6. Which martial art can improve my speed, strength, stamina, agility, defense etc ?
7. Which martial art can make me mentally and physically strong ?
8. In which martial art can i obtain black belt easily ?
9. When a karate person, kung fu person and tae kwon do person face off each other who has an upper hand ?
10. What kind of moves are taught in karate, kung fu and tae kwon do ?

1 and 2: Well; they're from different countries.
No; to be honest: They do have a lot in common in techniques, but they focus on different things. Kung Fu styles are usually the most elegant, while I tend to prefer Karate styles for practicality. Tae Kwan Do is a bit too much jumping around and kicking, and too little actual combat practice. But these three umbrellas have a myriad of schools. For instance, Wu Shu Kung Fu is not like Shaolin Kung Fu. And even in these schools, you've got different styles (in the case of Kung Fu, you have the Dragon, Tiger, Mantis, Crane and many more styles... Some styles don't show up in some schools, but hey).
3: I shouldn't answer this before having answered all your other questions, but considering the questions 4 and 8: None.
4: Not important. Boxing can be very hard to learn if you want to be really good at it. Kung Fu is really easy if you just don't care.
What matters is devotion. If you're looking to learning a martial art, you need to devote yourself to it. It is an art, after all. Not a form of combat. That might sound strange, but for combat purposes, you're better off learning on the street.
5: Shotokan Karate Do would be my choice for a good overall martial art. However, do note that there are different schools of Shotokan, and they do teach very differently. Some are focussed purely on practicality and downing your opponent quickly (without much care for your opponent), while others are semi-contact sports oriented.
6: Speed: Pencak Silat/Naga, medieval knife-fighting, several types of Kung Fu. Strength: Wrestling, Fistfighting (not boxing per sé), many others. Endurance: Any martial arts. Agility: Most martial arts (save boxing). Defense: Boxing.
7: Considering your questions 4 and 8: None, until you change your mindset. Again, martial arts are all about devotion. If you can't be arsed to devote yourself to them, they can't do anything for you.
8: Not important. A black belt is merely a goal, and an empty one at that. You can buy one at e-bay.
9: Completely dependent on school, style and level of devotion. And how experienced they are in actual combat, of course. Because the one who's best at dirty fighting wins... And none of those sports include dirty fighting. Martial Arts have very strict rules, you see.
10: Again, completely dependent on style and school. But generally: Karate focusses on short and swift; strike/throw and return outside of reach. Kung Fu has more elaborate moves which rely more on momentum; Kung Fu is decidedly less guarded because of that. Tae Kwan Do kicks and jumps a lot; a fine sport, but I'm afraid it really only works against Tae Kwan Do (I'm not a fan). Of the three, Karate is probably the most 'ugly.' But also probably the most practical. Again; it depends completely on school and style. There's styles of all three that only busy themselves with punching/kicking/headbutting bricks.. And that's not helpful at all.

I hope to have been helpful with this post. I understand if you feel a bit negatively about my responses to the whole 4&8 thing, but I think it is meaningful to respond in such a fashion. Consider it an insight. If you're interested in Martial Arts, the best thing you can do is forget about the glorious combat ability (you will not become bad-ass, nor should that be a very interesting prospect to begin with), and focus on the words 'art' and 'devotion.'