What's the difference in tae kwon do and kung fu?

Question

My daughter is taking tae kwon do and we are moving out of state and they only have a kung fu class around that area. Is it kinda the same?

Answer 1

As other have said, TKD is Korean and Kung Fu is Chinese. In my personal opinion Kung Fu is better than TKD.

Since TKD became an olympic sport, they focus more on the competition aspect of it, and Kung Fu focuses more on the tradition of the martial art.
For me TKD is not a martial art anymore, it's rather a sport. They don't use their arms too much to block or punch, they mostly use their legs. They do get a lot of flexibility. Also, their forms (or kata as the japanese call them) are way easier and shorter than the kung fu forms. The KF forms are longer, faster and more complicated, but they look beautiful and are good for self defense.
Kung fu has lots of different styles. You can find acrobatic styles, like wu shu. Or, more solid and strong styles like Hung Gar, or faster styles like Choy Li Fut.

Do you know what style of kung fu your daughter will practice?

But besides the diferences between each martial art (or any other sport), one of the main aspects to look at is the teacher. To see if he practices a real martial art, you need to do some research on the school, the style, where he/she learned, how long he's been practicing, etc...

Good luck.

Answer 2

The forms are very different Tae Kwon Do is mainly a tournament style; it's not actually designed for fighting... Kung Fu is based more on fluidity and tends to be more complicated. Though I'm sure your daughter will enjoy kung fu as much if not more the tae kwon do as long as she realizes that she's basically starting over.

Answer 3

I do Kung Fu along with my kids. When my son was younger he did Tae Kwon Do. At my Dojo there are more kids going to the KIds classes then Adults going to the Adult classes. Tae Kwon Do is a lot of kicking and unless you are very good at it it is not as good as Kung Fu for self defence. My son likes the Kung Fu better then doing the Tae Kwon Do even thou he had to start over as white belt. Alot of it will depend on how the instrustor is and his teaching style, If he/she is good then your Daughter should enjoy it alot.

Answer 4

Tae Kwon Do, (Korean martial art) is more based or kicking your opponent. It is much more violent than Kung Fu (Chinese) which teaches you how to listen to your own body, and how to control yourself. Tae Kwon Do is meant for war and killing while kung fu is meant for peace and self defense.

Answer 5

For what it is worth the latest few responses are correct: TKD, in the americanize version, is a sport and not much use for self-defense. Kung Fu is more complicated, requires more understanding, but this will make it just as enjoyable for her. The key here is to also look at the school/instructor, how they teach, etc.
But give it a shot...she probably will enjoy it.
Be aware that Neko is totally incorrect.

Answer 6

Tae kwon do is Korean, Kung Fu is Chinese.

Answer 7

Tae kwon do is from korea and has more leg exercise than kung fu


kung fu is chinese and more acrobatic workouts

Answer 8

Tae Kwan doe is the Korean sport version of Tang soo do.

Kung-fu is chinese in orgin. It has more to do with balance, diversion of negeative energies (Someone punching at you) and depending on the style of Kung-Fu it may be more aggressive, counter-striking, defensive. If available I would suggest Praying Mantis style, though it is not the caliber of kicks and strykes one sees in TKD it will develop a great balance and utilizes more locking and joint manipulation.

Answer 9

Change to Mauy Thai kickboxing because it's actually something she could use in a real fight. Kung Fu, Karate and TKD suck and she will get beat up in a real fight, but if it's just the exercise she wants than they are all just fine.

Answer 10

Tae kwon do is korean p ussy

Kung Fu is chinese p ussy

both very tasty (^_^)