is tae kwon do used for self defence or is it just considerd sport?

Question

in my tae kwon do we learn aikido judo and ju jitsu with some win chung

Answer 1

. . . my shih-tsu says if it's another dog he'll f*ck it . . .

Answer 2

Both, I have been in martial arts for 6 years and we train with a lot of self defense techniques but we also consider it an olympic sport. It kind of depends on how the athlete looks at it, some people look at tae kwon do as a defense opportunity and others look at it as a competition.

Answer 3

Depend on your gym. I would secretly take up Muay Thai while doing judo and jiu jitsu. After about 6 months or so, challenge the top Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, and Wing Chun students and show them how they're suppose to train if they want to be realistic about martial arts.

Answer 4

i have a black belt in tae kwon do and I'd say that it is more of sport than a type of self defence . i have also done muay thai , ju-jitsu & escrima. i'd say that muay thai is by far the most brutal the most realistic fighting from i have trained in . the fact is all martial art useful but some are more esaily adpated for self defece others whatever you train in you need to be sure that you have a good teacher that is what will make the diffrence

Answer 5

American version is strictly sport. In a real life situation you would not fight with high kicks and do not stop until the person is down/disabled.
If you are learning aikido then you should also be learning take downs, rolls. Win Chung and ju jitsu should also teach you locks which should help.
But...by itself, TKD is a sport.

Answer 6

You're gonna hear from alot of people that are going to say TKD is useless or "not as effective as Karate". I laugh at those people! The truth is, TKD is one of the hardest martial arts to learn due to the nature of the kicks and finding correct balance. Let me assure you that if you get kicked by someone who knows TKD your gonna either have a snapped kneecap, have the soul knocked out of you, or be asleep for a little bit. That being said, TKD, like any other stand up game requires distance from your opponent in order to kick properly. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter will immediately try to close that space and take you to the ground where kicks are useless. If your kick does not stop the BJJ guy or a wrestler you are gonna be in trouble on the ground. Which is why I highly recommend learning a ground game as well as a stand up game. This will make you a much more effective and well-rounded fighter.

Answer 7

It is not useless for self defence, but comapred to other martial arts they probably have an advantage over it.

Firstly, martial arts only go so far to self defence, you are learning techniques but in a street fight it can happen very quickly and most people, even martial arts black belts can seize up in a real fight, this is a natural response, and the only thing that stops it is practice and preparation. So no matter how hard he can punch or how good he can fight, a street fight is not the ring, and chances are the attacker will get in a hit before you can defend yourself unless you're ready for it, and many develop quickly.

That said martial arts will give you options, as well as the confidence that can help you avoid fights, which is the goal. And you will be able to take a hit which helps. In that sense the striking martial arts help you. Jeet Kune Do and Muay Thai try to hold themselves as the best self defence martial arts and they do toughen you up but they can be extreme training. Karate and Taekwondo have better tournament organisation. But since a lot of street fightsw involve grappling and close range jujitsu and judo hold destinct advantages on the street.

Remember Taekwondo is split into two parts, WTF and ITF. WTF is the only one allowed in the Olympics and is not the one I study. WTF does not focus on hand strikes, it is for kicking display and speed, but against anyone but another WTF fighter you will face a punch. ITF grew out of techniques banned by WTF (I am told by the North Korea South Korea poilitics and trying to keep one from the other) and ITF is more rounded with strikes and kicks, it is a lot like kickboxing in greater freedom of moves allowed. ITF is more effective a combat technique outside the official tournaments comparable to kickboxing than WTF, but as always it depends on your opponent and his style.

Answer 8

i remember that "Tae Kwon do" came from Korea. South Korea represent more as self defence type, North Korea - just a sport. and you can mix that perfectly fine with aikido

Answer 9

Tae Kwon Do is first and foremost a Martial Art and therefore IS a self defensive art. But due to their introduction to the olympics it has unfortunately been considered a sport. and that's cool that in your class that your learning other Martial Arts in addition, that should give you a more well rounded fighting ability.

Answer 10

Both. It is technically a sport like Judo, kickboxing, boxing, wrestling or fencing. But it can be modified to be used for self-defense.

Answer 11

tae won do, is both, a sport and for using in self defence