What's the difference between judo, karate and tae kwon do?

Answer 1

There are several differences.

First, the simple answers:

1 - Judo and Karate are Japanese martial arts while Tae Kwon Do is Korean.
2 - Judo is primarily grappling, a form a oriental wrestling. Karate and Tae Kwon Do are primarily striking arts using the hands and feet as weapons.
3 - Karate, though employing both hand and foot techniques focuses more on hand techniques. Tae Kwon Do also employees both hand and foot techniques, however they place more emphases on kicking.

Now for a more in-depth look:

Judo starts by teaching grappling techniques and could be considered the oriental version of Greco-Roman wrestling. Judo is primarily a sport, however at the black belt level in more traditional schools, striking and other self-defense techniques are taught.

Karate is a broad term that encompasses many different schools (Ryu). Some of the more modern schools of Karate-do focus more on tournament skills and physical fitness then on self-defense while the more traditional schools are far more interested in the martial aspects of the art then the sport aspects. There are also significant differences is the skill sets taught by each school. For instance, Shorin-ryu karate techniques are generally more linear and outwardly powerful while Wado-ryu is more circular in it's application and Goju-ryu has elements of both linear and circular techniques. Furthermore, some forms of karate, such as Shorinji-ryu & Wado-ryu include grappling techniques similar to what can be found in judo and Jujitsu while other schools have little to no grappling techniques.

Like Karate, Tae Kwon Do has different schools of thought concerning it's practice and techniques. The three major styles of Tea Kwon Do are associated with the federation that supports the schools. The only "Officially" recognized school is the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF). This is the most modern system and is the official system of the Olympics and the Korean Government. The two older systems are the "International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) and Moo Duk Kwan Tae Kwon Do. (MDKTKD)

WTF Tae Kwon Do is first and foremost a sport. It has self-defense applications and is excellent for physical fitness, but it's primary focus is tournament fighting.

ITF and MDKTKD are both older versions of Tea Kwon Do focusing more on self-defense and skill development then on tournament skills.

As a note, most teachers teaching Tae Kwon Do tend to teach basic Hapkido techniques (Korean Jujitsu) as well so that most student will have a well rounded education that teaches punches, kicks, throwing techniques and joint locks.

As for what art to study? Well, that depend entirely on you. Are you a wrestler or a stand up fighter? Are you looking for a sport or purely self defense? And the most important Question, what is available in your area? Only you can answer these questions. My recommendation is ask if you can take a class to see if you like it from each of the schools you are considering (most will oblige your request if they don’t offer it upfront already. If not, they should let you watch a class.) Then just choose the school you like the best based on what you think best suits what you are looking for and what you think you are capable of doing.

Answer 2

Judo consists of throws hold downs ar/leg locks and chokes. Like JuJitsu a gi is worn and is often used to impliment alot of the holds. However it is very effective without a gi as well. It is a purely defensive style and anyone can easil learn the basics. It is one of the only styles that a smaller person has an advantage over a bigger opponant. In training and competition it is full contact and quite physical.
Karate and Tae Kwon Do are striking styles. Karate does have some take down techniques and arm/wrist locks but it is generally always used in a standing position. Tae Kwon Do is similar to Karate but it ustalizes more striking than anything and has a lot more acrobatic kicks. Bot Karate and TKD are rarely trained using full contact and in competition especially in North America they ussually only do Kata for show or in full contact they wear pads and helmits and work one point system. Neither one of these is similar to Judo at all.
The best one as a foundation to move on into other styles would have to be Judo as it is similar to Jiujitsu and other grappling, takedown and submission styles.

Answer 3

They are generic terms that cover a wide range of versions of the "original" art. I was going to get into the history but I think that is beyond the scope here. Judo has roots in Japan and is a grappling, locking, and throwing art. It is called a soft art. It has a presence as an olympic event "Judo." There are styles and schools of Judo that teach more than grappling.
Karate is mostly from Japan (although there is the original island and oppression, then acceptance, than issues, but I disgress). It is an art that is called a hard art that teaches striking with the hands (a varity of ways), feet, knees, etc. It teaches breathing with strikes. Now, there are a lot of variations of this art so keep in mind that some schools will teach grappling or favor kicking or punching, trapping, etc. etc. Tae Kwon Do is the pride of Korea. It is a fighting art developed from an older art. It is also an olympic sport. There are many versions of TKD. You could say it is mostly a hard, striking art. It has been popularized with flashy kicks, jumps, etc. Some schools also teach grappling, non-olympic TKD, only olympic TKD, etc.
As far as the effectiveness of one over the other...that depends on the school, the instructor, and the person that trains. You could say that TKD has a long range with its kicks but then there are schools and students that would prove this incorrect. You could say that Karate is medium to close range but you would get folks to prove that wrong. You could say judo is very close range (grapple) and then you would get a few to prove you wrong.
I say visit the schools you are interested in (if that was the direction you were headed) and take what you like.
Personally I think that folks should learn grappling and striking...
Best of luck.

Answer 4

Karate and Judo are both Japanese arts. Judo deals more with grapples and throws while Karate (to simplify) is more of a generalized (NOT generic) art. Tae Kwon Do is a Korean art somewhat like Karate.

Answer 5

Judo is more like wrestling, Karate is another Japanese art that involves force meeting force. TKD is a Korean art, with more kicks than anything, and isnt really good for self defence. Great for flexibility and training. But I whipe the floor with our TKD guys at the MMA studio all the time... everything is fine till you take em to the mat. Stick with what you are comfy with. Try each and see what you like. I wanted to improve my kicking and mobility so I started TKD a while back. I am a blue belt now and let me tell you its pretty easy to move up in rank. Not true with most Karate or Hapkido that I have taked for nearly 4 years.

To answer the comment at the bottom... Ju-Jitsu is a version of Judo... not the other way around. And Karate and TKD are effective if you learn to think outside the box. Stop being so narrow minded. If one is so concerned with "belts" then they dont understand martial arts at all.

Answer 6

Judo (a Japanese Martial Art) is much like Greco Roman wrestling, there are no strikes allowed so it's much more strategy oriented at pinning or submitting your opponent, whereas it's "cousin" Jujitsu allows for a few strikes but is very similar to Judo, in the fact that it takes more strategy than brute strength to defeat an opponent.

Karate is the General name for the Japanese and Okinawan fighting (or in this case striking) Martial Arts. which is a more "balanced" disciplines because the useage of the hand and foot techiniques are quite similar in terms of how often they are used.

Tae Kwon Do is one of the most recognizable Korean Martial Arts due to it's induction in the Olympics and considered a "flashy" discipline due to some very unorthodox and high or somewhat complex kicking techniques.

all are effective in their own right, but they are grouped into what I have come to call "standing game" and "ground game" fighting.

"standing game" fighting is a Martial Art with techniques that can be used while the fighters in a fight or match is on their feet.

"ground game" fighting is a Martial Art that can employ techniques that can submit or "tap out" or pin an opponent with joint locks and manipulation, or in the case of a fight or a match winding up on the ground.

Answer 7

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/aw3pl

- Judo is a grappling art somewhat based off of jiu jitsu, much of Judo is about take-downs, throws, and practically any other way you can disarm your opponent through grappling. -Akido is also a grappling art, but unlike with judo where it matches strength with strength, akido uses your opponents own force against them, it is also known for it's very effective joint-locks. -Karate is a term for many different martial arts such as kyushin, shotokan, and goju-ryu. Like Katana said, Okinawan karate uses joint-locks, sweeps, punches, kicks, even stand up grappling. Many of the techniques in karate focus on power and strength that are way more than 20% effective in a fight. -Taekwondo is a martial art that has a great influence from karate, Taekwondo uses kick at least 70% of the time and uses other techniques such as punches and take-downs about 30% of the time. Some of the kicks in Taekwondo use a jumping or spinning approach because of the fact that many practitioners of it when it first started had to fight calvary and knock horesmen off their steads. -Kung Fu is a Chinese martial art that also has many forms, many of the styles of kung fu mimic animals due to the viscousness many predators show in nature. -Mixed Martial Arts is not a martial arts on it's own, it borrows many techniques from other systems, it shows that no art is better than another. -Extreme Martial Arts like Mixed martial arts, is not a style by it's self, it uses a collection of moves from all of the most acrobatic techniques from other styles. It's drawback however is that it lacks real world applicable moves. Krav Maga and other military arts, are the arts you see marines and nave seals training in, these arts are very brutal and strong and very good for the battlefield. -Jiu Jitsu, there two different kinds of jiu Jitsu (by my knowledge) Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Japanese Jiu Jitsu. Brazilian Jiu jitsu is a lot like wrestling, it uses grappling to secure a dominate spot on top and thus win a fight. Japanese Jiu Jitsu uses both stand up and ground game grappling, it is the original form of Jiu Jitsu. There are many other martial arts out there and to name them all would take a very long time, while some would state that one art is the best, this is usually said by those who don't study martial arts, or those who haven't been training long enough to realize there is no best.

Answer 8

Judo is a version of Ju Jitsu as you learn most of the submission techniques but it involves throwing your opponent using minimal force. Judo is the best martial art of the three. Karate uses kicks and puches but is very overrated and TKD is the most overrated martial art ever, seriously you can be 5 years old and be a black belt and that is a joke. TKD does all of the breaking boards and kicks and all of that junk.

Answer 9

acutally Tae Kwon Do is more for self defense then judo, with judo all you really do is throw people but, with TKD you learn how block, dodge, punch and kick, and you don't have to get really close to someone to take them out.

Answer 10

1