What are the pros and cons of Tae Kwon Do?

Answer 1

Pros: besides the universal benefits of doing martial arts
-basic strikes especially kicks are excellent
-flexibility
-workouts are great aerobic exercises
-athleticism is improved
-Olympic event

Cons:
-not much variety in strikes that are usable
-fight range specialized for distance fighting but no ground fighting, close-in fighting or holds/grabs/wrestling/joint locks.
-training for tournaments teaches very bad habits (for real self-defense) because the rules for sparring do not simulate a real fight, therefore no one protects their groin area, and people stop after a strike is landed.

Answer 2

First a few assumptions:
1) You will have a reputable and skilled instructor.
2) You will put forth the necessary effort and time to learn and develop the skils being taught.
As with anything else in this world, you will get out of it what you put into it.

Tea Kwon Do Pros: Excellent method for developing balance, flexibility, stamina, strength, self-control, self-confidence, self-discipline and overall physical and mental development.

Tea Kwon Do Cons: You will have to put up with people who don’t understand Tae Kwon Do.

What I mean is that many people, including many practitioners & ex-practitioners, have little understanding of Tae Kwon Do. 1st, just as there are schools of Karate (Goju-Ryu, Shito-ryu, Shotokan, etc...) there are different schools of Tae Kwon Do. (The World Taekwondo Federation WTF, [the official School of Korea and the Olympics], International Taekwondo Federation, ITF [the founding school of Tae Kwon do created by General Choi Hong Hi ] and Tae Kwon Do Moo Duk Kwan [an off shoot of Tang Soo Do (Soo Bok Do)note: TKD-MDK is part of the WTF but still maintains a small following around the world.] are the three main divisions at this time.) Each school has it's own core philosophy and set of techniques. The WTF is very sport oriented, the ITF was developed as a military art and is very combat oriented, and TKD-MDK is more akin to Tang Soo Do in that it stress personal development (Physical and Mental ) as well as combat and sport applications.

That said, Tae Kwon Do philosophy is about peace, and although self-defense is taught, it is NOT a "How to kill a man in 5 easy lessons" school. Tae Kwon Do (and most Korean Martial Arts) believes that a black belt is just the beginning of your training, NOT the end. Once you know the basics (the basic stances, blocks, kicks, etc...) and you know how to unite them is rudimentary combinations, then you may "graduate from basic training" the Gup (color belts) ranks and start learning the advanced techniques. In your daily life, you get a diploa to signify that you learned the basics in grade school. In Tae Kwon Do you get a black belt. When you reach 4th degree black belt, you are a high school graduate. When you reach 9th degree, you are a collage graduate. Black belt does NOT mean you know everything, just that you know the basics.

Anyway, that's it from me. I hope this helps.

Answer 3

Pros: Increased flexibility, the friends you will make, the balance and coordination you will pick up, its a work out which is good for your health. You learn to control your body weight to throw kicks.

Cons: It is not a complete martial art. The majority of schools today focus on the sparring end, as in Olympic style sparring. TKD has turned more into a sport than a martial art. There are little to know hand and punching techniques which leaves a huge hole in your game. For a street confrontation I would take it over knowing nothing, but would take it next to last over various other martial arts. No ground game what so ever. One step sparring is un-realistic and too complaint with partners. Most of the higher level kicks are for show or for quick tap points in sparring sessions in a tournament style event. Quicker kicks can result in far less power, and thus not have much behind them in a self defense situation. If you want to learn a sport its a great art to get into. If you want to learn to defend yourself, while its better than knowing nothing, its not near the top of my list.

Answer 4

Pros: Excercise in general. Flexibility and coordination. If you are long limbed high kicks can come in handy if you turn pro. Reflexes can only get better.

Cons: Not a complete Martial art in respects to a realistic streetfight. What happens when there is a clinch and even worse when you hit the floor with your "opponent"? Over 95% of all streetfights take place on the ground.

Cross-Training will set you free - Learn the best of all arts (grappling and standup) and throw away what doesn't work.

Answer 5

I took it when I was about 9 years old, and I'm 19 years old now.

Although I quit when I was 12 (I thought it would be uncool to do Tae-Kwon-Do in middle school), I still to this day credit it for developing my DISCIPLINE and TONING MY BODY.

If I had never done Tae-Kwon-Do, I'd probably be a B student and maybe 10-15 pounds heavier and much more unathletic.

I'm an A student and still in descent shape.

Answer 6

Pros: is that you will learn very good striking tech. and will be able to keep at a distance. You will also learn many ways to be able to end a fight quickly.

Cons: If someone gets you on the ground you are kind of out of luck. Depending on the school they may teach some ground moves but you be much better off standing up.

Answer 7

Pros :
Great for building self esteem...bringing mind, body, and spirit together as one.....good physical exercise.....graceful as well as beautiful to watch......is a combination of most of the major styles of martial arts (Kung Fu, Karate, Akido, Judo to name a few)......helps you learn about what the human body, mind, and spirit is capable of.....if the teachings are as General Choi intended, you may EARN a black belt with years of training and practice ( in no way can it be done properly in 3-4yrs).

Cons:
Not the best street or UFC fighting style.......if the school teaches properly, take a while to achieve a high rank (due to being mentally ready as well as maturity for the responsibility of teachings).....many out there teaching TKD just to get your money instead of teaching it as it was meant to be (research the history of TKD and see for yourself)

Answer 8

pros, it teachs discipline, and was a very good way for my adolescent boy to learn balance, self confidence.

FWIW, the school he attended was ATA and many ATA schools are nothing more the a BIG MLM scheme. Check out the school before you join.. Check prices of competing schools and don't buy into the Masters Club or instructor class crap. It's not worth it. Join and keep your membership simple.

Answer 9

The pros of it are the self disicpline, flexibility, exercise, and reflexes and timing improvement.

The coms of it is that some of the kicking techniques are unorthodox and not exactly feasible for use in a street fight, but they are useful and you have to know the proper time to use them.

but this can be said about ANY Martial Art. it's all in how you use it and when you use it.

it's not the techniques that can cause you to lose a fight, it's when you use them and your strategy in when you use them that can mean the difference in winning or losing the fight.

Answer 10

Most are shared among all striking arts.

Pros:
1) You can engage at longer range
2) You can be proactive if necessary (you don't have to wait for your attacker to stroke 1st)
3) Better at handling multiple attackers.
4) Great for improving balance & flexibility.
5) Good aerobic workout.

Cons:
1) Not as good on the ground.
2) Not as good in close.
3) Difficult to control an attacker without inflicting serious injuries.