Question of Martial arts?

Question

As far as self-defense, which is the best type of Martial Art to learn? Tae Kwon DO, Karate or Kung Fu? (I'm only asking about these because they are the only ones available in my town). Thanks!

I'm asking because I plan on taking some type of Martial Arts, but I want something that will be applicable to self-defense as well...not just a bunch of fancy moves for a tourney...something that will work in real life.

Answer 1

What type of karate and what type of kung fu? Those are just generic terms meaning "open hand/ way of the open hand" sort of thing.

As a lot of Tae Kwon Do are "mcdojo's", becareful about it and ask to sit in on some of the classes if you can. Becareful if they say no to just watching.

Though, you should take that same approach to whatever karate and kung fu schools you are interested in as well.

If they are actually taught for self defence and not for tournaments or "mcdojo's", then any of them would be alright to learn.

It's really a matter of what style fits with you. You may be more of a kick-oriented person, in which case, TKD would probably be better for you.

If you are a "hard" style person, karate may be more what you are looking for. Hard meaning that you actively block and overcome your opponents attacks rather than using their energy(attacking momentum) against them.

Likewise, if you are more of a "soft/flowing" style person, Kung fu may be more in line with you. Soft meaning the exact opposite of the hard explanation above.

But really, karate has soft styles like Aikido and kung fu has hard styles like Wing Chun. But am a Moo Duk Kwan practioner by trade. MDK is a sister style to TKD.

Moo Duk Kwan is more fist oriented than TKD.

Answer 2

karate and kung fu are terms that are so broad that it's hard to quantify, unless one is familiar with the particular style that you're refering to.

As far as Tae Kwon Do is concerned, I took it for several years, and quit. It is not practical for self-defense in my opinion, in part because of the way that it's taught. Sparring focuses on high kicks, because you're not allowed to hit below the belt. You also don't have to worry about your legs being grabbed.

This conditions people to kick high, and risk having a leg grabbed, as well as exposing their groin or kneecaps. It also conditions people to only guard their upper body. In a way, that's actually WORSE than no training, because it creates bad habits. It also prevents you from being able to really develope the use of your hands, because there's all these legs flying around, which are longer.

From my personal experience, the other training excercises that they do are not very productive either. Their forms are at least fifteen motions long, and focus on continuous flow, as opposed to a shorter number of motions, and then reaction to an opponent.

Some people say "the devil you know", but in this case, I'd go with an unknown. Try looking at a school before commiting to it.

Answer 3

I would have to say that, IMHO, Karate would be better.
I do not mean to say that it is better as a martial art. But it is usually more easily applicable to self-defense.
I have met many, many, many martial artists over the years and typically someone who has done Tae Kwon Do or kung fu for 1 year - 5 years is rarely as effective as someone who has practiced karate for the same amount of time.
...Long term though... I have met some good long-term practitioners of these arts. So, again, nothing against these arts...

Answer 4

This you'd have to reseach carefully, as there are too many dubious schools out there.

Honestly if you find a good school any fo those arts will be good, but they have to train realistically, meaning that there should be alot of sparring with resisting opponents (no point sparring).

Tae kwon do can be effective, but the sparring is mostly for competition, no shin use, hardly any punching, low guard and so on. Some schools have corrected this, but they are hard to find.

Karate can be effective, but again you have to find a good school, styles I'd recommend are kyokushin and shidokan, they are VERY effective and it's practitioners are tough-as-nails.

There are styles of kung fu that can be effective as well, such and wing chun, but again you must find a good school, otherwise it'd look like sloppy slap-fighting. Kung fu or Wu Shu is a beautiful art to look at, but not very practical. San Shou has evolved from it, becoming one of the most effective striking arts.

The styles I recomend for self-defense are:

for striking: muay thai, boxing, kickboxing, san shou, kyokushin and shidokan karate.
for grappling: judo, jiu-jitsu, wrestling, sambo.

good luck!

Answer 5

Self-defense is not necessarily martial arts. You may just get into trouble trying to use fighting skills you're not familiar with that give you nothing more than a false sense of security.

A whistle for example is not tied to martial arts. Tricks like knocking out a rear taillight and waving your hand out the hole so others can see you if you've been stuffed into a trunk, are not martial arts. Pepper spray is not martial arts.

Some martial arts skills can involve killing, which is why it's an art, and only a few career fields involve its practical use. If you're wanting to spend money on years of training just to defend yourself in a potentially violent or deadly situation, you will have long since lost interest in taking classes that will point you to tournament competition and skills you probably won't be interested in (or could get arrested for).

Your local police department or community college may have classes though that will give you practical tips that don't require you to hurt other people. Also the web itself can be a great resource.

Answer 6

as far as kung fu goes it would depend on the style. Wing chun takes a very effective, no nonsense approach to fighting. On the other hand if it's a more complex style like Long Fist or Bagua it would take a lot longer to learn.

Answer 7

Of the 3 for self-defense, TKD is best. Kung Fu really is impractical as a defensive art simple because it palces so much emphasis on 'art' not so much on 'martial'. Karate is good, but relies on a good offense for defense. TKD is a the opposite, using a good defense for an offense.

Answer 8

To get answers for martial arts and self defense go here

http://www.koryu-uchinadi.com/

It run by 8th and 9th dan masters with authentic teaching liscences from the JAPANESE BUDO KAN.

You will see and learn just how far modern martial arts has strayed from the original idea.

Answer 9

I personally would chose Kung Fu becasue i like its style... but karate is good too.

Answer 10

Karate or kung fu.