Tae Kwon Do

Tae Kwon Do is very popular in the United States and throughout the world. The demonstration teams put on some of the most spectacular displays of Martial Arts anywhere. So I think it's time a few things about Tae Kwon Do required some explaining. Please note that we're referring to the World Tae Kwon Do Federation (WTF) Tae Kwon Do, not International Tae Kwon Do Federation (ITF) Tae Kwon Do (aka Street Tae Kwon Do or North Korean Tae Kwon Do).

The official line: Tae Kwon Do is an excellent martial art for use in self defense.

The reality: It's possibly one of the most inefficient ways to take down a human being.

Anyone who knows the first thing about fighting know that almost all the moves pulled off in a Tae Kwon Do demonstration is practically useless in a real fight. The large, graceful moves may be awe inspiring but if you tried them in a real brawl, you'll be eating dirt real fast.


Not going to work, not in a million years.

The fundamentals of fighting usually include a lot of punching, kicking below the belt, using knees and elbows close in and attacking your opponent on the ground. Grappling is also very important. Oh yeah, and keep it simple.
Tae Kwon Do goes against ALL of these rules. Its punches are basic at best and for some reason aim mostly to hit the opponent's chest. Kicking below the belt is illegal, elbows and knees are illegal and there is ZERO grappling. So just how is this supposed to be a truly effective fighting system? It's not.
Krav Maga, Muay Thai, Ju Jitsu and even Judo are for the most part superior and so is boxing. Actually throw in wrestling as well. All of these cater to at least a few of the fundamentals of fighting (Krav Maga fulfills all including grappling though not as much as Ju Jitsu and Judo from what I've learned so far).
Five months in, a Krav Maga student will be reasonably proficient in several methods of self defense, whereas from my experience, Tae Kwon Do students at five months can't defend themselves from a deflated paper bag. After years of martial arts training, I still wouldn't be caught dead in a close fight with a good grappler.
So how did Tae Kwon Do go down this path? Simple, it became a sport, and not a blood sport, but a bloodless Olympic sport where all but the most inefficient ways of taking down a human being were deemed illegal. Serious martial artists no longer consider Tae Kwon Do a real martial art anymore.

That's not to say people who have learned Tae Kwon Do cannot fight. Because it is SO inefficient, Tae Kwon Do masters who have spent many years learning the martial art reach a level of conditioning that is quite outstanding. Their speed and strength alone are enough to carry the fight for them. However, the process and the time it takes to get there is simply outrageous and in a fight against someone who has mastered a more serious martial art, they are in deep trouble.

In a nutshell:
Tae Kwon Do...
- forces you to learn "Poomsae" which is basically running a pattern with your techniques. Completely useless in a fight but yet you'll spend a LOT of time memorizing them. Yeah it doesn't matter if you can take out the entire Dojang (training center), if you can't remember that the next move is lower block in a long stance, you're not advancing to the next level.
- kicks are too high. One mistake and you're fight's over in an instant.
- doesn't have enough punches/hand techniques.
- mostly punches the opponents chest. WTF is up with that?
- has no real world tactics whatsoever.
- has no idea what grappling is.

What do serious martial arts have in common? Their demonstration teams aren't as awe inspiring as Tae Kwon Do. They don't look as sexy. But they work.


Or you can just kick him in the shin, which would hurt more.

So if you are thinking about taking up Tae Kwon Do, ask yourself what it is you want. If you want to be a part of demonstrations etc., Tae Kwon Do just might fit you, but if you're joining because the poster tells you it's great for self defense (as that is the most common reason for joining), learn something else.