Comments on: Karate vs. Tae Kwon Do

By: tkdgirl

tkdgirl — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:46:56 +0000

hi
actually that uniform on the poster IS a taekwon-do dobok.
Its ITF style, but some WTF schools also use that design. Its the *ORIGINAL and TRADITIONAL* TAEKWONDO DOBOK (uniform).
You must've been thinking about the V-neck design tkd people sometimes wear. Thats pretty recent and ive noticed only in the US WTF people wear that design. ive never seen anyone wear the v-neck dobok elsewhere!
So yeah.
If youre confused as to karate gi's and tkd doboks… theres just 2 differences really.
1- karate gi's are 3/4 length. tkd doboks are full length
2- one says “karate” on the back, the other says “tae kwon-do” and usually has the Korean hangul for taekwondo underneath.
Hope that cleared it up

By: JP

JP — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:49:32 +0000

Unfortunately, nothing is really true to its origin anymore. The commercial & social values & principle have infected our Martial Arts the World over. Obviously, no place more so than the USA. Instructor’s / schools, now sell different colored uniforms, belts, patches etc. simply because its a way of making more money.

Is it called dojo or dojang or kwoon, mmm’ , i have noticed that in the states pretty much everything seems called Karate. If you are a WTF Taekwondo practitioner you shoud be wearing v-neck uniform that is WTF / Kukkiwon approved, in traditional WTF schools, white v-necks for color belts & Black v0necks for black belts, this makes sense right? If you are a Kyokushin Karateka, you should be wearing an approved light weight Kyokushin Gi with proper long pants and 3/4 sleeves on the kimono top. Other karate styles, such as Shotokan, Goju Ryu and many others tend to wear heavier weight Gi’s with 3/4 pants legs etc. And so on and so on…

So yes, there is and should be a very distinct difference from one style of martial art to another… but then came Sport Karate in the States and kind of messed everything up Yes on the cover of the movie, it is a karate style Gi that is worn, but the black trim stripe is somewhat like the uniform of Tangsoodo and TAGB (Taekwondo Assoc.Of Great Britain)…

I suggest you try, cross train in Boxing & WTF Taekwondo, it’s a great combination. However, there are so many good systems out there, you are going to have to find your own groove…

Best of luck…

By: Myan

Myan — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:31:41 +0000

Hi, I’ve studied ITF/ WTF Tae Kwon Do, and a little Judo since I was 5 years old and I’m 25 now. The uniform that he is wearing is very similar to the style seen in the ITF or TangSooDo. Koreans began wearing this style of uniform during the Japanese occupation of Korea. Karate started adopting uniforms and belts from Judo. This movie bought this uniform from the nearest flee market. Obviously it’s a perpetual cycle.

However, to answer your question about marital arts styles and techniques, every style is different, but some are similar. Even the schools within a given style have different philosophies and techniques, so it becomes very complicated. It really depends on the school and ultimately the practictioner’s interpetation of the techniques. As for the subject of Tae Kwon Do and Karate, TKD emphasizes on a lot more kicking and footwork vs Karate’s hard hand strikes and low stances. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:58:38 +0000

Each style of martial arts has its own complicated history which is often tied together with ideas of nationalism and military prowess. Within each style there are derivations as students separate themselves from their masters to found new schools. As RayU wrote, practitioners are not likely to emphasize the shared commonalities in the past because the art itself has become something that represents a country and/or an ideal.

So I definitely agree that it’s aggravating (and sometimes insulting) when people don’t bother to differentiate the arts. Or better yet, they say “Oh yeah, that’s [less well-known art of your choice] like Karate or Kung-fu or whatever right?” It takes years to master one style, not to mention multiple ones.

The movie? I’m usually a fan of Will Ferrell and trust his judgment, but any movie poking fun at or making light of a martial art makes me wary. People can get hurt easily when training. Hopefully no one in the audience will take it too seriously.

By: ayman

ayman — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:06:19 +0000

“Here’s my question–is he or is he not wearing a Karate uniform throughout this movie?!”

It depends. The South Korean (World TaeKwonDo Federation/Kukkiwon) dobok has a ‘pull over’ shirt. This is a more so recent (in the past 20 years) change as the WTF became an Olympic sport. The new design holds up better when sparring and wearing a chest guard (hogu) as it won’t fall apart. Safety first when you throw a kick to someone’s head.

Other variants of TKD, such as the North Korean International TaeKwonDo Federation (ITF – headquartered in Canada) and the American TaeKwonDo Association (ATA) still use the traditional dobak (pictured in the movie poster).

By: Moye

Moye — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:34:57 +0000

oh, you’re so right re: hapkido. that was totally my mistake, and a quite dumb one, too. i think i meant to say judo. yeah….

By: RayU

RayU — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:18:49 +0000

Although Hapkido has its roots in Aikijutsu, it’s Korean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapkido
I suspect that it’s practitioners would prefer to emphasize that’s it’s Korean, the same way Karate practitioners would prefer to state that it’s Japanese, although (depending on the path and history) its influences originated in China. And to push it further back, some martial arts forms in China originate from India, IIRC.

All so very confusing and murky history.

But as for the clothing, I think it’s a mix of the movie industry (what looks good vs. accuracy), and the blending of multiple forms and styles these days, with the “mixed martial arts” popularity. In some schools, they don’t seem to be strict on uniforms these days.

By: James Jones

James Jones — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:26:05 +0000

Actually, you have a completely legitimate and valid point. This is a pet peeve of mine: people just, as you put it, “lump” the martial arts all together. I am a martial artist in tae kwon do (not black belt yet, but close), and though I wouldn’t say I know a lot about different martial arts, I am fortunate to study under a master who has mastered almost every art you mentioned in your blog. So, to more-or-less answer your question, to know the difference you would just have to watch the technique. Karate and tae kwon do are very similar arts, but the subtle difference I suppose you could look for is what types of techniques are emphasized. If you watch a sparring match in karate, you may see several hand techniques and a few kicks. However, if you are watching a sparring match between two tae kwon do students, you will probably see almost all kicking. However, it depends on the environment of the match (full gear versus no or low gear and etc). A true master would be able to tell the difference in the subtleties of how techniques are performed.
To wrap things up, your point is a very good one. However, to tell the difference in the arts, it’s not the clothes that matter much, but the techniques used. You just have watch.
(I hope I haven’t made you even more confused than before, but if so, I’m sorry. ^_^)