I use to do taekwondo. I think it is the best martial art in the world and very street applicable. Kicking to the head is the most effective method of dealing with an opponent. I also really like the axe kick. I think that punching and stuff with hands is overrated. Who needs to punch?

Hey Electronic
you are so right punching sucks!
The only thing that I can truly rely on in sparring or on the street is my jump spinning heel kick to the temple.

I hope you're kidding. Tae-kwon-do or more appropriately take-my-do has a hundred different belts and charge you everytime to take a test. They also make you memorize all those stupid, worthless forms. I don't know of any TKD artist that has done well in mixed martial arts competitions.

What do you mean it's worthless and the forms are stupid? I paid a good 300$ for my blackbelt

You got off cheap.

(Mont is ElectronicSaiyan)

I was hoping for a little more bang for the buck with my taekwondo post guys! Come on, you can do better than that!

I didn't see any buck.

Bob#2

I grew up in the martial arts practicing Shotokan. My friends and I usually thought badly of TKD. I think each of the arts have advantages and weaknesses. I think it is not the martial art as much as it is the martial artist.

"I hope you're kidding. Tae-kwon-do or more appropriately take-my-do has a hundred different belts and charge you everytime to take a test. They also make you memorize all those stupid, worthless forms. I don't know of any TKD artist that has done well in mixed martial arts competitions."

the same could be said for ima. except they dont charge you for belt tests, but some places have a sash system they charge for.

Modern tae kwon do seems to be the best martial art for making money.

Everytime I receive a free full-colour magazine from one of their marketing organizations I am always floored by how much of a lousy businessman I am by comparison to their "triple your school's income in one month" approach.

Taekwondo is a functional art but again the 'mass marketing campaign' cheapens it so much that it is nauseating. I started in taekwondo but it seems that they were always adding a different color belt evry week (exaggeration?) but still truth.

I agree, it kind of puts a "stan" on Marital Arts

Yes, TKD is famous for the amounts of money they gleen and I don't think there is a single belt rack that could hold the huge amounts of belts they have. I think that the business aspects of the art are a crying shame. Some argue that TKD's emphisis on forms are a waste, but masters through out time have placed great value on form work. I don't personally value much form work, but it has its place. Some say a TKD fighter can't suceed in MMA, but MMA fighters can win a TKD contest. I don't particularly like some of the practices common to TKD. I would never do a high kick to the head. I prefer to kick an opponent in the groin and when his head comes down then kick him in the head, but that's me. It really is the skill level of the artist. An above average TKD practicioner could possible defeat an average MMA practitioner. It's not the dog in the fight but rather the fight in the dog.

Watch this tae kwon do guy from Poland:

http://www.tkd.risp.pl/Juras_HL_Extreme.wmv

He dominated a mma competition there and it shows the fights starting from 4:45.

Eastern Europeans are pretty tough so any martial art is an added benefit.

Well, in my opinion, every style of fighting has its strengths and weaknesses. These also vary from person to person, because not everyone is good at certain techniques or defenses for them. I took Tae Kwon Do awhile back, but that was more for the excercise than for the art, thats probably why I never got that good at it. It makes me feel bad when I see the neighbor kid go up five belts in two weeks in the style he is in.. I wonder how much he payed to get that far?

here is a tae kwon do vs muay thai fight:

http://www3.streamload.com/Nodes/Node.asp?cxInstID=24724788&nodeID=998994890

another one:

http://www.streamload.com/IronLife/TKDvsMT4

There are 3 tkd vs mt clips here:

http://www2.streamload.com/Nodes/Node.asp?cxInstID=24724788&nodeID=998994890

electronic, it seems that you have not actually been in a real street fight... if you take the mentality of just using your kicks to the head, you will be the one ending up on the ground... i will pretty much guarantee it. punching is essential on the streets as 90% of street fights will end up on the ground. however i am not dissing powerful fight winning kicks! its just that knowing when to throw them is the key to success.... Now for koojo, if you think that the tae kwon do forms are useless, you should not have that blackbelt around your waist! the forms (or hyungs) in tae kwon do are equally as important as free sparring. they teach you moves on how to react to different situations and most importantly, gets these moves and stances working in the mind in a subliminary state, ready for a real life situation.

Cheers,
JD