New to forum and looking for help

[Matt123]

Hey guys, Im new to the forum and Im curious if I can have some more insight to which style would be most beneficial. I have been looking into a taekwondo school and also another karate school. I like the tkd because of the kicks but is it helpful in the long run? Another school nearby offers Isshin-ryu which I am not too familiar with. Is it more speed than anything? Just looking to see which would be more worth joining because neither is very cheap and I would like to stick with whichever one I choose. THanks in advance.

[Lupin1]

They're pretty different. Tae Kwon Do is a lot more kicks, and I'd say it's more speed than Isshinryu. From the experiences I've had with TKD schools, they seem a lot more focused on the cardio and fitness and many do a lot of flashy stuff (of course this isn't universal).

Isshinryu schools tend to be a bit more on the traditional side. It's also an Okinawan art as opposed to Korean and the Okinawans in general are a lot smaller and they're also the longest living population, so the focus tends to be a lot more on a sustainable art that's effective for smaller, more compact, sometimes older people. It's more focused on strength and power than on speed and agility. The stances are narrow and the kicks and punches meant for close-range fighting as opposed to the large stance and big long-range kicks of TKD.

Really the best way to decide is do a trial at both schools. Observe a class or two and see if they'll let you participate for awhile before making a decision. Try them both and see which one you like the feel of-- which school you feel most comfortable at and which art feels more you.

[mal103]

I would keep looking for one that doesn't cost a fortune, I know we have to make some money to cover hire costs, expenses and things like instructor insurance, CRB/DBS checks and 1st Aid etc, but I get worried when large sums of money are mentioned or payments up front.

If there isn't any others nearby then I personally would opt for Karate every time, it's a huge subject so long as you have the right instructor to pass it on - or get you to a point where you can explore it more yourself.
I have seen a few high kickers get knocked straight on their backsides by a competent partner so I don't favour high kicks as the best form of defense/attack.

[Matt123]

Thanks for the replies, I found another school that offers a 2 week trial for about $20. It's a tkd school so I will give this a try and see how it works out. I enjoy watching tkd which is why I feel I am leaning more in that direction but I also want to be able to defend myself in a bad situation. Judging by the responses it seems that the isshin ryu might be a stronger choice for that but I will try to see from the trial. Thanks.

[mal103]

That's good about the trial, we offer a free lesson and 4 or 5 lessons without any commitment which is the norm is most clubs.

Some MA schools won't teach you how to effectively defend yourself so you may need to find something extra later on, it is normally a long process in learning everything and how to build up speed and power.
There are plenty of people that get a Black belt and assume they can win any fight, unfortunately unless you train effectively and do a lot of grappling/sparring it's not an automatic skill.

On the plus side you will get fitter, faster and leaner.

[DWx]

Go to the school you most feel at home at. Matters less what style they actually teach and more how they teach and what the focus is.

Do you know what style the TKD is? Just as Isshin Ryu is a type of Karate, there are many styles of Taekwon Do also.
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[sensei8]

[bushido_man96]

Go watch classes at both schools, and talk to both of the instructors, and ask what they do as far as self-defense training goes. Then make your decision based off those responses.
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[Matt123]

thanks for the responses. So I found out it is Chun do Kwan. Anyone have any info/experiences with this??

[guird]

According to wikipedia it is one of the original taekwondo styles. It also mentions it's very head-kicking focused.

I assume they do spar? do they spar competitively? by WTF rules, ITF, or something else?