What was your experience with mixing your karate with TKD?

Himokiri Karate · Member of the Month

Based on my understanding of members over the years, I have noticed many have mixed or cross trained or compared techniques IIRC based on the past posts and reading members share their experience and not to mention a karate and taekwondo expert in this forum met in person though not sure which member. I only assume to be Bushido man and Sensei8 but I could be wrong.

Anyways I ask because as a person who does both through export of Tang Soo Do as well as pure Taekwondo and also trained briefly in Kyokushin, I can say that they are extremely complimentary once they are combined with each other.

I noticed I am better at level changing in terms of low stance to bouncing around as well as switching stances and also generate powerful punches from the hips only while in boxing we rotate the legs/hips. The mastery of hip only power punch and hip/leg rotation produce different power but most importantly, they have their own timing which counter fighters will have a hard time dealing with.

Anyways, I call it Korean Karate because sometimes lines get blurry, some Tang Soo Do teachers teach it like its almost Taekwondo and others teach it like its Karate. Now having done both in their purest form, I can see that best of both worlds are a great base for boxing and MMA as well as self defense. They are the platform that can give birth to colorful techniques that can come from many direction and from different stances be it low stance to high bouncy stance as well as narrow or wide stance.

This is my perspective as a person who trained in boxing for years and fell MADLY IN LOVE with the Korean Karate a year ago. Also the superhuman cardio with all that bouncing, spinning, jumping helps a great deal and also not to mention the my favorite F word...FUN!!!!
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crash · Orange Belt

the first style i learned as a teen and into my mid 20's back in the early 80's was tang soo do based. the dojo/dojang and style was heavy on the sport and tournament side, so while we were taught tang soo do we also had boxing (jabs, hooks, uppercuts) along with footwork and the power from the hips as you described above, along with other techniques from other styles of karate and tae kwon do implemented within the training. there are some schools that are strictly traditional im sure, but i would think that now most training has evolved with the times and with what is known to work in the modern world. my experience with mixing styles and moving from one position to another is actually quite an easy transition if the person understands the concepts and is not hung up on what is the "right" or "wrong" way of doing a technique. while a traditional style is great to learn, and the lineage of such styles should and must be respected and preserved, sadly in todays world the lineage isnt as important to the general public as it once was, thus leading to the doors being opened for other styles and techniques to be brought into the modern dojo's teachings. it would be interesting to see how many schools are strictly traditional versus how many now implement other styles into their curriculum.

bushido_man96 · KF Sensei

I can't really say that I've "combined" TKD and Karate training; I've never had enough Karate training to actually be able to claim to combine the two.

With that said, I have researched all kinds of different things, and have sought to find where I can add certain things into my TKD training. I've studied the way Boxer's punch, and have adapted some of that into my striking. My kids have Wrestled quite a bit, and I find it highly valuable for any Martial Artist.

I have researched into various sources of Karate applications training, like those of Iain Abernethy, and have found valuable information in sources from Kane and Wilder (who's books I absolutely love). Those, along with some TKD authors who have delved into the ideas of digging applications out of TKD forms have led me to opening up my training more. Stuart Anslow has done some work in this area, and although I don't agree with all of his ideas, his approach to training is a good one. I've strived to introduce some more of these aspects into my TKD school.
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sensei8 · KF Sensei

My experience with mixing TKD with Shindokan back in 1974 was quite profound and eye-opening. It was the beginning of a lifelong of cross training that I will never regret.

Having earned my JBB back in 1970 and being heavily immersed in the Open Karate Tournament Circuit back then, TKD was making an indelible mark on me. The kicking arsenal that was TKD became the bane of my existence so much so, especially the Axe Kick. Other TKD kicks haunted me week after week: Jump Spinning Back Kick, Change-Up Roundhouse Kick, and the Fall Away Roundhouse Kick. I ran headfirst into the wall of TKD kicks, with no real solution at hand.

That's where... “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” and "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" became my mindset of embracing cross training, and not on a once-in-a-while notion either.

So, what did I do back in 1974?? I enrolled in Chang Moo Kwan/Kang Duk Won Tae Kwon Do, Burbank, CA under GM Young Ik Suh for 1 solid year earning a 6th Gup. GM Suh was very solid across the board, technical in his movements as well as in his teaching. Funny to me, and only me, I'm sure, GM Suh's English was as bad as my Soke and Dai-Soke. In all of the San Fernando Valley, I found three MA Masters that can barely, or not at all, speak English...I must be being punished one way or another.

The irony of cross training in TKD is that Shindokan is 85% hands and 15% feet, whereas TKD is opposite. Shindokan kicks are no higher than the stomach and TKD kicks to the head, quite effectively. So, in that 1 year under GM Suh, I was become quite proficient in my kicks in TKD, and I used them all at the Open Karate Tournaments Circuits with an ever-increasing success.

Adding TKD kicks to Shindokan elevated my MA betterment. First time my Dai-Soke saw me execute a Change-Up Roundhouse kick at class, I thought he was going to have a kitten. I teach my students anything of value that is MA, especially the kicks and grappling. Yes, Shindokan is the core I teach; however, I will teach other tidbits of other MA styles because every MA style is limited by itself, imho.

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crash · Orange Belt

Shojiko · Orange Belt

I have incorporated TKD kicks in my training, but just to that extent. TKD has similar patterns as Karate, although with different fundamentals..

Karate (Japanese) tends to be very rooted with long deep stances. Ive noticed TKD is lighter on the feet, which I assume gives way for the lighting fast, explosive kicks you see.

I favor TKDs kicking techniques the most out of all the TMA (more so than MT). The kicks are with precision to lead to the fight ending KO- rather than trading excessively kick for kick, absorbing unnecessary damage in the process

My favorite technique is the spinning back kick!!

tatsujin · Orange Belt

Shojiko · Orange Belt

Well, Based on vids Ive seen of street fights and competition where a single technique (thats found in TKD) is used to KO. Im not saying it happens all the time, but It is a fact that its been used to end a fight. Like the "spinning back kick", that is not fundamentally taught in MT, but as a part of TKD, has been used to KO in fights Ive seen on YT. Of course MT has fight ending kicks but you mostly see trading until the legs give out or if one lands a head kick.

Raymond Daniels is a good example, He has KO'd plenty with spinning hook/back kicks.

Shojiko · Orange Belt

(Success wise) Im not implying that TKDs kicks are "SUPERIOR" to MT..

Just that, IMO has the potential to end fights without receiving a good amount of damage in return... Hence, Why I favor the kicks of TKD

tatsujin · Orange Belt

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