Taekwondo and kickboxing are two of the world’s most widely practiced martial arts, each boasting its own distinct techniques, styles of training, competitive structures, philosophical foundations, cultural influences and techniques. Both offer great workouts while teaching self-defense skills as well as creating a sense of discipline and accomplishment – when selecting which martial art to pursue it’s important to consider your personal goals and preferences before making your choice.

Taekwondo is a striking sport rooted in traditional Korean martial arts. Unlike many other striking sports, taekwondo places greater emphasis on kicking rather than punching, with high kicks and spins often employed during matches. Kickboxing provides more comprehensive martial art training with punches and kicks being employed during every fight; plus numerous fighting techniques including knee strikes and elbow strikes for maximum combat effectiveness.

At the core, selecting between taekwondo and kickboxing boils down to personal preference and your training goals. If your objective is to develop advanced punching combinations, taekwondo may be suitable. Conversely, for those aspiring to MMA later in their career kickboxing is likely the superior option as it teaches how to combine punches and kicks effectively.

Both martial arts are complete, so kids should train both taekwondo and kickboxing to develop well-rounded skillsets. While taekwondo may have its place, too often its focus can be too narrowly on competition with limited real world applications; additionally, formalized techniques and sparring may make it challenging for some kids to pick up this form of self defense. Conversely, kickboxing places equal emphasis on both kicks and punches so as to develop more balanced skill sets in children.

Kickboxing is also a superior self-defense method to taekwondo; in most instances a trained kickboxer will beat street thug without martial arts training in hand-to-hand fighting. Kickboxing teaches participants to control the force behind their strikes for more efficient confrontation management in real world situations than unleashing as much force as possible at once.

One key distinction between taekwondo and boxing lies in their respective approaches to grappling and submission holds. When engaging in real world combat situations, your opponent may try to knock you out; therefore it’s essential that you can hold them without placing yourself in more danger. Clinch grappling is a standing grappling technique which involves locking an opponent’s arm or wrist while controlling their upper body with grips and chokeholds. Kickboxing teaches clinching techniques to prevent an attacker from striking back with punches or kicks, giving yourself more time to strike back and counter their attacks. Taekwondo relies less heavily on clinching techniques; most likely only teaching how to block an attack rather than take someone down, and does not permit leg kicks, which are essential tools in Muay Thai and MMA combat sports; good leg kicks can take someone quickly down onto the ground and disarm them, so having one in your arsenal is essential.

Stances play an essential role in Taekwondo. They allow for greater power in attack and defence while providing a solid platform from which the martial artist can work from. A proper stance can make techniques effective; an improper one could render them weak or even unsuccessful. There should also be consideration given to positioning of legs, arms and hands when taking a stance.

Taekwondo employs various stances that can be utilized. Some can be used for kicking and sparring while others are more frequently employed during forms or poomsae (kata). Commonly seen stances include front, back, horse-riding and fighting positions.

Front Stance (Gunnun Sogi)

This position refers to when one foot is facing forward; either full or half facing. Feet are shoulder width apart and parallel, with heel of front foot aligned with big toe of rear foot; weight distribution should be 60 percent on rear foot and 40 percent on front foot.

This stance is ideal for close range fighting as it allows the fighter to easily step forward and attack or backwards and defend. Arms are extended outward with fists loosely clenched.

Cat or Tiger Stance (Gyeonjunbi Sogi) is an extremely effective form of fighting stance that provides great balance and support while lunging forward. Foot placement varies slightly compared to walking stance, with front foot holding more weight while heel is off ground; chin down and arms ready to block or strike when appropriate.

Another effective defensive stance is the horse-riding or “jucumseogi stance (Gyeonjunbi Sogi). This type of stance makes the body present a smaller target to an opponent and makes them harder to hit. Similar to an extended front stance with one leg chambered for throwing kicks and another foot guarding. Both hands remain in closed blocking position for added defense.

However, this stance may present several problems: If the feet are too wide they can cause unbalanced torso movements and slowdown any movements; on the other hand, too narrow feet can result in instability and lack of power. Therefore, an ideal middle ground would be shoulder or hip width feet for maximum balance while still permitting quick switching between stances to evade attacks from opponents; otherwise they are an easy target!