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.