Taekwondo

[Shortstack]

hey guys im looking into taekwondo with the main focus to improve my higher range kicks i was just wondering if anyone has done it as part of their mma or as a stand alone discipline?

[jayman2606]

hey guys im looking into taekwondo with the main focus to improve my higher range kicks i was just wondering if anyone has done it as part of their mma or as a stand alone discipline?

It is generally not a part of MMA training mate. Dan Hardy was a TKD guy before going onto Muay Thai and then MMA.

[TheMonk!!]

I did it for many years there ways of stretching for more flexability is good but nothing about it is good for mma eg you snap your legs doing kicks in tkd they had to make me drill some tai kicks to get me used to driving the kick thru ppl . Karate is better for stretching anyway

[C.K.A.Martial Arts]

TKO is a great system for points ~ but you need to find a good Karate class where they are doing a lot of pad work ~ or by a small bag and do a Van Dame - when training at home set the bag at a standard height then over time make the bag higher so you get Muscle Memory and your brain will allow your muscles to go that liitle bit further ( but this will take time so dont rush it )

[BenA]

having studied tkd for 5 years i can safely say it is crap for mma.
i teaches you high and pinning kicks but they lack any real use or power. their sparring is point stop (as in you make contact then you stop) so its just about getting the hit in first (speed) with no power. its not worth the effort in my opinion

[d0ugbug]

To be honest your better off finding some decent stretching references and planning a routine from that. If you want a good kicking routine to build your flexibility and kicking speed your better off doing something like :

Back Leg -

Leg Raise / Axe Kick - Keep the leg straight DONT bend the knee
Outer Crescent Kick
Inner Crescent Kick
Snap Kick

(all one set)

Repeat 10 times and then switch stance and kick with the other. Each time you do the leg raise try and push it a little bit further each time

I also found this a good read : book (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stretching-Scientifically-Guide-Flexibility-Training/dp/0940149451/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1264861933&sr=8-7-spell)

[blackdogmma]

a major problem with TKD for MMA is that the round kick is delevoped for speed not power, that said, training with a local tkd team (that competes) to improve you spin side kick is worth it. power and accuracy.

[perimason]

its no good for mma you want kickboxing it gets your kicks sharper, higher, faster and more powerfull.

[thaison]

Ive got a couple TKD instructors training with me, when ever they spar, stand up or MMA it looks feck all like TKD.

Anyone who has been successful in MMA through TKD has done it inspite of the training not cause of it

[urbanwarriormma]

TKD is great againts muay thai but only if you have got counter kicks such as front leg side kicks to body and leg and spinning backkicks not just reverse side kicks to body or off a jab. in sparring i have pulled off reverse turning kicks and axe kicks and they are getting more common. dont use cresent kicks the only trouble sometimes is the foot can get damaged. if you hit an elbow:confused: .

I have trained tkd when i was young to international level the level mark weir was at. and in later life studied muay thai the transition was very smooth only i minor adjustment needed to the low kick. the wtf front push kick lands the same as a teep. and a roundhouse kick is thrown in many ways in tkd not just snapping. but wtf do i know its shit cause you guys say it is. i no longer train tkd but stills use some skils in sparring

dan hardy mark weir chun lee have done good so far even anderson silva ihas done tkd.

the other benfit of tkd is the flexibilty it gives to your ground game rubber guard is easy to apply after years of spilts and shit.

[urbanwarriormma]

to add if you cant apply a technique then thats down to your lack of skill so in other words your shit in that area. that goes with any skill good thing about mma is essentaially a knockout punch is all you need if you can pull it off

[Shortstack]

ive started itf which is the non olympic style of tkd and much more useful the instructor sparred with me first session and encouraged me to use my elements of muay thai and karate that i have a ground in and i have noticed as im a short guy (5 5) my range using tkd techniques into my standup has improved specifically the light on feet skipping into a kick add more momentum meaning more range and height therefore better knockout

[SWLdn]

People jump on this bashing Taekwondo bandwagon. I trained TKD from 13 to 18 and after a two year break I joined an mma club and have always done incredibly well in sparring. Your hands need sharpening no doubt but when it comes too kicks I have hardly come across anyone who can out kick me. In Muay thai sessions I have almost knocked people out when holding the pads, people come up to me all the time asking me what style I used before mma. Taekwondo would act in an excellent way supplement other training, it is excellent for speed and flexibility with some excellent footwork for stand up fighting.

end of rant

[Mattchoo]

With the right skillset and natural ability I dont think any fighting style is superior to the other. Obviously each can be in their own ways but a martial art like TKD in the right fighter can be a very dangerous weapon if they are a clever fighter who can adapt and mix styles. Almost Anderson Silva like in the way he seems to use a vast amount of techniques that could be argued are mixed in and adapted from many forms.


Doubt you almost knocked anyone out holding pads though, unless your aim is shit and you missed the pad..

[SWLdn]

With the right skillset and natural ability I dont think any fighting style is superior to the other. Obviously each can be in their own ways but a martial art like TKD in the right fighter can be a very dangerous weapon if they are a clever fighter who can adapt and mix styles. Almost Anderson Silva like in the way he seems to use a vast amount of techniques that could be argued are mixed in and adapted from many forms.


Doubt you almost knocked anyone out holding pads though, unless your aim is shit and you missed the pad..

They hold the thai pads up, I kick the pad then bang their fist bang into there face up and then they stand there dazed and ask me to not kick so hard

[Mattchoo]

Oh really..?


I have seen some top guys smash the shit out of pads, and none of their pad men go flying or the pads go flying..

Maybe your padman is actually not that good at holding pads at all, also holding his arms all flimsy. So as a result he gets smacked by himself. The only times iv been hit by a pad is when i havent held the pad anywhere near firmly enough.

This is most likely the case giving you belief you knock out padmen, so if your pad holder isnt actually good. Your technique most likely isnt perfect either..

[Jim_Williams]

I hate holding pads, ir hurts my arm.

[Shortstack]

yeh dude sounds like your pad holder needs to work on being able to lock his elbows

[Mattchoo]

I can tell he will reply along the lines of how great his kicks are and how amazing he is. That he needs the biggest toughest guy there to hold his pads and they still go flying. The fact that a much smaller coach can hold pads with ease for a heavyweight professional for example speaks wonders for the padholder and himself.

But nah, its true SWLdn is just a terminator without even knowing :rolleyes:

[Nawk Soo Cow]

having studied tkd for 5 years i can safely say it is crap for mma.
i teaches you high and pinning kicks but they lack any real use or power. their sparring is point stop (as in you make contact then you stop) so its just about getting the hit in first (speed) with no power. its not worth the effort in my opinion

Having trained 'full contact' tkd for 28 years, and fought for the british team, it works great for speed and long range kicking, but you gotta blend it with muay thai & boxing.

[BenA]

Every bashes TKD because it is rubbish for the time spent in it. I also out kick people and came in to mma a step up than other newbies (as SWldn said) but for 5 years training i should have been miles ahead. Its not that im shit at it (black belt, won numerous competitions) its just not that great for mma. I've been doing mma 2-3 months and use a lot of teeps, leg kicks and can high kick and do reasonably well against people who have trained nothing but i would still rather take it to the mat against anyone with a reasonable amount of training in say Muay Thai. I feel TKD teaches you bad habits for mma, the point stop nature of sparring mean you go for speed not power, it also means you are less conditioned to think about defence than someone from another stand-up discipline as you only worry about the first strike. I often spar and get a quick kick or combo in, only to find i get tagged in the head with a right hand because ive been conditioned to think only about getting the first hit in not to worry about what happens after that.

Overall i would say TKD has helped me with MMA, due to my flexability, ability to use kicks, reflexes etc. i just dont think its worth the time commitment. I think i would have been a lot better if i had say used those years to study Muay Thai or boxing, which are more adaptible, and in my opinion more useful in MMA than TKD

[BenA]

Having trained 'full contact' tkd for 28 years, and fought for the british team, it works great for speed and long range kicking, but you gotta blend it with muay thai & boxing.

You have trained "full contact" and for 28 years to british team standards
of course your going to be good at it. However for the average person training at their local gym, were they're unlikely to do any full contact sparring, probably just hours of "patterns" and line work i dont think it will be that much help. i think it would be better if they used their time in a more combat orientated martial art.

EDIT: sorry just re-read my last 2 posts and i sounds like im attacking people and really arguing. My bad. I accept their views (which are likely to be better educated than mine) i am just offering an alternaive opinion.

[DaveSupTT]

Every bashes TKD because it is rubbish for the time spent in it. I also out kick people and came in to mma a step up than other newbies (as SWldn said) but for 5 years training i should have been miles ahead. Its not that im shit at it (black belt, won numerous competitions) its just not that great for mma. I've been doing mma 2-3 months and use a lot of teeps, leg kicks and can high kick and do reasonably well against people who have trained nothing but i would still rather take it to the mat against anyone with a reasonable amount of training in say Muay Thai. I feel TKD teaches you bad habits for mma, the point stop nature of sparring mean you go for speed not power, it also means you are less conditioned to think about defence than someone from another stand-up discipline as you only worry about the first strike. I often spar and get a quick kick or combo in, only to find i get tagged in the head with a right hand because ive been conditioned to think only about getting the first hit in not to worry about what happens after that.

Overall i would say TKD has helped me with MMA, due to my flexability, ability to use kicks, reflexes etc. i just dont think its worth the time commitment. I think i would have been a lot better if i had say used those years to study Muay Thai or boxing, which are more adaptible, and in my opinion more useful in MMA than TKD


I agree with the above!
I did Taekwondo for a good 10 years, achieved my Black belt and I entered some comps.
When it comes to training, I am one of the better kickers, but I am useless at defending punches or anything like that.
In taekwondo you dont need to protect from punches to the face, as its illegal. As a result, i find my guard is not much use, and im always dropping my hands.
In taekwondo, when they kick to your mid/low section, you are taught to block with your forearm, which is fair enough in taekwondo. But in MMA, you do this and your leaving your face exposed to punches. This is an area im working to put right.
As others have said, I would train in Muay Thai, although I did enjoy Taekwondo, and although I dont think its been a waste as I have been able to adapt my kicks to suit MMA quite easily, so I feel I have an advantage, but the disadvantage of now having to un-learn how to block and protect my face from puches is quite a big problem for me.

[blanker]

look at it this way, every person defending tkd in this thread dosnt train it anymore lol

[BenA]

I agree with the above!
I did Taekwondo for a good 10 years, achieved my Black belt and I entered some comps.
When it comes to training, I am one of the better kickers, but I am useless at defending punches or anything like that.
In taekwondo you dont need to protect from punches to the face, as its illegal. As a result, i find my guard is not much use, and im always dropping my hands.
In taekwondo, when they kick to your mid/low section, you are taught to block with your forearm, which is fair enough in taekwondo. But in MMA, you do this and your leaving your face exposed to punches. This is an area im working to put right.
As others have said, I would train in Muay Thai, although I did enjoy Taekwondo, and although I dont think its been a waste as I have been able to adapt my kicks to suit MMA quite easily, so I feel I have an advantage, but the disadvantage of now having to un-learn how to block and protect my face from puches is quite a big problem for me.

that was how my posts were supposed to be

[Nawk Soo Cow]

look at it this way, every person defending tkd in this thread dosnt train it anymore lol

haha good point...

[Dragunov]

I trained TKD for a number of years as a kid/teenager. I'd say give it a go, any training is good training. For MMA I would advise you to go for Muay Thai though, TKD is a sport first and foremost and most clubs will have you wasting time learning patterns (kata's) which will do nothing for your overall fight training.

+ Fitness and Flexibility
- Not very practical

[BrummyAnimal]

I saw a TKD comp in Blackpool...the biggest pile of shit i have ever seen...the judges didnt have a clue and the so called international TKD fighters were walking round like they were gods.

These people were padded upto the hilt and and looked like them fat sumo suits games you get at pubs lol

In my humble opinion TKD is only good for movie fights not for MMA

Chris

[SWLdn]

Oh really..?


I have seen some top guys smash the shit out of pads, and none of their pad men go flying or the pads go flying..

Maybe your padman is actually not that good at holding pads at all, also holding his arms all flimsy. So as a result he gets smacked by himself. The only times iv been hit by a pad is when i havent held the pad anywhere near firmly enough.

This is most likely the case giving you belief you knock out padmen, so if your pad holder isnt actually good. Your technique most likely isnt perfect either..

I dont have a belief that i knock out padmen. Every now and again they can get caught. I dont use a specific padman either. Your just trying to pick some arguement on the net and try to make me look stupid with your over the top quotes. I dont think anyones technique is perfect but post me one of your fights so I can see your god like technique

[john joe]

TKD is great againts muay thai

i was with you all the way up to here

the answer is no

[john joe]

They hold the thai pads up, I kick the pad then bang their fist bang into there face up and then they stand there dazed and ask me to not kick so hard

yeah, is this in the evening beginners/recreational class though? Coz none of them can hold pads for toffee. If you're doing this in advanced or fighters class, i suggest you switch gyms as it seems none of them can hold pads for toffee either

[Benny]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jcryf8s8AE

Serkan Yilmaz has a taekwondo background and competes in MMA, i have done Taekwondo for 5-6 years and i'm a strong believer in the power of my sidekicks, in competition even tho my opponent had the protective gear i still broke 2 of his ribs. but then again i am 6ft 5" with alot of weight behind my kicks! but BJJ all the way now haven't trained in taekwondo for about a year since i started BJJ :D