Taekwondo

[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