What's more useful in mma, Taekwondo or Karate(Uechi Ryu)?

[spacetime]

Has anyone watched Olympic TKD. It's basically light foot tag. If you can touch the opponent with your foot, even without power, you win a point(s).

That's not true. The sensors on their vests only register impacts at a certain levels. And that level has been raised for the Olympics this year as well.

 

[NHB7]

That's not true. The sensors on their vests only register impacts at a certain levels. And that level has been raised for the Olympics this year as well.

I don't know. I've been watching TKD in the Olympics and even the announcers are like: "He nearly landed that kick, but it just grazed his oppon...Oh, it scored."

 

[RichardN7]

Okay, so I have a pretty decent background in muay Thai, boxing, bjj(no GI), and some sambo. But I moved and can no longer train at my old gym.. That being said my ONLY options as far as taking martial arts is Tae Kwon Do and Karate(Uechi Ryu). Which one is more valuable to add to my arsenal for mma??

I'd say Karate. Taekwondo has a lot of fancy moves but takes a lot of time to master and the emphasis is on point fighting, so strength and KO power (hurting your opponent) are not a focus as much.
Karate (especially Kyokushin or other styles which feature kumite [sparring]) places emphasis on conditioning and kick power, while keeping it simple and effective. This makes it easier to learn and more applicable to MMA.

 

[Hotora86]

Haven't been to the Uechi Ryu place yet I'm thinking of trying a free class there on Saturday.

Well, did you go to the Karate place or not?

 

[FighterTwister]

As many have said before - try both and pick the best one.

TKD schools I think have a higher tendency to be McDojos and I don't like what I hear about poomsae ("it's unrealistic, but it's required for belting up") - that should not be the case. TMA teachers should know how to use those effectively (look up Iain Abernethy for some great kata bunkai explanations).

As for Uechi, yes it's very traditional but it can be trained with contact and used effectively. Here's a Uechi 5th Dan in MMA:
http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Gustavo-Sampaio-60633

Good advice, Karate Ueschi Ryu or any of the toughest in the traditional branch is what i would recommend any fighter, but only under the proviso you condition your whole body the old ways and spend hundreds of hours in the KATA's and techniques build up the bodies tolerance.

Same for Taekwondo do it if you love kicking and have already great kicking agility, mobility, strength and technique for guys coming of Muay Thai.

If you embrace not just what you learn in the session time but everything about the system and its roots and methods of training you will not only acquire the knowledge but the deep understanding to develop yourself and express your self in that art being the best you can be in it.

In the application of study there is the theory and the willing to learn and apply the original methods and purpose for the various techniques, thats the forgotten aspect to true Martial Arts............embracing it to its core depth!

Both are awesome systems in a great student and practitioner of the art!

Great video doc to watch - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=uechi+ryu+karate+documentary+

 

[MadSquabbles500]

Is uechi like shotokan, or Kyokushin Kai? I really depends on the sparring rules. Id like TKD more if they took punches more seriously. Karate at least plays with the hands more.

 

[Tayski]

Is uechi like shotokan, or Kyokushin Kai? I really depends on the sparring rules. Id like TKD more if they took punches more seriously. Karate at least plays with the hands more.

Uechi Ryu is quite similar to Goju Ryu, it's Karate from Okinawa with a lot of emphasis on hard body conditioning, self-defence drills, kata, and even some grappling. it is a lot more of a "soft" and "circular" art (grappling, using circular motions, etc.) as opposed to Shotokan which is Japanese Karate and a lot more linear and rigid with deep stances for instance. The sparring rules in those styles really depend on the instructor, some will stick to semi-contact while others will prefer using full-contact more often.

Kyokushin is a mix of Shotokan and Goju Ryu but with a lot more emphasis on body conditioning and full contact sparring and fighting.

 

[Azam]

Is uechi like shotokan, or Kyokushin Kai? I really depends on the sparring rules. Id like TKD more if they took punches more seriously. Karate at least plays with the hands more.

Uechi Ryu is quite similar to Goju Ryu, it's Karate from Okinawa with a lot of emphasis on hard body conditioning, self-defence drills, kata, and even some grappling. it is a lot more of a "soft" and "circular" art (grappling, using circular motions, etc.) as opposed to Shotokan which is Japanese Karate and a lot more linear and rigid with deep stances for instance. The sparring rules in those styles really depend on the instructor, some will stick to semi-contact while others will prefer using full-contact more often.

Kyokushin is a mix of Shotokan and Goju Ryu but with a lot more emphasis on body conditioning and full contact sparring and fighting.

Uechi ryu is very different imo from Shotokan and Kyokushin. Like Tayski said Uechi ryu is a karate style that is much more soft/circular than most other styles of Karate. It's closest relative would probably be Okinawan Goju ryu. Both have an emphasis on body conditioning, self defence drills, kata and moderately more grappling (throws) than other styles of Karate.

Uechi ryu & Okinawan Goju have a variety of different sparring formats - it really depends on the organisation/instructor.


Kyokushin imo is very different to Uechi ryu & Okinawan Goju. First the kata are a lot more compact/robust in Uechi ryu & Okinawan Goju. In Uechi ryu we have 8, in Okinawan Goju 12 and in Kyokushin 24. The only similarity imo is similar aspects in conditioning (although Kyokushin takes this to more of an extreme because of knockdown karate). Also in Okinawan systems there seems to be more of a connect between kata & application plus you have Hojo Undo - which is non existent in Kyokushin.

Kyokushin is a product of Japanese Karate; a mix of Shotokan and Japanese Goju ryu (which itself was very influenced by shotokan). So there will be differences.

 

[dudeguyman]

Good advice, Karate Ueschi Ryu or any of the toughest in the traditional branch is what i would recommend any fighter, but only under the proviso you condition your whole body the old ways and spend hundreds of hours in the KATA's and techniques build up the bodies tolerance.

Same for Taekwondo do it if you love kicking and have already great kicking agility, mobility, strength and technique for guys coming of Muay Thai.

If you embrace not just what you learn in the session time but everything about the system and its roots and methods of training you will not only acquire the knowledge but the deep understanding to develop yourself and express your self in that art being the best you can be in it.

In the application of study there is the theory and the willing to learn and apply the original methods and purpose for the various techniques, thats the forgotten aspect to true Martial Arts............embracing it to its core depth!

Both are awesome systems in a great student and practitioner of the art!

Great video doc to watch - https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=uechi+ryu+karate+documentary+

Nice necro.

 

[fighthug]

Taekwondo is much better for MMA.

 

[Tayski]

Taekwondo is much better for MMA.

Saying TKD is much better for MMA by showing a video named "Taekwondo KO's in MMA" in which more than half of the KO's are not from Tae Kwon Do practitioners but from practitioners of Karate, Kickboxing, etc is a bit of a fail.

 

[FighterTwister]

I love Taekwondo it has its benefits for UFC in bridging the gap and also to maintain distance also in the right moment / circumstance many types of kicks can be employed. All make for quick KO and entertainment. However Karate has many benefits as well especially forward linear attacks and defensive retreats. It really depends more on the physical attributes and skill level that suit either one.

 

[CFGroup]

Bruce came up under the same TKD lineage a decade after me.

Our eye's were set on the Olympics, but the transition into MMA of lineage Korean TKD is solid....

 

[Hotora86]

Yeah, the place with the Uechi Ryu seems VERY traditional, and they do offer 1 free class, and the TKD place is at the Rec center, haven't been up there to check it out yet, but kinda got a McDojang feeling about it.

Take the free class in each and stick to the less shitty one.
Simple.

EDIT: Oh shit, this is old as fuck!

 

[FighterTwister]

Bruce came up under the same TKD lineage a decade after me.

Our eye's were set on the Olympics, but the transition into MMA of lineage Korean TKD is solid....

Perfect!

 

[RightToBareKnuckles]

Saying TKD is much better for MMA by showing a video named "Taekwondo KO's in MMA" in which more than half of the KO's are not from Tae Kwon Do practitioners but from practitioners of Karate, Kickboxing, etc is a bit of a fail.

i haven't watched it because at work now, but the fact that the video's "cover picture" is some blatantly photo shopped pic where one guy has boxing gloves and the other is bare fisted, it screams "click bait bull crap!"

 

[Tayski]

i haven't watched it because at work now, but the fact that the video's "cover picture" is some blatantly photo shopped pic where one guy has boxing gloves and the other is bare fisted, it screams "click bait bull crap!"

It's simply a highlight video of some impressive KO's via kicks from different fighters who for the most part don't even have a background in Tae Kwon Do.