kickboxing vs karate

[phoenix88]

me and my friedn are always debating what is better kickboxing or karate what do you think?pm me with you opinions thanks it will help loads luv phoenix xxx

[Andy Murray]

Karateka are better at wrapping Christmas presents.

Kickboxers are better at putting the bins out.

Hope that clears it up once and for all. :D

[johndoch]

Depends what your aims are I suppose. Personally I found kickboxing pretty limited (assuming your not talking about Thai Boxing) and I've only been to one karate class so I guess Iam not really qualified to comment.

I'll shut up now:D

[cmaauk]

I have studied both. You are quite correct John it depends on your aims.

Kickboxing (Muay Thai & Freestyle) has given me the power, reactions and the abilty to "flow" through my techniques whilste Karate has given me the focus and balance.

In short try them both and then draw your own conclusions, as they say "each to thier own". But be carefull where you go, there are a lot of Karate Schools now teaching "Kickboxing" so make sure they are actually qualified otherwise you will just be doing modified padwork which will give you the wrong perspective.

[Cain]

Karateka are better at wrapping Christmas presents.

Kickboxers are better at putting the bins out.

Hope that clears it up once and for all.

ROFL!!! :D

Damn! I just fell off! :D

|Cain|

[Adam]

I personally feel that the STYLE kickboxing is slightly inferior to full contact styles of karate such as kyokushin, because of the lack of low kicks, elbows and kneeing, which make the fight much more enjoyable. However, there are sucky kickboxers and there are sucky karatemen, so thw whole "style vs style" discussion is sort of irrelevant. Watch K-1 if you want to decide what style of standup fighting put out strong fighters.

[Cain]

Me smell troll ;)

|Cain|

[MTK]

The kickboxing type i am in is called Max total kickboxing and has very effectively beaten karate, But I do believe that it depends on what sort of kickboxing you are in.

[alcapone]

Hi, I don't practice Karate (used to many years ago) but have done Kickboxing for a few months recently, I actually do TaeKwondo. My aim is to perfect the TKD kicks, then go back to kickboxing.

I personally believe that the "better" of the two (assuming fully trained i.e. master or above) would be Karate if it wasn't in a controled situation i.e. on the streets, simply because a kickboxer would try a punch for the first strike (generalising I know but prob true), a karate master would dodge the arm then disable it (same as TKD), a simple breaking technique or locking movement would snap the arm. Kickboxers are not used to this form of self defence! In a ring on the other hand, in a CONTROLED situation, I believe a kickboxer would have the advantage, and would win the competition.

Remember, karate TKD etc were created for soldiers, they teach leathal methods of unarmed combat, every strike should kill, including blocking techniques.
Kickboxing was primerily devised for sport, and lives up to that very very well. As someone mentioned, K1 says it all, on a battle field however, I know what I'd rather be trained in!

Just my opinion, I am in no way passing judgement, it's just how I see it from my own experiences of all these martial arts.

AL

[saikyou]

depends on the fighters. give of two specific fighters(one karate and one kickboxing) to compare. a weak karate practitioner can be easily beaten by a weak kickboxing practitioner and vice versa.

[Knight_Errant]

me and my friedn are always debating what is better kickboxing or karate what do you think
I think you and your friends are probably prepubescent. :D

[47Ronin]

MAS OYAMA VS. BLACK COBRA....
Need I say more?

[Andy Murray]

Originally posted by 47Ronin
MAS OYAMA VS. BLACK COBRA....
Need I say more?

Far as I'm concerned you do yes.

What you on about?

[AsSaSiN]

I think black cobra is a tacky chuck norris/jc van damme film, not sure though.

[Knight_Errant]

Phoenix mate: Give your mate back the wooden duck on wheels, and I'm sure he'll agree that Kickboxing is better ;)

[totality]

the winner of that contest is based on which style i choose on any particular day ;)

[Freeform]

It has very little to do with style and more to do with the practitioner. I've seen 17 stone, lard ass truck drivers pummel the crap out of 'trained' fighters!

Col

[totality]

but really, karate is the true way of the warrior, but only if taught by mr. miyagi himself. anyone else who teaches anything else is a schmuck.

sorry, but this frighteningly similar to a "tkd kicks vs. mt kicks" battle i saw recently on the sherdog.com forums

[sher]

i do modern karate wich is kindof a mixture of kickboxing thai boxing and other stuff we do knees elbows etc grappling and locks and low kicks

[flyingkickz]

"I personally believe that the "better" of the two (assuming fully trained i.e. master or above) would be Karate if it wasn't in a controled situation i.e. on the streets, simply because a kickboxer would try a punch for the first strike (generalising I know but prob true), a karate master would dodge the arm then disable it (same as TKD), a simple breaking technique or locking movement would snap the arm. Kickboxers are not used to this form of self defence! In a ring on the other hand, in a CONTROLED situation, I believe a kickboxer would have the advantage, and would win the competition."

With all due respect your post shows that you haven't had any experience with real martial artists. kata applications and arm disabling techniques are only meant for(and effective against) untrained fighters. Do you think a karateka would just catch the jab with both hands and break it? maybe if the kickboxer was increidbly slow, or complient, but otherwise the karateka wouldn't stand much of a chance of using a kata technique on the kickboxer

[pknox]

You really can't compare a style as generic as "karate" with really anything, nevermind kickboxing. You have to be more specific as to the type of karate being done -- not necessarily a specific style, but at the very least broken down between limited contact vs. no contact vs. full contact. The main advantage a kickboxer (I mean a contact kickboxer -- not necessarily Muay Thai, but definitely not cardio-kickboxing or some other non-contact stuff) would have over a "generic" karateka would be twofold:

1. They are used to being hit
2. They are normally in superior condition (not always, but normally)

If the karateka in question studies a full contact style (say kyokushin or one of its offshoots, like enshin or ashihara), then the comparison is not as clear cut, as those karate stylists train remarkably similar to how kickboxers do. However, if the karateka is a light contact point fighter, or a tag fighter, then they may not be used to being hit, which would prove to be a serious disadvantage in a combat situation.

[atlien]

Originally posted by alcapone
Remember, karate TKD etc were created for soldiers, they teach leathal methods of unarmed combat, every strike should kill, including blocking techniques.

I'm sorry but I gotta say something about this. TKD was created for soldiers, that is definitely correct. What he left out was that those high kicks were designed to kick people off of horses. When is the last time you were attacked by somebody on a horse?

Now to answer the question, pknow is right, it really depends on what type of kickboxing and karate and the quality of schools and instructors you have access too.

If you can go to a good muay thai instructor then that is a real safe bet you are going to learn some good stuff. The good karate schools are sometimes few and far between but they exist too so there is always a chance that would be your best option.

[atlien]

I almost forgot. You should try to train under Mr. Miyagi he is the only one capable of beating up the 17 lard ass truckers.

[Hitman]

It all depends on how you choose to break it down. Many people assume size or strength do NOT matter, and I believe this to a POINT. Because at some point, the fact they are covered in muscle upon muscle (with little muscles coming out of the muscles) will come into play as to who wins the supposed "fight" (or matchup) So it really becomes individualized... "to each his own" as they say. Personally I am quite lean and very flexible (handy for resisting submissions, my instructor has threatened many a time to duct-tape all my limbs and joints so that I bend like a normal person :D) which gives me my own strengths and weaknesses (I've also been boxing for a good deal of years, not very effective way to bludgeon someone unconcious with your fists, but it is quite good for staying/getting-into shape, not to mention mad reflexes and speed) So generally (at least I'd assume) a Kickboxer/Boxer/Muy Thai practitioner would have some muscle on him (assuming again I am) and speed. Now I've seen many a watered down "for self defense only" styles of karate. Not being a particular fan of the "Yes Master" and "No Master" schools or clubs, I've generally avoided them (the one I attend for Jiu Jitsu and Combat Sambo is run by a Military officer at the Armory, so its quite un-traditional) So I wouldn't be quite familiar as to the speed and intensity at which they "go at it" with their sparring. As someone pointed out, a kickboxer SHOULD (in theory) be used to taking full contact blows, and if the Karate practitioner is used to practicing his style in a controlled and "watered down" (in my opinion, not intending to offend anyone who participates in the particular style) enviroment... I could only hope he/she has good medical insurance (the first punch generally brings realization as to the speed and amount of contact that the fight is going to have, so both parties better step up or run) Anyway, as many have no doubt, stumbled across this forum, I just thought I might put in my two cents.

[alcapone]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by alcapone
Remember, karate TKD etc were created for soldiers, they teach leathal methods of unarmed combat, every strike should kill, including blocking techniques.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I'm sorry but I gotta say something about this. TKD was created for soldiers, that is definitely correct. What he left out was that those high kicks were designed to kick people off of horses. When is the last time you were attacked by somebody on a horse?

atlien- Now you've asked, the other day actually, I was participating in a bit of traditional English football hooliganism when a police man on a horse came at me, I did a flying side kick, knocked him off his horse and got my mate "Fat As Fu** Fred" to sit on his face!! ;o)

No, really now, do you really think all TKD is is high kicks....come on, all the kicks can be done high, but they can also be done at head height, neck height, chest height very effectively. If you can kick the clouds, you can certainly sick someone's head with ease...follow the logic??

[ncassidy]

Muay Thai :P

[Kwan Jang]

- I teach muay thai to my students because it is one of the simplist ways to teach them how to use their hips for power. The contact gets the point across and the feeling far faster than doing things in the air. I feel you can become a good fighter in a far shorter period of time with kickboxing. For a more advanced student though, who wants to take himself to the next level, I feel that muay thai's greatest strength can be it's greatest drawback There is a limit to how good you can become just off of conditioning and hard work.
-I do believe that kickboxing is a superior sport (as far as fighting effectiveness) to the children's art within karate (which is what the majority of people are more familiar with). IMO kickboxing is the lowest form of the combat system. When you learn how to shut down the bodies motor units, it evolves to a whole other level. .

[SoKKlab]

Although I see what you are saying here Kwang and agree with the basic sentiments of what you are saying.

I feel that it's necessary to point out, that most people who are learning 'Kickboxing' and/ or Muay Thai are not learning it to any depth or degree.

Ie they are learning K-1 style Kickboxing. Nothing wrong with that at all, but that's not Muay Thai, that's distilled 'kickboxing'.

I don't know how much Muay Thai you are teaching and to what degree you expose your students to it, but, I'm sure that you well know that there is alot more to Muay Thai than Rdhouse variations/ push kick/ some elbows, a bit of kneeing and some punches.

And certainly alot more to it than conditioning and hardwork and that very much represents the sporting side of the art and not the Martial aspect (Muay boran), which is a much more indepth and developed thing than the limited aspect of Ring Rules Muay Thai would seem to suggest.

Saying this, I agree with your point(s) about 'Kickboxing' being the lowest form of the combat system-or rather Primary aspect?

The Thai's and Burmese tend to feel the same way, hence why the Thai system Ling Lom is seen as being a higher achievement than Muay Thai and the Burmese system Bando is seen as being a higher achievement than Burmese Boxing (Bama Lethwei-much like Muay Thai).

Just a quick couple of questions Kwang.

Using a basic Muay Thai 'base' to what you are teaching, what and where do you go from there in your syllabus and how do you integrate the various elements together to make a conclusive whole?

[booj]

Most kickboxing styles have originated from Karate anyway, so surely it depends on how well the creator of the new style has adapted the techniques to suit...

I practised a style of kickboxing which was actually freestyle karate (wots the difference?) but a range of traditional techniques were in the syllabus. Its not actually the label given to the style, as many styles are not either one or the other.

[Yan]

I have never studied karate and so cannot comment. All I know is kickboxing's done the job for me and no mistake. I think two trained fighters in any martial art against any other martial art could go both ways, but I only fight against untrained people for real (if he knows karate - I run)

Also I don't think karate was invented for soldiers. I think it may have been developed over several centuries by oriental monks who were banned weaopns (either by law or religion) and had to defend themselves against bandits with their hands. Perhaps I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure the ancient fighting style of karate was not developed in the unarmed combat unit at the Pentagon for use in Iraq.

[KungFuGrrrl]

whatever floats yer boat

whatever trips your trigger

you get the pic!

KFG

[1druid1]

Hi All

I study the following:-

Goju-Ryu Karate
Chinese Kickboxing
Lau Gar Kung - Fu

As I study both Karate and kickboxing, I have seen good fighters from both styles, what I have noticed is the Kickboxers have greater speed and versatility, whereas the Karate-ka have more power, strength. Who is best, I am afraid to say, I cant answer that one, as I have seen both sides win pretty convicingly in mixed MMA competitons both for points and full contact. Its not the style but the individual and how he / she uses there training, so any Martial artist neglecting what style they choose to train in can win these fights, it all comes down to the person and not the style.

Regards

Djbell

[Radok]

Well, what kickboxers can do, they do well. There style is very limited, though. Karate has throws, armbars, wristlocks, and takedowns.