Karate or Taekwondo

[iheartthe80s]

interested in this for my kids. But which to choose? Can anyone give me some insight?

[jensriot]

Many Taekwondo places will call their kid program "Karate for Kids" so it can be confusing anyway. C does ATA Taekwondo and we love it. The program is built to teach respect, discipline, self defense, etc. in a fun and kid friendly way. We found our place through a Groupon. We haven't tried a true Karate place v ATA, so I don't have advice there. I really like the traditional forms, sparring and weapons she gets to learn.

[jnksmom]

DS takes taekwondo and he really likes it. From what I understand they both teach respect, self-discipline, self-defense, etc. The main difference is the forms they teach. Taekwondo uses more kicks/legs and karate uses more punches/hand strikes. I have ony done minimal research so that may not be exactly correct but that's what I have read and been told.

[iheartthe80s]

Thanks, all. I am looking for discipline, self respect, etc. But it's also important for my son to work on core strength, agility, coordination. He's in OT and these areas are things we are working on.

Karate is actually a bit cheaper. Is it wrong to let that sway me?

[jensriot]

I'm not sure I would've gone with the place we chose if I'd known how expensive it would be. I probably would've shopped around. Of course, now we're attached to the instructors. Anyway I think either route is going to give you what you are looking for. I did some more reading and it looks like Taekwondo focuses more on competition/tournament training while developing skills. From my limited experience, I would say that is true. I also agree that kicks play really big role.