Pros/Cons for Karate,Taekwondo, and Kung fu?

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Rockstar1

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I was deciding to learn one of those three and I do not know the pros and cons for them. I'm not planning on doing it as a sport so don't even bother telling me which has a lot of competitions or w/e. Please don't include information about other martial arts. Anyways - What are the pros and cons for Karate,Taekwondo, and Kung fu? Are there special body types needed for them? Do you have to do something specific for them? Please include a lot of detail. 5 Stars for best answer!~
PS. If you want to include info about Judo, that would also be nice. :3
Please don't be like the idiot below who I specifically told not to include other martial arts. -_-"
Oh and do they still teach ninjutsu? (If you think it's fake your stupid)
 
Kung Fu is a broad term for Chinese martial arts, so I'll speak in generalities in regards to it. If you know what specific style or styles you're being offered, I could give more detailed (and correct) of a response.

Kung Fu offers throws. Not the number or complexity of Judo throws. Nor does Kung Fu have the same attention or focus on throws that Judo has. Though, some styles of Kung Fu do offer useful throws.

Certain obscure styles of Kung Fu offer extensive ground fighting techniques. Most styles do not. Monkey contains some up kicks (that is, kicking from your back). Praying Mantis offers some trapping, locking, and joint manipulation techniques as well as take downs. Sweeps are taught and can be used as take downs. So, overall, can Kung Fu be in some way functional on the ground? Yes. As good as some other ground fighting only arts, not really.

Kung Fu opens the door to a vast number of blocking and countering techniques that can be used in multiple situations (not just versus punches and kicks, but against grabs, grappling attempts, or possibly chokes).

Much of Kung Fu calls upon the use of angles and lots of (justified) movement. Don't stupidly stand toe to toe with your enemy exchanging shots, when you could be avoiding his attacks altogether while landing your own.

Kung Fu isn't planned or scripted, or whatever one of the above posters said. We practice animal forms that are sometimes long and complex, that may seem unrealistic to the unknowing eye. By practicing our animal forms, we build up certain traits and skills. By practicing our snake, we become more fluid and relaxed and loose. With crane, comes balance. So on. We also pick apart the animal forms and take and use what pieces of it we need in any given situation. A part of a dragon technique includes a front thrust kick which can be applied as a leg kick directed at the knee. In a real fight, will I do all of the other moves before and after that front thrust kick? Probably not. But I will have the knowledge of that front thrust kick to use when I need.

Kung Fu tends to be far more surgical than TKD and Karate (as I've seen myself and as it's been explained to me [by Kung Fu and Karate practicioners]). All martial arts use technique, of course. However, other arts employ their moves in a powerful way, landing strong kicks and punches. Kung Fu, on the other hand, is technical. Sometimes faster, but weaker - it aims for accuracy, and strikes at the vitals. Someone that does Karate or TKD carries a sledgehammer. I carry a poison dagger.

Hope I helped. Would go on, and discuss the other arts you listed, but I fear I'm terribly out of space by now. If you'd like to know more, or hear my opinions on the other listed arts, feel free to shoot me an email.
 
Pro - you will learn how to throw strikes

Con - you won't know how to defend or get a takedown or fight on the ground.
 
Jingleheimer put it in the simplest terms, they're all striking arts (with the exception of Judo).

Karate
-pro: pretty well rounded in striking in close range and good blocking techniques are taught in most schools
-cons: no ground fighting, various types that may be hard to choose from. not hard to find a good dojo or sensei but theres SO many commercial "McDojos" in the US that its hard to separate the good from the bad if you dont know what to look for

Taekwondo
-pro: great workout, you'll learn to do things you never though your legs were capable of before, will teach you more than fighting and help grow your inner self (same goes for karate as well)
-Con: you said your not planning on doing sport, Taekwondo has basically become strictly a sport, it can be very useful in certain real life situations though. its focused on standing kicks and lacks in fist striking (yes there are many hand techniques in TKD but its not its main focus), and ground fighting; also, TKD is the most practiced martial art in the world, which is a blessing and a curse, there are a great number of TKD "McDojos" out there (just like in Karate), places that are more focused on gaining a reputation, making money and issuing ranks than actually teaching proper techniques

Kung Fu:
-pros: theres a lot of pros to kung fu, aside from learning how to fight with multiple techniques and weapons it also greatly enhances your inner self and makes you incredily fit; Kung Fu pushes the human body to boundaries you wouldn't think possible; if learned properly, Kung Fu styles are very deadly and efficient
-cons: true Kung Fu is f-ing crazy; its strictly a striking art, has no groundwork or grappling, its very rare you will find a great teacher outside of China, its not all fun and games that the movies make it look like, its downright grueling work that many people cant handle unless you've been training since you were 2 years old and theres multiple styles and schools, enough to make your head spin! Heres a good way to look at kung fu: take a bag full of beans and put it on top of a stack of ciderblocks. Stand "horse stance" (google/youtube it but you're basically squatting the whole time) and smack each one of your palms about 5,000 times on that bag of beans......thats just a daily warmup for your hands.......

Judo (since you asked and since its what Im learning)
-pros: aside from learning how to throw people, judo (as many MA styles do) help build your inner self, instill respect, discipline and confidence in the student; its also an intense workout
-cons: theres no striking involved; its main focus is on the take down and incorporates a lot of groundwork newaza if you have a good sensei (a lot of senseis neglect newaza); since you said you're not looking for sport then you might want to stay away from Judo, even though we could always use more judoka!!! Judo is a great MA and can be very effective in fighting and self defense scenarios but it was made to be a sport

Ninjutsu:
-YES!!! They do still teach ninjustu and it is a very legit martial art!!! The problem with ninjutsu is that outside of a very few masters in Japan, its hard to find a good range of senseis that encompass different aspects of the art; the History Channel's show "Human Weapon" even had an episode on Ninjutsu and you can view it on youtube if you'd like



Starting out, no theres no specific body types needed for any art, I've seen professional athletes walk into a Judo dojo and be ready to quit after a warm up, so dont let that stop you at all from learning!;if you spend a good amount of time in any MA your body will become fit and accustom to it. I know you dont want info on any other MA but if you're interest in simply self defense (since you said you're not looking for sport) then look into Krav Maga
 
Judo is the most explosive out of the martial arts you named, there's alot of grappling involved and you learn how to do arm bars and leg locks.
Karate=chops and kicks Tae Kwon Do=Alot of kicks Kung Fu=Hand movement, these martial arts are almost useless if you get in a street fight but if you do Judo you can PWN everyone.
 
Judo is the most explosive out of the martial arts you named, there's alot of grappling involved and you learn how to do arm bars and leg locks.
Karate=chops and kicks Tae Kwon Do=Alot of kicks Kung Fu=Hand movement, these martial arts are almost useless if you get in a street fight but if you do Judo you can PWN everyone.
 
Judo- Pros: in terms of self defence, may work well, if they are wearing a shirt. Judo uses a lot of the Gi (I believe that is how you spell it). They allow you to throw people left and right if they are wearing clothing you could use. Also, of those you listed, I believe it is the only ground martial art. A fight will only go to standup if BOTH fighters want it in striking. If someone wants the ground, it's going to the ground.

Cons: If they aren't wearing a shirt, your not in very good shape. At all. You can still use shoulder grabs and whatnot, but still, your in bad shape.

Karate:

Pros- Fantastic Blocks. I fight Karate people all the time, (for sparring, of course) and it's just SO DANG HARD to land a punch on them. Also, although i'm unsure of this, they teach you how to get back into striking range (a friend who does it told me).

Cons: Not so great offence, i've noticed. I mean, it's good, but not as other martial arts. Also, as I said earlier, I'm unsure if they teach ground fighting/defence.

Body type: Any will do. Although generally, I see a lot of small guys there, not because you need to be small but because they want to defend themselves.

Taekwondo-

Pros: When I spar with one, and they hit me, I feel like I have been hit by a charging sumo wrestler. Actually, that's an exateration, but they have amazing kicks. Flexibility is also good, so if you aren't flexible, consider taking taekwondo, because they teach a lot of flexibility. They also have ok punches. I mean, not great, but ok. Generally, though, they love kicking

Cons: Very, very, simple minded. Pretty much just kick, kick, kick to the point of unconsciousness. NO ground fighting is taught at all, and clinch is non existant, with the exception of a few pushes to get back into kicking range.

Body type: I'm told short people do well, because they tend to be a bit faster.

Kung Fu: Heavily emphasized on physical fitness, those guys are in amazing shape. I have seen Kung Fu masters break iron bars on thier head, throw a needle through glass at about 20 feet distance, and even stand on their head for 2 minutes. Which would normally break his neck.

Cons: Usually, they use pre-recorded attacks, so if anyone else your fighting knows kung fu, there is a good chance they can block your attacks. Also, I doubt (Though unsure) ground fighting is taught.

Body type: Any will do, but bigger is probably better.


Hope this helps!
 
They are all third rate. My question for you is why take the classses at all if your not going to use them. I personally take jiu jitsu and muay thai. I also use them in the cage because I fight professionally. If you plan on trying to defend yourself with these three fighting styles then your wasting your money. It would take you 15+ years of experience with karate, taekwando, or (laugh) kung fu to help you out in real life situations. If your looking to get in shape I guess it would be fun but what is the point. If you get mugged at knife point, do you think that karate will help you from getting stabbed? I don't think so. Maybe you should look into some more modern day fighting styles.
 
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