The most basic difference in Taekwondo vs Karate is between your hands and your feet, punching vs kicking.
Karate uses hand combos primarily, and then kicking as a backup.
Taekwondo is the exact opposite, it emphasises kicking and uses hand techniques as the backup.
Karate means empty hands, pointing to the fact that it’s a martial arts form relying heavily on the use of your hands without weaponry.
Karate emphasises mental strength and stamina because one of your only forms of protection in a karate fight is your mind.
On the other hand, taekwondo emphasizes the legs, chiefly because your leg is the strongest (and longest!) weapon you have on your body.
Taekwondo has more effectiveness at a distance because you can leverage the length of your legs against your opponent.
In all honesty, karate or taekwondo can both get you super fit and in shape quickly.
They’ll both teach you self-defence skills that you can use to defend yourself against an attacker.
So which is better, Taekwondo vs Karate?
We’ll show you in class, as the better one for self-defence is the one you do.