ITF Taekwon-Do vs Kickboxing MMA (stand up)

ITF Taekwondo
It says MMA to get the hits up which helps my sponsor - deal with it.
Highlights from WKA Scottish Championships 2008, Cumbernauld.
Quarter final, Semi Final + Final - Sparring
sponsored by Huxley Associates
www.huxley.com

[@aconchon]

I trained WTF and reached black belt, and i trained Muay Thai as well. I liked WTF, bu i felt that i needed more realistic fighting. I can say that my TKD helped my Muay Thai sparring a lot, specially the high roundhouse kicks. When i discovered ITF i felt that is was the true martial TaeKwon-do, i have no doubt about it. I got a black belt in ITF TKD and i've been practicing it for 16 years now.

[@williamoneill5498]

Yep, I started many years ago in ITF, before the south Korans messed TKD up for political reasons with WTF format/rules. WTF is a mess, rules ruin it as a self defence system, it's a sport. I went on to Maui Thai in Thailand, because one of the TDK masters I did a seminar under was a champion Thai boxer. My ITF TKD assimilated into MT and I competed in both for several years, trained in Hapkido and BJJ for ground work and even tried WTF along the way for a year out of curiosity. I once took a GF to WTF torment and told her we were going to a martial arts competition for people who had lost the use of the arms. She never questioned it all night and commented on how great they were to be fighting lol, notwithstanding some of them were using their hands to put helmets on etc. She wasn't the brightest, but super talented in other ways.

[@juusohki2621]

Stupid to argue which is "the best martial arts". The best martial arts is the one that is best suited for you personally, depending on your physics and other factors. Not by debating over and over some techniques/stances/movement etc. that are done differently at different style of arts.

[@willangeltkd]

That´s great man! ITF is the original Taekwondo and best martial art of the world!

[@Don123q]

this is why i love ITF taekwondo, the practitioners know how to kick and punch! Good job! :D

[@aldaiem0144]

Los de WTF también solo que su enfoque es más para el punto y uso más de patadas solo se permite golpear al peto.

[@spenna123]

It really is amazing how much difference allowing punching to the head makes in competition. I've only ever done ITF and entered in thier tournaments, but I have done what we call leg sparring, which is essentially WTF rules. It's probably a good sport but it would be useless if learnt for self defense.

[@redsforlife]

well, i've read about cung le saying that TKD is a strong basis of his fighting style, and i've heard him in interviews mention it as well. he is a TKD blackbelt. yes his full contact sparring is what makes him a good fighter, but his TKD background does have something to do with it. just because many TKD schools do not do full contact, doesn't mean its techniques cannot be transferred to it. let's face it, cung is a mixed martial artist. he is trained in several discplines. thats why he's good

[@adamjtp]

to be fair to the other fighters in this video, they were all good, especially the last two - all their other fights they won convincingly. The tournement was open to kickboxing, karate, kung fu, tae kwon do etc thus Mixed Martial Arts..

[@micirv20]

No, the kicks used in competition are designed to score points. It was a military martial art long before it was a competative sport. It translates as the 'art of destroying with the foot and the hand', not 'the art of flashy point sparring'. In this style of Taekwon-Do the martial element is far more important than the sports side; that's just for teaching distance and timing and for having fun. Sparring in TKD is not meant to be seen as being as realistic as Mauy Thai and no one's saying it is

[@D2R2Ronin88]

Today, Tomorrow, and Forever... TAEKWONDO!!!

[@seouljae]

awesome. All I have to say is that I've been in TKD for about 7yrs now. I've taken an interest in Muay Thai, and Hapkido.

[@sbox001]

A cut above the rest in that competition, made it look easy! Great kicks

[@ronki23]

@Blahb27 wait a minute, isn't K-1 ISKA and Rob Kaman was WKA World Champ? I know WAKO/WKA/ISKA do MMA now and K-1 rules in some comps. Is IKF a kickboxing org or karate?

[@Alessio85able]

Sorry.. But what are the rules in this match? It seems like full contact (the version without low kicks)... And here the contact are full or not?

[@michaelmckenna705]

the first side kick you landed in the video it almost looked like you knew where he was going to step and nailed him straight away. your style of sparring looks exactly like my instructor stephen gells by any chance do you know him ?

[@iceywolf1]

good job itf taekwondo showing um that wecan kick ass i am a traditional taekwondo practitioner my self lol

[@MrMikeSam]

This video should really say: "ITF Taekwon-Do Student vs Kickboxing MMA Student (stand up) - Adam Paterson

[@salskyline]

Very Very Awsome!!!!

[@ratonL]

Thanks.

[@ronki23]

@Blahb27 ahh-thanks for clearing that up. Although i'm SURE I saw ISKA talking about insurance for K-1. Wasn't Rob Kaman a WKA World Champ before Dutch? I want to fight in IKF and WKA for MMA-apart from Zuffa and Dream they have most recognition. There's ISKA as well but I didn't like the way ISKA judged competitions. I'm currently doing Judo under IJF (BJA as i'm UK). I gave up kickboxing because nobody taught me how to handle face/rib attacks/I kept turning away :(

[@TaeIeon]

True with the self defence techniques, we have alot of elbows, sweeps etc. The only thing is that we don't often train them in situation sparring or drills with an opponen.

[@redsforlife]

sanshou and TKD are the basis of his fighting style. he uses both, but he has even said in interviews that he uses TKD. the main element of sanshou in his fighting is his throws. he primarily used TKD kicks for striking.

[@jkubush]

Wow, amazing fights. TKD guy is really impressive. Nice dodges by last kickboxer.

[@ronki23]

@Blahb27 it's a WKA competition I think-most comps under WKA/WAKO/ISKA banner do above the waist kicks in light continuos (which this is)

[@DMachine52]

That guy has some fancy foot work! holy crap! but I'm still not convinced any one form of martial arts is better then being versatile in many.

[@jkubush]

btw music from this vid is dj styles game of love. I can't find exact same version. If someone does, please let me know.

[@pack741852963]

Bue combate te lo mandastes a todos muy bueno TAEKWONDO ITF

[@kickitgermany]

cool vid ... props to all fighters. i like how the kickboxer starts to figure out what the tkd kid is doing around 2:00 into the vid ... and the guy after that in white is pretty good

[@adamjtp]

I qualified in january, need to sort out sponcership but hoping to go..

[@LtActionCam]

Hey, I do taekwondo and love it but i dont believe MMA is usless. Its the fighter, not the art. Anything can be effective, depending how you use it.

[@TheKaratekid92]

nice fight! finally i see a god taekwondo fighter who fights well.

[@GuttzeTuffen]

@mastro111 well, weaing headgear depends on where you train and how the rules are decided. Here, where I live, we often use headgear just for protection, but we also go sparring without it, we're doing both. And i've seen the same in many other countries too, it's not only here i live that we use headgear sometimes.

[@kangarooblond]

What is the music in this video?

[@ayo__ayo]

Haha, yeah man. Ever been kicked wearing those pads. They STILL hurt.

[@ax3ninja]

actually, it is technically mma. mma stands for mixed martial arts, wka tournements have karate, kickboxing, tai boxing, taekwon-do and probbly others. the fact is that it is a mix of martial artist, so it is mma.

[@bottlebrusher]

my base discipline is tkd, i grew up between mex gangs and surf rats in socal and got into many street fights of which i never started, all bigger than me, me 5-8 & 150lbs, never lost a fight in my life. my kicks saved me, knocked them out or to the ground. my fists helped too, but kicks led the fight. fought all types all styles in the street. bruised but never lost. tkd in the street kept me healthy. a lot of what you see in ufc (ground) not very practical in the street. from experience

[@hungryguitarstudent]

@wiggalama: I am aware that MMA is a sport, nothing in my posts contradicted that. I am also aware that MT fighters sometimes have a light lead foot; that being said, they can still check leg kicks. I'm a huge Mauricio Rua fan...

[@mastro111]

@ramilaser ever heard of keeping distance, increasing distance and keep your guard up so the opponent cannot break in it?

[@MooneShadow]

we were talking about how this is not an MMA fight, but a point fighting match. The fighters in this discussion arent the point. Its the style they are using and the fact that this is not an MMA match up. Its point sparring.

[@Dannybmonti]

hell yea nice song!!!

[@ShiddyShad808]

sidekick is the longest range attack...this guy is fighting smart

[@mastro111]

@GuttzeTuffen i've been training tae-kwon-do since i was 7 and especially itf since i was 11 but in itf you dont wear headgear

[@elvispereira4673]

Black belt tkd vs new guy... not experience. .. 6 year experience vs mouths

[@minu08]

as u guys can see this video only shows the best parts of the tkd guy secondly if u guys notice it is a tournament with lots rules etc. no low kicks,elbows,knees , clinching and takedowns no pretty much no close combat material which makes the tkd guy surprior looking

[@0MaxK0]

wow im really impressed that was the best display on youtube i think of taekwondo going up against another art ... no joke well done PS you gotta love ITF

[@z1en]

@ApollosInsight perfectly right my friend :)

[@Unholyvamp-Stormscale]

CAN SOMEONE TELL US THE NAME OF THE FREAKING SONG PLEASE?

[@wiggalama]

@eayottes TKD and Karate favor low kicks in a street fight: groin, knees, and thigh are the main targets in that order for kicking in a street fight for any legit Karateka and TKD guy. Further, MMA is a sport. Also, Muay Thai loves to have a light front foot to load the back. Look at Shogun Rua or any other partially classical Mauy Thai fighter.

[@Tkdkid9]

Traditional Korean Tae Kwon Do Rocks!!!

[@berkanhabjaoui]

TAEKWONDO is the best powerfull fightsport in the world!! and i love it

[@minu08]

True i think u have to cross train to become a better fighter in all areas, i train in muay thai but used to do tkd a few years back and as for muaythai they have sidekicks, spining back kick and also other spinning kicks it is slighty different how i learn them from TKD but i do find it easier how tkd teaches it.

[@4c00h]

this is the song i played at your funeral, dont you remember?

[@TakeshiMomoshiro]

Wow, thank you, because I had no such knowledge what-so-ever. I was referring to the different fighters. He fights like 3 different guys in this video. You said "the MMA fighter", I'm asking which one?

[@hazza3]

The TKD guys have excellent balance and form and the Boxers are very smart and look very strong. Its just hard trying to get on the inside of a kicker because of the range difference and its much tougher trying to match kicks for kicks with a person who can spam the 8 angles.

[@spenna123]

I don't think I explained myself properly. I do ITF and all the normal training that comes with it, including normal sparring. Every now and then we do leg sparring for something different, which is sparring with the legs only. It's a whole different game when you don't need to worry about your opponent punching you in the face. Essentially rendering it useless for self defence.

[@letbonist]

@mr1ah It looks like a point sparring style match. In point sparring, there is no grabbing or holding. The point of point sparring is NOT to beat the snot out of your opponent, but to use proper technique (open/closing stances, countering, etc) to out-score your opponent.

[@seouljae]

ITF rules allow punches to the head. Just wiki it up, the page pretty much has the rules down. As for your comment, I'm glad you have respect for TKD, being a TKD practitioner myself. And yeah, it's true there are useless kicks, but like you said, people don't have to use them. I sure don't.

[@JRegGaming]

nice hook kick at 55 seconds

[@TakeshiMomoshiro]

Which one? There's multiple fighters.

[@hazard2000]

Ive never been in a full contact Jiu-Jitsu tournament where they make you wear gloves.

[@ryant7889]

@b68dv Most perhaps yeah, particularly WTF-style fighters as the focus is almost solely on kicking. However, ITF practitioners aren't too shabby in competition. All you have to do is do a bit of Kickboxing or something at the same time to make you a more well-rounded combatant.

[@Meltiades]

a lot of people have no idea about martial art...doesnt matter WHICH martial art, if you do a hard and perfect training than you kungfu or muay thai loose against TKD and the oposite...its depend of the fighter...if the reactions are good and the kicks or punches fast you will win the match

[@lukeytron]

I have trained in ITF TKD for 4 years and this guy is really good... that being said, I have done a bit of kickboxing and these guys are very poor. Plus, this is not MMA, it is kickboxers playing by the ITF rules, otherwise you would have seen some serious leg sweeps going on. Still, credit where credit is due: this guy wins and wins well in the game he is playing.

[@redsforlife]

that goes for any stand up art that applies kicks. of course if a experienced grappler fights a TKD fighter with little experience in grappling the fight will end quickly if it goes to the ground, but that's not how mma is. most fighters have multiple styles, and at least a standup and a ground style. cung le is TKD fighter, and he has wrestling and some BJJ as well. he has been very successful in mma having been crowned middleweight strikeforce champion at one time.

[@M.P.R07007]

That's TAEKWONDO!❤

[@bewing77]

Look, you yourself noted a bit down that the beginning of UFC was an affair to try to put an end to the endless "what is the best" debate by allowing any style with a minumum ammount of rules. What happened was that ground oriented styles like BJJ was overpoweringly dominant since the striking/kicking styles had no takedown defense and no ground game. It also bruntly revealed how the fancier styles lost out to controlled agression and physical conditioning.

[@michaelmckenna705]

uk student ?

[@ronki23]

@Blahb27 ? head kicks hurt/can cause a knockout dude-if that's what you were talking about anyway. IKF does above and below the waist-isn't that a kickboxing organisation? WKA and ISKA also have a K-1 or Muay Thai section but not in every competition. I think kick-light, low kick and k-1 are only in the international qualifiers/world championships, NOT the ones done so many months (which is only semi contact, light continuos,kata/forms and weapons). Anyway, I don't do this anymore-i'm into Judo

[@doom13131]

the Tae Kwon Do guy owned in that

[@Jeice3065]

dj paudie - Game of love But this sounds a lot slower which actually makes the song really good Imo

[@smitty29495]

It is obviously and he does. I know 'cos I do it, look on the back of the guy with the black head gears uniform he's wearing an ITF taekwondo uniform and it's a different style to the stuff you see in the olympics hence different uniform. Differences apart from punching in comps, we don't use chest guards nor forearm guards, we use a decent amount of handwork hence why his guards up and not at his side. also we were established in north korea rather than south korea.

[@ZenoxDemin]

@ramilaser ITF guy DO know how to use their hand but he didn't needed them since he was able to keep the kickboxer at a longer range so he could use his kicks more easyly, unlike WTF taekwon do who aren't allowed to use punch to the head

[@mangodealer]

the only problem is itf is not full contact

[@DW01]

It's what you call 'semi-contact continuous sparring' rules, NOT full contact. The whole point is to hit the opponent to score points with about 50% power. People are allowed to fight under different rules y'know, not everyone has to do full contact or Muay Thai, or whatever.

[@TrinityMartialArts]

great fight. look into setting up your kicks with punches... that throws off the guys guard and then you follow through with the kicks. but good matches.

[@battlesensei]

I know, right.

[@HarstyleHardcore]

0:54 nice ^^

[@mastro111]

@GuttzeTuffen yeah but this is itf :)

[@jrcuri72]

no entendi ni monda, medejaste donde emposo, estoy an la misma, explicame

[@sayasitis]

Search the net mate. TTA in Cumbernauld.The guy is the real deal!!.

[@psychojock]

The side kick is the key it stops the attack and hurts then it gets the opponent on the back foot good precision kicks though some more combo kicks would have fiished his oponents a lot earlier as they had nothing much going forward apart from some punches

[@mycal64]

Wow! First time I`ve seen TKD win anything.

[@Unikatze]

I know you wrote this 11 years ago. But just wanted to let you know you gave me a good chuckle.

[@MooneShadow]

Point fighting... really... Tae Kwon Do vs Kickboxing POINT SPARRING. That is a fitting title.

[@hazza3]

@LtActionCam NAh. Most Sports fighters aren't very good in self defense or fighting street style. I mean they will put up a fight against the average man but it wont be pretty. While a self defense fighter is more used to being more aggressive and evasive and wont be used to keeping points or being restricted. It is always the fighter, but how the fighter learns to fight is also another factor. Most MMA fighters today have never been in a real fight before.

[@barefootbandit83]

your right that was the best vidio of tkd against another art , i think its cos it was itf, everyother tkd vidio against another style is WTF, thats why there all loosing, yep, gotta love ITF ;)

[@minu08]

zelg galsic unfortunate would of been good to see an ITF tkd actualli won somthing sounds like an awesome fighter to reach that far, also sanshou has powerful kicks so as cung le has awesome kicks could of been helped by his tkd experience aswell as his sanshou and,sherdog bio sometimes there put up wrong style as once i looked up GSP it only sed bjj but every1 knows his got karate,muaythai wrestling aswell to make him a complete fighter

[@ERIC052778]

I guess some TKD haters would stop criticizing TKD guys like me and so many others the world all over. Each n every art has its GOOD and BAD practitioners,....it's all in the man, not the art. :)

[@AznInvazn69Theory]

the problem was, it wasnt muay thai. it was kickboxing

[@ronki23]

@813Geane he said he called it MMA to get more views lol. TKD is not that bad-the head kicks are useful and in ITF they're allowed to punch. It's still a bit of an incomplete style though

[@GuttzeTuffen]

@mastro111 i know, i've been training itf for 7 years :p but you mentioned wtf, so i just wanted to point out that it's a completely sport. :p

[@HyaSan]

I see what you're saying and as a matter of fact, we do. It really all depends on the fighter/practitioner. Just look up some of the WTF stuff. We are on youtube, after all.

[@ratonL]

No, you didn't get my point...If any Martial Art has anything to prove, it'd be nothing less than it's effectiveness, not to compare or anything, that's what I meant by "mean" side, every true Martial Art has at least some fast, easy and short effective technique in their arsenal.

[@OldSkoolAngel]

I would have liked to see how TKD fares against people who go to the ground. While TKD has more "surgeon" like kicks which go for accuracy over kickboxing's power, if the TKD guy isn't quick enough on the pull back, someone's just going to leg grab and take him down.

[@kangarooblond]

@Hoekzema Okay, that made me laugh

[@mikeyork3093]

Itf for the win 🎉

[@naamapalmupula]

you are fucking good!!!

[@kevinbishop6582]

What I am seeing is that the tae kwon do fighter clearly has a higher Level of skill at this tournament style karate fighting. However, this is not entirely indicative of Perhaps the results in a different venue such as an octagon under MMA rules. Tae kwon do tournament style fighting rewards accurate striking and counter striking while neglecting to take into account elements of martial arts such as infighting, more aggressive tactics and even durability. Many of these tournaments style fighters fair less well in more realistic style sparing situations..

[@barefootbandit83]

Looks like he didn't have much experiance evading tkd angles :D it says mma to help your sponsor, kickboxing vs tkd is a mix of martial arts, if somebody can't deal with it they got issues.

[@ShiddyShad808]

word, i just remember an interview with bruce lee and him sying the sidekick is the longest range attack, but the closest target with a sidekick would be a knee so your right about that. i dont do tkd though, i been practicin muay thai for a few years, i think the kickboxers are just your average once were cocky high school wrestlers and thought they could easily move into mma (which is what most ufc fighters consist of). simply a case of shitty stand up game.

[@hungryguitarstudent]

On many instances the TKD fighter is hopping on one foot (e.g. in the beginning of the video or at around 1:26) - that's a hard feat to pull in MMA since this invites either a takedown, either a trip (kick) or a leg kick. I have tremendous respect for TKD fighters, coming from a 'TKD family' myself. That being said, pitting a TKD fighter against sub-par kickboxers and stating this video is "ITF Taekwon-Do vs Kickboxing MMA" is misleading and false, especially if leg kicks aren't involved.

[@minu08]

EVERY MARTIAL ARTS has takedown defense sweeps,locks and so on but some dont train alot or drill them enough to get use to like your first instinct, but im sure if a tkd fighter was going to fight in a open tournament he should and would drill takedown defense's agaisnt different styles, but tkd vs tkd theres no need because in most tkd tournament they dont use there hands