Im thinking of taking up self defence i wanted to do Karate but my friend says kick boxing Which one?

I thought Karate would be easier for beginners dont know which one to choose!|||I%26#039;d think for self defense , kickboxing would be better. In karate, you spend alot of time doing kata (unless you%26#039;re in a dojo that focuses more on sparring).





Also alot of karate sparring is light to medium contact (unless you%26#039;re in a style that focuses on hard-contact, like Kyokushin karate) . That%26#039;s not bad for beginners, but you eventually need to learn how to take a punch so you can keep on fighting when attacked for real .





Some of the blocks in karate also aren%26#039;t that great to use against much bigger opponents. I nearly got my arm broken trying to use a low block to stop a kick in a tournament (the guy was about twice the size of me in height and width), and that was after YEARS of training in karate and TKD . (I%26#039;d never fought full-contact before that)





And if you decide to go into kickboxing.....make sure that it%26#039;s REAL kickboxing and not carido kickboxing .|||I think Kickboxing is a more realistic art. Nothing against Karate, as I have nothing but respect for any Martial Arts practitioner, but if I were in a confrontation with a Karate student and he went to horse stance, I%26#039;d kick him in the balls. If he had one hand up and one hand at his hip, I%26#039;d go for a roundhouse kick to the dome. I know traditional Karate is a good base for learning, but I think Kickboxing, and MMA in general, are much broader arts.





My advice is to start with the Kickboxing, and then compliment that with taking up Jiu Jitsu. I%26#039;ve always been an advocate that the best type of self defense for women for rape prevention is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Why? Because you learn a ton of offensive moves from the same position that a potential rapist would put you in. But, that%26#039;s just my opinion, I could be wrong.|||If you want self defense, Karate.





If you want sport, Kickboxing.





Watch both and try em out, see which one fits you best. Talk to the instructors, Shop around, every serious practicioner does that so you wont offend anyone by asking for a trial or asking to watch a class or 2 first. If they dont let you, move on.





Its sort of like Kung fu, Northern styles work better for some, while others are more comfortible with southern or Hung gar.





Noone can really tell you which one is right for you but you.





But neither will be easy starting out ;) if you want a good self defense Karate though, look for the Japanese styles or even chinese styles.





TKD has been reduced unfortunately to more flash then anything useful... (Why kick someone in the head, when you have so many targets just below the waist, groin, feet, legs, knees, and you dont kill your center of gravity!)|||Honestly,except for there stance,Kickboxing is just full contact Karate. That is why allot of Kickboxing Teachers used to or DO run a Karate class on the side. Kickboxing was made by 3 Champion Karate students,who did not like the limitations of Karate,I recommend Kickboxing but ONLY because there are ALLOT more Karate Mcdojo%26#039;s,and in this world,I dont want you loosing money.





Obviously there is a Karate Fan boy running around giving Kick boxers a thumbs down. Kickboxing is better. Take a class of each,and determine your opinion.|||its horses for courses really...we have done kick boxing and really enjoyed it as well as tae kwon do which we also liked..the best thing to do is go to a reputable club and go from there..it also depends whether you are going to just get fit or if you are into the whole martial arts thing kick boxing is better in my opinion for self defence|||Nothing is %26quot;easy%26quot;. Both karate and kickboxing require some dedication and hard work on your part. You%26#039;re not going to sit there and breeze through it and expect the material you learn to somehow sink in. It takes an equal amount of practice. If you can%26#039;t decide, flip a coin.|||Try both and make up your own mind. Everyone here will have a personal opinion. What you enjoy is what you are most likely to be good at. Both sports are a good idea, but avoiding risk and confrontation is always infinitely preferable.|||what you need to do is MMA(Mixed Martial Arts) it trains you how to defend better the boxing or karate and it also teaches you self discipline.|||Karate is mainly about aggressive attack and is not very subtle.


It is more about breaking bones than anything. I can recommend Hapkido which is defensive and more centred.|||Kick boxing shows you how to protect yourself better and is better to keep you fit|||Karate helps dicipline your mind so it%26#039;s more relevant to real life.|||karate|||Kickboxing is soo cool! my friend goes there and she kicked me so hard, i HAD to go to hospital!!!! you gotta learn kickboxing lol :)|||it doesnt matter which one, they are both equally as good. that the one with the better instructor thats what is really important. all styles have there pro%26#039;s and con%26#039;s