What is the percentage of kicks in karate and Tae Kwon Do?

Answer 1

There is a difference between the percentage of possible techniques taught, and the percentage used in street self defense application, or in sport competition.

The strategy of Karate is to use the hands, elbows, and knees as highly damaging techniques to block, counter-stike, and quickly render an attacker incapacitated. The kicks of Karate are effective, but remain basic and number about one-third, while the hands number about two-thirds. In application, the hands might typically be used 75% to 90% of the time (your usage might vary!).

Although Taekwondo has a reputation for kicking due to its tactical preference for using the legs as the primary weapon, there is actually a balance of other strikes (hand, elbow), pressure points, joint locks, some throws, and a variety of holds and controls that can be used in close-quarter combat and ground-fighting. The content of Taekwondo's total curriculum is closer to 50/50 of hand strikes and kicking techniques, with the controls, throws, and ground-fighting taking an important, but secondary supportive roll (note: not all modern Taekwondo schools represent authentic Korean Taekwondo accurately).

It can be deceiving to the onlooker since a large portion of many Taekwondo classes are often focused on the kicking in order to hone that skill to perfection, and demonstrations often show off the advanced kicking skills as a unique aspect, yet there still exists a balance in quantity of techniques taught in Taekwondo's curriculum. However, even though Taekwondo itself has a balance of techniques, the choice of what is used might often reflect a higher percentage of kicks in performance. For instance, most Taekwondo tournaments are geared toward showcasing and encouraging the kicking skills, so this is mostly what is seen in Taekwondo competitions.

In self defense, each situation is different, and a Taekwondo fighter could use the majority of defensive blocks, and hand strikes until the rare opportunity to use a kick presents itself. At that time, the kick becomes the predominant tool, and will probably be used to not only damage the opponent, but as a finishing technique - - especially when a smaller or weaker person is defending against a larger or stronger opponent.

In training, the percentage of kicks practiced might far out-number the many other possible techniques, but it would be a mistake to ignore the others in practice or self defense application. In real-life self defense, the kicks might actually be the smallest number of techniques used - - but they will likely be the most devastating and effective.

Answer 2

For what purpose? In kata, the forms, I would estimate that kicks are about 15-20% of the techniques used. In Tae Kwon Do tournaments, I would expect that the percentage is more like 75% or higher.