Disadvantages in taekwondo

Answer 1

Like most authentic Martial Art systems of self defense, there are no actual disadvantages in the art of Taekwondo. However, there may be mistakes made by instructors in teaching the Korean art accurately and thoroughly, or errors made by the practitioner that result in disadvantages in specific circumstances.

The first distinction must be made as to whether you discussing the art of self defense, or the sport aspect of competition. In combative sports, there are rules for safety, fair play, and audience entertainment that affect the type of techniques permitted, targets which are prohibited, and the level of force allowed. A tournament that is dedicated strictly to Taekwondo will only showcase some of the entire Martial Art curriculum taught in class, but in this case, all competitors are equally being challenged to score points by using mostly kicks - so no one is disadvantaged. Conversely, if the competition is open to different systems and rules where techniques of grappling, chokes and submission holds are permitted, yet certain strikes are limited, then striking systems such as Taekwondo might be at a disadvantage.

Although grappling is a part of Taekwondo, it is not the main focus, and the tactics used to prevail against a grappler are different. In order to defeat a skilled grappler in actual self defense, the Taekwondoin must apply a dangerous technique and level of force to each strike that would injure, disable, or even kill their attacker. In real life, this includes using kicks to dislocate knees, powerful strikes to the groin, throat, neck, as well as eye-gouges. It would be like playing 'war games' and saying you may throw hand-grenades, but you are not allowed to pull the pin. When the opponent blocks or dodges the grenade and rushes to attack with a bayonet, one might claim that hand-grenades are ineffective in real combat and you are at a disadvantage if you have them. When the enemy gets close, the rules say you can use your side-arm pistol, but you may not pull the trigger and shoot. Therefore, when the attacker disarms the pistol and grapples you to the ground, firearms are viewed as useless because of the rules that limit how the firearm is used. Since some competitions have rules that favor non-violent grappling, and restricts the damaging and deadly force of certain blows, Taekwondo practitioners would be at a disadvantage under those specific rules, but it is still possible for them to prevail in spite of the imposed disadvantage. As for actual self defense, one common misconception is that Taekwondo "only" focuses on legs and kicks.

Some outsiders assess Taekwondo purely by what they see in tournaments or poorly run schools that imitate the authentic Korean Martial Art, and mistakenly believe that the actual art does not practice hand strikes widely or effectively. This is far from the truth. Any disadvantage here comes when an instructor is more of a 'sport coach,' interested mostly in competition, and trains student to be 'tournament fighters.' Their skill is based on competition rules, thus lacking in the hand strikes traditionally taught in Taekwondo. As we know the legs are the longest limb and naturally strong in the human body. Therefore, it is used as the primary weapon to defeat an opponent. However, the error of some novice students are to rely too heavily on the kicking skills, and neglect the traditional hand strikes, joint locks, pressure points, and grappling of traditional Taekwondo. The disadvantage there comes in the mistakes of the student to train on all aspects of unarmed combat with the 'emphasis' on the advantages of the leg techniques. In Taekwondo the use of hand to strikes and punching methods are not limited, as some novice might think, but are often neglected by instructors and practitioners who are taught wrong, or choose to limit themselves.

Another misconception about disadvantages pertains to stances. The deep stances of Taekwondo are often misunderstood as being impractical for self defense, but what novice do not understand is that these stances are strictly for increasing the maximum power in finishing moves where the opponent is already dazed, distracted, or disabled and cannot respond quickly. The deep, low stance is used very briefly at the opportune moment to deliver the power blow, then the fighter returns to a more mobile defensive posture. The same is true for high kicks to the head and fancy or acrobatic jumping kicks for which Taekwondo is well known. These techniques challenge the practitioner to excel at kicking, and make basic kicks easier and more formidable. They are often seen in Taekwondo demonstrations, but are rarely used in a real fight. If used, there is little concern for a counter attack because the opponent would first be dazed or disabled from an initial strike, making the higher, jumping, spinning or flying kicks a finishing maneuver.

The final disadvantage that might become a reality for some is due to inexperience, or over confidence by the practitioner. Since Taekwondo readily uses kicks, the student must be extremely wary of their terrain for obstacles and uneven or slippery surfaces that might cause a loss of balance or serious fall. Furthermore, if prudent strategy and tactics are not applied, random or excessive kicking can ultimately become very risky and be taken advantage of by a skilled opponent, particularly if the Taekwondo in underestimates the abilities of their attacker. Ultimately, when trained accurately, and used properly, Taekwondo itself will not present any disadvantage, but failures of the teacher or student might result in misuse and poor application that creates a disadvantage for the practitioner.