Karate vs taekwondo: what’s the difference?

Both are great for kids. Taekwondo suits flexible, kick-loving kids who are drawn to sport sparring. Karate gives an even mix of hands and feet, with kata and self-defence. A good instructor matters more than the style, so try a class and watch whether your child lights up.

Both can be. Taekwondo’s kicks are fast and reach a long way; karate adds more hand techniques and close-range work, which helps when someone is right in front of you. What matters most is practising with partners under good coaching, and learning to avoid trouble in the first place.

Not quite. They share roots: several of taekwondo’s founders trained in Japanese karate, and its early forms were based on karate kata. Since then taekwondo has gone its own way, with its own forms, rules and kicking style.

Both use coloured belts that lead to black, but the colours and their order differ from school to school. Ours go white, yellow, orange, green, purple, blue, brown and black.

Yes. Their kicks, flexibility and discipline carry straight over. Talk to Sensei Troy about where they’d start, and try the first two weeks free.

No. We teach traditional Shotokan karate and kickboxing. If your child loves kicking, there’s plenty of it in karate, and every program starts with a free trial so you can see for yourselves.