Is Taekwondo Karate?

Author: Bret Gordon

Yes. But also no. But also yes...

A conversation with one of my students prompted this article to answer the question "Is Taekwondo Karate?" As the opening line suggests, answering that question is not as simple as you might think and really comes down to how you define "Karate." Let's explore it first from our perspective at the American Jidokwan Association, and then the martial arts community at large. 

Fundamentally, we believe traditional Taekwondo is Karate. In my previous article "How Can Jidokwan Be Tang Soo Do?" (click here), I broke down the Jidokwan's origins in both Shotokan and Shito Ryu, and showed that even the early generations referred to their art specifically as Karate.

To understand the difference between modern Taekwondo and Karate, we have to understand the history of Taekwondo itself. 

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