| The two most common martial arts practiced in North | | | | Do Federation. Many tae kwon do schools have |
| America are karate and tae kwon do. Many wonder | | | | added a black lining to their white uniforms for black |
| what the difference between these two martial arts is. | | | | belt levels. A V-neck top is often seen in schools |
| This is especially the case for those who are just | | | | affiliated with the World Tae Kwon Do Federation. |
| starting to look around for a martial arts studio. After | | | | There are also older Korean styles including tang soo |
| all, most practitioners in both karate and tae kwon do | | | | do and moo duk kwan. Some of the more |
| seem to wear the same type of white gi uniforms | | | | Americanized karate and tae kwon do schools also |
| with various colored belts. | | | | use uniforms with other colors such as red, black and |
| Modern traditional karate was developed in the islands | | | | blue in addition to the traditional white. |
| of Okinawa in Japan after some influences from | | | | It can be generalized that in karate, one would use their |
| Chinese martial arts. There are actually different styles | | | | arms or hands for 60% of the time for strikes or |
| of karate but they are all commonly considered as | | | | blocks while the use of legs for kicking will be about |
| Japanese martial arts today. The colored belt system | | | | 40%. This breakdown is seen in the many forms or |
| was developed to show the various ranks of karate | | | | katas of karate which are set routines which simulate |
| practitioners with white depicting novices and black | | | | fighting against imaginary opponents using martial arts |
| belts (with various degrees) representing instructor | | | | techniques. The forms from tae kwon do would have |
| levels and higher. There is a whole range of other | | | | the opposite percentage breakdown with 40% hands |
| different colors in between. Modern tae kwon do was | | | | and 60% legs. In tae kwon do, there is also more |
| developed in Korea after much influence from | | | | emphasis on higher kicks to the head level than in |
| Japanese karate during the occupation by Japan. | | | | karate. Tae kwon do practitioners also utilize more |
| Indeed, tae kwon do is sometimes referred to as | | | | jumping or flying kicks where one is airborne while |
| Korean karate. The Koreans adopted similar white | | | | executing kicking techniques. The tae kwon do forms |
| uniforms along with a colored belt ranking system for | | | | or patterns are generally a bit shorter and less |
| tae kwon do. Today, there are two main styles of tae | | | | complex than the karate forms. Some tae kwon do |
| kwon do, one under the International Tae Kwon Do | | | | schools have been known to use the odd karate form |
| Federation and the other under the World Tae Kwon | | | | in its curriculum as well. |