Originally Posted by zhubin
As a black belt in Taekwondo i can honestly say it is one of the worst martial arts, in it's current form, to be used in a street fight. Tkd has become more of a sport and less of martial art in the last several years. BUT...that is actually to it detriment. Sport tkd, has heavy D has mentioned, is point sparring. Almost all tkd competitors today spar with their hand completely down...which in a real fight is a HUGE no-no. Tkd is certainly challenging and many of it's kicks are as difficult and graceful as any martial art. However, by itself, it is a highly ineffective tool for an actual fight.