Tae kwon do (ballet dancing ?)?

I have witnessed many fights with muay thai boxers, savate french foot fighters and tae kwon do artists. And the students of tai kwon do always get knocked out.

I am trying to choose a martial art to study and I am not here to cause an arguemnt, merely to learn and clarify. A friend of mine saidmost martial arts are effective dependant on the user, But he said tai kwon do was like ballet dancing with high kicks that arent powerful and just designed to get points in a sports fight tournament.

can others clarify on these points please

Tae kwon do (ballet dancing ?)?soap opera

stick with the Muay Thai. while it is correct that the person can make or break the art, no styles are created equal. I prefer to recommend Muay Thai because it trains not only in kicks and punching, but elbows and knees too, and elbows WILL knock you out if they hit your head. you may be a weak puncher for what ever reason, but elbows are perfect.

I am bias, but stick with what you feel would be better for your understanding and abilities.

to limit yourself through TKD would be to limit your potential.

the TKD people are like cult followers though, and would persuade you to join. I however, would ask you to choose for yourself, using logic and reasoning.

Tae kwon do (ballet dancing ?)?city opera opera theater

All martial arts are dependent on the practitioner and what the teacher chooses to teach. "Most" modern Tae Kwon Do schools have moved from being practical self defense-oriented to sport oriented. What many people don't realize is that all the high-flying spinning kicking that we see, has a real practical application. All the aerobic kicking helps to make your basic grounded kicking stronger. I started with Tae Kwon Do which helped my karate which helped my Aikijujitsu etc. Bottom line...if you can find the right TKD school, you will be taught just as well as any other discipline.
Well, I'm not 100% up on all the other martial arts, but I'm a 2nd degree black belt and instructor in Taekwondo, and you're right, to a point. It is more based around competition rather than "street fighting", but, also, it depends on the school/instructor. The high kicks are what TKD is known for, but there is a lot of hand techniques used as well. The high kicks can also be powerful, but it depends on the fighter.

Don't limit the martial art that you're going to study to what you see on TV %26amp; in the movies, go check out a few different types at different studios around you. And don't just judge on the martial art itself, consider the instructor and the atmosphere of the studio itself. Consider if that's where you'd like to spend a lot of your time. Because, if you get really involved, you will. Trust me, I didn't even wanna start TKD, but now I'm a black belt and an instructor and I couldn't imagine my life without it.

Hope I answered some questions for you! =] Good luck!
Much depends on why you want to learn. If it is for fun and fitness. It matters little which you choose.

If you want to study the art and grow spiritually, you must find an instructor who believes in his art and is passionate about teaching.

If you want to learn to fight for real world defense. I suggest a mixture of styles. Muey thai for stand up kicking. Boxing for stand up defense and proper punching. Jiu jitsu for submissions and ground fighting. It is usually not hard to find schools that teach all three and more. Generally speaking these schools train fighters.

Some fighters appreciate the art and its history. Some do not care at all and only want to learn the best way to fight.
if youv'e really witnessed so many fights and you really know thier styles wouldn't you already know which one to learn?iv'e learnt tkd and i wouldn't do it again but thats just my opinion.

whats the real reason you ask?
All arts have the same basic punches and kicks .It just could be that the people you saw was of poor health or something.I`m a skinny crazy beast and no one ever has beaten me yet.I never lost before I started Tae kwon do,Jujitsu,Hapkido,Ninjitsu,and boxing.I had to beat up the school bully,he left me no choice.It`s not always what you know but who you think you are.If you doubt yourself you are already defeated in your own mind.
i dont really agree taekwondo is like ballet though it kinda is when i think of it. notice that tkd is used in the olympic as a SPORT. its not really used for street fighting unless u really modofy it. the best is kung fu like bruce lee or muay thai, vovinam, though, vovinam is rare because it mostly occurs in vietnam. judo is very effective, though it wont be effective against a kickboxer or streetfighter. also ninjutsu works but u can never tell if a teacher for that6 is real because it has been thought in secret for so long.
You friend is wrong about Tae Kwon Do. Olympic style emphasizes speed at the expense of power %26amp; puts a premium on showey kicks. Traditional TKD, while including high kicks, emphasizes power %26amp; is far more practical. I'm not really familiar with the French style. Muay Thai is primitive %26amp; brutal. There are advantages to both Muay Thai %26amp; TKD. TKD is better at long eange %26amp; against multiple attackers. MT depends a lot on knee %26amp; elbow strikes %26amp; working from a clinch. If you are attacked by 2 or more people, you don't want to be in a clinch with 1 of them. The other will pound you from behind.
stick with ballet, they kick harder
At my school we do heaps of self defence training, if we want to do sports fighting, there are seperate classes that we can take