The Tokyo Summer Olympic Games has a wide variety of events including three different martial arts: Judo, Karate and Taekwondo. Each event is made up of a diverse variety of striking and blocking moves, but what’s makes each of these martial arts different? Here’s a brief refresher, per Olympic.ca.
Origins
While Judo and Karate were developed in Japan, Taekwondo was developed in Korea.
Points, Rounds and Time
Each martial art has a point-based system based on the various strikes an opponent land, but each one is structured differently. A Judo match lasts four minutes. In Karate, a men’s bout is three minutes, while a women’s match is two minutes. In Taekwondo, a match is made up of three, two-minute rounds.
Attire
According to Olympic.ca, “In judo, judoka wear white or blue judogi. In karate, karateka dawn a white gi with a blue or red belt and matching gloves. Combatants in taekwondo wear a white dobok. There are also required protectors on their chest and heads, guards on their groins, forearms and shins, as well as gloves, a mouthguard, and even sensing socks for the electronic scoring system.”