what is the difference between karate & TKD (martial arts) and mix martial arts (UFC stuff). for self defence?

Since you are 15, it is best that you get proficient in one martial art before learning others. You can always add to your library on martial arts at a later time, but its best to have a clear understanding in one form first.

Some gyms teach only one Art, and others teach more than one and add it as one curriculum(MMA).

Also, look at videos of the difference between martial arts and martial arts as a sport(UFC)

You will notice how when you practice martial arts, they teach the full thing.

But as a sport, you are limited by rules.

It really depends on what you want to be when you grow up.

Keyboard warrior is correct except for one thing, Just because arts don't necessarily "excel" at one area doesn't mean they lack the ability. Karate has Grappling and Judo has striking. Sure, a karateka probably won't out grapple a jujitsu black belt, and a jujitsu black belt won't out strike a karate black belt, but they will easily out do any untrained or minimally trained opponent. I personally think that the division of arts is both the strength and the weakness of MMA. Because they spend time in more areas, they are better prepared for fights in different areas, but at the same time this cuts into the practical abilities of the overall fighting. In simpler terms, someone who does MMA will progress slower than someone who focuses on one art. It is best to focus on one art, and then pick up another one when you have a good grounding in the first art. This is what most top UFC fighters are like.

Self defense wise, neither is per say better, but MMA is very sport oriented which can lead to problems. I've actually heard claims that going to the ground in the street is a good idea, which it is not. In fact ground fighting in the street is right about the worst possible move. While some people, like Bas Rutten can do it, we ordinary folks don't have years of Bouncer experience and probably can't. My advice is learn a standing centered art first, grappling or striking, and learn a ground based one later for just in case.

Karate is an Okinawan style has both sport and self defense forms

Taekwondo is a Korean olympic sport

Mixed martial arts is a brand new sport that incorporates different combat sports together rather than actual martial arts. I wouldn't classify it as a self defense system though being that it's only a sport and has no actual self defense training. Self defense training teaches you more than just hand to hand combat, but also how to defense against weapon attacks...that's something that MMA doesn't incorporate.

All of them have great training and give you great physicality

MMA will keep u fit and teach you some basic self defense but keep in mind most MMA "Schools" focus around sports. TKD & Karate can vary depending on schools. Some schools teach these simply for fitness and competition & Other schools teach them for practical self defense application. Just do a little study on the potential schools and the attitudes of the students & Teachers...it is a good indicator of how the school teaches.

Mix martial arts is where you learn more than one. I do Taekwondo which is good and you can learn to disarm people with weapons, and Judo which is another really good one. I find physically, Taekwondo is really good but all of them are.

I Shouldn't speak for a martial art I don't do though anyway. Because I don't know anything about it, except for what I see on the internet. But Judo and Taekwondo are good.

okay, first of all the MMA fighters learn , either Muay Thai Kickboxing or Thai Boxing, as these two are "ring legal" if they learnt Muay Thai the Martial Art or Muay Boran The Original Martial Art, the ancestor of Muay Thai and it's other variations, they would be disqualified in just the first hit. as each and every hit in Muay Boran and it's descendent Muay Thai is meant for lethally fighting in street fighting situations you are trained to hit every visible and closest vulnerable point/s available, whether they are paralytic points or death points, for example you can't do a groin kick in the ring, but on the street that's the very thing that might save you from getting stabbed or shot, depending on the situation and your training ofcourse. Now i really hope that i've cleared some confusion and delusion that some people have about MMA and it's ingredients of Martial Arts, but understand, i'm not saying that MMA is worthless, no it's a powerful fighting system, but i always see that the MMA fighters always fight much less standing up on their feet and much much more grappling down on the ground, i don't think going to the ground on the street in a, for example say in a 2 on 1 opponents situation is a good idea, especially if one of them has a knife or a gun or even in an one on one situation if your opponent has a gun or a knife, you go close to him to take him down but instead end up with a blade or a bullet right in your stomach. i'll say Krav Maga is the best fighting system for any and every reality based fighting situations and if i had to rank right next to that, i would say Muay Boran or Muay Thai, ofcourse there are other arts too, like Eskrima, or Silat or CQC[close quarters combat] and many different others too and needless to say all of them are good for self defense as well as physical strength and mental improvement, there are lots and lots of other choices too out there, it's entirely upto you, you should take up what suits you the best.

okay now, i'll now move on to Karate and Tae Kwon Do, again, i'll say these two traditional arts, are very powerful in their traditional forms, maybe even some techniques are usable in a hand to hand combat situation on the street, but if you learn the sport versions of them, they are gonna do nothing more than to help you lose some weight, the're just 'for fitness purposes only' kind of thing, not original Karate or Tae Kwon Do the traditional arts, and not to mention traditional Judo, Traditional Japanese JiuJitsu (Brazillian JiuJitsu came from here). you really have to talk to a person who has extensive training in these traditional art forms as they can explain it the best to you, the difference between the sport versions and the actual Martial Art versions of these Traditional Art Forms.

GoodLuck with your choices and your Martial Arts journey, even if it is just for the summer :)

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When people study martial arts, they typically study one style, like Tae Kwon Do or Karate. In Mixed Martial Arts, we study several arts, to allow ourselves to become multi-dimensional fighters. A fight can go several places, it can stay standing, and you guys throw punches, or it can go to the ground. Typically one style teaches you how to fight in one place, either by standing or on the ground. If you are an MMA fighter, you study all the dimensions of fighting. Now some styles that excel in stand up will claim to be great on the ground too...such as Karate or TKD...don't be fooled. Most styles excel at one thing....thats why you must not confuse MMA for a style. It's a system of martial arts, in which you combine two or more martial arts together.

Your typical MMA fighter studies Muay Thai *stand up* and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu *ground*. Others study clinch arts such as wrestling or judo, in learning how to take the fight to the ground.

This forum is dominated by traditionalists who don't practice MMA, so I will likely get alot of thumbs down. They view it as a sport, despite the fact that we train for actual fights. They train by hitting punching bags. We train by hitting each other. You tell me which one is better for self defense.

p.s. punching bags don't hit back.

Well, that UFC stuff called MMA will make you fit pretty damn fast but it doesn't work to well for self defense since it has no self defense training.

Karate and Taekwonodo are more fitting for Self Defense and have great fitness training too. Though these two systems take body conditioning a little to harshly. I saw a Karate expert in Japan. He was in his 50's, short like 5'3" but he was built like a tank and he never ran out of breath in his exercises.

Or check out Jhoon Rhee. Short dude, in his 80's now, built like a tank aswell.

Karate and TKD are show. Stuff like BJJ and Muay thai work.