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I guess it's time to chime in, since I been a staunch defender of the art of Taekwondo for a great while now. To address the question of grappling arts versus taekwondo, it's a question of goal. In a street fight, grappling is the worst thing you can possibly do, because it typically leads to the ground and if your opponent has any friends with him at all, you lose. Period. Effective striking and clinching are essential on the street venue, and TKD has both of those.

In the martial sport arena, the rules change markedly. With no concern about outside interference, grappling becomes decidedly more important. Again, throws, standing clinches, and strikes are all present in TKD, but unfortunately the art doesn't translate very well. TKD IS A BATTLEFIELD ART, specifically designed to kill opponents with maximum efficiency in the shortest time possible. Thus, the weakness of the art in an MMA-style arena should be apparent, since once a TKD stylist has grounded someone the typical tactic at that juncture is a killing blow. Most ITF and WTF practitioners I've dealt with compensate for this with that old standby for people who need groundwork, BJJ. All that said, if you just give a TKD player a kickboxing coach and teach them to "protect their head", you'll be performing an unnecessary service.

Any (and I do mean ANY) real TKD player will point out, upon questioning, that their primary target in most engagements is the head. Therefore, they train a great deal to protect that target as well. Those fast, high kicks aren't just for show and they are found in most other battlefield arts as well (looking at you, Muay Thai.) When you see a TKD player with their hands down, it is usually in a sport situation where they are more concerned with mobility and dishing out kicks in bunches for points. This weakness would also translate in the MMA arena, since points, while important, are far less significant in such a venue.

A serious TKD player is not someone to mess around with. Grappling is nice, but it should be kept in the proper place. On the street, I'd take TKD over the grappler due to precise, powerful, fast striking. However, the rules of sport fighting render TKD largely toothless, so in an octagon, ring, or mixed tournament, TKD won't always fare so well. Any MMA practitioner will gain vast ability by adding some of TKD's weapons to their arsenal.

As a sideline, I just wanted to say that in a street fight situation, I would rather have Judo or Aikido. I've been practicing Aikido for several months now and I have to say that in a street defense situation, with my personal belief set, I would much rather have the weapons that it provides than any kind of strike. But that's another thread at another time.

While true, there is almost no such thing as a one on one situation in the street. The kind of people that are likely to attack generally like to do it in groups. The sole exception to this rule is mugging, which is typically spur-of-the-moment and tends to be performed by solo assailants. Since those people are typically armed, grappling is not only better in that particular case, but in fact is necessary.

Simply put, a striking art is superior in terms of street defense. There are exceptions to this, as with all rules. Aikido, for instance, focuses on the ability to engage multiple attackers with throws and misdirection. Judo is similar. Jiujitsu in its original form also has this, as does Shuai Jiao. And of course, the Muay Thai clinch is famous for being perfect for taking an enemy and using them as a "body shield" against other assailants while you deal with the clinched victim. Unfortunately, BJJ is woefully unsuited to the task of multiple enemy defense since most of its takedowns are sacrificial (that is, you go down with the attacker.)

Lol. You'll forgive my one-sided argument on this, but experiential data drives my fervor. A simple counter-argument to my point is that when it comes right down to it, the best defense in any given situation is a careful blending of whatever works for the fighter in question. While I prefer striking, I know that a good collar tie or clinch makes a punch, knee, or elbow that much more effective, and in those rare single situations where it's just you and someone else, it's hard to beat the pain compliance of a good armbar while you wait for the cops to get there. TKD works for TKD practitioners, and in summation of the thread thus far it's just hard to tell who will win in a given fight between the grappler and the TKD player simply because there are a near-infinite combination of body types, fighting preferences, and training levels. Basically, go with what works, and don't make assumptions about a fighter just because of the fighting style they claim.

How would you counteract against a grappling art ... like wrestling ...

Lets not forget that TKD comes with its own comprehensive grappling system as well, at least in the traditional school. There's a whole collection of specially designed throws in TKD which come as natural a evolution of the striking motion.