JaseP

Most schools will supply the boards if they are part of a test,... or used in a demo. But for tournaments, you usually have to buy your own... As for the rebreakable boards,... they are alright if you get the kind that pushes together with a series of plastic pins that are molded into the structure of the board. The ones that have an "S" joint that slides together top to bottom will become worn out too quickly. You can usually get the pin-type in colorized sets that represent varying thickness of boards. If they have a thin rubber skin applied to the impact side, they are usually easier on the hand or foot of missed breaks, but it is usually just the "S" type that have that. They can get expensive for a full set.

It's actually a borrowed Chinese word,... Dao,... that both cultures assimilated into their own language,... although the Koreans do use the Japanese pronouciation,... 30+ years of occupation will do that... It's similar to Moo, or in Chinese, Wu, which in Japanese is Bu, as in BuDo (Japanese),... MooDo (Korean), or WuDao (Chinese). Same Characters...

My first hand break was a palm strike. My first patio brick was a palm strike. Now, my favorite breaks are spinning hook kick, ridge hand and for bricks a downward elbow strike.

Historically, kick execution in Japanese/Okinawan styles tended towards the short and choppy, whereas in the Korean styles, they tended towards movement of the hip that was more grand. Of course, that is a generalization. Tang Soo Do and TaeKwonDo have a slightly different lineage. TaeKwonDo has more direct connection to Japanese karate than does Tang Soo Do. In Tang Soo Do, the Japanese/Okinawan influence occured later in development. In TaeKwonDo, the Korean influence was "rediscovered" to a large extent, and the early development was with Koreans who studied Japanese and Okinawan arts. Many Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan practitioners jumped ship from the Korean Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan to form the TaeKwonDo Moo Duk Kwan in the mid 1960s. From there, there was a great deal of cross pollination. So Tang Soo Do is not really the grandfather of TaeKwonDo in the strictest of senses (although many other Kwans called their art Tang Soo Do, Kong Soo Do, etc. than just the Moo Duk Kwan). However, some things are universal, found in all arts, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese alike, like the available striking edges of hands and feet, and certain postures. The ball of the foot is one such universal thing.

I've not seen nor heard of this...

Is there an adult class offered there??? If so, ask your instructor if it wouldn't be better for you to take that... I usually move my red and black belts to adult class despite age,... Some of them are 13, some 15,... some 21, Some 46,... At 15 you really should be taking adult class, even if you are a petite girl as opposed to a big burley football player.

Tang Soo Do practitioners generally use a round kick with the ball of the foot. The power is generated by hip rotation. The tops of the meta tarsals aren't designed to be a striking edge. Top of the foot round kicks were designed for tournaments, as were bottom of the foot hook kicks (as opposed to back of the heel). Blade of the foot side kicks are the same way.

The bottom line is that the average person will only get a chance to use their martial arts a small handful of times in their life in actual self-defense. So, the study has to do more than that. In Tang Soo Do (one of TaeKwonDo's ancestors), we strive to achieve Pyung Ahn, or Peaceful Self-confidence... When you train to achieve that, you use your martial art every day... When you train just to fight, you use it a few times in a lifetime... Already seen your blog... very nice. You're going to be able to reflect in future years what you were thinking when you first started. You'll find that eventually, your attitude will become more focused, as doubts about what you are learning (from either technical or philosophical viewpoints) begin to pass away. We all have our doubts when we first start,... and they creep up again occasionally. But I can honestly say that I don't regret a moment of the last 23+ years that I've trained. I've created a number of my greatest friendships through it (I met my wife through training, and she has recently tested for her Master's Belt.). It has also helped keep me focused in a positive direction in my life. I think that only my religious faith exceeds it, and only my membership in Freemasonry approaches it. Mail order is best. I would go with a middleweight uniform, rather than a heavyweight. You can go to a number of sites. If you're TKD school allows it, the modern pullover uniforms tend to be more comfortable and "flattering" than traditional dobaks on smaller people. Problem is that some of them are real thin... Century Martial Arts: http://www.centuryma.com/ Asian World of Martial Arts: http://www.awma.com/

I've heard that too, but I take that with a grain of salt since Japan and China both had significantly developed artistry. I think it more fitting to say that the Koreans figured the legs were more fitting for most of the work of defense, since it was "dirty" work... rather than the other way around. The "fist" fighting arts in Korea were largely the domain of the people. The only "official" martial art in Korea was archery. Everything else was simply war skills or commoners' self-defense skills. As for kicking being emphasized in the USA,... I see no reason for it to be so... Asian fighting arts might have gained some mistique in the late 60s,... but prior to that they were regarded as being "cheap or sneaky", until servicemen started returning to the USA with their black belts. There was a decided stigma to kicking in fighting in the US. Kicks and their effectiveness was demostrated by the Korean arts in the US, and that's how they took hold... So the trend in kicks came from Korea.

Good, then you won't develop bad habits from pre-supposing what you should do... As for the "warrior" attitude,... it's a pep talk. It's intended to make you more agressive and confident,... not to make you a "blood and guts" US Marine-style combatant. Tai Chi is fine, but you need more confidence. Tai Chi won't supply this... not right away anyway. Tai Chi as a martial art takes years to develop even simple effectiveness. With TaeKwonDo, at least you'lll learn how to kick someone in the groin. When fighting, learn ranges. Stay outside the power range of a larger opponent until they have comitted by throwing a technique. Then, rush in as they drop their legs, throw a couple to three techniques, and then get out quick... Think of youself like a bee, buzzing out of range,... then coming in quick to sting,... then getting out quick. My wife is smaller than you, but she has learned to fight pretty well. Could she defeat several grown men??? No. But she could hold one inexperienced grown man at bay long enough to escape... (and she also danced ballet, tap and jazz for 23 years before martial arts).

I'm involved in a very colorful debate on another Forum about the history of Tang Soo Do. People there (even Tang Soo Do stylists, which is most of the Forum) are claiming that Tang Soo Do is derived from Shotokan,... which is actually less true for Tang Soo Do than it is for TaeKwonDo (with many of the major Kwan leaders, excepting Hwang Kee and several of the other Kwan leaders, having been Japanese/Okinawan karateka during and after WWII). At any rate, the directness of the evolution of TaeKwonDo from the arts of the Hwarang Dan are fairly overstated. Korean arts survived more in pieces, influenced by Japanese and Chinese styles rather than intact... But it has always been the case. Fist and foot fighting arts in Korea have always been influenced by their neighbors, as has have their weaponed siblings. The trend in Korea has been to over-emphasize the native portion of the Korean arts. In short, there never have been any pure-bred Korean arts. The legacy of Korean kicking comes from the native Korean sources, but like everything else, is influenced by other styles.

Well, you train in TKD,... so you'd know better. I don't follow TKD history much after 1965... since it doesnt effect my style much after that. I only know what I've been exposed to over the last 23+ years and what I've read. Frankly, I don't see a lot of "sine wave" in any Korean arts...

No it's not. And I'm definitely learning Tang Soo Do. You can see my lineage below. Similarities don't mean that it's and offshoot. See here, from an interview with GM Hwang for his induction into the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame: http://www.completemartialarts.com/whoswho/halloffame/hwangkee.aspx specifically: So his first exposure to Japanese/Okinanwan arts were after his return to Korea. So there is influence, nobody disputes that,... But TSD is NOT an offshoot of Shotokan. Forms don't dictate the style, technique, philosophy and application do. Shotokan is not the only style that posses those forms, and the accepted itiology is that they were developed from Chinese White Crane. No. International Tang Soo Do Organization under Master D.A. Giacobbe, for the last 13-14 yrs, who's first instructor was Master Shin, but trained mostly under Master CS Kim, and also Master Yi, and H.C. Hwang (Hwang Kee's son). He was also the Black Belt who performed the 10th Gup - 1st Dan forms in the seminar conducted in the 1970s by GM Hwang Kee (receiving correction from GM Hwang during that seminar) for the founding of the US Tang Soo Do Moo Duk Kwan. Prior to that, my instructor was Master Daniel Haas, who's original instructor was Master H.C. Hwang (Hwang Kee's son).

Well, if you do a google on "sine wave and "martial arts" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22sine+wave%22+%22martial+arts%22&btnG=Google+Search What you get is a lot of references to Choi's introduction of this into his TaeKwonDo. Choi was taught at the main Shotokan dojo in Japan... so,... I'm not saying that all TKD or Japanese styles use it,... what I'm saying is that's the documentation of where is comes from in TKD.

Kicks are easier to deliver with more power. Years of walking on them make them stronger. Upper body techniques are more difficult to learn to generate that kind of power. That's one reason. There are cultural ones as well.

In its most common explanation, "sine wave" motion is a kind of bouncing when throwing the techniques to achieve a gravity assist when throwing techniques. It's largely considered a Shotokan influence. It's one portion of the way that they get power transfer into their techniques. Tang Soo Do, for example, doesn't use this. We instead use a hip rotation. The body's upward and downward motion is kept more static.

I don't associate a strong kicking ratio of technique in the style to be "flashy". I associate "flashy" with techniques with dubious martial content... A high kick in and of itself is not necessarily "flashy". Obviously you don't do it in a real confronation situation unless you have an opponent that isn't going to be able to effectively counter it (trap, takedown, counterstrike to groin, etc.). But provided they are otherwise occupied (recovering from an initial strike, unable to recover from a position change, unable to recover from a block or grapple), then it is completely a viable technique provided you are able to execute one well. Ssirum, or Korean wrestling has no kicks or strikes... But it is a very rare art. All the Korean styles that I know of that have kicks, have both low and high kicks. I know of no striking art in Korea that has no kicks (other than western boxing, that is). And that's after 23+ years of training in Tang Soo Do.

Thanks Phil,... that was some great insight into the age when Hwang first started teaching...

Apparently he had a reputation in his villiage/area/whatever as knowing martial arts... I assume that he competed in impromptu sparring contests (as opposed to street brawls), being that taekyon was supposedly a competition sport as well as a self-defense method. Whatever the story there, nobody batted an eye at him opening a martial arts school when he came back from China. There are some who claim that you didn't need much in the way of martial arts background in those days to claim to be a teacher... I dispute this, however,... as Hwang apparently worked out with people from Lee Kuk Won's school to improve the Japanese forms he was convinced to add... and only did that for 6 mos. You don't learn an entire form set of some 23 forms in 6 mos. training without any prior experience.

Why is the Chunbe position in the Bassai's so much like the Chinese empty hand salute??? Why is a side punch in a side stance found in virtually every art.. BTW, the stances AREN'T like they are in Shotokan. In Shotokan there is a marked outward turn in the rear foot, as well as a bent knee there. The low block in Shotokan is executed from around the height of the sternum,... and in Tang Soo Do comes from the opposite ear... The "classical" center chop defense in Shotokan is executed by crossing the hands to fold. In Tang Soo Do, the hands wrap around the body and unwrap together in the same direction... emphasizing hip rotation. I have no knowledge of any heel down/toe up stances in any Japanese art,... yet they exist in Tang Soo Do, and did from early in its history. I won't even go into the kicks... The Okinawan form set was borrowed from Shotokan after Hwa Soo Do was being taught at the Moo Duk Kwan... Prior to that there was a decided lack of Forms training in the Moo Duk Kwan (kwon bop had few if any forms and all forms were essentially created or borrowed). Hwang,... Kee was his first name if you westernize it... Who was his instructor in Shotokan??? Can you name him??? You cannot. He doesn't exist. Hwang had no instructor in Shotokan,... ever... He did however attend a few seminars at the Chung Moo Kwan, I think it was... But this was after he was already teaching... He was never a student there. The Moo Duk Kwan was established in late 1945 or early 1946... And those seminars were supposed to have occured around that time. Too early for Hwang to have been trained in Japanese arts after returning from China, and too late to justify him being considered an expert before leaving for China, to return and open a school... There's no issue. No sources other than the Korean can give any evidence of Hwang's story... Can the Japanese sources give me a lineage as to who the supposed instructor of Hwang Kee was??? Why is it claimed that he trained in Shotokan when training in martial arts by Koreans was forbiden under the pain of death??? The only evidence of it happening was an isolated few young men who were house-boys and such and were trained by their Japanese overlords. Hwang wasn't a houseboy... Nobody can name a person who is alledged to have taught him... He had no reason to conceal decent treatment by a Japanese person... It all lends creedance to his story. So again,... who was Hwang's alledged Shotokan instructor???

sorry, but can anyone answer me this? Anything that takes ten years to master isn't a complete style. (Hint: You can't master Tai Chi in ten years) He studied from the Yang family from about `36 to about `45 I believe., while in China. He was already considered somewhat of an expert in kwon bop at age 22 in 1936 when he left for China... What he studied was probably not Tai Chi in the way we think of it now... it was more than likely a blend of many Chinese martial arts with a tai chi influence. It was in China that he picked up the form that he would call taegukkwan. That form is reported to be 1/2 of Yang Style Tai Chi #88, a two person form... and serves as the last form in Tang Soo Do.

Respectfully, No you're wrong. Tang Soo Do is not "based on Shotokan" as Hwang Kee never studied Japanese styles... That stuff was added AFTER he opened the Moo Duk Kwan. The Moo Duk Kwan is 60 years old or so,... but not Tang Soo Do, based on Korean kwon bop,... Orignially, the Moo Duk Kwan was more like what you see in Hapkido, a lot of free fighting and application and little in the way of forms work. The Shotokan forms were added afterwards. The movement in classical Shotokan and Tang Soo Do are totally different. The execution of techniques is different. I can, in fact, go technique by technique and point out the differences to someone who is not familiar with one or the other system (it's kind of difficult to do in print). GM Hwang (not Kee,... that is his "first" name), incorporated MORE of classical Korean martial arts into it,... and buit form sets to emphasize it. But what he learned originally was not Shotokan, and that is not what he passed on...

I admire that. Each style or system should have a trend of internal consistency... Which is why I'm not a huge fan of over-doing cross training or the so-called "ecclectic" arts.

I'm not saying that it is now part of curriculim, what I'm saying is that I've seen (quite a few) practitioners at tournaments, who are purportedly of okinawan/japanese styles and who execute TaeKwonDo or (and I do mean "or" ) Tang Soo Do style kicking... If you are orthodox,... then you certainly wouldn't,... and I don't mean any offense. What I am talking about are mainstream compeititors,... and this is from observation only (things I've seen with my own eyes). What I see of senior Dans in these styles is that they pretty much stick to tradition,... and the "stylistic" part of their styles. But the junior ones,... the mid 20 yr old set and younger,... and those in the tournament crowd,... whole different scenario... ...again, no offense intended.

Tang Soo Do has its roots in Korean Kwon Bop. Korean martial arts have been called kwon bop, subak ki, tang su ki, etc. over the span of many years. The Moo Duk Kwan is young,... which is what most people are referring to when they talk about Tang Soo Do being 50-60 years old... But that doesn't show an appreciation for the Korean martial arts and how they developed. You would say that the "style" of Moo Duk Kwan is 50-60 years old, but that the art is closer to the order of 2,000 years old... It's the same thing with Christianity... Most people wouldn't argue against that Chrisianity is 2,000 years old... But the ways of the modern Church, in any of its forms, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, are much younger. So you could say that Christianity is only 1,200 years old, or 600 years old,... or in the case of a new start-up church, that it's only 10-20 years old... My Church, the Moravian Church had its origins back to the 1580s... So in my case, you could say that Chrisianity is 425 years old... But some people might dispute the 1580s figure, and so say my Church is only 250 years old... If a 1st Century Christian was transplanted into a modern church setting, they would probably not recognize the the form of worship as being anything like what they encountered... Does that mean that modern faith is different??? It's the same for martial arts. People didn't have "styles" the way we do now many years ago. Martial arts were martial arts... names were interchangeable. Schools were a smattering of techniques. The affectation of "styles" is a modern thing. If you say that you will only count a thing as a style if it was taught exactly the way it is today,... then there are no schools who could claim ownership of an age of more than 90 years or so. Modern reconstructionists try to say that that this style or that is only XX number of years old, because they tie it to one person or to its modern form... But that's no more fair than saying that the Catholic Church is no more older than Vatican II... The technques that compromise the art of Tang Soo Do date back to that stone carving. I recorgnize the techniques as something done even today,... not exactly (stance is different, for instance), but still very close. Not all of what is in Tang Soo Do is that old... But then again, not all of what is in modern Catholicism is that old either... That doesn't mean that the Church can't trace its roots back 2,000 years, and it doesn't mean that Tang Soo Do can't trace its roots that far back either.