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Thanks, guys! I've had this problem with TKD, my first school was so good that neither of the ones I went to after it pleased me by comparison.

Hey guys, So I'm moving to a new area and very close by there is a karate club (and NO TKD clubs, sadly.) So I thought I might give it a try. I trained for a few months in TKD (reaching only the second-from-bottom belt) but in my youth I reached blue belt in Shorinji Kempo (borderline brown, was considered to need more work before grading, but eventually gave up.) Bear in mind, 'my youth' means 'from age 10 to 14' (am now 31.) With that in mind, will Goju-Ryu be a good style for me as a complete karate n00b? I know it's a highly subjective question, but any pointers would be appreciated

Hello again one and all. Well, it's that time of the month again - the time when I move house (again) and look to pick up TKD (again) and come here to ask advice (again.) This time, I'm MOVING INTO MY OWN FLAT FINALLY OHMYGOD!!!! and the nearest TKD school is this one: http://www.didsburybba.com/ Now, EVERYTHING about that website screams MCDOJO, but basically, I want you guys to tell me if my gut is right. It's a shame, because classes are just a bus-ride away from where I'll be living.

I just managed to settle my life down after a year and a half of studying and being unemployed, and so the first thing I did was look up a TKD class. There was one literally down the road - ITF too! - led by a prominent instructor in the area. I went to a taster class and it felt amazing, and I'll be going back. However... ...while there, I trained with the only other two students at my level, two young kids (about a decade younger than me, late teens/early 20s.) They were quite sloppy, both in patterns and three-steps, to the point where I spent most of the class giving them basic pointers like 'block higher', etc. I thought they may have just graded, and be as confused as I was when first tackling Chon-Ji and three step sparring. However, at the end of the class I saw them be given grading forms for the upcoming belt grading (next week) leading me to believe that soon they will outrank me. Now...granted, when I stopped practising I was borderline for grading (in fact, the only reason I didn't was that I missed the grading due to a late bus), and therefore can be considered a 'high' 9th gup. With that said...I haven't set foot in a TKD dojo in two and a half years. And I was way crisper than those kids who practice weekly. Should I be worried? Or do I just chalk it up to my previous sabumnim being particularly amazing?

I want to take up TKD again, and am looking at two schools in my town, both within the same price range. One is BTC (offered by my Uni) and the other AIMAA. I talked to the AIMAA instructor and was a little worried when he started talking about how his classes incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo, and they do ground grappling, etc. Afraid this might be a McDojo. Although he did also talk about turning down people who wanted 'to be black belt in two days'... For those of you who know UK Taekwondo associations, what is the reputation of each of these? They're both quite expensive for someone who is a full-time student, so I need to know it's worth investing in them.

CredoTe I really like your post! I definitely felt ashamed (of myself and of the verbal reaming I took), and ended up apologizing to the Sabumnim, and training as usual. I do often feel ashamed of having an ego that flares now and again. I also (stupidly, I know!) feel ashamed of always trying to be noble about this kind of stuff, i.e. after I apologised I felt like a gigantic pansy. I know I'm probably a bigger man than a 'cool guy' who would not have apologised, but...yeah. I also should have taken the earlier bus for safekeeping, but that's two hours earlier. Anyway, you're right!

Which is why I admitted that I deserved to not be allowed to grade on the day. My problem was rather with being held back to begin with.

I take Taekwon-Do and enjoy it a lot. I'm 8th kup, i..e. first degree after white belt. There used to be four of us, but three of those are now yellow belts. With the first one, I was fine, since he's better than all of us (although I was a little embarassed that I had decided not to grade that time - I didn't feel ready - and he had gone there injured and passed with flying colours.) I was planning to grade about a month after him, last month, but my instructor told me to wait until September. I was fine with it, until I discovered that the other two girls would be allowed to grade. I went up to my instructor and said I felt ready. He reluctantly agreed, but lectured the class on how he knew when we should grade, had X years experience, etc. The following weekend I turned up late for the grading (bus mix-up) and missed it. Fair enough. The thing is, I then had to listen to ANOTHER harangue about how 'a person [there]' should not try to keep up with their mates, and just because they all graded at the same time last time, it doesn't mean they're ready, etc. I felt miserable, ashamed and wounded, but I recognised that I had been a brat and apologised to the instructor for pushing it with him. Since then, I've lost a bit of my drive to go to class, as (once again, just like when I was 14) I am the only one being held back from a grading. I have self-esteem issues, and of course I felt like the worst TKD-er in our class - which apparently I am. There's no point to this post, just wanted to vent. I initially thought the instructor was a bit immature with the rank-pulling, but later realised I was the immature one. What did you guys think about my conduct (be harsh if you must) and have you ever let pride push you into a rash decision such as mine, when it came to MA? PS: I wouldn't have asked to grade again if I hadn't felt EXACTLY like I did 15 years ago when I got held back from testing for brown belt in Shorinji Kempo while everyone else got accepted. PS2: If I wasn't late, I would have passed - I'm sure of it - and proven a point. I NEVER get to prove points. Or show people what for. /ramble

At my school, it just means one/one and a half hours of an intense warm-up followed by free sparring. No movements, no forms, just conditioning and sparring. We did one of those at the regular TKD class once. It was super-tiring but somewhat gratifying.

What's yours? Mine is Won-Hyo. I think aesthetically it's by far the most beautiful, plus I like how it starts from a different ready stance (not parallel). Last week's class was instantly the best ever because everyone (even us beginners) got to do Do-San and Won-Hyo (but not Yul-Gok, for some reason).

Roundhouse with your back leg, land, pivot, reverse roundhouse/turning kick with your other leg (now your back leg). AKA my #1 spam move

This is what I do. The result is they get frustrated, rush me, boom bang, combo, I'm in there. I get what everyone else is saying about attacking. I guess it's just not in my nature, being the pacifist/wimpy sort rather than the 'raaargh' alpha male sort...

Do you have websites for either of the schools. Are you UK Based? I know most of the UK Wado groups and many of the Aikido ones so would be able to tell you whether I think they are good or bad. K. http://www.kifederationofgreatbritain.co.uk/clubs/alton.htm - All I have for Aikido. http://www.surreykarate.co.uk/ - the Karate club.

Make no mistake, I do go in - but only when they 'open the door'. Until then, lots of boxing-style footwork/dancing, a low capoeira-like stance, and a load of running around dodging... Oh and I'm 5ft8 so when I crouch/adopt a low stance, most punches fly well above my head...

It's my initials & I use it in other places so easy to remember