Scandinavian

Yeah when you get better you'll be able to break the rhythms, or do just whatever you like. I break them often "unintentionally", ie. when im "on" back leg and i want to continue being able to kick with front leg for a while just bend with my knees without effect for distribution. The fact is, that if you just stand 50/50 your kicks will be slower (thus more predictable) since you have to first get the 100/0 distribution before you can start any kick. Its a compromize between "security" and rapid movement/kicks, besides if you get into streetfight TKD stylists should be very able to strike immidiately when the fists are raised and no bouncing will be necessary. You should always get away from the probing/defencive point of view when the opponents intention is to hurt you badly, complete attack is the best defence. Thats the point for our sparring anyway, to learn to see the opportunities and use them asap, i think 99% of people when they raise their fists will not pay attention to whatever might be coming _fast_ from down below. Of course when i spar i can do whatever type of movement i like, the 80/20 is just "default" kind of thing for me. Its not even that visible, if you dont directly look the opponents legs.

Rofl, i did, goddamn i forgot to take my medication, sorry.. The bouncing in patterns is distinctive for ITF stylists and is called "sine wave". There may be several reasons for it, but i think the least is not, that it makes the forms MUCH harder to learn. It also makes them look more fluid and kinda relaxed. I dont buy the increased power argument, since even that gravity speeds the fist up, also the movement direction changes nownwards and negates pretty much the gained energy on impact.

Do you mean the similar bouncing that boxers do when they spar? It differs amongst different styles, WTF sparrers bounce with both legs up, in ITF we distribute the weight continously from one leg to the other (like 80/20 - > 20/80 -> 80/20 and so on.) When you continously move, it makes harder to predict when you strike, its like continous bluffing. Also, it makes the kicks much faster, than static 50/50 distribution, since you have either leg on standby to strike all the time.

Basically: ITF TKD = traditionally oriented WTF TKD = very sports oriented MDK TKD = self-defence oriented ?

Well, Iaido master with sword could be quite lethal opponent.. Being lethal with bare hands is a big can of worms, usually the lethality starts to play a role when you have immobilized your enemy a way or another. In other words, when you have the opponents life on your hands, which you dont have before the fight is "over" on your favor. I think exeption to this rule is all swords or semi-automatic guns, with the skill to use them. Bare handed enemy cant do a jack against those.

50$ for half a year. With that i can attend all classes that are available, some 12 of them in a week, quality multiple dan instructors mostly..Yes i know, i'm lucky..

People do anything for money.

Running has one nasty element and it is, that you will turn your back to the assaulter. If you are not very fast (fast, not fit, youre not running 50 miles here) runner, then dont turn your back to him while he is in 10m range. Jog backwards to that range and then sprint. You have loads of very juicy targets on your back, kidneys, spine, ribs without muscle protection etc. Try to run away a friend, that can run equally fast and you start off from 2-5 meters range. You can hear him being close, no matter that you run full speed, what you do? Turn? No, you cant turn 180 from full speed, because you end up on the dirt. As funny as it may sound, you dont necessary realize this if you're in full adrenaline rush and possibly scared. So, you need to slow down before you turn around to face the assaulter. The faster you want to slow down, the more you need to have Angle Of Attack agains the current movement direction. Simply the faster you need to stop, the more you end up being near the ground. Stopping is hard enough in controlled surfaces, but how about surfaces that have very different charasteristics, asphalt against your shoes, parking hall smooth concrete. Add sand or dirt and you might as well be braking on marble balls! The least position you want to be in a fighting situation is on your knees and its very likely you end up there if you dont have enough time to stop, turn around and stabilize (possibly even reverse, if you strike). Without these elements accomplished you are in worse position, than initially before you started running. So, 10m is enough for safe reversing and now the running assaulter has to face some Newtonian laws, which many MA utilize to redirect movement or deal absolutely fatal blows. Remember, Newtons laws dont go easy on objects, that want to stop their motion without any help from outside.

Oh, 2-3 nights is just to KEEP your current skills, considering the time after basic training. For basic even 1 hour weekly can be enough, but the requirements after that are completely different. If you really really want to be good in most MA you have to devote 10+ hours weekly for your art, which is some 10% stretching, if you need to have over the waist kicks. I currently do only 6-8h, so i go as an average. More different abilities your moves need to have, the more hours per week they need (flexibility, explosive power, speed, strenght etc.) All of it doesent necessarily have to be training in dojo/gym/whatever, but just thinking them througly and possibly executing the moves in slower pace. Actually, for TKD, its very very good exercise to train the basic kicks as slow as possible 5-10 times per side, fits well if you dont have big space around in your home! I think, that for "non-fitness" arts (like aikido, grav maga etc.) you dont need that much hours, but this is just my uneducated belief.

I had a chance to attend GrandMaster Rhee Ki Ha:s (9.dan) seminar, he was part of that original demo team. Man, was his fist big! It was HUGE!

Yes what has mostly changed in past centuries are the methods of getting fit, getting flexible and reaction training. Actually every training method that is involved in martial arts has evolved. Or it has become more fun oriented, instructors do not hit you with a bamboo stick to tear the last drop out from you, even than it would be very effective even today. In short, you can get the same stuff in lesser time. Many traditional martial arts, including mine, have agressively incorporated the modernized training methods. Ie. we do the stretching the best way possible, not the way as it can be read from some ancient cave paintings. There is nothing technically wrong in the TKD kicks or punches, so they remain the same. More "soft" defence techniques are being teached, since pure killing techniques can bee too harsh to fit in many situations. No, we do not study groundwork, but hey, more time for studying kicking and punching! Yes, i could do the same in MMA school, very likely more effectively, as the time spent on some traditional forms would be replaced with sparring or doing pushups. But this does not nullify my current efforts, as the difference aint that dramatical. Its big enough difference to show up in an MMA ring, but far too little to make a difference in the streets. In street you dont have to be so versatile, the opponents that you will very likely to face will be very poorly skilled. Now im talking about a street of modern McDonalds country, not some ghetto in Brazil.

One thing, that tells a lot is, do they warm up (to sweating, exhaustion even) and stretch AFTER that. Stretching should happen from lower muscles to upper, every stretch minimun 10 seconds. This will eliminate many McDojos out there, which offer comfort and feel-goods.

Just got my 5:th gup last week and the physical training is getting tougher and tougher. My current estimate of BB graduation is some 5 years away, if i can keep up with the tightening grip. I study ITF TKD.

Silly analogy, usually in the past science people were not absolutely wrong, but their theory would have flaws when pushed to extreme. Ie. before Newton people knew that apple would drop from the three, but did not _exactly_ know how fast. Kicking somebody in their chest is not exact science, if you are not interested in the small details. Maybe the forces that break the 4 boards with your bare hands were taught to come from some mystical Ki, but today we now better. Still, the 4 boards will be broken, whether you take the force from Ki or from E=mc2. Every normal human being is born with 2 hands and 2 legs, this have been true for hunreds of thousands of years. Some of them people are strong, some of them are weak muscle wise. Every one of them WITHOUT TRAINING does the same thing when they want to hurt you, as people did in 100 000 BC. They hit, kick, bite, scream and whatnot. If you train any MA for few years in school, that is not McDojo, you will very very likely be in total control of that attacking person in matter of seconds. It is not exact science, but simply reacting properly, ie. jump aside and do sidekick. When trained you do it so fast that the untrained attacker has simpy zero possibility to counter your move (minimun non-trained reaction time, is 0.4-0.5 seconds, for drunken person this goes to several seconds). As you progress, the more you can even be able to slain people that have actually done something for their attacking skills. This situation is however rare, since these kinds of guys spend their lives behind bars mostly, or go 6 feet under when somebody pulls the trigger on them. MA will not be obsolete, until something revolutionary will happen to human instincts and its body, in other words, when the concept of human animal is no longer true. You could think the born of MA (in 3000BC or so, in the Asia) as the einsteins theories, you can refine it, but you will not revolutionize them. Timespans in martial arts do not compare with timespans of mathemathical science.

Id like to see some bar monkey to tackle my instructors! The process of going to that point would be something that already makes your point flawed. You are NOT going to just grab them, no you first need to catch that slippery rabbit. Of course, if they would have done bjj instead of TKD they would welcome the tackler with open arms, being good at the ground working. I take it we are not talking about two world champions from different styles starting to kill eachoter in the street? It is the terms which you fight, the fights i have seen happen out with big space around, parking lots, streets etc., it usually starts out in the bar but the fighting is done outdoors. Bar fight is always dangerous, since you never know which of his friends is going to hit you with the chair when you turn around. There is ofcourse the people that want to keep the initiative and hit with the cover of suprize and leave the scene. For this you only need to train your right hand punch, but problems may rise when this initiative is taken from you. When outdoors, (good) TKD practicioner would keep fight in his terms, keep the distance and kick the teeth out from the poor opponent 3 times in a second. This would not be easy in crowded space, but i cant see it being impossible either, often fighters get space around them rapidly. Im not talking about the olympic TKD stylists, which keeps hands down and only spin kicks, i figure they are very vulnearable even for poor skilled "street" opponents, but the people that practice TKD as an martial art and practice it hard. Such guy is capable of delivering good punches, blocking them, doing very rapid kick combos and just all kinds of stuff that makes it kinda hard to just going like "Hey, im now going to grab your nuts and poke my fingers in your eyes". Such practicioners are rare, because they would be just as good "street fighters" with half amount of work, if theyd practice something more all-around "effective" style and people with such mentality often decide to do just that. It still doesent mean that half of their work is wasted or that they are inferior because they needed to train harder. I think its just the opposite, good TKD skills are both VERY flashy looking, but if needed deadly as hell. I dont think their first move would be 360 degree double spin kick, MA people mostly know what is effective and what should be left in the showouts, but there is also real use for even spin kicks!