tufrthanu

Aefi i know at my current school higher belts can attend any lower belt class. So that doesnt really surprise me but the instructor should still not expect a yellow belt to keep up with the red belts in any event.

Actually Jiffy books are very important. Most instructors have several in their offices. Look around some time you will see them. They are very good for keeping and retaining information and getting different perspectives on how forms should be done.

Well I dont know what hoshins or gichos are so I can't help with that, however, there are plenty of books and internet resources out there for learning your form. Perhaps you could tell us what the names of them are so we could give you more specific advice? As to how athletic you are and how much you pay attention they should not be a big issue. You are there to learn, just listen to what the instructor says and try to do it...if you are trying and just cant do it thats not your fault...and if the instructor tries to make it your fault he's wrong.

Shouldn't hurt at all. Either your body position is not quite right or you are trying to kick too high...either way better not do it too much or you are gonna have life long problems.

I tend to have the same problem. What I found helpful was to use a bar and find the proper body position by raising my leg straight up off the floor, this will allow you to find where your hips and feet should be for the side at that height.

Hmm that I don't know.

Actually I think Kusanku was the name of the guy...kind of like Won Hyo.

Those are pretty much all the names Bushido...but you probably wouldnt find it in the Choi encyclopedia as I think that only has his Chang Hon set of forms in it. His original 1965 book, however, which I have, does list it in the back.

Sounds like Kanku Dai/Kouh Shan Kouh/Kusanku/Kong San Goon. Its in almost all the karates and some of the korean arts like tsd and tkd in some form or another.

You may also need to admit that after back surgery you may just not be able to do some of the things you could before. The hips and the spine are two of the main axes on the body and problems with either of them can reduce funtionality.

You can wear MA shoes.

Haven't posted in awhile so just thought I would say something on this because it is an interesting art. To Niel I am currently training in hkd and tkd at one of the traditional dojangs in the sw tc...been doing that for over a year now and its going pretty well all things considered...still a first dan though and have yet to test in at this new school. As to the break falls thing, they can be somewhat misleading. Those are more to protect yourself than anything else. In a real fight the person will just go down, or their limb will break. That is the whole point of the thing. Alot of the demos you see are meant to look flashy, and they pick people that are able to throw themselves through the air to make it look good. I guess what I'm trying to say is knowing how to fall is beneficial to you because you might fall down or get tackled. It's highly unlikely however you will get thrown, like you do in class, in a real fight.

I liked Hero...I found it very interesting with lots of colors. I also liked House of Flying Daggers. One of the worst but kinda funny was "They Call Me Bruce"

Well I continue to train because first dan isnt the end of the road. You also have to train to maintain what you've learned. You can't just stop and then 5 years later be able to do what you were once able to.

Have any of you ever gotten to the point where you knew the forms so well you did them from heart....then when someone asks you to show them how to do it you can't because its been so long since you've had to think about how to do it? It's happened to me if you can believe it.

well thats a failing of generally every tournament in the world. From UFC to stop-point. The rules of safety, fair play, and showmanship will always limit what is allowed...and by association who is allowed. Many people have trouble kicking over their waists for instance. This is a HUGE detriment in most types of sport fighting.

Well in the circumstances I would say he was justified. He doesn't have to ask the guy that is beating up his brother to face him before he can defend his sibling.

I've lost several street fights. Even after training for awhile I got into a road rage thing with a guy and he started shoving and punching me...I might have lost had not a nice bystander broken it up...the guy had already knocked off my glasses. Not a moment I'm proud of. Generally I blame losses on the fact that I'm fat...but in all probability it's cause I just got beaten. Unfortunately it's a fact of life that on your best day you can be beaten by someone far worse than you on their worst day. Training helps but sometimes it's just luck.

Perhaps you could create colored pips for the shirt collar. Like a dime sized cloth dot that could be attached with velcro. This could also be done with colored stripes on the sleeves.

Well I once heard John Paul DeJoria , who sponsors, Team Paul Mitchell, who tend to win alot of NASKA tournaments say, "I want people to realize the beauty of the arts and that its not all about fighting." ...And I was like..it's not? Kinda thought it was.

Well at my former school several people left for various reasons. Alot just didn't want to do it anymore...either because they viewed black belt as the end of the road or because they got burned out. Some left because the head instructor didn't do somethings that maybe he should have done...that's why I left. Others left for monetary reasons. BTW I don't know how anyone can say that black belt has the highest drop out of ranks. Most people drop around yellow or green belt. The only case I could see for black belt being the highest drop out is if you count people that are too sick, poor or dead to continue. As such since black belt is the last rank most people will eventually drop away.

Best of the Best is probably the most well known Tae Kwon Do film. Even though the guys in it do a range of martial arts. James Earl Jones, Eric Roberts and Philip Rhee are the stars.

I have Tedeschi's book. It's excellent. So what if he doesn't have affiliation to an org? That probably means he's more open to different techniques. My school belongs to the WHF and I think my instructor has Kwang Sik Myungs book. He said it was good but it looked a little outdated to me. Unless you are speaking of another of his books than the one I'm thinking of. As with any book I think it should be used as a supplement to training rather than as the source.

Taekwondopia sounds like it owes more to the word Utopia than it does olympia. In this case not a nowhere place thats like heaven but a taekwondo place thats like heaven. Poomsae championships could be interesting I guess but sparring will always be where the fighters are at. It could turn out to be like the forms competitions on the NASKA circuit...more gymnastics than martial arts and 15 minute long kihaps.

Splits do not help with kicking high. The reason is that when you are doing relaxed stretching i.e. splits your muscles are relaxed. When you go to kick your brain says no and tells your nervous system to lock the muscles. This is why some people can do very high front kicks but can't do a front split. The trick is dynamic stretching. Basically like rising front kicks only for your side kick. You will probably find that this puts most of the stretch on the base legs hamstring. In order to safely do these I recommend finding a bar or something at waist level. bend over so that there is a 90 degree angle between your base leg and your torso. This is bending sideways now. This will keep the knob on the outside of your leg from hitting your pelvis which is what causes alot of the pain. Then just do some straight leg rising side kicks. Remember to do them lightly and not swing them up with all your force. This will prevent serious damage to the muscles and ligaments.