taekwonho

No I would never do anything to upset the Grandmaster that owns my chain of schools. He's an 8th degree blackbelt and voted the worlds fastest kicker. I have developed too much respect for the master I train under and I have alot of respect for the Grandmaster. He's from Korea and I guess to him since he is in his house to train then you should leave your previous training at the door. I would not wear a bujinkan patch to the dojang out of respect not fear. To me I don't care if it is Karate since I like the people I train with so much. I repect the fact that people that cause problems at the dojang are banished since it's obviously not just about money to them. I have been short several times for testing and they allow me to pay when I have it. I also respect that I am not forced to test if I am not ready. I feel sort of lucky since in the dojang I am really given an inside view of asian society and the true meaning of the spirit of the arts.

I was just reading backwards and I feel my TKD training would aide me on the street. I would rather be on the street with TKD skills than with nothing at all. You can have the best art in the world but if you can't use the move then it's useless. TKD is a rather simple art compared to Kung Fu etc. but I find it easier to use since I am not working with a bunch of fancy stuff. If your attacker is not trained in a martial art then chances are they won't know whats coming. I hit a guy once with a step over step behind sidekick once. We were just in a minor scuffle not a life or death situation but he never trained in the art. He said he thought I was just charging to close the distance to punch him and he stopped to swing back at me. He got kicked right in the stomach that collapsed him on the spot. It's irrelevant that I decide which kicks I should use in a street brawl. When I go to the higher source to attack the person whatever comes out comes out. My instant reaction would probably be smash them in the nuts grab their hair and knee them in the face.

I think the step over step behind sidekick, step behind side kick, and the step over turning kick are really cool for deceptive street kicking. I might even do a skip kick just to lay into them.

So basically Karate is added just to get you in the door so you'll take a class. Cool was just a little nag question in the back of my head that needed fixing. I did'nt have much choice as to which art that I would take in this area. Everything around is Tang Soo basically or Karate no Kung Fu other than this master from china that teaches in a community center. I just wanted to clarify what I have spent 2 years studying and defending. Karate is never mentioned in the dojang ever especially when the grandmaster is around. A guy showed up to testing one time with a Isshinryu badge on his uniform since he studied that previously. The grandmaster decided it was an insult to him and ripped his uniform off his back then banished him forever from the school. I feel my school is very strict but it also makes us better fighters and in the end better people. Thank You All

Cool that helps some since people seem to immediately rank me in with the Karate group. The only reason I hang around is because the grandmaster of my school is totally awesome in skill. I'm not too hip with the art but I have good teachers that really get into the deep mechanics behind forms. I've noticed my TKD school is far more "diciplined" than other schools I've visited. People accuse me of joining the Korean military. TKD seems like it was heavily influenced by the Japanese during the occupation. The uniforms and ranking system are also very close.

I've seen other schools in the phone book listed as Tae Kwon Do Karate or TKD schools saying they teach Karate. I see Tang Soo listed as Karate. People on the street have no clue about any of it so they don't matter. Sometimes it gets frustrating because I explain my art to them and they start a fight saying it's karate. I'm not taught any weapons and barely any self defense and Karate has all those.

I have a quick question that will probably be considered dumb but here goes. Is Tae Kwon Do considered Karate or what? The master of my school will shoot you if you call it Karate but everyone else calls it Karate. Karate to me would be considered Japanese and not Korean so I don't know.

In all sincerity I am a member of an ITF school and we have poor punching skills. Tae Kwon Do is primarily a kicking art from what I see. The master evaluating people at testing is looking for combos in kicking. Since we mostly learn to kick and work 90% on that aspect. The logic I hear is a kick is more powerful than a punch so you can do more damage quicker. It was explained to me that we can't punch to the face because it's to easy. They want us to be able to kick high enough to kick the head. Not many people in the adult class can kick that high so I don't understand it. I never kick for the head ever because it's too easy to miss. I am shown some punches like the ridgehand,etc that are never allowed in sparring. After I get my blackbelt in 6 months I am shopping for another art.