ipscshooter

I think that this is your best idea. Don't force him, because then he really won't want to do it. It has to be something that he wants, not something that you want for him, or through him. If he loves it and misses it, he will go back. Well... Looks like that's the only choice at this point. He passed his red belt test yesterday. It was his final exam as a middle school student. He has had to take the lessons for the last three years, as he signed up for the martial arts lessons in lieu of taking P.E. class. So, continuing lessons toward black belt would be voluntary and on his time, rather than during school. He promptly informed me that he doesn't want to do it anymore. So, I guess, I'll just have to wait for him to decide he wants to go back to it at some point in the future.

I'm facing a similar problem now. My son started TKD lessons with me when he was 6. He worked at it harder than anyone in the school and was offered the opportunity to take his black belt exam when he was a month short of his tenth birthday. He failed based on his inability to perform one of the required breaks. But, he persevered and took the test again, nine months later, and passed. Shortly thereafter, he started middle school at a school that offered the Chuck Norris Kick-Start program. The instructor teaches Tang Soo Do kata and Chun Kuk Do (Chuck Norris' style) defenses and sparring. My son started over as a white belt, and has been required, since it's a public school program, to advance at a lock-step rate with the other kids. His prior experience made him a good demonstrator/assistant to the instructor, but he was not allowed to advance based on ability/mastery of the material. They have two tests per year and that's it. He's now been in the program for 3 years, and is about to test for red belt, but says that, after this he doesn't really want to do it any more. The school offers (FREE!) the opportunity to continue attending red/black and black belt classes after school while he's in high school and beyond. He says he's bored and getting tired of it after 8 1/2 years of lessons almost every day. I'd really like to find a way to keep him interested because (a) he's really good at it, (b) the high school he's going to doesn't offer much in the way of extra-curricular activities), © he's got an opportunity with only another year or two of lessons to test for 3 separate black belts - KickStart, Tang Soo Do, and Chun Kuk Do; and (4) JUST HOW COOL WOULD IT BE TO HAVE A BLACK BELT CERTIFICATE SIGNED BY MASTER NORRIS... I really don't want to force him to go. I've tried arguing that it would be a good addition to his College Admissions Applications to show that he is dedicated, persistent, etc. But, I don't think he's buying into that. I've tried explaining how important it is to maintain a decent physical fitness regimen and that martial arts is a great work-out. Don't think he's buying that one either. At this point I'm left with "Hey, there are some really cute girls in the class..." That one maybe has his attention a little... I'm hoping that maybe if he takes some time off he'll miss it and want to go back. But, I'm afraid he'll just get himself addicted to playing "World of Warcraft" on the interenet...

Our school is the same way in how we line up in class. However, regardless of the "order" in which you line up, everyone is expected to be treated with respect in accordance with their rank. You say you respect junior BB's as senior to the rest of the children, but not as equals to adults. Do you respect them as seniors to adult red belts? I have an extraordinary amount of respect for the juniors who have earned black belts at our school. They often amaze me with the speed of their techniques... I've caught quite a good number spinning heel kicks to the ear from one of our juniors... We had a number of young black belts while I was training. Most earned them at around 14-16 years of age. One young man earned his 1st degree at 11, and his 2nd degree at age 15. My son was the youngest ever to receive one in the 25+ years our instructor has been teaching. He earned his at 10 1/2. I agree with those who suggest that the black belt is symbolic of completing the school's curriculum, and do not believe that it should be withheld simply based on size. I watched the videos on the first page of this thread of an 11 year old's black belt testing, and he performed quite well. Testing requirements seemed somewhat similar to our school, except that our juniors only have to do three breaks at the black belt test. But, they must perform their kicking breaks using two boards rather than one. My son was performing most of the breaks shown in that video by the time he was an 8 year old green belt.

It also seems very similar to ITF-style TKD. In some respects, it looks like GM Choi cut and spliced TSD forms to create his TKD forms. My son and I studied ITF-style TKD for about 6 years. When our school went out of business, he started over in a TSD school. The striking techniques are very similar. The only large difference I noted was that the TSD folds in preparation for blocks were typically deeper thus making the blocks perhaps a bit more forceful, but also a bit slower.

What is "pure" TKD? Do you know which organization the instructor affiliates with, if any? Which hyungs/tuls/katas are you learning? Both the V-neck and the tied versions are doboks. Gi is, I believe, the Japanese word for the martial arts uniform. Typically, the V-neck is worn by WTF-TKD practitioners, while the tie-front is worn by ITF-TKD practitioners.

My son and I were watching Bloodsport III the other night, and I thought Bernhardt's technique looked a lot like TKD, and then I saw GM Hee Il Cho's name in the credits. After a quick Google search, I found Bernhardt's web site, and he talks about GM Hee Il Cho quite a bit.

Daniel Bernhardt received a black belt from GM Hee Il Cho. His movies include Bloodsport II and Bloodsport III. GM Cho appears in both movies, with a much larger role in III.

Assuming fighters with similar experience/size/conditioning/demeanor, how well would practioners of striking arts like TKD/karate/etc. fare against an Aikido/aikijutsu/jujutsu/etc. practioner?

That seems a bit harsh to me. I train hard, and I try to live up to the ideals of TKD and to not engage in any activities which would bring disrepute to TKD. The color is purely symbolic, the true question is regarding the heart and mind of the practioner wearing the uniform. Our instructor, a 6th dan, trained under Grandmaster Van Binh, the chairman of ITF's Masters Promotion Committee. He requires white only uniforms until red belt, at which time we were allowed to wear white top and either white or black pants. Upon achieving 1st dan, we are allowed to wear all white, all black, white top/black pants, or black top/white pants. I typically wear white top/black pants simply because I think it looks best, and the dobok pants are really comfy, so I wear them virtually all the time, and I'd look silly wearing white dobok pants, for example while coaching my son's little league team.

If you'd like to view katas, Master Mac's website has ITF and WTF TKD, Tang Soo Do, and, I think, some Hapkido videos. Here's the website: http://mchenry.homeip.net/TangSooDo/forms/index.htm