to better explain. My (former) school doesn't teach weapons at all except some knife defense training on Saturday morning. They gave me some books with forms, but the training I do now (full contact sparing with armor and rattan weapons) doesn't fit well to me with Tang Soo Do. I would like to persue some formal 'eastern' training, as my group basses its techniques on 'western' medieval styles. This might make the crossover more intuitive. Thinking about it, when I spar with other long weapons like spears or any type of 'polearm', I use TSD techniques. Most of my sparring, and thus my quick comment, is done against people with single handed swords and shields. The shield thing causes all sorts of difficulty and the extreme modification of technique. I can stay out of range and use intuitive techniques only on less skilled opponents. A competent fighter with a shield will nullify these techniques for the time it takes to close range. I fight with a 7' weapon while touching the opponent/shield. My 'killing range' is either outside or 'in my opponents shorts'. The 'killing range' of a 2 1/2' sword is usually a foot or 3 away. I does seem strange that a 7' weapon can 'get inside' the effective range of a much shorter weapon, but it seems to work for me and the people who look to me for advice.
