hammer

Have increased the distance to over 4 miles per run and getting out 4x/week. Feel like I push it a lot but I'm still quite slow... Main advantage for TKD has been on the cardio, I'm not sucking wind after forms or sparring drills like I used to. Kicks are another matter, feels like they are worse...

Congrats...is this like the Tough Mudder courses I've read about? My sister's husband participated in one of those. Seems like they are growing in popularity.

Bumping this old thread...I started running back in the fall to build up cardio and hopefully lose a few pounds. Ended up dropping almost 20 pounds so far (190s to 170s). I usually run 3 days a week with two runs of about 3.6 miles and the other a bit longer (4.4 miles). Had to take a break during the winter due to snow on the paths but I'm back into it now. This spring/summer I'd like to get up to running 10Ks and/or running for about an hour...and after that who knows. Only downside is that I have not been as good about stretching after the runs and my flexibility has decreased. Need to make the time to stretch.

Hadn't thought of it that way...if I had a student ask a question about a form he/she wasn't working on yet I would just suggest that the question be asked when he/she was working on the form. Guess I'm used to Chon-Ji being the first form since that's how it is where I go...

Never heard of them before, but they look like variations on what we do during methods of exercise when the class is crowded and we have to do moves in place. Do look like good exercises to work on technique.

Openly showing disrespect towards instructors should not be tolerated, especially by a senior student. I have heard of a few times when we've had kids act that way but usually I just don't see them around the club afterwards. Do you have any other schools that you can consider? Based on your posts you seem to have some doubts about the instruction and environment at your school...

You had an instructor refuse to answer a question? If I ever treated a student like that, especially a white belt, I'd be in serious trouble with the head master.

The TKD club I've been a part of for 13+ years has no affiliations...and they don't matter to me. The head master is at a high rank, so if I plateau at a rank in the club it's because I don't want to go further, not because I can't. If I ever moved out of the area and had to join another school I would not be insulted if I had to be a white belt in the back of the class. Would have to say that I'd make a pretty good white belt but who knows. It all depends on what you want out of MA...if you want some kind of "official" recognition then be a part of an association. If it doesn't matter then don't worry about not having the affiliation.

Never have in the over 13 years I've been doing TKD (our club is non-contact) but it sounds like a good idea... We don't work out on mats, means we do have to take care when doing takedowns.

I take it that red is the level below black belt? I hope you aren't getting taunted, and if so that the instructors do see that...IF that happens in our club the people involved don't stay around for long. Guess I don't like any school that has condones a negative environment and I would not want to be a part of one. Getting back on topic, I'll suggest that you seek out at least one BB to help you out with your sparring. Are you finding that you execute techniques but they are always being blocked? It may be that you are either being too predictable in your sparring...work on mixing things up a bit. One other thing to keep in mind is that punches are generally quicker than kicks, so don't be reluctant to incorporate them into your sparring. Hope all this helps.

Hope higher ranks aren't just saying that you can't spar...do you get any tips or constructive critique? Without seeing you in action I would have no idea what you need to work on. You should be getting advice from Black Belts or even higher ranking students in your classes. Maybe you could ask your instructor for some guidance.

Just looked quickly but here are a few differences between ours and yours... - We do the high reverse arc hands full speed - We only do a single nine block - We don't kick up as high when bringing the foot in for the W blocks IMO it doesn't matter if you are doing this or any form differently, as long as you strive to do the form the way it is taught at your school and you do it with precision and power.

While I can understand the source of your opinion, I would not confuse the TKD schools you have seen to TKD as a martial art. I've been a part of a traditional club for close to 13 years so I have never personally seen TKD as being commercial or flashy. Agree with others that say to wait to cross train. Changing techniques is challenging enough...to do so before you have even mastered the basics in one art (which is what being a 1st Dan means IMO) would not help you in either style.

A fair question, but with no real definative answer I'm afraid. I've seen soft kungfu kata win, hard shotokan kata winners, and yes, TKD winners also. Sometimes a good old, well done traditional kata wins, sometimes a more modern, made up kata. It's not so much which system wins in a tournament, but rather how the kata is performed and executed. That's actually the response I was hoping for...

We have a lot of more "mature" people who test for their BB...they end up joining with their kids and decide to stick with it. That was how I started at age 35, I wanted to sign up my son and it was only another $10/month for me to join as well. My son (and daughter) went for a few years and then decided to leave. I've been doing TKD for over 12 years now and look at it as a lifelong pursuit. Regarding how young, we have shorter classes for the little ones (ages 6 and up). I would say that 6 is the youngest if they are in a special class, and I would say no earlier than 8 or 9 if they work out with older kids and/or adults. As bushido_man96 said, any younger and they don't have the focus to get anything out of it.

Well, since you asked... As I've stated on this form before, I've been a kata judge and kumite ref of open, all-style tournamentssince 1979 or so and have seen hundreds of competitors doing all sorts of kata. Karate, TKD, kungfu, freestyle, etc. I have never been to an ITF tournament before, so I don't know what is considered "good" kata. So take what I say with a grain of salt. In my experience with judging all styles of kata, ESPECIALLY AT THE BLACK BELT LEVEL, I would give your performance a very low score. Why? Well, as I stated, at the black belt level I would expect to see good speed and power behing each and every block, punch and kick. There was none in your kata. You went thru the motions, which I'm sure were correct for the kata, but there was no attempt at putting any power behind any of the techniques. I suppose this is why we rarely see any ITF competitors at our tournaments, although they are always invited...as are ANYONE that wants to compete. Since you have judged at open tournaments, which styles have usually scored better? We do similar forms to ITF but we don't do sin wave...but I've seen sin wave forms that have a lot of power and speed. I don't see too many karate forms but ones that I've seen online can be wayyy too fast. I'm guessing it's done that way because it's the way the practitioners learned it, but if we did our forms that quickly they would not score well on a test or in our tournament. One can have a slower rhythm to a form and still show excellent technique, power, and balance. For the OP...I actually think these are pretty solid forms. May not be good enough to place in our of our tournaments but it would not get a very low score. From what I've seen of ITF forms you have a nice rhythm (as mentioned, it's not about speed) and your balance looked good. The main thing that we would do differently for more power is to retract more, i.e. not short cut the techniques (which you already mentioned). Only other comment/question is on your front stances...we usually make ours wider and longer.

I just stumbled across this statement...and it makes so much sense. Just hoping that I can take it heart for my test next week.

I used to be OK for my color belt tests, but unfortunately, I've been very nervous at every Black belt test...usually I'm OK until the day of the test and then I'm a basket case. Doesn't matter that with the exception of 1st Dan the BB tests for us are more a demonstration than anything else. Have my 4th Dan test in a month. Toughest parts should be just making sure I can get though all of my forms and doing my break (breaks during testing are tough for me). I know at this rank I should be more at ease, but 11+ years of training hasn't quite overcome 40+ years of perfectionism. Grrr...

I don't run into negative comments but my main response to any would be an invitation to observe a workout at the club I go to...

I've had the AdiLux shoes for a few weeks now and they are doing as well as can be expected. They are very light and I don't notice any weight difference when doing kicks, but I now have two issues... My feet get hot Even though they have pivot points it's more difficult to pivot my feet I'm hoping the soles will get less grabby as the shoes are worn more. I also need to find some good thinner socks that can help to keep the feet cooler.

I just looked at the form in the video...there are a number of minor differences in the way we do Won Hyo, but the difference in Mr. Suska's form that brings him back to center is around 0:51 where he steps to his left before performing the last two moves. In our case we come back to a closed stance after the side kick so we end up to our right. It's all good...

Same here...I've tried making adjustments on the extended front stances going back but I can't get back over either. One of the instructors I had would allow us to do the "Won Hyo shift" after completing the form so that we could get back to center for Yul Kok.

I've only seen the AdiLux in sizes near mine...I did look for the TKD 2000s but they appear to only be on closeout.The main reason I'm looking for shoes is to provide some support...I have problems with metatarsal strain/inflammation (especially after doing aerial kicks ) and the doctor recommended getting some shoes with support. Guess I'm getting the loss of padding that comes with age. Most places I've looked at have good return policies...there is one site that does charge a restocking fee on returns but I should be OK with an exchange for sizing. It would just stink to pay the extra shipping costs...did that once on hiking boots and I ended up being $20 out of pocket.

Sure wish I could get these in a store...but I have to look online. Prices are better but fit is a concern. Any advice on sizing? I'm a 9 in street shoes but I usually wear a 9 1/2 sneaker.

Our ordering is all different as well...many websites I see have Se Jong as one of the last forms but we learn it as 2nd degree BBs. I've now been exposed to all of the forms (we do 25) but after learning the first 18 or so it's really starting to get challenging to keep track of them all.