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We do the Chang Hon forms plus one additional form, Kodang. We're not an ITF school and we do the forms a little differently...some techniques are different and we don't do sine wave. I've been to clinics on all of them except Juche...was keeping up and learning the basics until I reached So San. Proficiency is another matter...I've had some days where I am embarrassed by my Chon-Ji.

Just did a break with the scissor kick this weekend...took 3 tries to get the board spacing right (i.e., close enough). Would like to be able to do 2 boards each side but I'll settle for 1 now. I didn't do much of a running start, started in a right front stance, stepped out with the left foot, jumped up with the right and did the kick. Height was just about chest level, not too bad for a 44 YO. Unfortunately, I managed to pull my right thigh muscle in the process...not as flexible as I need to be...

Some may frown on non to light contact point sparring but when a close punch to the face is a point you learn to keep your hands up...

That's what we work on...getting the toes pointed 180 degrees from the target. One other thing that we do is aim our roundhouse kicks on an angle from where we are standing (10 or 2 o'clock position)...I believe that if you do a roundhouse directly in front you don't get quite as much power from it. I've been told both ways on the body lean...on the one hand, it's OK if you have to lean to get the kick up higher but, on the other hand, it's not preferred because you can tend to telegraph the kick if you lean away from it. That's a nice goal but I have enough challenges getting my right foot roundhouses above the waist as it is, so if I have to lean I do it.

In the club that I go to, the reverse turn kick and reverse hook kick both involve spinning and kicking, but the reverse turn kick ends with a thrusting kick and the reverse hook kick ends up with -- you guessed it -- a hook kick. I like both kicks but my favorite is the reverse turn kick...very powerful and effective in sparring if done fast. The reverse hook kick is also great, but I don't have the flexibility to do it all that well so it's not in my arsenal...yet.

How is a spinning heel kick different from a reverse turn kick? Just trying to understand the terminology...

Congratulations!!

I never learned sine wave, but each time I see it it just looks too exaggerated for me...I think you can have plenty of power without all of that upper body movement. If I ever joined a school that did it, though, I would just adapt...in the end, I don't think it's right or wrong, just different. Good information on the scissor kick...I hope to do a break with it so I'm starting to work on it. Flexibility and getting enough height are the main things I'm working on now -- just need lots more practice.

I'm just learning Gae Bek...it's a nice form and it's definitely a step up from the previous one I learned (Po Eun). I like the flying side kick although I know that will take some time to get right. My weakest area is in the roundhouse kicks... What height do you do the twisting kick at? Fortunately for this over-40 person, we do that kick to the groin.

Definitely different forms...here are videos of each: Ga-Baek: Tae Baek: Check out the twisting kick in the Ga-Baek video...

Just out of curiosity, do your roundhouse kicks go directly in front of you or a bit to the side? Where I train, we are taught to perform roundhouse kicks on an angle (~35 degrees)...the argument being that the kick loses power if you kick directly in front of you. In addition, we also emphasize grounded/stance foot placement; in our case it should be 180 degrees away from the target. Primary target is the face, but for those of us with less flexibility, we shoot for the mid section first (to maintain balance) and work our way up as flexibility improves. From what I've seen, it can be a challenge to get the bottom foot around for these kicks (especially when you start from a front stance), but you gain a lot of power when the bottom foot is in the proper position. I really like this kick...the fake low/kick high combination is great for sparring.

When I say "no pads" that's none except a cup & mouth piece. Heck, I wear a cup while teachin'. ........Poomsae, even Forgot to mention it, but you're right...men don't spar without vital protection... I've never worn a mouth piece and that's never been an issue. It's most likely a good idea though...

The club I go to allows "light" contact to the body and no contact to the head. Pads are encouraged, but I tend to not wear them unless we are doing a lot of free sparring...I find my control is better that way...

Thanks for the video...the MT person had some real powerful roundhouse kicks. Reminds me of the move "Kickboxer" when Van Damme's character is kicking the tree... The TKD person needs to work on the placement of his reverse turning kicks -- those can be real powerful when done properly.

This was discussed in another thread: http://www.karateforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=25497

I must be very fortunate, then...the school (club) that I go to has specific requirements all the way to 5th Dan. In any case, I don't understand how a lot of people can think "that's it" once you reach 1st Dan...IMO that's just the beginning. Main difference that I've seen is that I have to take more responsibility for my training.

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it would be for insurance reasons... I go to a "no contact" club, so we don't do full contact in any case...and yes, I realize that no to light contact sparring isn't entirely realistic either, but at least we learn to protect the whole body instead of leaving the head exposed.

That's a good reason to differentiate between tournament sparring and the real thing... I hope that the people who spar like this in tournaments know not to really fight this way -- one hit to the face and you're done. In tournaments I go to, we allow for points to the head as long as there is no actual contact (for safety reasons, contact above the shoulders is a DQ), and if anyone dropped their hands they'd lose in a hurry.

I can think of several possible reasons, mainly because these don't happen at the club I go to: - Lack of opportunities for advancement, which IMO would be a problem if the head instructor was not a minimum rank of 4th Dan - Too many teaching responsibilities and not enough opportunities to get in good rank-appropriate workouts - Lack of variety (e.g., no weapons classes, no forms clinics or special workouts) As a 1st Dan, I tend to think that a lot of my training has just started...I certainly don't think for a moment that I've reached the "end of the road". Also, the rank progressions do slow down, but one thing that I've found about being a BB is that I don't think as much about promotions as I did as a colored belt. If several BBs leave a school suddenly, I'd suspect some kind of disagreement with the head instructor...is there any way that you could approach the head instructor about this? There may not be a problem, but if there was, I'd think the head instructor would be willing to explain it so that you don't get discouraged and consider leaving the school...

This is neat to watch, but to me it's more gymnastics than TKD IMO...

My favorite is an aerial reverse turning kick (aka jump spinning back kick?). It's not as fancy as the hook kick, but I can't do one of those too well...

To me, the beginning of the fight should be very close to the end of the fight. Also, if I'm in a street fight, it's only because it is really necessary, so anything goes... That said, I'd hope that I would only do what is necessary to immobilize my opponent so I can get away...anything more is overkill, and if I got caught after the fight, I don't want to risk going to prison because I used excessive force. A simple swift kick to the groin may be the best thing in that situation, then, as long as it's not hard enough to cause permanent damage...

I wish $500 was half my mortgage payment... At the club I go to, the BB test fees are $50 for 1st Dan and $75 for 2nd Dan and higher. Very reasonable IMO. I'd agree that $500 is pretty steep, but I'm not surprised that fees at a nationally-recognized school that has turned out olympic competitors would cost more. Now, as far as whether the cost is justified...that depends on the person paying, I guess...

After looking at the description, there are a lot of similarities to what I see in TKD (hard style, facing movements during katas, twisting of wrists during hand techniques). The one exception that I saw was the note Maybe someone else can explain that one... Also, if the school offers weapons classes, that would be a plus as well. I've taken classes in short staff, arnis, sai, and I'm currently taking a bokken sword class, and I've enjoyed them all. I'd agree with AndrewGreen...IMO what you get out of MA classes is more important than what style you are studying.

I can't speak for the style (I haven't tried training in different styles yet), but the things about the school that you mentioned sound like the club I go to (train hard, affordable price, heard by word of mouth). Based on that, I'd say that the school is definitely worth considering...