hammer

- We also do co-ed sparring, although when we're praticing point sparring in preparing for our tournament, we tend to do more segregated sparring. - I have no preference, and I also like to spar people of different sizes (I've come to realize that bigger isn't always better) - I actually think it's good for men to spar women...overall, they tend to be more "strategic" fighters than men (maybe the lower testosterone levels have something to do with it...). It's also good for the women, since they need to know that they can effectively fight someone bigger and/or more agressive than they are (although I've seen women who are plenty aggressive when they spar as well). - Our club is basically ITF, no to light contact. Pads are optional but recommended (accidents can and do happen). Sparring is usually done in rings, and the black belts tend to stay in the rings while the students rotate in, so I'd say that we have a lot of supervision. If there are two students sparring, then the instructor tends to watch them more closely (especially if it's two male yellow belts...).

What version of TKD is it that kicks from the ground? In the version of TKD that I do, most of the kicks involve picking up the knee first, then performing the kick...

According to the following web site, one pound is around $1.80 US. http://www.xe.com/ucc/ So, for two lessons a week, Superfoot would be paying approx. $55/month. Not too bad IMHO. I'd echo everyone else's advice to ask for a few free lessons to decide. Where I go, we routinely give an entire month of free lessons to new students... One other word of advice...don't sign up to any long term contracts.

By paying in advance, you have effectively done the same thing as a contract. All a contract does is guarantee the dojo payment of a set amount over the term of the contract, typically one year. You have already done that, so of course a contract would be pointless... Except that the other side of the contract usually guarantees you certain things as well. For example, a contract usually states that it can be voided if you move, if you become sick or injured, or if they go out of business. You can stop making the payments under these circumstances. By paying in advance, you gave the dojo all the security it needs, but unless you also have a contract you didn't get any security in return. -- These are good points, but the key difference is that I didn't have to pay in advance, I only did so because I wanted to save tuition costs. In any case, my annual tuition was a small fraction of what orion82698 is paying, so even if I because injured and my head master was not willing to refund unused tuition (unlikely IMO) I would only be out a few hundred bucks. One other thing...if a school goes out of business because of cash flow problems, if you are in a contract requiring prepayment, would you really expect to get that money back? I'd think that you would just line up with all of the other creditors and hope for the best. Going back on topic...good luck with getting out of the contract, orion82698. Also, in the future, I'd stay away from any school that wants to charge that much over several years...I'm sure that there are plenty of good schools out there that have much more reasonable fees and terms.

Just out of curiosity, how many of you out there have contracts? Maybe I'm just spoiled, but I've never had a contract, only ever had to pay month to month...the only thing I did this past year was to pay a year's tuition in advance to save two months. Now I'm really dedicated to the club I attend -- I've been there almost 6 years now -- but even at this point I'd be reluctant about signing a long-term contract.

That's the way it is at the club that I go to...and as long as the standards are consistent, I don't have a problem with it. The way that the standards are at the club I'm in, however, it's very tough for someone younger than 14 or 15 to be approved for testing for BB...

If this is another way of saying "have confidence" and possess a "warrior spirit" then I'd buy it...but if you go in with a "take all or nothing" attitude you're bound to be disappointed and you won't learn from your mistakes... I've seen this competitive attitude in tournaments before, and those who have had it (and I'm guilty of this as well) don't end up enjoying themselves...and, in all honesty, if you can't have a good time at a tournament don't bother going... jctkd, what do you have planned for the breaking competition? Just curious.

This has been asked before, but I don't mind responding... Just have fun, try to learn something, and remember that because you've made the commitment to participate, you've already won.

Is that typical for a 4th Gup in your school? I'd think that the examiners would want to see the testers overall sparring skills (attack and defense). Each school is different, though. Congrats to both of you. If your school is anything like the club I go to, the journey from 2nd Gup to 1st Dan can be quite challenging...

I started in TKD about 5 1/2 years ago with my son (then 7 YO). I was only going to sign him up for classes, but after the instructor we talked to said it was only $10/month extra for me, I decided to sign up as well (I figured I'd only be sitting around watching anyway). After going for about 12 months, it was obvious that I was going to stick with it and that my son was not that interested. I kept bringing him to class, however, in the hopes that he would change his mind. When the chance to sign up for youth soccer came up, my son decided to "take a break" from TKD to play soccer. I was not surprised at all when he said that he didn't want to go back to TKD after the end of soccer season, and he hasn't gone back since. He still plays soccer in the spring and fall, and both he and I got hooked on skiing a few years back so he still has some physical activities to keep him busy. He's also been enjoying longer bike rides this summer and I may ask him about joining the school mountain bike club in the fall. My daughter started up in TKD about 1 1/2 years ago (also at 7 YO) and she really enjoys going. She also wants to play soccer this fall, and while she would not mind also going to TKD classes, the game times conflict with class times that she can make, so she will be taking a break from TKD. I believe that she will pick right back up with TKD after soccer season is over. She's also been taking dance classes for 5 years and will likely continue to do so for several years to come. I agree with jarrettmeyer mentioned; I would not be concerned if your kids don't want to stick with MA as long as they have some other type of physical activities to keep them moving.

Welcome to the forum, frightmaster! Your question may be more appropriate for the following topic: How long SHOULD it take for your black belt?

No harm in that...It's just a level of courtesy that is not seen much at all these days. I'd say that it's just a sign that your training is working...

You're correct about stretching cold...everything I've read about stretching says that doing so without a warm up does more harm than good. In the club that I'm in, we do things differently depending on the class that you're going to. In the first hour of our regular classes, we warm up with a set of hand techniques (sometimes with a few lower forms thrown in), then we stretch, and then we do our kicking drills. In our advanced workouts, however, the room is open before class, and you're expected to warm up on your own before the start of class -- so we do stretching right at the beginning. As others have said, the best thing for you to do is show up early for class and do some warm ups on your own -- maybe that's what's expected. If you cannot show up early, then you'll need to talk with the instructor. Just be respectful and positive and if the instructor is reasonable he/she will be able to give you some advice that works for you. Good luck.

I know that it's not a lot of advice, but the only things I can suggest are to just relax and have fun. One other thing that I recently heard in a sparring class -- even when you lose, you win.

Well said!

No disrespect intended towards your master or your school, but I'd be a little concerned if he's obliging any students who want to "pay for their belt". IMO, any school should have one set of high standards that students must meet before they can be awarded their BB. If students can't deal with those standards, then I'm sure that there are plenty of McDojo-style schools that are willing to take their money and give them a worthless belt... FWIW, I'd estimate that it took somewhere near 900 hours over 5 years for me to reach 1st Dan. I was eligible to test earlier, but I was put off for testing for 6 months, which was somewhat discouraging. In the end, however, my instructor was right in having me wait -- I was not ready.

We've done a few things in the classes that I go to. During the stretching portion of the workout, the instructor will ask the students (usually the kids) what each of the tenets mean and/or provide examples of each. We've also had some contests where the adults provide examples of following a tenet and the kids have to guess which tenet they are thinking of.

The club that I go to is not strictly ITF, but we do the ITF forms, and in Hwa-Rang we do roundhouse kicks with both the ball of the foot and the instep. In class, most of the time we do roundhouse kicks with the instep, and about the only time we get to practice kicks with the ball of the foot is when we do our forms...

I saw a 4th Dan try one of those once...she missed...it looked quite painful.

When can you retest? If you can retest soon (and you don't mind waiting), you may want to just take the time to heal. In the club that I'm in, students approved for testing usually test within 2 weeks, but if you can't be there for some reason they just put you off for another week until you can make it to class. That happened to me for one test; I was ill for a few weeks and I tested the week I was able to make it back. One big exception for us are the BB tests -- those come just once every 6 months. In that case, I've seen people just take whatever pain meds work for them (ibuprofen's my friend in those cases) and tough it out. In any case, good luck on your test.

Most of our classes are two hours long are all ages and all belt levels. We do have advanced workouts for red and black belts a few times a month, and there are a few classes for the younger kids (7 YO and younger) that only go for one hour. The classes are, for the most part, oriented towards the students, so I think the main challenge is for the Black Belts to get exposure to the more advanced "stuff". I do wish that there were more shorter classes available (my son dropped out after a few years in part because of the class length), but with all that we cover in a class I'm not sure how we could do it in less than 2 hours.

How many out there have had to do a break using a front punch? One of the 4 breaks I had to do for my 1st Dan test was a front punch through 3 boards -- I was able to make it go once in class, but it didn't go for my test (for the test, I was 2 for 4 in breaking -- good thing my other scores were good enough for me to pass overall). The break might seem straightforward, but if you miss the break (which I did 3 times) your hand gets pretty messed up. Fortunately, for future tests I get to specify the break I'll have to do...

Just tested and passed on Wednesday...5 years, 4 months.

Just had my test tonight...and I passed. Feels good to be a 1st Dan.

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