tkdkarategirl

That is absolutely insane. I agree with Ninja nurse...that's what I would do if it were a student in my class misbehaving, stop class and make an example out of them...why not do it for the parents as well? Additionally, I understand that as a commercial school, you NEED your students (and their parents $$), but from personal experience, you MUST be careful who you allow to stay in your school, it only takes one or two bad attitudes to make a school take a turn for the worst...

dllee, there is a thread in instructor central that is full of info on a martial arts ministry, you should check it out.

Just my humble opinion, but if you're learning a "martial art" for violence only, you're only learning the "martial" and not the "art." There's a distinct difference in a martial artist and a 'karate student.' My husband and I use our martial arts as an outreach ministry at our Church, we teach 2 nights a week and once we're ready (we only have 4 high ranking adult students, and one high ranking Jr. student, so we've got a while), we're planning demos in the community to bring in more students. If you can get someone in a Church for ANY reason, they'll be ministered to, if even simply through attitudes and fellowship, again, just my opinion... I know there is one student in our adults class that hadn't set foot inside a church since he got married, and he and his son are taking with us and hearing the word during our stretching, "bible study" time...

Luke 22: '35 He also said to them, "When I sent you out without money-bag, backpack, or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Not a thing," they said. 36 Then He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money-bag should take it, and also a backpack. And whoever doesn't have a sword should sell his robe and buy one. ' God doesn't want us to be unable to defend our families, our friends, our ourselves if someone or something threatens their (our) lives. gotta work... more later

Have fun with them! We always attempt to have at least one instructor participating with the kids while the other is correcting stances, etc. We walk through stretches and warm ups with them, answer up with them...We try to always end class with a game so we end on a fun note and they want to come back and work hard next class so they'll have the opportunity to play a game again (Dodgeball seems to be the favorite, we play a version where you are unable to use whichever body part the ball hits, like you have to hop on one foot if your left leg is hit, or keep your right arm behind your back if it's hit...). And for every one time you correct a child, you need to praise them twice...their egos are so fragile, so LOTS OF PRAISE!! And I agree, they're not little adults, and we shouldn't expect them to fully grasp a concept in one class, or even one month of classes, kids are ongoing projects!

I'm in TN, east TN to pinpoint it even more. I had actually already posted this topic in the Korean MA forum a while ago and forgot I had put it there...someone found the school I was talking about and posted it there... It's just strange to not be able to find ANY information on it...

how funny...that's the school I was talking about!!

Anybody heard of it? We have a school in our area whose instructors are certified through this council, but I've never heard of it, and haven't been able to find anything on the web about it...

YAY TANGSOOGUY. I guess it's just hard for students to realize an instructor/owner has to make a living for his family...and being a MA instructor is not easy on the instructor OR his/her family, ESPECIALLY when they're not making enough money to make ends meet because people aren't willing to bring new students to classes and then complain about having to raise monthly dues...anyway, off my rant now... I would visit the schools in your area and see what they're offering compared to what they're charging. Depending on how sure you are about your (or your child's) dedication to and seriousness about this venture, you can judge which price you're willing to pay... As always, the middle-range is probably the best, but don't overlook the guy charging $5/class who teaches in his garage, you're likely to get the best REAL training from him if his references check out OK. When our dojang was open full time and we were paying rent, we charged $45/month for unlimited classes throughout the week and recommended they attend no more than 3/week to give their body time to rest...

Anyone heard of it? A couple of my husband's former students decided they wanted to open their own school here...I don't question their ability to teach, but I do question their TKD abilities and when they said their instructors were all certified by this group, it made us wonder...we haven't found anything on the web about it (and I'm hoping they don't frequent this bulletin board... ...) I know organizations don't really mean anything anymore, but I thought it interesting that one of them is listed as a 3rd degree when she couldn't pass the 2nd decided exam for my husband...I guess if you make your own organization you can be anything you choose... Just curious.

I'd be interested in a TSD school around here, but we're lucky to even have more than 1 (insert any kind of Martial Art) school in our county... As far as kicks and TKD...I believe most "sport" tkd is 20% punches and 80% kicks...we teach a more 'traditional' style (Chung do kwan as well), and do our best to work with more like 30% punches and 70% kicks (well, you know it's hard to count percentages when you're sparring, but we strive to stress the importance of using your hands when sparring/fighting...). I don't much care for the WTF "olympic" style of TKD...to me it just seems to be a bunch of jumping around and slinging your legs around...but even some of the students I started with are that way...they won't throw a punch the whole time they're sparring you, and if you throw one at them they don't know how to block it...anyway, I think that style of TKD is....'ugly.' But that's just my opinion and I hope nobody takes it as an insult or anything, it's just not as graceful as a more traditional style... And I'm rambling so I'm going to stop....

Gays use purple, the color Christ wore on the cross as "their" color. Some groups burn crosses. The "wedding party" originated from way back when people believed demons would come to steal the bride away from her true love...the maids were there to confuse the demons and hopefully they would carry away the wrong virgin... Wedding bouquets used to be stinky weeds and ugly things to keep demons away... We're not going to stop using these Christian symbols simply becuase people started using them from bad, nor are we going to change the wedding traditions as we know them simply because they originated to keep demons away... Same difference...We don't need to let everything be off limits for us just because of where they came from (I've been discussing the yin-yang with several people lately...my theory is what's to say we can't take something with questionable roots and turn around and use it for good...if we're getting terribly technical about it, yin-yang is simply a map of the universe made way back when by chinese astronomists (is that a word? )... I celebrate Halloween and have no qualms about it....I know what I believe and I'll happily share it with anyone who asks...(oh, and they do... )

people side kick without pivoting their base foot ? How the heck do they not blow their knee out? (It seems it's a little more complicated than the WTF instep vs. the ITF toes pulled back round kick...) Anyway, We teach TKD and incorporate some throws in self-defense oriented classes, but that's really about it...My husband has some training in Kung fu, Aikido and various weapons, but he doesn't teach them along with TKD on a regular basis...

If you're advancing at a traditional tkd pace (belt testing every 2-4 months) you have no business sparring at all as a white belt.... I'm 5'2 and I get frustrated when I get hit, too...I get hit in the head a lot .....I've found if I stay in closer and keep my hands up a little higher than the average person, I don't get hit nearly as much...plus being close, I can execute kicks, but if my sparring partner has longer legs, they have a hard time fully executing anything (except for maybe a hook kick...)

Wow...I've always thought Martial Arts helped me feel more secure in who I am...I don't have to prove to anyone else what I can do because I know I can do it... What happened to fighting outside of class for self defense purposes only? A verbal attack is far from a physical attack, and were I a judge seeing the case of you 'assaulting' 5 guys (which I don't care who you are, that's stupid b/c you don't know what kinds of weapons they may have, especially if the place you live is actually as rough as you make it sound), I'd find you guilty of assault...I don't believe name-calling is illegal...Besides, as a martial artist, we are to practice self control. If I went out beating up everyone who called me names or said something not nice about me, I'd probably be like, the Godmother or something... (not really, just trying to make a point, I just don't get to know people like that so they can't get to know me... ) IMHO, It takes a bigger person to just walk away.