Sam

But main styles i think (as is my limited knowledge of Tai Chi) there are 5: Ch'en style Yang Style Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang) Style Wu Chien-ch'uan (Wu Jianquan) style Sun style- Sun Lu-t'ang (Sun Lutang)

Just to clarify- main styles as in types, or like sub styles as well?

Does anyone know where to get hold of the following: 15 volume "Encyclopedia of Taekwon-Do" (Published 1983; Canada) by Gen. Choi Hong Hi. Any help would be greatly appreciated (already checked amazon.com, abebooks.com, ebay, and done many book searches). Thanks in advance.

I have to say i dont agree about the matter of months - i dont think a black belt can be obtained that quickly even if the arts are similar (unless its ITF TKD and United ITF TKD - which are practically identical). But then i come from a purist TKD background- martial art, not a sport.

Several books agree with both, but most of what i read suggests June1 was correct - the colour would show how long you had been training as it would get darker naturally. So whats your question then?

Just an idea... not sure if this has been done already so i apologise if im stealing someone elses idea. Someone posts a question about MA in general, and whoever answers it posts the next question. 1. Where does the idea of black belt being the highest coloured belt come from?

My two euro-cents - once again... The body only has a certain number of attacking / blocking tools and there are only a certain number of ways of using these to block / attack a target, also there are only limited ways to apply effective leverage to a man shaped target or generate power in ur attack defensive technique.... therefore it should be obvious that most martial arts comprise of similar techniques at the basic level(punch)

One thing - u menionted TKD as trick heavy - its not actually true - its just alot of practitioners like showing off alot.... I would say it was far off from being the most effective but if you train properly it helps.... i.e. If you are at short range [grabbed, against wall, whatever] a good TKD student could execute a powerful twist / side / turning kick [choice] to the knee which would likely cripple the person for a short time.... But yes I agree the main use of acrobatics might be to spring over a fence while running away...

Treebranch - would just like to correct you [not trying to start an arguemen at all]. TKD is not sport. TKD can be practiced as a sport as can any MA involving competiton, however it can be practiced as a full MA as well [just with westernisation and now being in the previous olympics sport practice tends to dominate the west].... just adding my part sorry if that sounded rude wasnt mean to be

its all WTF style and it can get really physical especially [as i think is now true] since kicking to the head it legal.

i agree as well... well 2 things The main application of mastering all the spinning / vaulting techniques is to improve your in air control - that is a big reason for learing them it helps greatly with your other techniques [if i can pull a sloppy 720 turning kick i cna easily manage a crisp flying side kick at a good height is the idea]. With breaking ive started to find the same but wiht some competitions theyve allowed people to place the boards facing the ceiling [not in the main style i train but in cross discipline competitions] now dont get me wrong the axe kick is a great kick but its a bit unfair for breaking i.e. "oh look i can do a vaulting axe kick [for those that dont know its a somersaulted axe kick using our whole weight] therefore i win" it got a bitboring after the 9th person did a vaulting axe kick all the judges were like "great you can do possibly the most impractical technique ever on a board - have a cookie"... and one of them won because even if ur really good with a technique its difficult to generate as much power as someone who has their whole weight behind them.

to clarify tkd styles traditional ITF (original) fights side on shin blocks body side attacks. Back side attacks arent blocked you move the leg into an attack... WTF style use full facing and therefore usually shin block would love to go into more detail but got to run so sorry for the very inaccurate description.

Hello, just thought I'd throw in my part... Just to revive the comment master Jules made about TKD practitioners always going for fancy kicks to the head... I agreee - been doing tkd for ages now and the amount of people that think a head kick is more effective than a kick to the knee.... we practice all the time to kick high and powerfully and in various silly fancy ways that are ridiculously impractical and most tkdists think this is because we should actually use a 540 triple narabam to the body and head in a real fight.... yeah nice one. Sorry had to get that off my chest little things that get to me about people that dont think about why we train to do certain things and what they could realistically do. i.e. flashTKDman: "Yeah well I'm a 4th dan in 3 forms of TKD and ill destroy you with a 720 vaulting axe kick... just watch" man in the street:"Oh.... thats nice" flashTKDman"right thats it...Ayaaaaaaah!!!!....ow my knee" (*promply collapses in a heap*)

to clarify the notes - tae soo do - 1955 first major school set up officially using this name. I didnt say they let them practice karate... i dont think. Any other corrections are appreciated.

Saint - that sounded almost verbatim from the ITF (namely TAGB) handbook definition of black belt... Just to make my contribution - Three points... 1. If your instructor promotes a student to a belt which you feel they dont deserve then feel how you will but train with that person as though they are capable of the actual requirements for that belt 2.DLopez i actually think (not to start an arguement) you missed the point:but what if its a 13yr old versus a 30 doesnt make sense.... thats like saying what if its a grandmaster versus a young guy with a gun.... really the grandmaster should win on skill but obviously s/he's not going to. So i thnik the point stands all other variables being equal i would agree with the original statement ... but i do agree with what you said about tournaments 3. My main problem with black McBelts is that they go on to form schools eventually which scares me for the sake of their students. But ultimately i agree - its how hard you train and your own self respect that counts...

Just two things - when going above the horizontal with a side kick there is a slight difference in flexibility necessary to achieve a full extension and that required for either of the splits. During the splits (box splits - side on) the legs are exactly parallel: this is not true of the side kick it may be that your hip is simplyfreezing up at the end of the kick - this wont hurt but will simply stop your leg going much further - practice overcomes this.... One other thing the hardest high kick is probably a twist kick (bituro chagi) rather than the side kick which is relatively simply but just requires a different flexibilty than the turning or front kick (a reverse axe kick coming over the shoulder would also be difficult).

4.By turning away from your injury i acknowledge my mistake and do not insult you by offering my help. 5. I am showing respect by lowering my head to a height lower than standing, and kneeling away as a sign of trust. Two more points that occur in some books of tae kwon do....

Just a small point. tufrthanu its interesting you mentioned that TKD isnt based on Tae Kyong at all because you've seen the videos..... Because in the 15 volume encyclopedia of Tae Kwon Do by Major General Choi Hong Hi he states that it was one the the main influencing factors on Tae Kwon Do mentality and posture.... Just thought i'd bring that up. Not trying to flame anyone or start an arguement, just repeatingwhat i know. [oh and moern tae kyong is very different from ancient tae kyong]

In most European based ITF Styles the following is true White - Blue : 3 months between gradings [18 months total] Blue - black: 6 months between gradings [2 years total] 3.5 years total. in Tae Guk Styles [or most variations] a black belt can be attained in 2 years. in BTCB style [small group] a black belt can be attained in 10months [belt a month] or quicker [they give them out if they need instructors, lol.] It used to be that in ITF Styles training with M. Gen Choi would halve your grading time for the next grading but that stopped in 2002 when he died.

Korena martial arts developed over 20 centuries ago. The earliest records of its practice date back to 50BC where tomb paintings show men in fighting stances practising forms known as Taek Kyon. It is believed that the origins of Taek Kyon date even further back and originated as self-defence against wild animals whose defensive and offensive movements were also the subject of much analysis. Taek Kyon, at the time was only one style of fighting. Others had names such as Subak, Tak Kyon and so on. By 57 BC Korea had three kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekje and Silla) and, with a certain degree of inevitability, a strong rivalry amongst them led to the focus on the development of very effective fighting techniques. History, repeatedly, has shown that it is the victor who writes the script and this case was no exception. Silla won its wars against its two rivals and in 668 AD it unified the three kingdoms. Instrumental in its victory were the Hwa Rang Do, an elite group of young men who were devoted to cultivating their bodies and minds and serving the kingdom. Hwa Rang Do, quite literally, means flowering youth (Hwa=flower, Rang=young man) and the young noblemen of the Hwa Rang Do practised various forms of martial arts. The Hwa Rang Do also developed an honour code and it is this which today forms the philosophical background of Tae Kwon Do. In 936AD the Silla dynasty came to an end and with it the kingdom. In its place, Wang Kon founded the Koryo dynasty. Koryo is an abbreviation of Koguryo which Wang Kon sought to revive. The modern name Korea is derived directly from the word Koryo. It was during the Koryo that a new sport was given form. It was called Soo Bakh Do and it was used, principally, as a military training method. Drawing from the many different forms of martial arts which had preceded it Soo Bakh Do used bare hands and feet as a weapon and its intensity was such that it was seen as a very good way of maintaining one's strength and overall fitness. As a result its popularity spread throughout the kingdom of Koryo. This was the precursor to modern day Tae Kwon Do. Despite its effectiveness as a means of training for warfare however and its popularity with the peasants in the fields by 1492 it had almost disappeared. What happened was that King Taejo, founder of the Yi dynasty, replaced Buddhism with Confucianism as the state religion. The teachings of Confucius, imported from the refined, rarefied culture of China, dictated that the higher class of man should read poetry and music and the practice of martial arts should be something left to the less refined, even inferior, man. The Yi dynasty lasted from 1392 to 1910 and during that time the practice of martial arts and the code of honour of the Hwa Rang remained alive in isolated, stubbornly traditional cultural backwaters of Korea. In 1910 however Korea was invaded by Japan who dominated it until the end of World War II. The Japanese tried to erase all of the Korean culture including its martial arts. As is usual with such situations this brought a stubborn resurgence in the practice of martial arts which now, once more, had a very practical role to play against an invader who strictly controlled the supply of weapons. Along with occupation, the Japanese also brought karate with them and indeed the quick, straight-line movements which characterise many Tae Kwon Do moves today are a direct result of the legacy left behind by the Japanese army of occupation. After the end of World War II, when Korea became independent, several Kwans, or fighting styles, arose. These were: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Yun Moo Kwan, Chang Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Ji Do Kwan, Chi Do Kwan and Song Moo Kwan. All these Kwans were united in 1955 under the name of Tae Soo Do. Korea's struggle to re-discover its identity and many traditions was, with some degree of inevitability, reflected in the subsequent development of its martial arts movement and by the beginning of 1957 several Korean martial arts masters had adopted the name Tae Kwon Do for their form of martial arts, because of its similarity to Tae Kyon. The very first Tae Kwon Do students were soldiers because General Choi Hong-Hi, who is credited as the father of modern Tae Kwon Do, required his soldiers to train in it. The police and air force had to train in Tae Kwon Do as well. At the time Tae Kwon Do was still very heavily under the influence of Japanese karate and, indeed, many of its moves and style bore a very close resemblance to Shotokan Karate. In 1961, however, the Korean Tae Kwon Do Union arose from the Soo Bakh Do Association and the Tae Soo Do Association. In 1962 the Korean Amateur Sports Association acknowledged the Korean Tae Kwon Do Union and in 1965 the name was set to Korean Tae Kwon Do Association (KTA).

Hello, just like to start and say HI to everyone. I just joined literally five minutes ago. Been reading stuff here for a while and thought I could comment on this one. Just to voice my opinion on this one. If he teached traditional Tae Kwon Do International recognised ITF Style TKD and the lesson is for beginners you will likely end up with a lot of line work, some basic 3 step sparring maybe a bit of free sparring or 1for1 sparring [not sure how popular that is in america]. As regards your sparring - ITF differs from WTF greatly in that the use of hands are allowed and the contact should be [for most cases] semi contact [as unlike wtf chest protection isnt worn]. Also ITF styles greatly favour front leg attacks with a side kick being the most commonly user probing technique. Most of the better sparrers [for points] tend to keep the leg chambered in the side kick [yop chagi] position and consectutively kick [yonsok chagi] at varying heights drawing the guard and then without placing the foot down following through with an axe kick [naeryo chagi] and a flurry of hand and foot techniques to the mid / body section [kaunde]. If you have epxerience in Martial Arts [which you obviously do] and the instructors class is not huge such that he is unable to concetrate that much on one student, you may end up doing some jumping kicks [twigi chagi] along with any other experienced students. Generally these should be performed without a hop before the jump at all from an L stance [niunja sogi] [if you do karate its pretty similar to Cat stance ive been told], with the legs a shoulder width and a half apart in the shape of an L with the base of the heels lining up with 70% of the weight on the back leg and 30% on the front. Favourite jumping kicks: side, reverse side, turning, reverse turning [leg should be completely straight througout]; 360 reverse turning for fun, double 45 kick. Hope this helps - flexibility and plyometric strength are the things that will help you most in Tae Kwon Do. does that answer your questions?