karatekid1975

In my Tang Soo Do school in NJ, we had TKD people (black belts) come to our school. My instructor let them keep their rank, because he knows they earned it. But he would give them a time frame to learn our forms, ect. Usually a year. Then they would test for their TSD black belts. I think that's fair. If you came to our school as a gup rank (under black belt), he would start you as white belt, but he would let you learn as much as you could up to your current rank, then test you for that rank. We even had people come in from different orgs or feds (we were the IMA). A guy came from the International Tang Soo Do Fed to our school. He was allowed to keep his rank as long as he showed proof (cert, and/or ability). He knew the forms already, so he was allowed to keep his rank, as long as he learned our version of step sparring before he tested again. When I started TKD, I had to start all over again. Mainly because of politics, I think. I showed them everything I knew with good technique, ect. And I showed them my certs. They put me in a beginners class. I wasn't allowed to spar, or anything. Is this sort of thing normal with TKD orgs/feds? I never saw stuff like this with any TSD org or fed.

Hiya, Death. My dad always told me to never start a fight, but finish it. If someone is going to take a swing at me, I'm not going to just stand there. I'm going to block and counter. I'll leave it at that. If they come at me again, I'll do it again. But I would never start a fight on purpose. Or if it's just a guy with a big mouth, I'll tell them "I won't fight you." Unless of course, they take the first swing. Usually if you say it loud enough with people around, someone will break up the fight before it starts, anyway. If need be, I would only meet them with equal force. If all they are going to do is "swing" at me, then I'll block and swing back. If they try to choke me, I'll escape and use something that would equal that force, ect. If they have a weapon, I'll go for the kill.

Cool, Angus Bon, I'm the same way. I don't brag about knowing or even taking MA. My friends know because it's hard to hide it from your friends lol. Plus, most of my friends here (in NY) are ones I met from my school, so I definitely can't hide it from them lol. But, I don't tell people willingy, like people at work or something.

I do WTF TKD. What we learn is mostly for sport (high kicks, ect). But when we do technique work, I don't kick above the waist. I think about vidal targets when I do a technique. When we do step sparring, or self defense, I aim for vidal areas. I think about what might work in a real fight. Maybe that's because of what I learned in TSD. I learned to adjust any martial art technique to a self defense situation. So, it's not the martial art, it's the person who practices it that makes it affective or not.

My fav kicks is the 360, 540, and flying kicks of any kind for flash. But for sparring, it would have to be front leg kicks (mostly side, front, and roundhouse kicks). They are less "telegraphed". For target practice, it would be the roundhouse off the back leg. I was told that I kick like a Thai boxer when I use the roundhouse on targets/bags lol.

I perfer to step behind then kick. That way, your hip is almost already turned over where it's supposed to be. It generates a bit more power, too (for me, anyways). I also do the spinning hook kick, but I think lead leg hook kicks are quicker and less "telegraphed".

I was taught (in TSD) to kick with the ball of my foot. When I started WTF TKD, I was told to kick with the top of my foot. Huh? Ok, so I tried it. Ouch! It hurts. After that, I never did it again lol. I would think it would be personal preference. I perfer to kick with the ball of my foot, because it doesn't hurt and it's more affective (for me, anyways).

I show my love for MA by not griping about 50 knuckle push-ups hehehehe. Seriously, I keep going with my training despite the fact I have carpel tunnel in my wrists, and a farked up ankle. I push myself when I feel like dropping. I love the mental side of MA, too. So, I respect everything and everyone, and try to stay humble. MA music is dance music or techno ..... eeekkkk. Yuck. No offense all, but I hate MA music. I much rather listen to rock/classic rock/metal during training. Like Limp Bizkit's "Break Stuff" during a breaking clinic hehehehe

Hey, are we related, Spin? That's exactly what happened to me. I got more into the "mental" part of martial arts. Plus it was cool to see how far I could push myself (or hurt myself) learning new stuff lol. I can remember all the bruises I got on my arsh for trying the 540 and falling on my butt hehehehe.

hehehehe Spin Can't ya tell I ripped off the name from the movie? hehehehe

No prob, dude

I do TKD now, and I can do head kicks. In school, they're fun and flashy, specially to score points in sparring and breaking. I can even do a few tricks (540, split kick, ect). But I WILL NOT do them outside of the school. In a real fight, I'd kick low (nads/ tummy/ kidneys, ect). I stick to the basics (front kick, side kick, and low round house kicks). I agree that the head kicks are way too risky. You are just asking for someone to catch the kick and pound you.

I started MA for self defense. I was a security officer at a mall (where regular fights broke out .... eeekkkk). Plus I was one of the geeks that got beat on in high school lol. I started with TSD, and I was hooked. After just 6 months, I had better self confidence, self esteem, and looked and felt better.

Good Job. If he was just a bully like that (with no weapons, of course), I would have done the same thing. I'd just smack him around a little, not enough to do too much damage, just enough to say, "Hey, that was un-called for." You showed great control. You showed just enough force to match his force. If he had a weapon, I would have done more damage, but he didn't. Good decision, dude

When I first started, I couldn't kick above belt level to save my life, so I did lean back a lot. Now that I can kick head-level, I perfer not to lean back. Like it was said before, it's easier to recover and "cover-up"/block/strike. I do a lot of front leg (leading leg) kicks also. I call those "suprise kicks" cause I don't telegraph with front leg kicks (good for either self defense or sparring). I don't lean at all with those.

Hiya all. I like this site. Great job for those who created it. Keep up the good work About me: I moved to NY three months ago from NJ. I started in the martial arts in Oct, 2000 in TSD in NJ. Now I'm in TKD (yellow belt). Post and say hi. I'd like to get to know everyone

Hiya. Yes, you're right. I studied TSDMDK, and my old dojang was very traditional. Allthough, they did have and attended competitions and tournies, they didn't stress the "sport" side of MA. And yes, we did (for the most part) stress the spiritual side of MA (meditation, disipline, ki, ect). Tae Kwon Do is TSD's little brother. There are traditional TKD schools, but 8 outta 10 TKD schools put emphasis on the "sport" end of MA. I do TKD now (in a "sport" TKD school), but I still find myself consentrating on technique, disipline, meditation, ect. But I spar alot more now lol.

Hiya. I'm a new member. Eventhough I do TKD now, my first style was Tang Soo Do. I loved it and miss it. I moved from NJ to NY (Rochester area) and I couldn't find TSD near me, so I wanted to find a Korean Martial Art that was similar. TKD is TSD's little brother, so I chose TKD