karatekid1975

I used to practice TSD before I moved (from NJ to NY). I do miss it But I only got to 5th gup. There is a couple of TSD guys on here, though, that are in the dan ranks.

Welcome to KF

Welcome to KF

It's (the site) is coming along nicely, TangSooGuy

I use IE as well (5). It does need to be upgraded though.

I like teaching (in my dojang, it's required for red belts to assist in class, at least, one class per week). It forces you to look at your technique at a totally new point of view. You really have to understand the techniques to show a beginner how to do it. It has really helped my techniques and knowledge of each one.

Mine, too, Jade. I just do a loud "HEY" most of the time. Or I just breath out sharply.

I used to wear the traditional jacket in TSD. Now I wear the V-neck. I like the V-neck because it doesn't come open (most females would agree on this one).

is that $125 for the 3 classes or is it $125 per month to do 3 classes a week? Oops. Sorry, I wasn't clear. That would be per month.

I pay $125 for three classes a week. Pretty expensive, but I get what I pay for. I have been to three different dojangs. My first one (TSD) was a good school (good price for that area), and I learned a lot (included was Hapkido and Thai boxing). When I moved, I went to a TKD school that I thought was sport and expensive. Then I went to another TKD place that was cheap, but ..... I got what I paid for. I recently went back to the first TKD place. Yes it's expensive, but I get what I pay for (the curriculum changed and it's awsome). Very strict (which I need), and the new curriculum kicks butt (includes Chin Na, boxing type stuff, throws, combat tactics, ect). I love it. Well worth the price

I agree, too. I've been training almost four years. I've been told that I have beautiful kicks, but I disagree. I'd rate myself a 3.

I started in TSD, then moved. Now I do TKD. I am the "reverse" of you. If I can be of any help, just ask I haven't competed much lately, so I can't help you there, though.

I was the first to start. I got my boyfriend and nephew into it. My nephew stopped, but wants to join again in a school closer to him. My boyfriend is close to BB now. I'm about six months behind him (I chickened out on testing a few times, plus I switched dojangs).

I also did third shift a few years ago (for two years). I enjoyed the paychecks, but my body felt the same as yours. JEM618 has good advice. When I started treating my third shifts like day shifts, I delt with it better. I slept till 10pm, shower, have "breakfast" and coffee (like some people would normally do at 6am), pack my "lunch" and take it with me. I work my shift, got home at 8am, and ate "dinner." I did all my shopping, washed clothes, ect till 1pm. Then I go to bed. Sorynn is also right about the sunlight. Try to get sunlight while you are up in the morning.

My first dojang wore t-shirts during the summer. I loved it It had the dojang logo on the back. We wore the bottoms, and our belts. It was much cooler, and allowed for more movement (for me anyways).

Maybe I should put Poo Poo-Do as my style, or Tae Kwon Doo Doo (no offense TKD people. I do TKD) to see if people notice

Since you are a white belt in TKD, dont expect much, but don't be suprised. Your instructor might "spring" stuff on you. My first school was Tang Soo Do, which was similar. I had to know the basics, term, basic releases from grabs, basic falling techniques, one steps for my rank, and 3 basic forms (I wasn't allowed to spar yet). My first TKD school was the same (minus the falling and release stuff, and only one form). I still wasn't allowed to spar (I had to start over ... different art), eventhough I had experience (modesty I guess ).

Ok guys, I'm not talking about dojo wars here, or bashing. I'm talking about the camraderie between martial artists. It does exist, more than the bashing does, believe it or not, as Red J was talking about. But yet, not just in the dojo/dojang. There is a few with those attitudes, Warlock, but I wanna know who experienced the camraderie and brotherhood through MA, and what their story was/is (flame wars not included). I don't care about the ones who wanna "test" you. They have something to prove. We don't. I just wanna know about the ones who are true martial artists that have the respect of other martial arts.

Wow, different topic I've been training for almost 4 years. Dang! I feel like a rookie, too. I wanna learn from Shorinryu Sensei Smart man he is.

This post was originally published as an article in a dedicated KarateForums.com Articles section, which is no longer online. After the section was closed, this article was most to the most appropriate forum in our community. As a staff member here at KarateForums.com, I am required to write an article. When the time gets close, I come up with several ideas. I picked one and started to work on it. For various reasons, I didn't finish it. Patrick reminded me about writing my article the day after attending a black belt convocation. Many of my old and current friends were to receive their black belts. I saw my friend Heidi (ninjanurse), who is also a staff member here receive her 2nd dan in the new (for her) school. I'm very proud of her and the rest of them. She gave a speech about her journey to black belt (and the journey to black belt in general). She inspired me so much that I wanted to write about my journey thus far, even though I am not a black belt yet. Though my journey has not been an easy one, I do have the strength to carry on no matter what happens, as you will read in this article. My journey started three years ago (October 2000) in NJ. I had a job that I thought was kind of scary at the time. I was doing security at night by myself. I thought that I should learn some self defense. I looked around at various schools. I tried one school out, but I knew after a month it wasn't what I was looking for. Then I found my Tang Soo Do dojang. It was a hybrid style of Tang Soo Do (it was mixed with Hapkido and some Muay Thai kickboxing). I thought it was perfect. I was hooked instantly. My first year there was a tricky one. Within a 4 month period, I had lost my job and found out I had a mild case of cancer. My instructor let me clean the dojang to pay for tuition. I was so grateful to him. So, needless to say, despite the cancer, I kept training. Then the summer of 2001, I was attacked. I had to use my beloved art for self defense. I was so surprised that my training, even though very limited, paid off. I didn't have a scratch on me. Then a month later, I had surgery for the cancer. I recovered quickly and the cancer was taken care of. I believe between my training (staying active) and catching it early, the cancer didn't have a chance to spread. I even tested for my 5th gup blue belt two weeks after my surgery. In December of 2001, I moved to New York. I didn't want to leave my Tang Soo Do dojang, but I had to. As soon as I got here, I started hunting for dojangs. Well actually, I began looking on the Internet in New Jersey. I found my current school's website. I checked it out, but never went back (until later). I checked a few more schools out. Finally, I picked a Tae Kwon Do dojang that was close by for convenience. While I was training there, within a year's time, I had a bad hamstring pull and hurt both my knees (one was because I was being a show-off. I deserved it). I pulled my hamstring before in my Tang Soo Do dojang, but it healed in about two weeks of modified training. So it definitely wasn't as serious as this time. I had to take two weeks off for that (plus two months of modified training) and one week for each knee injury, plus train with a brace on. But, I was determined to keep training. After a year's time there, I left. It wasn't for me. I'm not saying it's a bad school, it just wasn't what I was looking for. I only stayed that long because of my honey. We both trained together there. I just couldn't deal with the fact that it didn't teach much self defense (in my opinion). I took three months off from training. Within that three-month time, my Grandmom had a heart attack and needed surgery. I went home to New Jersey to see her. It took her a while to recover, because she is diabetic. But she is doing really well, now. I went back to the school that I found the website for. I was kind of leery about joining another Tae Kwon Do dojang, to be honest. But this one definitely wasn't sport. It taught me that Tae Kwon Do is more than kicking and sparring. In it's true form, Tae Kwon Do is a very good art. This school even taught more than my Tang Soo Do dojang did. I was shocked and overwhelmed. So, even though I was able to keep my rank from the previous school, I decided to downgrade to green from blue. Once I reached blue again, I was hired by my instructor to help out. Now that I am an instructor, my instructor wants me to advance faster. He put my experience and technique into consideration when he made this decision. I was scared, but agreed. Then I attended Heidi's convocation. After her speech and what she had to go though to receive her current rank, she inspired me to try hard and make my instructor proud with his decision. I dedicate my future black belt to my Grandmom for being such a strong person when she got sick and to my Dad who is now sick with liver cancer.

Thanks for your answers Unknown, I have seen one person like that, but the majority of martial artist are very respectful of other arts. Well, at least, in my experience with it. tufrthanu made a good point about the online bickering. They are free to talk down other MA's, but most wouldn't do that in person (some would, but not all).

Ok I didn't give a serious answer either. I'm a 10th dan in goof off-do LOL. Ok, that wasn't it either LOL. I'm 1st gup TKD, 5th gup Tang Soo Do, and 7th kyu Judo. Sorry folks. It's late and I'm in a silly mood

I'm a red belt, but that's in TKD. I am also a blue belt in Tang Soo Do for the last two years, because I moved. But I still train at my old dojang when I visit home, and I wear my blue belt (eventhough I am a higher grade) out of respect for my instructor and rank (at the time) when I do go back. I do not wear my red belt when I train in TSD, cause I didn't earn it there.

I have a question. I hear of people making fun of martial arts (styles, that is) on messege boards. But when my boyfriend travels for his job, he wears his dojang t-shirt sometimes, and when another martial artist see it, they bow to each other. It's like a mutual respect for the arts. Like for instance: last week, he was in the airport coming home from Dallas, and the security dude noticed his shirt. He just bowed to him and said, "How are you, sir?" This guy didn't know what art my boyfriend did, but he knew he was a martial artist, and gave him respect. My boyfriend did the same (this happened more than once). They talked about MA in general, then bowed again, and went on their way. I think that all martial artist, reguardless of the art they do, all respect each other. It's like a brotherhood. Have any of you (doesn't matter what art or rank) been through this or seen this happen?

In Tang Soo Do, we had: white, orange, green, blue, brown, purple, red, red w/ stripe, cho dan bo (black belt candidate, which was midnight blue belt), black. The kids had two more belts before orange. In TKD we had: white, yellow stripe, yellow, green stripe, green, blue stripe, blue, brown stripe, brown, red stripe, red, black stripe, black. Now that I'm prolly going back to that school, they changed it to: white, orange, yellow, green, purple, blue, brown, red, black (no stripes in between). I'm not mentioning the McDojo I went to LOL (OK, I can't "dis" them. I learned Judo there. That was kinda cool).