coralreefer_1

Yong-In university is the most famous martial arts university in Korea. It was the first in Korea to offer degree programs in martial arts. Now im not sure about Hapkido, but you simply cannot get better taekwondo or Judo training in Korea other than at Yong-In. Whether or not hapkido came from a Japanese art doesnt really matter. My own research that I had to do for my own Hapkido final last semester told me the same thing. But if you are in Korea, and you can get into Yong-IN universities Hapkido program(the dont accept just any Joe off the street for any fighting arts) then I would have to believe you would be in VERY good company. And if you can train under someone with those kinds of credentials, then I wouldn't doubt their skill. But then again, anyone can claim anything about where they studied and their rank. If you can see Yong-In certificates on his walls, and rank certificates proving he holds that high of a rank in 3 different arts..then you found yourself a goldmine! But thats seems a little suspicious to me personally. There are not all that many 8th Dans of any art around, but to be 8th Dan in 3...hmmm..I'd check into that. Todd

This is very true. Of course there are many teachers who are just making a few bucks, and don't really care what their students learn. To me, that is a problem with the "people" and not the art. If we had that kind of power, we should change the "teachers"..not the art itself. You can still teach olympic style taekwondo, and only teach the competition aspect of it, and forget tradition, and still teach the 5 tenents of Taekwondo, and raise students who live by that philosophy. Believe me, I have met them. Fantastic at everything they do, and still respectful. My dojang in America, teaches by this philosophy. Each of my masters' 3 schools in NC are run Korean masters who all have many national titles and fantastic resumes from competition in Korea, Brazil, Vietnam..and so on. But the students that come from those schools, arent the greatest at competition, because my master has made a name for himself on focusing more on teaching "life" skills. Of course kids come there and learn to punch and kick, and those that want serious training get it, but they all are expected to get good grades, show leadership ability, be respectful..and so on. These lessons those kids learn at 10, they will keep their whole life. Some people in NC have bad things to say about my master, but the fact is while the students are not focused on competition, they are focused on becoming better citizens, and in the long run, that helps everyone. In fact, if you come into my dojang and say all you want to do is compete, he will not even accept you as a student.

I wouldnt change a thing. The reason being, taekwondo is the most popular MA in the world because of the way it is now. Sure, there are always people who want to "go back to the roots" or be more traditional, but because of what taekwondo is today, It has appealed to more people, and therefore, changed more peoples lives for the better. The vast majority of people that study taekwondo are not elite competitiors, or conceited fools that thing their high kick will defend them on the steet. But they are all better off for the practice, and exercise, and their children are all better by learning honor, respect, loyalty, and so on. To me, thats the most important factor..not creating great fighters, but creating great CITIZENS who are doing something they enjoy. In my opinion, changing it in the way listed above, while might satisfy those traditionalists, would make it very similar to karate of tang soo do, or something else. Just my humble opinion... Todd

Well folks..Jan. 21st has come and gone. Did anyone see this event? How did It turn out? I live in Korea now so i had no chance to watch it, but I'm interested to hear what it was like. Todd

Haha..i could have said the same thing in Korean. I could have said almost anything they wanted me to say in Korean, but when the instructor asked for people to do it, I did not raise my hand. But he called on me, and made me do it. I resisted as much as I respectifully could, but after being told 4 or 5 times to do it, i would soon have crossed the line. when a Professor and Master tells me to do something, I have to do it. The point, was to show those students, that there was an American here at the college, and he plays taekwondo. Any student could have said taekwondo is good, but they wanted to make sure that everyone knew there was an American. Thats why, when the guy came into the class with the camera, the instructor made me come to the front, as I always line up in the back of the class. But it was funny. My taekwondo family bwack home got a good kick out of it as well..even bragging that now they kne a "Korean Moviestar"!!!haha Todd

The following is a link that leads to a video that was posted on my college website here in Korea. This video, was shot to use in recruiting prospective high school students into this colleges Police Department. If you remember my post entitled "Losing Control" you will remember me mentioning this particular class. All of the boys in that class outrank me..all are either 2nd, 3rd, or 4th dan. With the exception of the boy beside me on the front row with glasses, none of them deserve their rank as far as im concerned. And most of them laugh at make jokes when they see me in dobak..although most would not last 30 seconds with me in sparring. I show this video, to more clearly make the point about these students. Even though they know their is a camera on them, and they are representing their college major, most are slack, lazy, and not taking it seriously. That is the typical attitude I have encountered here in Korea. See for yourself. I can be seen 2nd from right, on the front row. And at the end, they even made me say "Taekwondo is good"..haha. its a little funny!!! http://www.tk.ac.kr/200503/pop/vod/list.asp?n_part=15# Todd

As Kill Jill alluded to, I am an American training at a college here in Korea, and I can speak volumes on the differences. But most of what I have to say has already been said. I should stress..that there is good taekwondo in Korea, Like Kill Jill alluded to, Kyung Hee University, Yong In university, KyungWon university, and Keimyung University are the best universities for taekwondo in Korea, with Yong In being at the top of that list. I have never visited Yong In, but I have been to the other 3. I joined a class with the students from Kyungwon University. Those students were sharp..and I mean sharp, Each year more that 500 students try to get into that program, and only 40 are accepted. The man that runs that program( and I hope I dont mutilate his name here) is Seok Lee, and he is the secretary general of the Asian Taekwondo Union. As my master said when he introduced me to him last year, and I attended his seminar and trained with his students, 'He is a very heavyweight in the world of Taekwondo" His students are without a doubt the kind of Taekwondo we "outsiders" have been bread to believe exists in Korea. Back in November, before my birthday, I was honored with the chance to observe a class at Keimyung University, which is here in Daegu where I live. I have a few friends in the taekwondo program there and they invited me (with permission form the instructor) to observe a class, since they know I intend to transfer there next year. The instructor of that class is none other the Kyu Hyung Lee, who is the leader of the Korean National Demo Team, a 9th Dan, and a very famous man. I was impressed with his hospitality. He invited me to his office, shared tea, had a chair waiting for me to observe his class, and insisted on giving me some autographed memoribilia before I left. Students in programs like that, are some of the best. Students inside taekwondo programs at well known taekwondo universities in Korea, are everything we have be told they are. But as KillJill and I have discussed before, this is NOT the norm in the typical dojang in the cities. From my experience, most students in typical dojangs are much lazier, and more disrespectful than students in America. There really isnt a standard for promotion here. I think much like the "ideal mcdojang" that is often referred to, that is the standard in Korea, at least from my experience. Example: Last night, I went to a year end performance at a Salvation Army orphanage I work at. There were about 15 performances, 2 of which were taekwondo. The first was very young children, too young to really even good good at talking, much less kicking. The other was a group of boys betwen 16-19 years old. I remember when they came in before the performance, they looked decent, I thought I was actually going to see a decent demo. But when they got on stage, i was literally shocked. First, the did some basic punches, with as much focus and power of a child. Literally, it was like they didnt even care, they were not even trying to show power, weak kiap, lazy movements. Even the audience was laughing at them!! All of them are 3rd degree BB!!! That is typical of much of the taekwondo in Korea. So what is the reason why..there are several conclusions that I have come to... 1. Taekwondo is culture here. It's everywhere, and everyone does it, or at least, they go to a taekwondo class. Because its everywhere, it is not special to them. Its just something they do..like a game. Like the kids that play baseball at the parks in America after school. Most of them dont care if they get better at playing baseball..or basketball, they just do it for fun, because their friends are doing it. 2. In Korea, only children and young teenagers are doing taekwondo at dojangs in the city.. You will be hard pressed to find anyone over the age of 18 inside a taekwondo dojang unless they are helping the instructor, or going to taekwondo university. In America, at least at my dojang, its typical to see all ages, kids, teens, parents, even a few grandparents, in the dojang training. But here, once kids reach high school, their parents care more about them studying for exams that exercise, so after the age of 16(first year of high school here) you wont find many. And at that age, its hard to get them to take anything seriously. As was said in the earlier posts, it really depends more on the student level of dedication. But I seem to have met more dedicated students in America than here. I train at a college (a 2 year school) so its not a famous school by any means. , like at the universities I mentioned above . As of now, there are only about 15 students in the taekwondo program as a major course of study..and as surprised as I am to say it, I'm probably in the top 2-3 of those students as far as level goes. Am I great at sparring? not great but decent. Am I great at poomse? getting much better. Am I great at demonstrations? pretty good. I impress people in all areas, but the most important thing is my dedication..my willingness to show up for class on time, in uniform "everytime" When the rest are complaining because the leg lifts hurt, or they are tired of kicking drills, I keep going... why??..Because I left my family and everything to pursue my dream. Most of them, even though their skill is laughable, look down upon me because the think Americans cannot do taekwondo. That's the proud nature of Koreans coming out..that only "they" can be good at taekwondo. But the laughing stops when they actually see my taekwondo. The end result: If you are training at a famous taekwondo school in Korea, then you can get the best training in the world. But that is not the case in many places, and the average student doesnt even want good training. Most of them train just because everyone does. Its no different than in America..those that want great training seek out the great Masters, and they are the ones who are at the top of the game. But most in America just want to have fun, lose weight, enjoy time with family and friends..etc,,and I see nothing wrong with that. But i thing the average student in America is more dedicated, and takes it seriously more than in Korean(keeping in mind the age differences I pointed out earlier) But I do have a problem..with the many many 3rd and 4th dans men I've met here in Korea, who are all too proud to tell me they outrank me, but have the skill of the blue belt. Im sorry if this came across more as a rant that an offering of info about the subject at hand, but I have much to say on this issue..even more than I included in the post..if anyone has more questions..please feel free to contact me personally.. Todd

I never heard of a TKD person complaining or badmouthing a TSD person. From what I can tell..its the other way around, a one sided hatred from my point of view. But TSD people arent the only ones to hate on TKD, there are many others to go around. Frankly, its no different than people who hate America. They hate America for many reasons, but it boils down to..America is the strongest, and most powerful..(at least for the time being) so others have to find an excuse why to come down on America, so they can feel better about themselves. They will only broadcast media that shows america in a bad light, they will only show fat americans on t.v. or only tell news about american shooting each other, or having sex with children. Like when you were in school, and there was always one guy, he was the most handsome, his family was rich, he had all the girls, he was like the #1 guy. So all the other guys in school had to come up with some reason to hate on him, we would say..well...he's stupid as a doornob, or he has bad breath, or some other, just to make some reason why he actually wasnt the best, so we could feel better about ourselves, because we were not as handsome, and we were not rich. So taekwondo (whether it is sport, or traditional, or whatever) is the most popular in the world. There are more taekwondo school out there than any other art. So other people have to find a reason to crap on taekwondo..(its only for sport, or my students beat their students in competition everytime, its not practical on the street) People seem to forget, that EVERY martial arts school out there is a business. Guys that run Muay Thai and Jujitsu dojangs have bills to pay just like the guy running the Taekwondo dojang. That space isnt free, that equipment isnt free, and the insurance for a martial arts school for sure isnt free. Their school is a business just like any other business. So it makes could sense to convince people that your competitions product is not good, and since their biggest competition is TKD, it's natural that so many want to find fault with it. I'm not saying that TKD is the best choice for self defense. But that fact is, most people who are paying money for classes don't care about what's practical, because they know, most of us will never use it. We dont live in the 1700's where we have to defend ourselves on a regular basis. Most people just want to have fun, and explore something new. I've been in TKD for 12 years, and I can't recall a single person that thought that their TKD training made them some "unstoppable machine" I have met some people like that, but they thought that even before they set foot in the dojang. Those are the same people would would think they were "unstoppable" if they worked out at the gym 4 times a week, or if they took ANY martial art. There are many on this board that think they are unstoppable, and they arent TKD people.

Back in America, if a student did something against the tenents of taekwondo, or somehow brought shame on our dojang(by that I mean some serious offense like getting arrested for drugs, or running away from home for the teens) then he would take your belt(whatever color it was) and give you a "pink" belt to wear to class for a month or so. To get your normal belt back, you would have to go to the testing with students who were testing for new rank, and perform all the required elements up to your level, and then write an essay on what you did wrong, and why you deserve your rank back. To my knowledge, this never hapenned to any adults, I only saw it with kids and teens a few times. It wasnt something that happened often. Todd

As was said a few times before me..I think the best way to set this up is to catch your opponent with it when he/she comes in. But beware, if he comes in a few times, and you throw it and dont hit him clean...he's gonna expect it from you, and make you pay if you aren't careful. I've knocked 3 different guys out doing just that. I know they are trying to set me up..so I'll come at them a few times..them I fake coming in, and pull back..once they throw that and kick open air, usually they are wide open, and in this case, I'm hunting for head, not chest. It's one of my best techniques. A full on roundhouse to the mouth right as they are trying to get their feet back in good position will haunt them for awhile... But another strategy I like, is in a fairly large tournament, when you are getting 3 rounds 2 or 3 minutes each, I like to spend the first round basically playing defense, and acting like I'm retreating alot, maybe even taking a warning for it in the first round. Then I can sit back and watch his coach telling him that I'm afraid of him, and to come at me aggressive. So the first 30 seconds of the second round..again, playing the retreat game, blocking, just kicking a liitle to show the ref I'm still alive. Let that guy come aggressive and tire his body out a little. Once they think they have you beat..let him come in... and throw that back-kick. with that, . From then on, act like you are on fire, and give them everything you got. Dont wear yourself out, but show them you arent as afraid as he was gullible enough to believe. Being only 5'8..and usually fighting guys taller than me..this "scared" strately works well for me, they buy into it every time. Todd

Yeah, it can be a good idea if you play your cards right. I've never really bought too much from them, but the uniform I wear now, i bought from a vendor at a taekwondo tournament. I wasn't competing that day, just doing a demonstration for the banquet that night, so I was basically walking around all day. I wanted a uniform, but i didn't want to pay alot for one. So throughout the day, I would pass buy the adidas vendor. I would make small talk with him hear and there, ask him if he ever studied martial arts, walk away..come back later, just hanging around like I was coaching some kids in the ring in front of him. So at the end of the day, I made my move, and asked him about the price of the adidas v-neck dobak. He originally told me 55 bucks, which i just kind of said..ok..and left. I waiting until he was starting to pack up, and asked him about it again. He told me $55 again, but i offered him $40 for it, and he gave it to me at that price, along with some free keychain!!! Thats the best way to get something from those guys. People come up to their table all day holding things, kids swinging the weapons around, but I dont think they really sell alot unless someone forgot their equipment. So they are up and down all day wanting to make a sale. So if you need something, try to wait until the end of the day, and try bargaining with them!!! You might get a good deal. Those adidas V-neck dobaks are expensive, i never saw any less that $70 back in America. Todd

Im sure the "all mighty dollar" will dictate that decision. All christians have probably heard the phrase from the bible.."Is it easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to enter the kindgom of heaven" But I dont know one Christian in the world that would turn down all of the luxury we all work so hard to gain, in the sake of purity. So i dont imagine "purity" of the art wil lplay a factor in this decision. frankly..i would hate to be the guy who has to make that decision. it's kind of a no win situation. People will say he either "sold out the art" or that "he held the art back" from becoming bigger and possible better. Just cant please everyone...

You don't want to fight, period. If you have to fight, you want it to be over with as fast as possible. You don't want to stand around playing pattycake with some bozo because you have some concept of playing fair. There is no "fair" when you're fighting for real, there is only "ending the fight" and "keeping from being hurt" (if you can). I have to agree with that logic. The longer the fight goes on, the more time your opponent has to hurt you, pull a weapon, or have to distracted enough until his friends get involved. I've seen a few streetfights where guys that were not even involved, who didn't even know either party involved in the fight, jumped it, simply because they wanted to hit somebody. It was kind of like the "feeding frenzy" phenomeneon of sharks. They were just so excited by violence that they had to become involved. What if you were on the recieving end of a "dirty tactic" Would you still be repulsed by the idea of kicking a guy low, or pulling his hair, if that were done to you first? Just curious.. Todd

No offense to the original poster or his teacher, but come on..what does this new style have to offer thats different from anything else? I agree with the poster who said "its one thing to take a bunch of techniques from various arts, put them together, and call it a new style. To make the claim of a "new style" I feel there should be some new concept' like that poster said. It I take wheel kick from capoeira, , a roundhouse from WTF stlye taekwondo, an elbow from Muay Thai, , a cross from boxing, and throw in a few takedowns from Judo, and an armbar..can i really make the claim of "creating a new art" It reminds me of Krav Maga that is mentioned earlier. Is their really anything much different in this style that hasnt been done before? I mean, ok, you use techniques that have already been done in Hapkido, or aikido, or jujitsu, or some other older art, just done by a soldier defending against a gun, just cut and dry ruthless fighting. It seems like plain and simple defense to me, and I really havent seen anything in any of the videos I have seen of it that i haven't seen anyplace else. Just the Isreali government took the most effective tactics from existing arts, and called it Krav Maga. My point is, the human body is only capable of so much. There are so many ways you can turn your arm, align your body, set your stance, or whatever, to change the nature of any one technique. I'm sorry if it comes across as disrespectful to you, your master or his new style, it was not my intention. Just I'm baffled as to what this art might have to offer other than new forms or a new "training philosophy" that is of substance. How are the actual techniques going to be different from any that already exist?

Wow, that might be fun to watch. While I respect Chuck Norris for what he has done for martial arts over the years though, I think this idea will "flop" like the "XFL" did. At the start, the premise of XFL seemed like a good idea, but as time eventually showed, most of the games consisted of fumbles, dropped passes, and short runs, For people who actually know football, it was not very exciting to watch. I think the same will be true of this WCL. It seems like a great idea in theory..like the XFL. People who have been watching Pride and K1 for years will find this not very interesting. It might be popular at first, but i dont think it will last very long. I'm sure there will be some nice knockouts, but i feel it will lose its flare quickly. Just my opinion, but i wish Chuck Norris the best in his ventures... Todd

I made the mistake of underestimating a guy in a taekwondo tournament a few years ago. I was 25, and he was probably 35 or so. I was maybe 140, while he was probably 180 or more. He looked like he drank alcohol alot, and seemed slow to me. That day..I was nursing an injury I took sparring a week earlier, so i thought to myself "i hope i get matched up with that guy, because he looks easy to beat" I really didnt want a hard fight. Well, I got my wish, and he was my first match. As soon as the referee said start, the guy jumped forward with a front leg hook kick, that caught me in the back of the head and had me dazed for a few seconds. I wasn't expecting him to come at me so soon and agressive, and I wasnt expecting him to be accurate with a kick of decent power. I took the standing 8 count, and it really took all 8 seconds to get my senses back from that kick to the back of the head. I went on to win the match, but i learned that day to never underestimate anyone. That guy came close to "knocking me out" and the first 2 seconds of the match!!! Todd

I think that might be a bad idea. I dont know what arts those guys practice, or how good your skill is, but that seems like the kind of situation like this.. That's "those guys" area. So here comes this new guy doing martial arts. So they might be sincerely friendly with you, but it seems to me that they might just be a bunch of guys who felt like you crossed into their space. Maybe they are threatened by you, or maybe just the kind of guys who like to start trouble. So maybe they invited you to this tournament thinking you might go there and get beaten, just to "teach you a lesson" in a way. Maybe they think "this guy needs a reality check' I would be careful if I were you in this matter. Frankly I have always made it a point to not tell people outside of the martial arts world I practice, and try at the utmost to practice where people can't see me, because there are just some people in this world who are threatened by people who do martial arts, and they seem to think we all think we are great fighters if we are out in a public space "showing off' as they would call it. I used to practice in my back yard only during the summer, when the leaves were full of trees, so the neighbors behind me couldnt see me, cause it was a rough neighborhood, and some guy would surely see me and want to say something stupid. tread those waters carefully my friend... Todd

Wow, I'm sorry to hear you hurt yourself Jill. If you can pop a balloon, then you have some nice kicks. But when I do this exercise, i don't attach them to anything. I just get out in the middle of the floor and go. The point is, to kick it, and wherever it will go, to use footwork skills to get myself in a position to kick it again as its falling to waist level. Sometimes it goes straight up, many times it goes forward or to the side, but the reason this is a good exercise for me, it is forces me to use footwork and kicking skills similar to that of sparring. You have to move fast to get into position to kick it again as its falling, and kick it when it gets to head or waist level, whichever im working on at that time. Some people may be trying to pop them, but I'm just trying to kick it hard and fast, keep it off the floor, and keep kicking, changing legs, using single and double switches, trapping and counter techniques, just mixing it up. It won't take more than 5 minutes to get a sweat doing this way!! don't be disheartened by the tea incident Jill, give it another try sometime.... Todd

Koryo is a great poomse, and a fun one to perform, but there is one mistake in particular that really get me when i see it. I saw the kid in the video that was posted here some time ago do it, and I see it many many times. The side kicks you will do in this poomse. Too many times..i see people just slinging their foot into the air, not a side kick. As everyone here probably knows, a side kick should be properly chambered, with the knee coming to the body, and thrusting forward. basically using your butt muscle. the shoulder on the same side of the kicking leg should be turned away from the target. I see so many people just chamber, then extent their leg out, just extending at the knee, so its basically a roundhouse, they just have their foot turned into a side kick position. Also, I see so many people trying to kick 7 feet into the air. This is simply my humble opinion, but i think the chin makes the perfect home for the side kick. A proper sidekick at chin level looks 100 times better than a sloppy foot thrown into the air, turned sideways, at a target a foot over your own head. I urge you to look at that video that was posted, and you can see a perfect example of an improper side kick. But then again, that kid one 1st place for that poomse, so if you are looking to collect trophy's, his version might be better. Todd

I would handle is in a respecful way as I could. frankly I dont care about patches unless it's violating some rule within the tournament or organization. When it comes to this kind of thing..I like to take the "Humble Man of the Bible" approach. That is, to bow and say something like .."Thank you for your wisdom and guidance" and move along. If a master would say something to you like that..he either (A)outranks your master, and feels like your students represent him somehow, and dont meet his expectations...(B) Your students are better than his, so he needs to find something to complain about...© Or is simply a plain butthead, and just cant help but to share his negative thoughts. In either case, I would not argue with his..regardless of his intentions..and move on. Let the skill of your students speak for itself. Concerning "in class" disaggreement. i think it is always best to disagree with someone in private. I think that goes for lower ranking students as well. Higher ranking students, you deal with carefully because of their rank, and the egos that go along with a lower ranking person disagreeing, and privetly for lower ranking person too, because if to embaress them in front of others, even if someone else overhears, it could hurt them, and they lose respect for you, or even quit. But there is a difference in doing a technique is some poomse wrong, and having a real disagreement about something else. All situations should be tread carefully, simply because we are human, and should treat each other with respect all the time..not just in the dojang, regardless of whether the respect is returned or not.

Many times, when I dont have a partner to hold a target, I will play with balloons. Haha..let me explain.. I enjoy WTF style sparring drills. So when i dont have a partner to hold a target, I will blow up a few balloons, and kick them around. I use 3 different collors. One color, I use just plain mid-section roundhouse. Another color, i use one fast step rounhouse, and the 3rd, I use counter technique turning hook kick. I remember reading a book a while ago, a fantastic book called "The science of Martial Art Training", by Charles Staley. As the title implies, this book deals with the science, and mainly, the biology and technical aspects of muscle movement and training. One thing that I learned from that book that seems very important to me is the "muscle memory" it talked about. Basically meaning, your muscle remembers techniques, so to make throwing a roundhouse, or a punch natural, you must do it many many times. Of course, you need to throw it correctly, or your body will remember bad technique, but if you are in class throwing kicks at 70% speed, your body will remember that. So when I use these balloons, I make sure every kick I throw is at full speed, just as if I were sparring. It's not really a great substitute for a holder and a slap paddle, and I wouldnt recommend doing this everyday.. but when I want to train, and no-one is around, I refuse to use that as an excuse to not train. Of course, you can always practice forms and other things without a patner, but this is what I do when i want kicking practice and Im alone.

Yeah, i have a story to tell about a bad call. The last tournament I was in before I came to Korea. It was a WTF taekwondo tournament, though it was a "family' tournament. At these kinds of tournaments, most of the time the judges are students of the host dojang. At this tournament, even at the BB level, we were not supposed to make head contact, just stop the kick short. Anyway..i sparred this guy. He trained at the school that was hosting the tournament, but had left for college that year. 2 of the 3 judges at that table were from his dojang. Anyway, during the sparring match, I tapped his head twice when I wasnt supposed to..so i lost 2 points. I felt like even with the 2 poins lost, i still won the match. But he was awarded first place, even though afterward his own brother, and 2 people from the " most famous in NC dojang" came to me and told me i beat him. But I wasnt so bothered by that. But what really bothered me was the poomse competition. I was 1st Dan, he was second. So I did Koreyo, and he did Tae Baek. But he screwed up the form, and added moves that werent even in the form, not just 1, but 3 or 4 extra movements. But even though I did koreyo well, and he added movements, he still one first for poomse too. Even if my form were crappy, I did it correctly, so that alone should have gotten me first, but the 2 judges from his school dont even KNOW taebaek poomse, so they had no clue that he added movements and it wasnt correct!! It just seems strange to me to have students judging other students if they arent even of equal rank as the competitors. Theres my bad call story...

The thing is, here in Korea, age is more important than rank. In America, if the 13 year old boy outranks you..you bow to him to show respect for his rank. But here, its all about age. Even though most of those guys in that class are 3rd and 4th dans(though their skill is laughable) they are all mostly between 20 and 23. But I am the oldest student at this college, and everyone respects me for that, because in Korea, age is more important than rank when it comes to respect. But even though I'm older than those certain students, and even though my skill is better than them, it just left a bad taste in their mouth to see their hero(captain) made to look badly. Its been a few days since the incident now, and even though I still know I was wrong for losing my control, I dont feel as badly for that guy anymore. And frankly, I'm anxious for this the next class I have with them to see what kind of reaction I get. He was wrong, I know, but I'm too old to go complaining to a teacher because I got kicked. I've been kicked before, and I'll get kicked again. I've dealt with dojang bullies before, I've even had my rib cracked by one who was all so eager to kick the crap out of me years ago, but these guys are still children after all, and I think after this incident, they will think twice before they get froggy with me again. So after this guy went to all his friends and told them i kicked him in the teeth(I saw his showing his lips and teeth to his friends afterwards) im positive they will tread more carefully around me. But Im glad to know so many of you supported my actions in this case, even though in general, losing our temper is wrong.

I would be thrilled to test here in Korea, as was mentioned, not that many people get that opportunity. But for testing here, all i have to do is Poomse, and a round of sparring, and that is all that is required. At my dojang in America, we must do that, plus all the 1 step sparring techniques from all previous levels, about 15 hapkido defense techniques, 3 breaking techniques, your choice of a creative poomse or a weapons poomse, a 5km run, a writen essay, and what we call "Leadership Requirements" which basically means 3 months before your test, you must take a minimum of 6 lower-ranking students under your wing, and assist them with learning taekwondo. You must contact them at least once a week, and answer any questions they may have, help them with problem areas of their training. They must come with you to the testing, and my master expects you to know all about them. He might ask me what little "johnnys" favorite food is, or what "Saras" phone number is. The point is to display leadership quality. This particular master asked to test me a few months ago, but at that time, i was planning to go home for a visit, and had already arranged to test at home. But I had to cancel that trip. My master usually comes to Korea ever year with a bunch of his students around Thanksgiving, but this year, he cancelled the trip, because next April, he will be celebrating the 20th Anniversery of the founding of his dojang, and is busy making preperations for that. Frankly, I'm in no hurry to test. I'd be just as happy to wear a white belt as a black belt. But i feel like it would be disrespectful to turn this masters' offer to test again, so I will probably do it, even though I feel like I'd be getting off easy. Todd

First a little background. As my profile will tell you, im a 27(28 on the 15th) year old American student enrolled at a college in Korea as a Taekwondo major. I was scheduled to test last april for 2nd Dan, but I came to Korea instead. I was going to go home this month to America for a visit and testing, but I had to postpone my trip until next April. I was never in any hurry to test. actually several professors here want to test me here in Korea, and by Korean standards for testing, because i already know Keum Gan poomse, I could skip 2nd Dan and go straight to 3rd, but im not interested in that. I prefer to wait until i can test with my master in America. But Korean students are all to happy to smile and tell me they are 3rd dan, and I just smile to myself and bow to them a little and tell them my taekwondo is bad..haha. But they always seem to find it funny that an American is a taekwondo student, as if american people are to fat/lazy/stupid or whatever to be good at taekwondo. As it is my major, i take as many Taekwondo(as well any all the other martial arts my schedule will allow) classas as I can. This college has a Taekwondo department, the a "Security(Bodyguards" department, which have their very own taekwondo professor and classes just for them, and a "Police" department, and those students have their very own Taekwondo professor and clases for them as well. On Thursdays, I take two, 2 hour taekwondo classes with the police students, followed by two, 2 hour Hapkido classes with those police students. A few weeks ago, during the Police Dept. Taekwondo class.. the teacher had some hogus, and was calling some people up to spar. So the last girl he called..no-one would get up and spar with her. She tried to get 3 or 4 guys from the crowd to spar with her, but no-one would, so i got up and decided to spar with her, after she had already practically begged the others. Anyway, the teacher decided to have me spar one of the guys, who is kind of like the "captain" of this class. He's kind of a silly guy, but they all seemed to look up to him. Anyway..while we were sparring, he was acting very strange. ..ike a bird. I wasnt kicking him all that hard, but I was kicking at full speed, and tapping him, but not "full full" contract, but a decent tap. Well basically he never scored and I made him look bad. A few times, he came in with like some thing that looked like a jumping front kick, and I wouldnt move, just turn my chest, and he would miss and fall on the floor..literally. Well ever since then, some of the guys in that class have kind of been "gunning' for me. We haven't worn the hogus in that class since that day, but have done no-contact sparring many times, and a few of them have come at me a little too seriously. Usualy when I do no contact sparring, i spar like i do when i spar little kids, not even really throwing kicks, just kind of going half way. And when they kick at me..i raise my arms and give them the target. Well this past Thursday, we did the same thing. We were doing no-contact sparring. And this one guy decided he was going to kick me. Maybe its wrong that I lift my arms and give them a target, but its just play..right? Well this guy went and kicked me pretty hard. it was roundhouse kick to the stomach, and it really didnt hurt me, but was WAY to hard for "no-contact" sparring. Well I can speak Korean a little, so I asked him "Why???..and I made an "X" with my arms and said "NO TOUCH". Well his response was to laugh at me~! So then I basically kind of snapped. We went back to sparring, and I threw kicks full speed this time, and popped him in the mouth with a roundhouse. I didnt hit him that hard, actually i didnt really mean to hit him at all... but when you take a shot to the teeth, it doesnt take alot to hurt. Basically it was a culmination of the general disrespect and bad attitudes those particular students have given me, since the day their captain sparred with me. But the difference between that day and all the others, was on that particular day, we were all wearing safety gear. Now before we start filling up space with how dumb, immature, disrespectful, and immoral, against the 5 tenents of taekwondo, and I dont deserve a black belt, my actions were.. realize that I already know this. I know I shouldn't have acted like that. I'm old enough to know better. I apologized several times to him, and felt bad about it the rest of the day, and still today I feel bad about it. But i'm curious to know how many others out there have had a similar experience, either being the one who lost control, or on the recieving end of someone who lost it? In a sport like this, I dont think its very hard for our egos to get in the way of our better judgement from time to time. I've seen egos take over even in this discussion forum, so I know it has hapenned to many people at some time or another. So who else here has lost control and hurt(or tried to hurt) someone else in sparring? Todd