IcemanSK

It all depends on the instructor, honestly. For kids especially, Karate & Taekwondo are so similar as Arts, that point isn't going to matter. Some TKD schools LOVE teaching kids, as do some Karate schools. Some instructors are only vaguely interested in teaching children. As far as an ITF person attending an ATA tournament, that probably won't happen for several reasons. Lack of interest in seeing what the other side of the fence looks like is the biggest. There are many WTF (Kukkiwon) schools that don't participate in tournaments. I'm sure there are ATA & ITF-style schools that don't either.

Well, those 2 students were no closer to testing ( due to their lack of willingness) when I closed my dojang at the end of July than they were when I posted this originally in December. Their mother did tell me how rude I was for closing my dojang in order to go to grad school, however. After all, I "Owed it to them." Did I mention that these 2 students were both adults? It was nice to hear from their mom, though. Quite odd. As an adult, I try to not let my mom handle my issues anymore. I gave my students (not mom) a list of other schools in the area & said I'd be glad to go with them to speak with the master at those dojang. I've yet to hear from them on this issue. Although we speak on FB all the time. I think it was more important to mom than continuing on was to the students.

Well done Devin!! Congratulations!!

Yeah, I think a rope, a pulley, and some hardware to mount the pulley, is much cheaper, even with that, performing the old fashion stretches will be even cheaper than the rope and pulley method. I've found that the rope & pulley system requires a great deal of balance that I didn't have as a beginner. I've found that wall & a friend helped a lot more than the stretching machines ever did for me (& I've cheap ones & expensive ones). The other issue with the stretch machines that you sit down & crank, is that it's only one stretching position. It's, therefore, very limiting. We all know from our many years of training that we need to streth several different ways & different muscle groups to achieve split. We want to be well-rounded in our flexibility. I'd recommend a book called "Ultimate Flexibility" by Sang H. Kim http://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Flexibility-Complete-Stretching-Martial-ebook/dp/B001GCUM72/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451370711&sr=8-1&keywords=the+ultimate+guide+to+flexibility I wish you well.

I trained in full-contact rules from '94-'99. (Yep, that's right. Starting the year AFTER the 1st UFC debuted & the end of it's popularity). I trained w/ several world champs including Marek Piotrowski & women's pro boxing champ Chris Kreuz. I had one amatuer fight. I loved it, but I didn't have the desire to train the way I needed to do well. The UFC & Muay Thai exploded in the 90's & full-contact rules became less interesting to the public. I did get the opportunity to judge several amatuer world title fights of a young Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson (current UFC fighter fighting Johnny Hendricks in February). I met a lot of great people & loved the experience. Yes, it's similar to WAKO. In fact, I think WAKO still has a American rules/full-contact rules division. No leg kicks. Have to land 8 hard kicks per round. No knees or elbows. The best way to describe it is boxing w/ above the waist kicks.

I'm struggling a bit to come up with MA related goals for myself this year. Worked hard last year & tested in June, but then closed my dojang in July because I was starting grad school in August. It was kind of anticlimactic for me, but I couldn't run my dojang & go to school, too. I've tried to continue to stay in shape, but it's been hard. I spend a lot of my time typing & eating. I've become a veal calf. My goal is to keep my weight down & train at least 3 days a week. I miss teaching every day, but this is a temporary change.

Haha! Yes sir

Well, those 2 students were no closer to testing ( due to their lack of willingness) when I closed my dojang at the end of July than they were when I posted this originally in December. Their mother did tell me how rude I was for closing my dojang in order to go to grad school, however. After all, I "Owed it to them." Did I mention that these 2 students were both adults? It was nice to hear from their mom, though.

The subject of TKD organizations/styles is quite a Pandora's Box. Depending on where you live, you may have access to many or few choices of styles. Here in the Los Angeles area, Kukkiwon (WTF-style) dojang & ATA dojang are ever-present. ITF, for some reason, are few & far between. Just a note: Kukkiwon is the part of the organization that WTF (olympic Taekwondo fighting) gets their black belt rank. Kukkiwon focuses on technique, & WTF focuses on the sport of Olympic fighting. One can be a Kukkiwon school & not be interested or focused on Olympic fighting, but every WTF fighter in the Olympics has a Kukkiwon black belt. I've trained in TKD for over 30 years. During that time, I've trained in Kukkiwon for most of that time. I trained in ITF TKD for about 8 of those years. My only ATA experience is attending an ATA black belt test. If I were to quickly break down the difference between ITF & WTF sparring, it would be the difference between speed & flexibility for WTF sparring, & power & combinations for ITF. ITF sparring is more akin to the old PKA full-contact kickboxing than WTF sparring is. One can find Kukkiwon schools that do more like Karate point-sparring than WTF sparring. In terms of the question the OP asked about legitimate trophies earned; trophies are often rewarded for different reasons today than they were in years past. In the past, one would win a trophy for placing in a tournament. Today, big trophies are usually given for the schools who brought the most number of students to a particular tournament. Medals are usually awarded for placing a tournament in WTF tournaments today. I hope that gives you a helpful perspective. Let me know if you are interested in some specific info.

I typically don't pay very much for shipping. I recently ordered 2 black belts and it was 25 dollars to ship. The belts themselves were cheap so it was repetitious close to the same cost as doing it locally but the quality is something I enjoy. For me in Los Angeles, the less expensive shipping means I had to wait 2 months for my gear. The more expensive shipping (and it was a lot) got it to me in a week. I waited 2 months for a dobok. It's my favorite, tho. I'm betting that a child (even a teen) needing custom dobok may not want to wait 2 months.

Old school Korean hand conditioning with GM Hee IL CHO. My first master was a proponent of this kind of training. His knuckles were very calloused from hitting a Gwon Go (Korean for makiwara). I followed suit when I was a teen. I went on to box (beginning in my 20's). Because of mild cerebral palsy, I only have fine motor skill ability in my left hand. Now in my later 40's, I have the beginnings of arthritis & carpal tunnel in my left hand. I stopped doing the toughening drills about 30 years ago, because I realized I needed to save my hands as much as I could. For me, the damage outweighed the benefit that I might receive.

Moosolsa would most likely be able to accommodate you, but it won't be cheap with shipping. You may need to weigh that coast against having the work done on a locally bought dobok.

There's always these throw backs from the 90's. http://zubaz.com/ If you can handle Rex Kwon Do.

While I've seen birthday parties at schools done in a cheesy way, most kids birthdays are cheesy. But that's okay. What I wanted at my birthday at 8 isn't the same thing as I want now. Here's the thing, if a child loves training, why not have their birthday party around what they love doing? It also makes a positive connection for the child around class. I see it as a potentially positive thing.

A lot of teaching, regardless of what it is you're teaching, is personality. Some people can effectively communicate what they know and get people to listen and understand it far better than others. It's all in the delivery. On the flip side, some people learn far better from certain personality types than others. Some people are far more patient than others. Some people can't handle it when you're telling someone exactly how something's done, yet the student doesn't "get it" or still can't do it. Some people have one way of thinking, and can't change the way they express the way it's done; others can see the same end result and come up with multiple ways of achieving it. It comes down to personality IMO. You either have it or you don't. There's nothing wrong with you if you don't; and you're not a better person than the rest of us if you can. Everyone's got different strengths and weaknesses. The greatest teachers surely have their weaknesses too. You can't teach a personality or learn a new one. Yes, you can go from being an ineffective teacher to a very one, but it's not easy. Then there's levels - not every elementary school teacher can teach high school or college, and vice-versa. Not every great MAist can teach. Just like not every great soldier will make a great general, every great VP won't make a great CEO, and so on. To illustrate your point I think of two athletes in different sports. Michael Jordan (basketball), and Freddie Roach (boxing). Jordan's accomplishments on the BB court go without saying. He was an amazing player. After he retired from playing, he tried tried his hand at coaching...but he was terrible at it and miserable doing it. He couldn't communicate his passion nor ability into his players, no matter how he tried. He gave up coaching because, as good as a player as he was, he couldn't coach. Freddie Roach was a kid from an alcoholic & abusive home who's father wanted him to box. Roach was a tough-as-nails fighter, but not a world-beater by any means. There came a point in his career when he knew he had to quit the sport he loved. He then learned to coach boxing from the great Eddie Futch. Today, he's one of the most well-known and best boxing trainers on te planet. Not all gret athletes can coach. And not all great coaches can play. I think of Bella Karolli (sp?) the gymnastics coach. He has never been able to do MOST of the amazing things he teaches his girls to do...and yet...he is one of the best.

Very well said! There certainly are a lot of factors involved, to be sure. Size of school, time spent, one's rank, etc. The expectations on a 1st Dan are not the same as those put on a 5th Dan. However, if one is a 1st Dan and the senior student of a relatively new school are likely to be different than a 1st Dan in an established program where many higher ranked students are present. In an established school, a 1st Dan still might not get any real one-on-one time with their instructor in order to create that bond. Loyalty could be a mere verbal assent, rather than an active pursuit. However, I have a hard time imagining someone at, say, 5th Dan or higher, not asiring to have a close relationship with one's instructor where loyalty is in the forefront of the connection beteen the two.

At different times, it's been for different reasons that I've taught. My first master expected new 1st Dans to help out. After awhile, it became just part of the routine. In college, my 2nd master gave me the opportunity to teach classes of my own off campus for city programs. I jumped at the chance to make an extra buck. I had no intention of teaching TKD again, and a friend who ran a Karate program at the community center where I worked asked me to "teach his students how to kick," because, he said, "I'm too old to kick, anymore." When my boss found out I was a TKD 2nd Dan, she asked me to run a program. When I moved on from the community center, I enjoyed teaching & my students so much that I found another spot to hold class & continued after that.

This certainly exceeds loyalty to one's instructor and became famial bonds. Very rare in MA. Very nice, Sir. For me, loyalty has looked different with different instructors. I trained under a man who got an inopperable brain tumor while I trained under him. I took him to radiation treatments after our morning class. At first, it was because everyone else had to go to work right after class & I didn't start until later. I had the time to help him. We became very close friends during that time. I was with him when he died. The SK in my name stands for Superkick: his ring name & the name of that gym. I named my school after him. The bond there cannot be overstated. With my current instructor, I came into the organization well-seasoned. I try to go back to where she is once a year. The coast to coast distance (about 3000 miles) makes it hard to connect. We haven't had the kind of one-on-one time that either of us would like to create a strong bond. I realized that with the time I spend on forums learning things & talking to people, I can pass along the things I learn about politics & other news of our Art that may be useful to to her. A few of the items actually have been helpful. Its a small thing, but if it helps, great.

We're in your corner!!! Let us know how your fight goes

In traditional MA we talk about loyalty to one's instructor as being very important. What does that look like to you? Is it just staying at one school? Is it an active thing? Do you do something for your instructor (eg. Help out around the school? ...Take them to dinner?) Does it simply mean that you pay your dues on time & are prompt to class, stretched and ready to go?

I tend to agree with this - not because I think seminars etc are bad or useless - but because in my experience personally, seminars have been a method of further internalising techniques I already know. On occasion i will pick up a few new bits and pieces, but for the most part, there is only so much the human brain can take in within a few hours... I see seminars as a bit different (in my experience). I try to go and learn from people who to things differently than I do in order to change my perspective. I also go to experience someone who does what I do on a much higher level to reinvigorate my training. Taking a seminar from Bill Wallace on stretching changes my thinking, energizes my desire to focus on stretching & kicking, and reminded me again why I love it so much. If I wanted to just keep what I already know, I'd stay home & keep winking at that guy in the mirror that I throw kicks at.

If I remember correctly, they fould that many of those Seniors had rotator cuff issues because push-ups were really the only upper body bodyweight exercise these Seniors had done. They did them repeatedly for many years (as good MAists tend to do) but not really any others to protect & strengthen the surrounding muscles. Therefore, the areas of their shoulders & rotators cuffs became subject to repeatitive stress injuries (like carpal tunnel for typists) in their shoulders.

Having thought about it more, while I still think having a 16 year old CI is a bad idea, there is some good it in for him. He will a HUGE leg up on other young instructors if he continues to grow and develop. The connections he's made & the attention given to him will be nothing but a plus for him in 5-10 years as he moves forward.

A few months back, I saw an article on a study done about the long term effects of push-ups. They studied older MA Senior masters who's primary bodyweight exercise was push-ups. I've been searching for this study (including in "TheJournal of Asian MA" with no success. Can someone point me to this study, please?

One of the great things in our portfolio is a one-sheet monthly page (at BB level) where a student can track how many hours one trains, teaches, assists their instructor teaching, tests, sits on a testing Board, participates in a tournament (either as judge or competitor), seminars, etc. So each month, one keeps track of their MA career. All put into a 3-ring binder. Those pages alone in my 4th Dan portfolio comprised more than 50 pages of monthly training pages. My whole 4th Dan portfolio was probably 250 page, including everything I'd put in it. One thing I've found is that, when I feel burned out, or that I'm not progressing, one look through one of those portfolio at where I've been is a huge boost of energy to return refreshed. *Note* At gup rank level, the dated tracking pages are one page per year, and aren't nearly as detailed. If one goes to 2 classes on Thursday May 12th, that student would just write a "2" in the box for that day. Still, I've seen student portfolio when testing for 1st Dan/Poom that are 200-300 pages long with photos, & other info. It's great for the student, and great for their instructors.