IcemanSK

I absolutely agree. GM Kyu Hyung LEE, a legend in Kukki-TKD, became president a few years back. I think he saw how awful things were & stepped down. He was only president for about 2 1/2 months.

I guess what I'd like to change is what I've heard said that TKD is a good "foundation" style; a style to start an MA career with, and then use as a springboard into other styles. TKD has plenty to offer as an enriched Martial Art on its own. Yeah, that' gets to me as well. Among Kukki-TKD folks in Korea, there has been a change over the last 20+ years that has been unhelpful. Instead of asking one's (or one's instructor's) Kwan affiliation, they now focus on where a person (or their master) went through which college TKD program went to. While that might seem like not much of a distinction, it is. These Korean TKD college programs become fraternities that exclude others who went elsewhere. So any master not a graduate of a Korean college TKD program is at a huge disadvantage, to put it mildly. Also, Korean politicians, not TKD people are now in charge of Kukkiwon. Their ideas are contrary to the betterment of TKD. There has been a revolving door of presidents of the last several years. Very sad.

[/quote I have a renshi from them I'm not much for wearing unique belts that stand out, but I have to say that Eosin Panther does amazing work with the most intricate of belts. My MIL's father ran textile mills in 3 countries. She has a great eye for quality threadwork. She's really impressed with my EP belts.

I suppose this leads nicely into my second perception I'd like to change * Not all TKD is Olympic TKD. If you put myself, bushido_man96 and IcemanSK, in a room together we'd all be doing something different. Taekwondo was the name given to a group of martial arts and depending on which lineage you come from there can be some big differences. But anyway whilst I do agree that the Olympic rules have helped create something that is predominantly leg based, there is much more to TKD than just legs. In the Olympics you are looking at a small part of a subsection. How one tournament circuit is set up isn't really representative of Taekwondo as a whole. ITF TKD, Kukki-TKD (not WTF) or Traditional TKD tend to be much closer to Karate with the way they kick and the idea of "one hit, one kill" is fundamental to them. Not to plug my own stuff or anything but I did write an article briefly looking at this: http://www.karateforums.com/taking-a-closer-look-at-the-hand-techniques-of-taekwon-do-vt46106.html It's not a hard and fast rule but the WTF and the majority of independents tend to go with "Taekwondo" and ITF with either "Taekwon-Do" or "Tae Kwon Do". In my head I think I use Taekwondo to refer to the group of styles and then the ITF spelling to refer to the specific style that I do. I think the Western spelling is officially all one word though you can argue a case for the proper Romanization to actually be "Taegwondo". To quote Shakespeare, "what's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet." Just preference really The point that you made that I bolded is absolutely correct. I'm a Kukki-TKD student, but I don't do Olympic style sparring. I have trained in ITF-style, as well. I love the current KKW poomsae standards, but I focus more on SD than the sport in fighting. In the US, there are folks who's lineage is 100% TKD but they call it Korean Karate (My late GM did that for a Loong time). Some folks in Texas want to be so unique they call what they do "Texas TKD." About the only difference I've seen is that they count to 10 in Korean w/ a Texas accent. I wish TKD folks would stop ignoring the Karate roots of our Art. It certainly is it's own entity now, but it's roots are not 2000 years old in ancient Korea. I wish got respect within the great MA community. Here in Los Angeles, there is a MA history museum. The Korean Arts are barely acknowledged in the place, while smaller Arts like Kajukenbo (an Art developed in Hawaii in the 1940's) has it's due among the usual suspects there.

Any news on how he's doing? I heard about this where is happened. He was hospitalized. Asking for prayers & money & then....nothing.

Looking forward to the new one.

I'm thinking that, as the chessmaster wins more matches, his game suffers from too many blows to the head. Oh sweet irony.

Very cool story!! Thanks for posting it!

Very cool Patrick!! KF has been a great resource to me over the years!

I've emailed them they were nice about. I was able to order a keychain thru paypal. They said they were in the process of updating their site, in which people would be able to see the different key chains. I'm glad you were able to get what you needed. Their online & customer service by phone is top notch. Every time I've had an issue, I've gotten great service from Mr. Yi & company. Site still won't let me remove items from cart. I remember I did one trick one time, such as putting in the qty box -1 or 0 but still not working, eh no biggie, not in any rush for a new belt anyhow. But yes, their belts are top notch. I agree that they need to fix their site. Do you currently wear one of their belts?

FWIW, in Kukki-TKD the 8th & 9th Dan poomsae are considerably more physically difficult than the 1st-3rd Dan poomsae. Considering that one is not eligible for 9th Dan Kukkiwon until one is at least 53 years old, one must keep up one's skills if they are to perform them well. Testing for 8th & 9th Dan can only be done by traveling to Korea & testing at Kukkiwon itself. The way Kukki-TKD is set up, ideally, one would open a school at 4th Dan & be producing BBs by the time they hit 5th Dan. So, it's a bit different than sensei8's scenario. But as I said, what I described was an ideal. Under the close eye of a grandmaster (7th-9th Dan) it's possible to open a school at a lower rank than 4th Dan in the US...but not in Korea.

An instructor in my org. (a friend) has both of his parents as students for several years. Both are now BBs. It works well for them. I have 2 friends in my org who are co-senior instructors of their school. Each have children under 12 who are students. I asked one of them, "do you teach your own kids, or does your sister teach them?" She said that they each teach one another's kids, that way, she said, "they can be mad at their aunt for pushing them, rather than mom!"

I've emailed them they were nice about. I was able to order a keychain thru paypal. They said they were in the process of updating their site, in which people would be able to see the different key chains. I'm glad you were able to get what you needed. Their online & customer service by phone is top notch. Every time I've had an issue, I've gotten great service from Mr. Yi & company.

Forgive a question from a TKD guy, but when did renshi belts become the norm for 5th Dan+ folks? I remember seeing them in catalogues in the arly 80's (Bear Brand catalogue for sure), but I never remember seeing them on higher ranked folks ( like Fumio Demura Shihan), just a well worn black belt. Can you help me understand this? Thanks.

Exactly right.

I'd not fill it all the way with sand because if it gets that cold, then the base might crack on way or another. Would you be apposed to bringing the Wavemaster inside of the house, if there's room and your wife won't object?!? Cause, it would be a hassle to empty and fill the bag every time you want to work out...I sure wouldn't. Do you have a way to hang a regular heavy bag? If so, I'd go that route because it won't require water or sand or rock salt; just a strong beam to hang from. That might be the only option open for me depending on how insulated this garage is gonna be, because my fiancee would object bringing that thing in and out of the house all the time. BTW, I'm talking about the Wavemaster XXL. As a bag, they're more durable than the regular Wavemaster. I live in Los Angeles & fill mine with water & keep it in the backyard year round. I have that option, because of where I live. I realize not everyone has that option. I hope you can find a solution that works for your situation.

Thanks for sharing this story!! I've always felt that if we teach nothing else to children it's the value of working through adversity in one's life. This young man has certainly learned this well.

Korean martial arts often have a perception that they are this or that. Usually, the term Mcdojang gets thrown around often with KMA. OTHER than McDojang, (simply because Mcdojang is too easy & says nothing about the Art itself) what perception would like to change about your Art?

Sorry if I'm resurrecting an old thread. But I wanted to add what my TKD org does. We are Kukkiwon affiliated, but we differ from Kukkiwon regulations with our master & grandmaster belts. Kukkiwon regs say "just a plain BB (no rank stripes) but 2 lines of script on each end are fine, no matter what one's BB rank 1st-9th Dan. Kukki-TKD only has a posthumous 10th Dan. For masters 4th-7th Dan in our org. we have a dotted yellow line through the center of the belt (Picture a divided line on a two-lane road). 8th & 9th Dans, the line is solid. On one end of the belt, the appropriate rank stripes for that person are in yellow. The person's first initial & last name are in English on that same end, while our style, Taekwondo Chung Do Kwan, is on the other in Korean. These master & GM belts come in handy at large events that we have. I might not recognize someone from behind across a hotel ballroom, but I know their approximate rank easily. In my own dojang, I'm much less formal. I wear a plain BB (no rank stripes) with my name in Korean on one end & my style in Korean on the other end. Both my "dress belt" & my every day belt are from Eosin Panther.

Mooto makes a pull-over women's cut uniform that might be helpful for you. http://sangmoosa.com/shop/shop_goodsview.asp?Top=196&Steps=001960019900209&g_code=2014710174427

Congratulations!!!!

I've seen & done a few different styles of rank promotion. From very elaborate (w/ cakes, family & Ceremony) to simply being called up to the front of the class, asked to remove one's belt, a new belt given & class continues as if it were any other class day. I'm talking about BB level promotions with these two styles. The latter way was done for my 1st two BB ranks (at different schools). It was fine. Doing it that way seemed fitting. "Here's your new belt." "Thank you, sir." "Let's get back to work." Yes sir!" In my current organization, BB promotion is a big deal. Family comes in, a receiving line of other BBs & masters in the org. & it's a huge event. I like that, too. Others get to see share in one's success in the moment (rather than after class). For an introvert like me, it can be a bit overwhelming, but I enjoy it, still. I think its important for instructors to manage students' expectations about how they intend to award belts. By that, I mean letting students know what to expect with a BB rank promotion. Maybe not completely, but certainly "celebration or just another class" needs to be communicated by the instructor. I also think that it's important for instructors to gauge students' desire to celebrate them when they promote. It think it's especially important for younger students to have their instructors celebrate students' big benchmarks in rank. Even a reserved instructor that doesn't like parties, can have a party celebration in recognition of those testing.

I'm fairly sure they're an ATA offshoot. Instructors from ATA background went on their own within the last 10 years or so. We have other TKD folks who may know the connection better, but I believe that is correct.

One could always fill a Wavemaster with sand, instead of water. I don't know if anti-freeze or rock salt would degrade the integrity of the bladder inside the water bag. But, my thinking is that it would. But it's not my area of expertise.

I know there are exceptions that work out well. I've trained under 2 husband/wife teams in my 30+ years of training. However, I personally wouldn't want to risk the discomfort of a break up at the training hall. I'd recommend folks not date within the MA classroom.