JWLuiza

There is a book about the post-war development of Korean martial arts written by Glenn Jones, a TSD master. It's a very good primer of the Hapkido, yu sool, Kong/Tang Soo Do methods. Interested in getting a copy, I can provide more information. -John

Hmmm. I'm not master level (or near it), but I'll take it as a compliment. You can call me John. besides, even if I was 4th dan, I was raised in a school that never used that term... Or any korean beyond counting for that matter....

In your TSD Hugal (Fugal) Jaseh, are your hips flush with the longitudinal axis of the stance, or do you have a 45ish degree of deflection? What about the front foot? Is the heel raised? Are your heels on the same line, or is your back heel off line with your front heel? That'll clue me in to your old school a bit...

So how is the training going? Welcome back to TSD!

I have to disagree with this statement. There are some styles that are just better. If you take two people of the same athletic ability, time, and instructor some styles are just better. Such as? I'll have to disagree with you. The higher up in any art you get, the more similar they look. Heavyweight kickboxers back in the 70s looked almost the same because of reliance on simple techniques. Chin na looks like intricate jujutsu and goju applications can look like a mix between shotokan with trigger points thrown in. But all in all, it is self defense... MMA might condition you faster to fight in the ring, but to say any art is better than any other art is just a fallacy because there is no platform that would be agreed upon to compare.

Koryu arts aren't commercial. There is an investment in the student and an expectation of behavior. Read books by Dave Lowry for further information. Kenjutsu is not a sport, it is a way to transmit Samurai Sword Fighting and will focus on learning anachronistic techniques.... Strikes in their kata will be at angles to take advantage of armor that no one wears any more. Koryu arts are like living antiques. The Koryu practitioners would say their vetting process is necessary to maintain their culture and their art. In terms of "brutality", I'm not sure where you get such information from. The koryu arts are closer to Bushido than any of the -Dos practiced today. Again, read the Dave Lowry books to gain a deeper appreciation for where the western conception of a "samurai code" came from.

See my post on warrior-scholar: Dando is a weapon, so the form could be one of many...

Don't know if you got my PM, I was just wondering who you train with in NOVA....

I voted for Tokaido, just because that and Pro-Force (14 oz) are the only ones i've tried. I've heard good things about the Kamikaze... But if you live in the states you should look for Tokon, not Kamikaze. Tokon is the US brand of Kamikaze. Good luck!

Well, that's a more moderate position. And probably more important for schools that aren't structured like mine is. I understand your concerns why it would be a problem, but I also agree with bushidoman, that a social atmosphere does not equal a McDojo... I also don't mean social DURING the training, but before and after. So yeah. I don't know why I argued so much against you... I sure as heck didn't find any datable girls in any of the karate classes I went to.... sadly.

I'm saying people find what they want, if they want McDojang, they'll find it, if they want traditional MA, they will find that. What I'm really getting at is that people will tend to train with people they like. The more time spent training, the more likely students are to find significant others during their hobbies. In fact, I would imagine (for adult) relationships that meeting at a shared interest lead to a better relationship than meeting at a bar or being set up. You can't in reality ban attraction or dating. As their instructor you have a say in in-class behavior and can say "No-dating", but it will still happen. As a competent instructor, I'd nip any in-class behavior problems as soon as I see them rear their heads, but open communication and building a community will lead to better training. I'm not saying they should be considered social occasions as their primary concern, but I spent a good deal of my teens/college years socializing after class with friends (AND girls!) from my training. You can be serious about your MA training and not have the need to play dress-up military man style karate. Dating and relationships in class brings with it a whole set of politics that can disrupt the class and bring everyone down, particularly when things go bad. I'd rather lose one student who didn't like the policy than three or half a class because of the ripple effect of dating in-class. I've seen too many examples of this to believe otherwise.

Karate is no different/better than any other sport/hobby. If you want to do it at a superficial level and be social, that's what someone will find. If someone wants to be overly involved and buy into it hook line and sinker, they will. The truth of life is, people like other people and get into relationships. Especially with those they spend time around. The more time you spend training, the more likely you are to find your significant other in the martial arts world. Disallowing relationships is bad business in this case, because people will date and you will loose the students if you "prohibit" in-school dating. I came up in a large organization where several couples have met and married. The only behavior that I would even consider listening to an instructor about would be in class behavior. Outside of class, there is no relationship unless it is a friendship.

Actually, KE = 1/2 mv^2 not mass squared. So a person with the same speed, but twice the muscle in an arm will have twice the kinetic energy, while someone with the same mass, but twice the speed will have four times the KE. Watch out for the fast big guys. The dissipation of the KE is what does damage. Damage is inversely proportional to the area of the strike and to the time it takes to transfer the KE completely (to accelerate the other body)

16 years

There are two issues here: 1. Generally, the color belts in the Kenpo system are thinking they are helping... and they are trying to... However, it could leave a bad taste in their mouth if a white belt talks back to them. If I were you, I'd just keep my mouth shut. 2. Color belts are instructing you! Unless the BB instructor told them to, you should be receiving your instruction from them, not color belts. I don't let anyone below brown teach if I can help it.

Drill 1: Take the one steps out of the downblock, straight punch paradigm. Apply from natural positions, instead of stances. Try to apply the one-step. Start off with signaling the attack, and eventually move to single attack half-speed sparring (i.e. attacker can deliver any kick or strike, but only one) . Adapt the one-step to a sparring situation. Drill 2: Take the movements and apply them from a close, grappling position.

I don't mean to be rude but how is it that your instructor has already taught you Wang Shu and Kong Sang Koon. I leard the the last one at my current rank of 3rd dan (and am still trying to master it) Wang shu I wouldn't learn until I've reached 5th dan (I have to get the invite for 4th and then master first). I know that each association is different but i know the complexity of these forms and at 1st dan level I don't think I would be able to master and perfect these the preceeding forms and learn the ones that came after. Maybe I'm just a slow learner. Bassai, Kong Sang Koon, and Chinto are possible forms for those testing for first degree in my school. Rohi and Wang shu (enpi) are possible for second degree. Different schools put different forms at different locations.

here are a few of the questions I had: Have you viewed the DVDs published by MGK? I've been thinking of purchasing them... any input would be appreciated. Where are the yuk rho forms placed in your curriculum? Do you include the softer moves in your basic motion (kihon) practice?

Don't worry about it, if you did shotokan you'd be bored as heck with it by the time you're brown belt Haha, it does seem to make the rounds, doesn't it! I don't know, though. I have been doing some of the same forms for quite some time now, and I have always enjoyed forms work. If I ever move to another city, maybe Karate will be in the cards for me. If you are ever out in the DC or Philadelphia area, or I am out by you, I'll exchange a form with you. Free of Charge (Then after we exchange forms, we can share in some tasty beverages!)

Try picking it up from videos! Then if you ever get to travel you can work on it with other people. I picked up Unsu that way (and Gojushiho Dai from a book.... and empi from a book).

I have only attended a few tournaments outside of my organization and not too many Big open style tournaments (the Capitol Classics in DC a few times...) But I've never asked for permission to begin my form..... Is that common practice now?

I am not a fan of Black Belt... I used to subscribe, but there isn't much meat there to qualify for a subscription (I just read it at the bookstore). I'll have to second Classical Fighting Arts. Journal of Asian Martial Arts is a quarterly and expensive but very in depth. Tae Kwon Do times does cover some Tang Soo Do, but there is no TSD specific mag... Traditional Karate from UK is good, but right now their going through a rough political patch with the governing body... Karate over there is a different beast than in the US. Around me, the borders and barnes & noble carry copies of these mags, so I'd check out a few issues for "research" while you drink a coffee....

Which part of Kansas are you in? There doesn't seem to be much penetration by the major organizations into your state.... i looked for you at: https://www.worldtangsoodo.com https://www.soobahkdo.com https://www.tsdmgk.com And those are probably the three biggest organizations (well MGK, I'm not sure how big they are, but I like their GM). You are probably correct in terms of the structure of the classes, but you might be suprised in the differences in body mechanics and what the resulting forms might look like... Also, Moo Duk Kwan Soo Bahk Do has some chinese inspired movements and basics.

I think bushidoman96 just wants to switch from TKD to Tang Soo Do. Everywhere I go, there he is I've taken both TSD and TKD and can say from my WTF experience that classes were run with 90% similarity in structure, with slightly less focus on Sparring in my TSD and more on kata and basics. The big differences were in the nuances in mechanics and terminology. So when are you going to find a TSD school? -John

Dwx, Uh.... Maybe...? I guess we'd have to do a controlled experiment or get a kinesiologist in here. Thanks for your .02$ though.