Heather Smyth

I have noticed a lot of sites out that offer tutorials that teach you MA. I want to get some opinions on if the tutorials and videos contained "good" material do you think that a novice could benifit, or a seasoned artist gain more knowledge.

Though I am new to this site I would already like to meed Sohan because of the respectfully manner and humility I get from their post. Also, from what I have seen so far Patrick seems like my twin only male. Loves MA, is a computer wiz, and found a way to bring them together, also he is 21 like me so I think we were seperated at birth...lol... Heather

I have been running an afterschool program for school students for almost two years now with few problems. I have run into a major challenge and need some advice. Another local school is joining our program. I went and did some demos in their PE classes and then had a parents meeting and I was amazed that I had 75 kids to enroll. I had a hard enough tie teaching 20 whitebelts, I do not think I am capable of 75 by myself. The largest class I have now is about 45 kids, but those are scattered ranks and I even have a couple of Jr. Black Belts that trained with me at my home dojo. Any suggestions besides find another instructor, because there is no one in this county that is not competing with me and trying to move in on the County school systems. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Heather

Thank you everyone for your very warm welcome. I am already almost addicted to this site. Heather

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!

I am not leaving TKD by any means. By brancing away I ment expand ing. I want to learn more. I am still learning in TKD, but I am limited in TKD because at my Dojo we do very limited ground work. Most attacks end up on the ground and I want to be able to protect myself in a real life situation. Heather

Congratulations on your accomplishment. However, your last sentence seems a little bit off to me. If you have to have a full understanding of your art to test for black, then we would have very very few black belts. A black belt is a BASIC understanding of the art. Once you get a black belt, you are ready to start learning nuances, shadings, subtle differences, etc. There is always more to learn, even if you are head of your art. Aodhan Full understanding of your art was probally not the best choice of words and I appreciate you pointing that out to me. I should have said that very few people would be completly ready to test for black belt after only two years because they lack the understanding of the imporntance of mental apprectation, responsibility, and humility that comes with wearing a black belt. Also I firmly agree with you on the fact that you only begin to learn after you become a black belt. I learned more in the first two years as a BB as I had in the past five yrs. combined. Heather

Just a bit of advice for the kids. Take them something to entertain themselves why they wait. Most gear bags are big enough for my two sons to sleep in when they are really bored. Another thing do NOT let them wear their Gi to the tournament. Put it on ONLY a few minutes before they compete. I have judged many a tournys where kids had AWESOME technique, but the other judges scored them low because of things like chocholate and Ketchup on their GI. Good LUCK and trust me you are going to have an adventure. Heather

Being a female black belt at a very young age I have had the same problem my whole life. I have always had to fight men in competitions and for some strange reason they were ALWAYS tall. The only way I ever stood a chance was to side step and punch. Also I do not know if it is legal is your stlye, but try blocking up. By that I mean so a high block at his ankle, this will make his leg come down funny most likely making him lean foward, take advantage of this and kick Him in the head. Good Luck. Hope this helps. Heather

I have judged at MANY tournaments and when it comes to Forms I look for a lot of different things. 1. Doing the form correctly 2. Technique 3. Stances 4. Intensity 5. Confidence 6. Presentation 7. Athletic ability I judge in this order. Hope this is helpful Heather

I am looking for something NEW. I know a whole bunch of katas, but I am bored. Does anyone know where I can find some. I do not neccessarily need a video, just a list of movements with stances would work. If I have to resort to buying videos that is fine to. I have searched the internet EVERYWHERE. HELP please. Thanks Heather

I started TKD very young and I trained for a black belt for five years. Granted I was only 9years old when I recieved it I worked hard and earned it. My instructor had never had a child test for black and back then there was no such thing as a Jr. Black rank. She held me to the same standards as she did the adults and it took me two attempts to pass so I know she did not cut me any slack. Her reason for the no change was not anything physical because I was an awesome little girl. She would not promote me to black because she did not feel I understood what it ment to be a black belt. I was lacking the mental and spirtual aspect of Martial Arts. After I recieved the no-change I did a lot of reading, a Whole lot of praying, and I thought about it. Two weeks before testing I told my instructor that I wanted to try again for my black belt. She told me the decision was ultimately mine, but she said that the physical aspect was not a problem for me so If I thought I was ready mentally then go for it. When Ron Allman, 6th degree Master, asked me why I wanted a black belt at testing I replied to him that I did not neccessarliy want a Black belt that I just wanted to learn more. I went on to say that if they did not want to promote me to Black then that was fine, but please just let me learn something new something different. My instructior said that I finally understood something that no child should. Rank is just a color the true measure of a Martial Artist is knowledge. As it is all to overstated knowledge is power. It is my personal opinion that testing for black after only two years is something that very few people could do with full understanding of their art, but I am only one person with my opinion.

I am totally with you on the White Belt thing. Is Judo a good choice because in order to take anything else I will have to travel at least 30 miles. It is a grabbling art correct? Heather

You know you are obssed with MA when ...your inlaws get mad at your wedding reception because you kick the groom when he smears cake in your face ...you bring your first born home in the Gi you made him out of yours and your husbands first Gi's ...your sons think that in counting 1 comes after 2 because they constantly hear 1,2,1,2,1,2 at the Dojo ... your son learns to kick punch and yell before he can talk ...your 2 year old son can not tie his shoes or get himself dressed, but he CAN put on a full set of sparring gear All by himself ... you kick in shoes at the store before you buy to make sure you can pivot ... you listen to the music you will be using to compete to in your sleep ... you join every MA forum site available ... you and your husbands idea of a fun filled friday night is padding up and sparring ... you make LONG post on how you know you are addicted to MA I AM GUILTY OF ALL OF THE ABOVE, DOES THAT MEAN I AM ADDICTED.

WoW! That is the exact same routine at my house. Heather :

I met my husband at age 14 at my local karate school. I was already an instructor and he had just started. I had a problem similar to yours but I was concerned about dating a student. We finally hooked up when I was 16 and we were married at 19. My instructor was all for it considering she, her husband, and their 5 kids all work out together. Her most famous saying is a family that kicks together sticks together. From my personal experience relationships are the same way. Good Luck. Heather

I teach an afterschool program for 8 of the 14 middle schools in the county I live in. We offer a kick the habbit program offering TKD to kids as a way to keep them off drugs. We hold a county wide competition once a year and divide the proceeds between the schools. It is a great program and very accepted here in the South. Heather

I am new to this site and hate to disagree with someone on my first day, but I wrestled in High School and I am a black belt in TKD. I learned a lot of joint locks and chokes in practice that were illegal in matches because my coach wanted us not only to be able to win but to be able to defend ourselves. I guess what I am getting at is wrestling is limited, but depending on the instructor(as in anything) it can be beneficial. Heather

I am 21 years old and have been studing TaeKwonDo since I was four. I am ready for something more. Anyone recommend a direction I should head to enhance my Martial Arts experience. What style do I move on to? I have talked to local schools in Judo and some similar arts and they offered to enter me as a black belt. Do I start from the beginning or go in at black? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks Heather

Hello all, My name is Heather Smyth, and I am a 3rd Degree blackbelt in TaeKwonDo. I have been studing martial arts since I was four years old. I am now 21 and still kickin. I am in the process of opening my own studio and was kind of hoping to gain some much needed insight through this forum. I am very excited to see what I can learn here. Heather