DWx

We used to have an event about once a term at uni called a "martial arts mashup" where it'd basically be open mat time for a couple of hours. Each time a different club would do the warmup, teach a few bits and pieces if they wanted to and then it was open mat time. Was a really good event as you got to test yourself against other styles and learn some new tactics and ways of doing things. If you were to do this, got to watch the liability / insurance and even when running the event you might want to lay down some ground rules just so everyone is on the same page re. safety. But if you can make it work, sounds like a really good idea. I like the of the visitors pass too.

Can't imagine how frustrating that must have been. Thanks for all you do for the site Patrick

Welcome brentyj

With TKD you can typically expect lots of cardio stuff. In our school we do tons of tabatas type training and resistance work, even with the kids. But, its only on the odd occasion where we go full out and end up coming home sore. Usually its just the kind of workout when you wake-up the next morning a bit stiff. I'm no doctor, but I'd be a bit worried if he was coming home from ever class unable to move. How long's he been training? If he's just starting out, its probably because his body's not used to that level of work and he should get used to it. But if he's been training awhile, I'd personally be concerned his teacher's pushing too hard and too much for kids.

Thank you both for such a quick reply. With kicking pad work, is your response (that no footwear is worn) the same everywhere or might some TKD schools wear footwear for this? Also, if someone did wear footwear when practising kicks against a pad (held by a partner) would this be dangerous? Many thanks again. I'd say, on the whole, no footwear is worn. If they're wearing the TKD shoes, not that dangerous as they are very light (compared to a running shoe for example) and are pretty soft all round. So if you get caught with a kick by someone wearing them, its not that much worse than if they'd kicked you bare foot. I'd be more worried about tearing up the pad tbh.

Welcome to the forums Stabinoff. Always try out a class as its not the style but the teacher that you really need to choose. Of the two styles you've talked about, TKD is a lot of cardio and is usually accompanied by the traditions side. But what you get does vary greatly by the style of TKD you take and very few schools teach weapons (and those that do can be a bit suspect). If you want to read up about TKD, I recommend http://tkdtutor.com/ as there's loads of great information on there. And a lot of it is relevant no matter what martial art you take.

Depends on the school. Most likely not though. Some schools allow you to wear the TKD type trainers like this: https://www.cimac.net/adidas-martial-arts/footwear/cat_122.html for forms practice and line work. In sparring you'll almost always have to wear pads on your feet; either the full boot type or the elasticated instep protector. Kicking a pad though.. usually not. Although I sometimes let the kids wear their sparring gear if its a particularly hard pad or to save time between padwork/sparring switchover.

Ugh think I took my worst beating to date yesterday - and not in a nice way. Came home with suspected concussion (turned out not to be thankfully). One of the guys lost control a little and I took multiple roundhouses, punches, hook kicks to the head. Final one that did it was a hook kick that caught me round the back of the head and hooked me forward. Instructor was not happy. Had a big lecture today in class on control and the fact that the dominant sparrer has a responsibility

That is so cool. I've always wanted to take a up a sword style. How do you find the time? Lend me some!

Its just a type of TKD, just like Shotokan is a type of Karate. So it'd be like your instructor saying there will be Karate students at your tournament but they wont be any Wado ryu students. I always used to explain the different TKD styles to friends as it being like rugby; you have rugby union and rugby league. Same game, slightly different rules.

So how do you guys pronounce the "Tae" part of Tae Kwon Do? There seems to be a lot of variation, especially with Westerners mispronouncing it. For years when I first started training we used to pronounce it wrong and even now I still have to mentally correct myself each time...

Welcome abo

Well you've got your prep and cardio side which everyone's pretty much covered. On the mental side, for me, I just think how I've only got 30 secs (or whatever) of the bout to go and I've got to win it before I can go home and relax. No matter how bad I feel, its a kill or be killed type of situation and if I can't be bothered to work for it I might as well throw in the towel and stop the fight there. I really got pushed at the last competition I did where I knew I only had 20secs left and was absolutely about ready to keel over. But I knew if I didn't find something, I'd lose the bout and wouldn't make it through to the next round and it'd be a wasted trip. That's what works for me. I think you just have to find something that makes you want to keep going no matter how much it hurts.

Rugby World Cup 2011 kicked off today with the NZ All Blacks vs Tonga. Watched it this morning and, of course, they both did their respective Hakas: http://youtu.be/Yz6kVO_Ofjs Reminded me of this thread.

I recently had a boxing taster session and it was good fun. And tbh we spent very little of the time hitting each other; it was all drilling the techniques, shadow boxing, mitt work and lots and lots of core strength exercises (the dreaded plank!). I'd follow Brian's advice. Maybe see if there's a local gym where you could take them to watch a few classes. Surely its not that much worse than what you currently do? e.g. getting dumped on the mat in Judo probably hurts as bad as getting punched in the gut in boxing.

Welcome FirelordAkiko

Congrats!!!

Glad you guys liked it. I don't know who the guy is in the vid, a football player obviously. The guy speaking is actually a motivational/success speaker Eric Thomas: But the editing on that video is awesome.Keep watching that video every time I can't be bothered to go running or don't feel in the mood for training.

Enjoy (gotta have your speakers on) http://youtu.be/Jal4OkZtz8g

Oh no worries Montana. I know you didn't mean any disrespect. I guess I sympathize with the OP a lot more than I thought It actually upsets me when I see and hear about "TKD" schools that are little more than martial aerobics as it really does drag our name through the mud. Really is disheartening when you see people practicing what they think is TKD and then outsiders also think that it is TKD when it has nothing to do with the core principles and methodology of the style. So heh I guess this in part an answer to the OP in that yeah we get a really sucky rep all because these schools jump on the bandwagon and borrow the name. I only ask of organizations as its a good indicator of what style. Kinda synonymous with the idea of a ryu in Karate. If you belong to the WTF, for example, you'll look drastically different to an ITF practitioner who looks different from a TKD International practitioner. I was just wondering on the UK school to see whether it was somewhere I knew or not or if it was somewhere I could sneakily go and have a look at. Actually my sister is looking at applying to uni in Norwich and was going to check out the TKD schools there so that doesn't bode too well for her. Having said that, it is actually very rare to have custom built dojos/dojangs in the UK. It tends to be the McDojo's that can afford it.

Yeah this does happen, but only in McDojo TKD. And it does happen in other styles too. I remember reading an article once about a 3rd dan in Karate who was like 10 years old. Its obvious its not a real Karate school, just a McDojo. True for some styles, but if you look at the slightly less popular ITF style, I'd say its about 60/40 kicks/hands and less so on the flashy kicks. Legs are longer and kicks can generate much more force so we use them at long range and then hands come into play once the distance is closed. With the flashy kick stuff, I think you do need to know a little of the history and circumstances in which TKD evolved. In short there are really two reasons why we started off kicking high, jumping and adding rotations; to look "better" than Karate and to try to emulate TaeKyon. Its still a very young style, only 50 years old and definitely within my short time training you can see the style evolving and the emphasis on those type of kicks is lessening. So yes, those elements are there but people do know they are only for demonstration of athleticism, in reality, nobody really spends that much time on them. I'll admit we're not the most proficient at grappling. The style is limited to the more basic locks, takedowns and throws but for us they are a means to an end to allow us to strike. We don't claim to be good at it and if someone wants to learn these things, don't come looking for them at a TKD school. Even so, I don't think this is a valid reason to bash the style. BJJ doesn't get called ineffective because it lacks strikes and you wouldn't go to a boxing class expecting good grappling knowledge. No style covers everything well and if they claim to, its more likely a case of jack of all trades. This isn't true. We most definitely cover defense against weapons. More specifically, we focus on knife and stick defense as these are the more common ones you'll encounter. But, since it was originally a military style, a lot of the old literature and teachings cover things like bayonet usage and tactics against. Actual usage of any weapons is limited but as above, there are plenty of other good styles which also don't use them. Taekwon-Do is a style of unarmed defense so you'd be better off looking at the Filipino styles if you wanted to master weapons. Easy belt tests are a symptom of the McDojo yes but don't confuse the breaking requirement with indicating that the school is a McDojo. We have a viewpoint that say for example, at greenbelt you've been taught to sidekick, part of passing that grade is that you've got to understand the technique well enough to generate enough force to break x amounts of boards. Breaking is one of the ways you show that you've understood the power generation through the mechanics and can apply speed and mass properly to the kick/punch. If you can't even do one board, it shows you don't understand it properly. Granted that is a lot of TKD schools, but may I ask what styles/organisations? (I'd be very interested to know which of the UK schools you saw). Because, no offense, but that doesn't mean anything apart from you've seen a lot of bad TKD schools. Its like saying I've visited so many "Karate Schools" when really all I've seen is loads of sport Karate schools or schools borrowing the name for their school of prancing about whilst in a gi. If you're ever in the UK again, I'd be more than happy to point you in the right direction for some real TKD schools.

Adidas TKD shoes (or similar) are great, but they're really only for indoor training as you'll tear them up pretty fast on a tennis court. Having said that, I have a pair of their Adi-Luxe shoes which I use whenever we train outside. I had bought them for indoor training but they grip too much for wooden flooring so I bought a pair of Adidas TKD 2000s (now discontinued?). The Adi-Luxe are alright on paved carparks so I guess they'd be ok for grip etc. on a tennis court. I don't use mine that much for outside as I'll still go barefoot if I can but I've had them for 2-3 years and they're still ok. How about actual tennis trainers? Surely their built so tennis players can pivot on their feet.

Welcome Kevin

Very cool. The power of the interwebs Sounds like you guys got a lot done. So how do you say Shindokan compares to TKD Brian? Were there a lot of areas of similarity or were the styles very different?

Welcome Dwayne