DWx

Its because it an easy target. And like Justice said, we have kinda earned that rep from the vast number of schools that focus on the flashy and ineffective. I think part of the problem too is some of the kicks which are labelled as flashy, such as a spinning hook kick, are used quite a bit in our sparring and can be really effective, just other styles dismiss them because they take longer to become proficient at and when they go wrong, you can end up flat on your back. But get hit by one at full force and you'll be seeing stars. Its not like TKD people are innocent themselves though. Tons of Kukki/WTF vs ITF vs others comments; style bashing within the same style.

I officially don't dislike at least one TKD school in the world. That's pretty amazing. Heh ok, try a group of schools though. Its was the England TKD squad which organised it. We're pretty open to other styles or sports for training and we know that boxing is superior in the punching department so they got someone in to do a session. I should say that this boxing was intended purely for competition purposes but it still carries well over to a more combative situation. I'm built like you Brian and love drilling the hands too I had to work so hard to force myself to get good at footwork and kick more. Only really seemed to have clicked within the last few years or so. We do punch to the head but I always get caught in the face. Learning to protect my head better was actually one of the things I was looking forward to with the boxing training and I came away with quite a few pointers. I'm not sure about how critical the footwork is from a boxing point of view, but from a TKD perspective its very unlikely that anyone that was in the session will be completely changing how they step because it is far too critical we do it our way so we can kick. The shorter, squarer boxing stance doesn't lend itself that well to kicking. As it is, our TKD stepping serves us well enough for our way of punching so I'm sure I can work on either adjusting it slightly for the boxing punches or adjusting the boxing to the stance.

Wow great topic I have two things really. Firstly the health and safety red tape!!! Its not my style or school that imposes this but the insurance/governing body people so maybe its not a valid answer to the thread. But it is something which is so frustrating! Gets more and more constraining every year as Joe Bloggs has a freak accident during training in some school in the middle of nowhere so he sues his school. Then all of a sudden we all have to wear extra protective gear or stop doing a certain exercise so we don't risk the same thing happening. Just do away with the lawyers and we can all go back to training The second one is a curriculum change I guess. I think people should do more reading/studying outside of the style and the syllabus. If I ever have my own school I'm going to insist this anyway. I hate to use the word, but quite often, people in my style become almost "indoctrinated" and at times I think there is a bit of a sense of personality cult about the founder (watch me get kicked out for saying this). Its not that its not a great style, I really love it and you couldn't make me change it for anything, its just I'd make people read up about other styles, especially Shotokan as that is what we are descended from and I'd get them to read more of the true history of the style. Don't know where you're going unless you know where you've been.

I know what you mean. We focus a lot on our footwork so we can position and pick up the legs quickly so it feels very very wrong to fight one sided and with such a short stance. Although I can assure you, the heavyweight categories are all anything but nimble and flexible. Most heavyweight competition matches turn into a slugfest and this is part of the reason we got a boxing guy in: to make us more effective at that part of it and get the upper hand. It was a really good session and I will be working on it and adapting it to my fight. Just very strange when someone tries to rewrite the rules and have you step in a totally different fashion. I think you should just list your style as that. Much easier to say than "Bujin Bugei Jutsu" and it conveys something more too

ah ok, my bad. But even so sparring is usually a big component of TKD tests: can be free sparring or more formal step-sparring. How about breaking? I know its definitely a requirement for ITF and similar-style schools, I think the ATA also requires it (Bushido_man96 could probably answer that for you), not sure on Kukki-tkd though. tbh you're not selling the school very well but does it matter much if you're not training there anymore?

Higaonna sensei is impressive. Heh I do similar stuff on the wall.... albeit nowhere near as hard! Watched that movie last night

Welcome Steve

Hey difflock, in some schools you can skip the first belt (white belt) and go straight to 8th kyu. Depends on the individual sensei and student though. In some schools, they allow adults and some juniors to double grade for the first testing if they learn the material quickly, and it often happens if the student has prior experience in martial arts.

er hard to say. Are you asking if it was unusual for easy tests/quick to blackbelt? Common in a lot of TKD schools that are McDojos/or a poor standard. Its what gives TKD a bad rep. Very unusual for it to have no sparring whatsoever though. The majority of TKD schools would either be sparring orientated or contain a decent amount of it, even if it was a McDojo and the sparring was poor quality.

You were right about bizzare footwork. So bizzare it took ages to get us all doing it properly! He started off working on getting us to just step forward and do a lead jab... then decided he had better go back a step, forget the arms and go right back to basics It wasn't the punch itself, or the body and hip movement or head or anything, just the stepping! Spent a good half hour trying to undo all the TKD-ness and get us to step the back leg in underneath after leading with the front. In TKD we'd all just load up the weight on the front leg and use that to propel us forward for another punch or kick off the back leg. And stepping backwards!!! So so so bizzare trying to step back leg first to go backwards. We'd normally move the front foot back, either crossing the legs and then stepping out with the rear leg to remain on the same side, or just step back and switch lead at the same time. Was pretty funny too watching everyone try to control the impulse to throw kicks after/during the punches. Very good session though. Eventually built up to a simple lead-jab, cross, hook, uppercut combo whilst looking at each element of it. Body hurts like hell though!

Welcome Solipsil

Welcome Andy

Get better soon. Most important thing is to be healthy first. Like ps1 said, Karate'll still be around when you're ready for it.

So in an effort to give us the edge over the competition, my TKD squad has organised a 3 hr class with boxer Ross Minter this weekend to get us punching better. Ross is the son of Alan Minter (Middleweight World Champ and Olympic boxer) and is pretty successful in his own right as a welterweight. Pretty excited What kinda of stuff can I expect?

Congrats Celeste! Awesome news.

In a sense, aren't they one and the same? Only if the Art is strongly built upon kata Some schools may use kata simply as a means to delevop coordination, basic techiques and movement. Not sure I agree with that philosophy. But in the system I am in, kata is the heart of karate. This is really the only experience I've had with forms training. Its a testing requirement, and it teaches various ways to move and do techniques. I've never had any applications taught or practiced from the forms. We have always done that through one-steps, sparring, and some self-defense work. However, over time, I have come to recognize some parts of the forms that can have applicable self-defense. That's unfortunate, but not uncommon. So many people dismiss kata without fully understanding what it is, etc. The Okinawans who developed "karate" spend a great deal of time focusing on kata. Some spend a lifetime trying to master just one. It wasn't uncommon for the junior students to spend two or three years training just Naihanchi Shodan. Kata is basically a method to impart karate into you. You do it over and over and over again so that when you need to move in a fight, you just do (musihn). I think it just depends on the school/system. Forms really don't make up a big part in TKD systems. Its not really a case of us dismissing them as such, we just take a different approach to them. We're not trying to unlock extra moves and applications and exploring them through bunkai because our forms were specifically created for the system and were created a little superficial. "Literal" to use that term. In TKD, we fight over and over again so in a fight, well we just do it.

I'm ITF so sort of descended from the Chung Do Kwan but in reality its probably radically different now.. Welcome to the forums btw

I think a balance can be struck. One can still put through quality students when trying to make ends meet at the same time. If it comes to the point of closing doors or moving to a cheaper location, then that is what should be done instead of sacrificing the quality of what you do. I agree with Brian. It is possible; I always like to use my school as an example of one that makes it work without sacrificing quality. My instructor runs his school as a business; he teaches 6 days a week and its the only job he and his wife have. So in that, he depends on headcount. But headcount doesn't mean he always has to pass people to get them to still train and pay his wages. Last grading we had people fail. Sure some people quit if they then decided they can't hack it but we've always got people waiting in the wings to take their spot in class. Combining great teaching with great marketing (word-of-mouth or otherwise) can help make running a business and producing good students viable.

Can you do the kick with proper form without pain if you just do it angled lower? It could just be that you haven't developed the flexibility yet, and you need to do the kicks at the limit of your non-pain range of motion while that range develops. Do a lot of movements that move your hip to the point where it is vaguely uncomfortable but doesn't hurt, not very fast, when you can. After intense exercize, cool down with stretches. Also, ask your instructor to help with your form; explain the problems you're having and go through the movement. You might be doing something subtly wrong that they can catch and help you solve. Great post Justice. What I would have said. I get similar hip pain when I try to kick too high for my flexibility or if I'm not fully warmed up enough. Your kicks should improve over time and they'll gradually get easier if you keep practicing, stretch and work on mobility exercises.

Wow. Truly inspiring to listen to her words and to see that she is still teaching and carrying on with her love of Judo after 75-ish years. Well deserved. thanks for posting

(this could turn into another semantics debate ), but what do you mean by "literal"? Not Karate, but the ITF TKD forms are supposed to be literal. All the applications are exactly what they are. We just don't have a concept of bunkai and the patterns are really just a catalogue of techniques. But, since they're in part derived from the Shotokan kata, there are individuals and schools who have tried to make them more than "literal". But that's a whole nother topic.

Awesome Hope you have a great 1st lesson!

Welcome back

Black Eagle in the UK do custom blackbelts: http://www.black-eagle.co.uk/customembroideredblackbelts-p-1372.html Not sure on the quality, but you could contact to see if they'd do it on a red belt. Blitz is probably better quality but again, they don't offer red so you'd have to contact them: http://www.blitzsport.com/Tailormade/Embroidered-Belts Their customer servie is good though. Found these guys who look top quality but V. pricey, I was getting quotes + £150: http://www.ichibaninternational.com/belts/m2m/ Hope you find something

Nothing. lf its just acting as in a senpai role in class, I'm still getting taught myself so I dont expect anything. On the rarer occaisons when I do whole lessons or sit on the panel for gradings, I get free lessons or sometimes stuff like school merchandise (e.g T-shirts). TBH I think its part of my learning so don't expect to get paid for any of it.