DWx

This is a good point, but it doesn't mean that training methods can't change. TKD is usually singled out from other styles for its emphasis on kicking high and a lot, as opposed to its use of forms in training. TBH I think that is a misconception though. Not all TKD is high kicking. Some styles of TKD use no more high kicking than American Kickboxing so what separates the two? Or to look at it another way the various different styles within Karate are known individually for having throws or being knockdown but what ties them together and makes them all Karate? I'd say that the calculator is a piece of equipment rather than a training method. How you do arithmetic, geometry, trig etc. haven't changed. Just like nowadays we have gloves and foot pads and foam mats instead of rudimentary leather straps and straw. The methods used don't change. The processes of balancing an equation, (dis)proving a hypothesis etc. remain essentially the same. I think that there is still a different in the fighting methods and styles. Muay Thai is known more for its contact levels than TKD is, but that is limited to competition style for the most part. It doesn't mean that a TKDer can't fight like Muay Thai and vise versa. Does kata not fit into part of the fighting method (or how they learn the fighting method)? If that TKDer does fight like a Thai boxer what is still making him a TKDer? Iain Abernethy has done some research on the old Boxing and has referenced the throws in some of his books. As far as Ancient Greece goes, Hellenic Boxing did not allow throws, but Pankration did. There were three fight games in the ancient Olympics, Hellenic Boxing, Hellenic Wrestling (which didn't allow the striking), and the Pankration. However, it was not uncommon for one fighter to be able to compete in all three events...if he could survive them all. But they were 3 separate disciplines though? Even in Homer's Iliad boxing is described as a fistfighting style and wrestling and pankration were separate. From what I can gather online, throws were considered unsportsmanlike.

This is a valid point, but it also harkens back to the times when a master took on perhaps one or two students. Pretty limited training there, but it did produce some great MAists. Fair point. But given the option of training with a group of people or training with one person I'd pick the group.

Soo Bahk Do uses Chinese; we even count in it (as well as in Korean). The characters for Soo Bahk Do are all in Hanja/Chinese, not Hangul/Korean, although if you see the official badge of the US Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan, both are present. Soo is hand in Chinese; sohn (and apparently son) in Korean. Regarding Soo Do v. Sonkai, you're actually using Korean in your art, Danielle, while in Soo Bahk Do, Chinese is either mixed in or preferred. (A friend who took Tae Kwan Do years ago always counted in Chinese at that time; now that he's taking Soo Bahk Do, he's using both.) Ah ok that explains that for me Just speculating (may be completely wrong) but does the preferred usage of Chinese terms stem from Hwang Kee's background in Chinese MA? Its actually kwon rather than kwan or at least that's the spelling we use and the most common. We do also use the term "kwan" for school. Taekwon-Do's a bit of a weird one, as I understand it, Gen. Choi and Nam Tae Hi pretty much made the term up.

I prefer knifehand but that's because I've always used that term. I'd imagine if my instructor had only ever used swordhand I'd probably prefer that. We do say we use the swordfoot (for a sidekick) rather than the blade of the foot though. But like everyone said it is just semantics. As long as people get the gist of what part you're talking about it don't matter too much. Personally I think people can be a bit too over the top with nomenclature, in ITF TKD everything is named and categorized down to the last little detail, bit too much sometimes IMO. Although having said that its nice to know exactly what and how a technique is done simply by looking at its name and its kinda nice to have standardization across the board. You also use different Korean terms to us. For us "sonkal" is for knifehand, and rather than spearhand we call just call it the fingertip or "sonkut" and it can be "open", "straight" "upset" etc. depending on the orientation and to distinguish it from single/double fingertips. Although we do actually categorize it as a thrusting technique whereas you say that its more stabbing than thrusting.

Since we're all into analogies and parallels lately... Master's courses online are so great either. I have a friend who is studying a similar degree to what I am doing at uni (Chemistry for me, she does a combined sciences course which includes chem modules). Difference is I am physically at university and she studies using a distance learning programme with the Open University. Not that she doesn't work extremely hard, she does, but there is a huge amount of difference in the pace of learning and the scope of material. For example, I get ~10hrs lab time a week where I have constant reinforcement and correction and get to pick up on all the little nuances and intricacies that she doesn't simply because she's not there with the lecturers. Some of her pronunciation of terms is off too. With online MA courses you'd have similar problems because the instructor/examiner can't really feel what you're doing and pick up on the little things. I'm not saying online courses aren't good, never done one and I suppose there are ones that are probably quite good, but I think one-to-one tuition is going to be much better if you have access to it. Plus, so much of martial arts is learning how to read and respond to your opponent too and you can't pick that up if there's just one of you. Even with a partner you'll only learn how to fight them and both of you will be limited by each other's skill level.

Welcome Peaceful Lion TBH I have never done a great deal conditioning around the ribs and core other than general strengthening. One thing we are encouraged to do is whenever holding the kick shield/pads, is to hold them against the body so you can feel the strike going through. Slowly builds up your ability to withstand the strike. Probably get much more helpful advice off of others on here..

I am not really willing to buy into this. I think that Kihon, Kata, and Kumite have all been together for so long that they are always associated with each being equal part and parcel of what is Karate. The same can be said of TKD. However, just because it is done that way, doesn't mean that it can't be done a different way, and still be Karate, or TKD, or whatever. For example, throws used to be a part of Boxing. However, it has evolved over time, and the throws are gone, and the specialization is in striking with the hands, footwork, head movement/defense, etc. Its still Boxing, though. Is it less than what it once was? It could be argued that it is. This can be said for more styles than Boxing, though, too. Just my thoughts. You could argue that but... How do you define a style if not by its training methods and ways of doing things (kata being one method)? What makes Karate different from TKD and from Muay Thai and from anything else? They all have roundhouses, punches, whatever so what makes them any different to one another? Especially in the case of TKD and Karate, some styles get very close in resembling each other as far as how they actually do the kicks and punches Kata I think is one of the things that makes Karate Karate. (BTW you wouldn't happen to have any links to articles or anything that details the types of throws allowed in boxing? I was under the impression that at least in Ancient Greek boxing wrestling was forbidden and it was a fist-fighting sport.)

I figured that much. Wonder why Joe's school use "yu gup ja" instead of the equivalent term for "mudansha"....

I tried to find this in my Soo Bahk Do manual, Rateh, but no such luck. I did find terms we don't actually use but are listed there anyway: Ko Dan Ja--Senior Dan holder (4th Dan and up)You Dan Ja--Dan holder (1st Dan through 3rd Dan) You Gup Ja--Gup holder That's interesting as the "You Dan Ja" is very similar to the Japanese "Yudansha".

Oh ok thanks isshinryu That makes it easier.

That is awesome! I hope I look half as good as she does at that age and still be able to get around let alone teach.

Thanks for the info Joe. Be grateful if anyone knows of other variants or terms you could use.

Welcome phoenixfire Not a Karate gal but I am a TKD one

Never seen patches but you could just embroider the "I" for 1st dan and leave spaces for another two so you can get to 3rd without changing belt. By then you might want to change the belt anyway due to wear and tear... or you could unpick the embroidery and add on the "V". But having a whole batch of patches made could be an option.

What's the Korean term you use for "senior student"? So sort of like the equivalent of "senpai"? Talking to someone the other day in class and I'm not 100% sure the term they used was right.

Nice analogy RW

Sorry to hear you didn't quite make it but at least you know what you have to do next time. And you have a great attitude about it When you do get it you'll know you really deserve it; you'll be a better blackbelt for it

Welcome Wolverine

Don't think you can really put stock into this. Any sort of advertising uses these words all the time. How many movies are called "the best movie since..." or "best movie this year". Admittedly I don't come out of my TKD box that often but I had to actually Google Geoff Thompson to find out who he was and what he'd done. So if he's so influential how come I didn't know about him? OK I know I don't know everyone and everything but you'd think the most influential guy since Bruce Lee would be a big name. And for that matter who said Bruce Lee was the most influential MAist of his time? Lot of influential people around in the 1960s/1970s.

Actually I think this is a better description of what I do and a good explanation too I was thinking locked as in an extended and straight leg and bent as being the complete opposite with a noticeable bend. Slight bend in the leg also helps make balancing easier. If?!? Penetration is important especially with a bent supporting leg. However, you're, imho, right on the money when you say your kick MUST be strong. That comes with knowledge and knowledge comes with experience. I can drive my kicks with the base leg slightly bent supporting leg not because I'm of a big stature, no, but, because of my knowledge/experience. Again, solid post DWx...solid post! You're right in that experience comes into it. Once you get the mechanics down you can relax the rules and still have a good kick. Having said that, I usually tell beginners and peoples learning the kick to have a straight leg to develop good form first because they don't have that knowledge and experience to still generate power. Perfect form (for us) dictates that the leg be straighter to drive through so that's what I usually say and what you see in forms and line work. But in sparring you do tend to see a bent leg more in the experienced students because they can still get the power through.

Welcome Kensei

Personally I say locked out so you can drive the kick with the base leg. Bent and soft means you can be driven backwards if your kick isn't strong enough.

Welcome

That's an interesting observation. I know my instructor and coaches are always saying that you have to assume that your opponent has perfect technical knowledge and skill, so how do you go one better than them on the mat? Little things like defining the kick slightly longer or changing the timing ever so slightly on a movement for aesthetics. Ok its not Karate kata but if you look at videos of our TKD patterns comps over the years you see changes in stance length, timing between each move, little things like that. Probably the biggest thing which changes is the sine wave movement (its a weird TKD thing). It becomes more pronounced in comps as the years go by but now we're getting told to reduce it down again because the extent to which its done has made it redundant as a movement. All this then feeds back into the schools and that's the way the forms start to get taught. In fact tbh I think when you look at forms done by schools that are into competing and compare them to those that aren't, you do see some stylistic differences.

Number of schools listed on Mike Chat's website: http://www.xmarevolution.com/XMASchoolProfiles/tabid/53/Default.aspx Or you could try looking at sport Karate or Taekwondo schools because some do offer XMA type programs.