DWx

Welcome Slab

Welcome Matchu

Happy Birthday Noah

I think mediocre students can sometimes be better teachers. Having seen plenty of people make the move and transition from student to instructor, those that are naturally really good just sometimes don't get why a particular movement or concept can be difficult for us mere mortals to grasp. Teachers that struggled themselves I feel have a much deeper understanding of the mechanics and methodologies as they had to learn to compensate for poorer ability.

Not to be pedantic but it depends on what TKD you are talking about and to which branch of TSD you are comparing it to. They have a common root and were developed around the same time. In fact in the early days "Tang Soo Do" was the name used by everyone as it was the Korean pronunciation of "Karate-do" (China hand, 唐手道). The term "Kong Soo Do" (Karate-do written as "empty hand", 空手道) was also used to a lesser extent. I've never studied TSD so can't comment as to the technical differences but for a bit of background, I wrote this on another thread which should give you an idea on the history:

The two elements don't have to be mutually exclusive. I just use the information to inform me of what it likely to happen. As the bout progressives and you learn more about the individual, you can keep reevaluating your assessment of them.

Sure but in a tournament context style will tell you what a person is likely to have in their toolbox and how they might go constructing their fight. Individualty counts for something but recognising you're up against a TKD fighter might tip you off that they will try to kick and stay at long range. A Muay Thai fighter will be comfortable using their elbows and knees and fight closer. A boxer is unlikely to kick and might try to work closer. There even exists styles within a styles and you can use this knowledge to adjust your gameplan accordingly. For example on my tournament circuit I know the Russian team are very technical and will favour a cat and mouse style of sparring as they attempt to land the high scoring shots. The Croatian team on the other hand are more rough and ready and will fight simple but hard. I can use this info to infer something about my opponent before I even step on the mat and use it to guide how I will fight. All fighters are different but it's still a good idea to be aware of what they might do rather than go in blind. Otherwise you end up being reactive rather than proactive.

He's going to the Grand Slam Open NBL in Richmond, VA tourney next weekend. He has a regional in early May then tryouts for the WKU National team in mid May. Best of luck to him sounds like he has a busy schedule ahead of him. I saw in the article he does musical weapon forms, will be be trying out for other divisions too like empty hand or traditional kata?

The student body would not necessarily see all that goes on behind the scenes or whether day to day duties are being fulfilled. Unless you hold some sort of open AGM?

Congrats!

I really think it comes down to what duties and responsibilities do you have and what is expected of you, and then are you fulfilling those? At the end of the day it should be all about what is best for the student body.

I would say the party in control neglects commitments and or abuses their power. Can neglects be warranted? Life does have a habit of getting in the way of the MA, no matter how hard one tries to avoid it. As far as abuses...NO!! Blatant abuse can't be excused off; either ones a professional or one isn't!! Neglets, whether due to life or not would in my mind still warrant a no-confidence vote. If you're not fit to carry out your duties for an extended period of time, it's only right to step down.

Inspiring story Congrats to Alec What's next in the pipeline for Alec? Does he have any upcoming tournaments?

this is exactly why I watch sports!! Confession time: I work in B2B sales and have a customer who I knew was a diehard fan of my local rugby team. A few years ago I had to spend a long car journey alone with them so looked up some of the latest news from that team to discuss in the car. Turns out I was so convincing he decided I must be a major fan! Everytime we talk he brings up the latest game and there was never a good point to correct him. I'm trapped in this vicious cycle of researching them every time we talk which only confirms to him that I know all about them! It's gotten to the point where he even tells other people how much of a fan I am and regularly gets in touch to discuss the team. I haven't had the heart to dispel the myth Anyway to the original question! I used to play tennis and netball and swim as my other sports when I was a kid but TKD eventually took over. Now I go to the gym but still enjoy most sports. Will watch whatever sports are on TV but don't follow any in particular. Other physically activities can only be beneficial to MA. Especially when it comes to kids. I went on a course recently on Youth Development run by a couple of Olympic coaches, and the take home message was that the best athletes in later life are those that did lots of different sports as kids.

The bit about Gen. Choi is probably even worse nowadays. All the time people refer to different seminars he taught at and "The Book [encyclopedia] says...". We even get into arguments over which edition of the encyclopedia is being referred to as there are subtle differences. The masters try to change the techniques slightly and not only do you have people argue over which master is right but over whether that was how the General taught it. This piece by George Orwell is worth a read: http://www.orwell.ru/library/articles/spirit/english/e_spirit "Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting." Without going all philosophical, I think it's part of human nature to want to be better than others and unfortunately the nasty side of this oftens come out as people belittling others. Once upon a time I was naive enough to be critical of others for not doing things the "proper" way, nowadays I take a similar view to you, if it doesn't directly impact me, I couldn't care less what people spend their time doing.

I get what you're saying regarding the differences in training style and GM Son sticking to the old ways. You see the same with ITF practitioners. Over time there have been a number of prominent instructors and student bodies leave the ITF and you can clearly see the difference in technique with some still practicing the "old' way. This is especially noticeable with the whole sine wave thing. You get people who are pre-sine wave, early-sine wave and then folks who do the more refined movement ITF does today. You even see differences within the ITF groups themselves depending on which one you are part of. The technical differences are small but definitely are a product of being in one group over another. On the speed of the forms, I can see the benefit of going fast, but equally I'd agree that for most students technique will suffer. Personally I think practicing both slow and fast has benefits.

When I'm not at work, it's pretty much all I think about! In my free time I'm either at training or thinking of going to training. My closest friends are also all long term training partners.

I just watched it yesterday. Fun movie I've seen the first film but not Kung Fu Panda 2

Best of luck with this Bob. Would be great to see Shindokan as its meant to be performed. I'd agree with others about both a slow version and then one showing your normal timing. Slow and measured so the students can see how each move should be executed but also faster so they can see how the kata should be. If you are able to do so, it might help even to have some further video focusing on particularly challenging sections or some of the applications with a partner.

Welcome Anthony

It's not just about being able to kick high. It's about increased mobility and preventing injury when kicking lower. Being limber is also generally good for your health. High kicks themselves are a challenge both strength and flexibility-wise but of course they are not advised in a self-defense situation. And as for progressing to higher belts, most examiners would take into account ability and allow students to kick at lower heights if they need to.

Congrats Spartacus

Congrats IcemanSK

Sounds a little bit like Imposter Syndrome (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) IcemanSK's advice is good. I think it's important to encourage but not pressure the student. Maybe help them to focus on their previous successes and use that to motivate them this time?

That was my first thought but from the article MAfreak posted it looks more like a sports crop top for running etc. In fact that's what the article says was the inspiration for the top: