DWx

Congratulations Alex - best of luck

Sorry for your loss CDraper.

Sounds like you've thought it through.. go with whatever you feel is best. Honestly, I would be inclined to tell him you're leaving out of respect. Even if you don't expect him to change for you I always feel honesty is the best policy and you don't want to burn any bridges. Besides, how will he know there's something wrong unless you tell him.

Whilst I am certainly no authority on ITF style or sine wave, I have to say that the author of the article evidently lacks any training in said method and picked pretty poor examples to base his argument and article on. My belief is you cannot criticise anything unless you have taken the time to fully inform yourself on the topic (this goes for all areas in life not just MA). Perhaps he should attend some lessons with an instructor who teaches this methodology? Anyway, with regards to sine wave and it's implementation, even in my short training time this has changed over and over again as to how it should be done. There was a period where people were still playing with the technique and naturally thought bigger is better so started emphasising massive downward movements as it was "more powerful". Nowadays this movement is less and less (although you still see it at competition for the aesthetics). It's always hard to defend something like this via Internet rather than training together in person however I'll give it a go (beware, long post!) The article's author is correct in that the rise and fall motion is to imitate this natural running and walking rise and fall that occurs. If you are to bring the feet from a long stance to under the body and then back out again, then of course you will raise up and fall down unless you specifically load the legs in order to stay low. This is the basis for sine wave. Loading the legs to stay low is considered bad form as it is not relaxed enough. Now in addition to the natural rise and fall when stepping, ITF TKD also adds an additional downwards movement before stepping through and raising up. Unfortunately this has been grossly exaggerated over the years to a massive movement down which IMHO serves little purpose. How I've been taught is that this initial down movement is not a big thing. It is without effort. You just totally relax and "sigh" with your entire body. Relaxation means smooth and smooth means fast. This sighing action also serves to unlock the hip as invariably the back leg is typically locked straight in many stances. Everything is loose at this point and without tension. Then we have the phase I deem as "expansion". If we are to do sine wave on the spot without moving the feet or stance, the small up movement comes from drawing back the hip and getting ready to fire the movement all the way from the back foot, the leg, hip then arm. But we are still relaxed and soft at this point. Then like the hammer of a gun hitting the firing pin and setting off a chain reaction, the leg drives the punch out. I like to call this "contraction". When stepping stance to stance the mechanism is different but still falls under this rise and fall action. It's a weird concept but I like to think of this as the "down (relaxation) - rise up (expand) action as not being the start of a movement but the end of the previous. So say you've punched and are in a walking (front) stance. From here we need to go back to a neutral position. First relax and sigh (slight natural dip) then bring the feet in and under the shoulder line. At the same time the arms 9/10 times come in front of the chest. This is neutral. Every movement, every step and every turn can come from here. So ok the form dictates that I am now to step forward with a middle block or maybe it tells me to turn left and strike. But it doesn't have to be so. From neutral I can do anything as my weight is easily controlled, I am totally relaxed and I can manoeuvre easily. It just so happens that this must be an up phase as my legs have gone from long to underneath my body. This to me is the true start of a movement not the down phase. That said this neutral position is momentary and a transitional position so I won't stay there very long. I pick a direction and then propel myself into a stance and into a technique. I've got to go down if my legs finish anywhere other than shoulder width/length. Hence up and down and not staying down. Whilst the majority of movements fall into either of those descriptions we do have exceptions to the rules. The down relaxation phases can be skipped and movements performed in "fast motion" i.e. we can skip the underlined down part when we need to chain together faster: down (relax) - up (expand) - down (contract) - down (relax) - up (expand) - down (contract) There are also movements where the stepping up (or down) phase can be used to assist in a lift or throw so we are using the big muscles of the leg and not just the arms. The major difference I think is in how (Shotokan) Karate and Taekwon-Do view the role of kata or tul as ITFers refer to them. Would I be correct in thinking that in Karate movement in kata strongly inspires how one would move in a fight or in self defense? In ITF we know we will not fight from a strict walking stance or L-stance and will certainly not start a fight in this position. How do we stand most of the time? Feet directly under our bodies. Maybe with a bit of forewarning we'll take a slightly longer stance akin to a boxing stance or a shortened L-stance. This is natural and this is relaxed. Even in high risk areas where I might think I could be attacked I will still be more upright than a walking (front) stance. So we tend to train to fight from such a stance. Also TKD is 60% or more kicks with a significant emphasis of using the legs to control range. Kicking is much easier from a higher shorter stance. So now any attack I throw from this position, assuming I then lengthen my stance and "lunge" into it will force me to drop. As discussed we've trained ourselves to begin everything from this up position ie. this is a neutral position from earlier; all of our stepping, blocks and attacks to come from this position and we will always have to go down. So train as we would want to fight. In the strictest sense sine wave isn't about power at all. It is about a forced relaxation and making everything without tension. So this is where I would call into question the validity of this point (my emphasis in bold). I am never going to be in a low forward stance so maintaining a low height when stepping into this stance isn't as crucial. Yes I totally agree that the quickest and shortest path is in a straight line to the target but I'm starting in an upright position and if I step long I must go down. So I train all of my movements whilst going down into a stance. ITF methodology is also that we don't keep stepping forward with hand attacks as described here. If an aggressor is far enough away that I have to take another step to him, I should kick instead and not chase with the hands. Otherwise I should go back up to neutral ready for my next move. So that's my understanding anyway. Rather than the video in the article, my goal looks more like this: Of course one of the major issues today is a non-comprehensive understanding of physics / mechanics some TKD instructors have. I'll also say that whilst the explanations in the General's Encyclopedia are correct, the English isn't great or very well phrased so there is room for misinterpretation. Hence we have this self-perpetuating cycle of instructors teaching grossly exaggerated movements because it's "move powerful".

Maybe it's just me but I always like to get something that's not MA related as unless there was something specific I knew they wanted, I figure they've already got it or have plans to get it. If it were me I'd have love to have received a folding life like Gareth mentioned. It's something you're likely to always carry with you and nowadays it's easy to get them engraved or etched. Maybe the Datsura bag?

Congratulations Bob! Amazing achievement. Thanks for sharing your journey with us.. Do you have any personal highlights that stand out?

Happy Birthday Bob! Hope you've had an awesome day.

I'd say it is pretty typical of the gyms and sports groups I've joined over the years. But more because they are looking for alarms bells that you might flop over and pass out after having used their equipment or taken their class. Like Brian said, it's mostly more as a waiver than anything else - they want to cover their own backs.

Anyone live close to Leeds: http://www.royalarmouries.org/events/events-at-leeds/calendar/2014-10-29/talk-the-science-of-zombie-killing Know there's a few zombie fanatics on KF looks like a pretty fun talk and it's only £5

Honesty you'd probably be best starting over but I would imagine that once you've got the different nuances in movement down you'd pick it up pretty quickly. Might even be offered the opportunity to skip or double grades.

Honestly a bloody nose is not that bad and happens fairly easy and frequently. It's the nature of what we do. Your partner doesn't hate you if he was smiling and accidents do happen. After only 1 year of training you're still finding your feet and learning how to control your tools so it's really not a problem if you accidentally hit people sometimes. Don't worry about it and get yourself back to the dojo. (and put some ice on your finger)

Probably a little different to most here but we can have up to 30 students in a class at a time. One main instructor and possibly a second assisting. Kids classes have a lower ratio as there are typically more assistants present but it is still usual to have between 20 - 25 kids in a room.

Depends what you want to do and what school you're at. From what I've seen, Jhoon Rhee's styles seems to be quite different from ITF. Some schools will let you transfer in and honour your grade (if your skills match the level they are looking for from a 1st dan). I doubt it would cause any problems if you were interested in competing locally or nationally so long as you join and become a member of the appropriate national body. But the instructor might hold you at your grade until you learn all of the ITF patterns and terminology and learn to move in the "correct" way. Anything beyond local level and you probably would have to retest up and get an ITF certificate and certificate number.

The question of child or young blackbelt rears it's head fairly regularly on KF... (In fact I think it was a similar topic that prompted me to sign up to the site). My answer to this topic is pretty much exactly what John has said: I'm a tad biased maybe because I received my 1st dan when I was 14. As John has said above, to base the decision on whether a candidate has the right characteristics and physical ability can be judged on a case by case basis and one would hope that the teacher who has trained them since day 1 would be able to assess that People age physically and emotionally at different rates and I think it is completely feasible that an under 18 could demonstrate maturity and the necessary physical attributes. If maturity is to be a criteria, many over 18s would fail this component. Likewise if we are to discuss physical strength would you deny a blackbelt to someone who was older and not able to move as fast or withstand as much impact? Or how about the more petite females? At the end of the day it is just a title and another step. In the real world little changes due to the colour of the belt tied round one's waist. If I showed up to training next week with a white belt my knowledge and experience obtained so far wouldn't magically be erased and I don't gain anything special by wrapping a black belt around my waist either.

As much as stretching the toes is important, you also have to choose the correct angle for the kick and for the foot. Bags really suck for roundhouse with the ball of the foot because of the curved surface. As a tool in of itself the ball of the foot is fine, I use it often in breaking.

Yes most Taekwondo rules don't allow for sweeps or throws (wish we could). That said, crossing the feet together still leaves you very vulnerable to side kicks and back kicks knocking you off balance. These are the two staple kicks for us and they tend to train them till they're very fast. Being caught in the foot-to-foot crossover position is very dangerous indeed.

The BTC or British Taekwon-Do Council is not a style or organisation. It is a collective group of the major associations in the UK and has representation from WTF ITF and independent associations alike. From the perspective of a student, the only bearing it has on your training is that they provide your insurance and lay down the Child Protection, Women's policies etc. that all BTC schools must adhere to. As a student it will have very little bearing on day-to-day training and it has no impact on technical or stylistic matters. AIMAA or Action International Martial Arts Association is a little different. This group was initially formed by Hee Il Cho to cater to his students and his style of Taekwondo and provides both insurance and teaching. Now it accepts member schools from any stylistic background. AIMAA might have a little more impact on your training in the sense that I think it has some input to curriculum and testing standards. That said again as a novice student these things shouldn't be a major concern. The instructor and school are more important. Pick the school based on how you feel after a couple of trial sessions. Which place feels more right and which instructor do you get on with better? Unless you really have some strong views on associations I really wouldn't worry too much.

Might be of interest: http://www.beastskills.com/handstand-pushups-beginner/ http://www.beastskills.com/tutorials/ There's quite a few bodyweight only programmes out there. Check out something like: http://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Your-Own-Gym/dp/0345528581 Ive heard good things about this one if you want full programmes and progressions.

Congratulations!

Thanks for the feedback wayneshin. FWIW the names I've given the movements are pretty arbitrary.. I hear tons of different names for the various movements but I wouldn't know if there are proper names to them The move I call push-step I like to liken to how a fencer would lunge forward. I'm at a conflict over whether I want to personally teach the crossover movement. In the early days of my training we used to do it a lot but now, like you said, it's not so good to bring your feet together. I've been training a lot with some K1 kickboxers recently and they too emphasise keeping the feet apart at all times. I suppose at the moment I still see the crossover as a stepping stone to learning how to skip in quickly with a front leg side kick although in this case the step movement is cut shorter. With the switch step I'll see if I can get a video or something together to clarify..

In short, yes. My sister received hers at 12. (FWIW I was awarded mine at 14.) We didn't then but we now have proper junior blackbelt ranks. When I tested though the only thing that separated child from adult was the level of the breaking requirement. Every other part of the test, from the written exam to understanding to practical aspect was the same. Every time the question of young blackbelt come up I think we have to answer the folowing: - What is a blackbelt? What are the physical and mental attributes? - Why can't younger students possess these qualities? The ITF still award 1st dan to those 13 and over.

I think it depends on your definition of martial artist and what you want to include under that label. For me, in my humble opinion, it is a combination of 2 things: physical ability and knowledge and understanding. A person can be an incredible fighter and really tough to beat but it may just be that they are naturally athletic. Likewise someone can be extremely knowledgeable and have a great understanding but it's all theoretical and they lack the physical tools to use what they know. For me, the best martial artist is the one that has both elements. This is a great answer!

In my home club my instructor's wife and assistant instructor always greets everyone when we arrive. My instructor himself tends to be finishing up the previous class or setting up for the next one or some other task. As senior student I usually make a point of saying hello to everyone. I have trained at friends' dojangs where at the end of class, starting from the lowest rank, every student shakes the hand of everyone else in the class. I think that's a nice touch.

Bob, how do you communicate with current students and parents? Just a consideration but along a slightly different line of thinking, a website can be a great tool for keeping in touch with existing students and offering up supplementary teachings in the form of videos, pictures articles etc. Also seems as good a place as any to send out any news or an events calendar.

I certainly don't think you're intentionally trying to hide something Bob. But think of it like this: suppose you've always wanted to play the guitar. You hear from your friend down the road that there is supposedly an amazing teacher called Jim in the next town who is completely revolutionary and can play a guitar like noone has heard before. But you don't know where Jim lives or plays or even if Jim is a real person. You do what most people do nowadays and try to find him via the Web. Unfortunately though you can't find him anywhere. Why can't you find any trace of him? Now Bill also lives in the same town and is a pretty good teacher too. Probably not as good as Jim but good enough. Bill has a website where he explains a little bit about himself; his influences, his teachers, places he's played and people he has taught. Maybe he even has a couple of videos showcasing his talent and some testimonials from past students. Above all Bill has plenty of contact info on there and an invitation to call him for a chat if you think you might be interested - no obligations. As a new prospective guitar player keen to start playing, do you: a) keep hunting for Jim He could be the best guitar teacher in the world. He could play the guitar with an incredible new method that noone else can. Or he could just be your average-Joe that's been hyped up. You might not even like his style of teaching or the way he plays. You don't even know that Jim really exists or if he still accepts students or that he wants to be contacted. b) take lessons with Bill From his website, his testimonials, his videos and from who he studied under, Bill looks pretty good. Maybe he's not as good as Jim but he seems good enough. From looking at his website you've already got a good feeling for him and what he is like and you think you would get along. You also know where he teaches and how to get in touch. For a lot of people, scenario b) is what they are going to go with. Bill has offered up information and made it easy to get in touch. He seems to be forthcoming with info and seems to welcomes new students and wants to share his style. Ok so you could miss out on an amazing experience with Jim but Jim hasn't made himself available and you don't know for sure how good he is or if he will want to teach you. Yes some people might choose option a) as they are willing to take a gamble for the best teacher but the vast majority will go with b) because they have already feel like they know Bill and have developed a relationship with him despite having never met the guy. Now replace guitar with Martial Arts. You could be missing out on a lot of prospective students who choose option b). Maybe you value those that persevere with route a) more as a student, I don't know. But in this day and age, people (especially the younger generation) like to have info easily accessible and upfront. If you don't, chances are your competitor will and not all prospective students will have the time nor the inclination to seek out the Jim's of the MA world when the Bill's have made everything easy already.