DWx

For those that teach (and also those that don't): Describe your ideal student. What qualities would they have?

Nice to see a bit of TKD in the news : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26798506 10 tiles is relatively easy but don't think I'd want to do it 100 times over

Great advice already from Wastelander. What I would say is, Google schools in your area and ask around to get an idea of what's available first. Then go along and try a few classes at each. A good rapport with the instructor and school atmosphere is more important than the style. If you want to narrow it down a little, maybe you can ask yourself the following questions as each martial art and school will be geared to slightly different things: Do you want to strike (kick and punch), throw or grapple? Do you want competition? Self defense? Weapons training? Do you want tradition/discipline or more informal? Hard contact / light contact? Adults only or family friendly? That should help you narrow your search down a little. You might want to look at these threads for more help on what you should look for: http://www.karateforums.com/how-should-one-go-about-choosing-a-school-and-instructor-vt38789.html http://www.karateforums.com/what-are-the-right-questions-to-ask-vt31895.html Good luck

Depends which type of Taekwondo; ITF WTF or a different style? ITF: http://www.comdo.com/belt-colours.html WTF: http://www.tigonblackbeltacademy.com/wtf-belt-system/ ATA: http://ataonline.com/taekwondo/belts/index.asp Other schools may have their own variation too.

Two weeks ago I tested for and successful passed my 4th dan My first time testing in 5 years and it was hands down the hardest test I've done. There were 5 of us tested by a 7th dan who'd been appointed by the ITF. The physical test included patterns up to my grade, step sparring, free sparring, multi attacker self defense and breaking. The master that tested us favours the more special techniques so breaking was a flying high kick, 360 back kick, jump back kick, suspended air break with ridge hand and knifehand. Everything off of both sides. Alongside the physical test there was a hefty theoretical test too. A couple of months ago I had to submit a written thesis on any aspect of TKD I liked. Mine was on exploring the deeper meaning of Do 道. I had to defend and elaborate on this in my exam and was also asked a whole load of terminology and theory.

Welcome Archimoto

Welcome Ninja Mom

Best of luck

Congrats hammer

Kicking high for me. Alright with high front kicks, axe kicks and those types of kicks but anything requiring sideways hip flexibility and I'm screwed. Would give anything to be able to do a perfect head height side kick.

To the bold type above... Effective for ones sake!! Being a proponent of the MA because it's fun or healthy or "I did it", imho, is a waste of valuable time that could've been used for something else, other than the MA. Doing something fun or healthy is not time well spent?

Competition between students can be a good thing if it's like this. This is how my peers and I are too;if we're sprinting or exercising we're trying to go faster than one another or do one more rep, if we're sparring we try to best each other etc. Healthy competition drives you all forward. I suppose we do see negative competition in our school. I think this usually occurs between kids and those that are mid to high colour belt ish. As an instructor you just gotta make sure it stays toned down to a minimum.

In Patrick's absence: Happy Birthday to Alex! Patrick passes on his wishes and I hope you had a great day.

I always teach that upper torso should be a focal point. In your periphery you can see the arms and legs but, more importantly, any movement will build from the ground upwards and as a result upper chest/torso movement can be very telling of what technique someone is about to throw. 2 mins is a long time, especially when the adrenaline is dumping into your system. At a very basic level, try not to go full pelt for the whole two mins. Feel out your opponent, then go in for a flurry of activity, then come back and reset for a bit. A longer term strategy is to build up the cardio. Start progressively working your way up to 2 full mins of light skipping or jogging. Then mix it up with interval training: say 10 secs of all out sprinting & 20 secs casual jogging. Rinse and repeat for the full 2 mins. Eventually you'll need less and less recovery time. Probably sick to death of me posting these videos but I can't recommend them enough:

The Tricks Tutorials website is really good for stretching (and also plyometrics). Simply enough for beginners but with good development for advanced too. I would also recommend to OP to make sure you are learning the action of the roundhouse properly too. It's TKD but these videos are great for learning the kick and the action is similar enough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIawbHsotgl

This is a great thread idea cheesefrysamurai. My biggest regret is simply not trying hard enough when I was younger. I just cruised along really, had a go at everything but was a bit too quick to dismiss things if I couldn't do them. Instead of watching classmates do flying kicks or drop down into the splits and just accepting that I couldn't, I wish I'd been more determined to train hard so that I could. It's only now, when work and life are getting in the way and my physical ability is slowly declining, that I see something like that and think not about how I can't do it but how I can get to where I can do it. Wish I'd had that attitude as a kid.

^Nice set up SteyrAUG Which part of the world are you located in? Hopefully you're winter's aren't too cold to train outdoors.

Yep certainly interesting and I agree there is a visual difference. Tae Kwon Do too is an umbrella term as it contains many different styles. Look how different the Tae Kwon Do you posted is to these (all 1st dan material for comparison): This is all Tae Kwon Do. What makes them not Karate? Or what makes Karate what it is?

Welcome to KF snowturtle

Solid post!! The use of "karate" for every MA, imho, falls into allowing, thus satisfying the masses. Karate is Karate. TKD is TKD. Boxing is boxing. Wrestling is wrestling. BJJ is BJJ. Judo is judo. And so on and so forth, imho!! Sure I think it's wrong to label boxing, wrestling or BJJ under the Karate label as they are fundamentally different and are not a descendant. (Doubt most of these guys would want to use that name anyway). But taking Korean Karate/Tae Kwon Do/Tang Soo Do/Kong Soo Do, ultimately it's just tweaked (Shotokan) Karate and can technically claim lineage back to Funakoshi and ultimately Shuri-Te/Naha-Te. What disqualifies it from adopting the "Karate brand"? Simply location? As I said in my earlier post, Tang Soo Do and Kong Soo Do are really just the Korean pronunciations of Karate-Do. Would it be ok to use these terms? Personally I choose not to call TKD Karate but I think you can argue some schools can claim to teach (Korean) Karate, especially those that remain close to the original Kwan teachings. If location is a factor, does Ed Parker's Kenpo Karate qualify for the Karate name tag? It wasn't developed in Japan or Okinawa.

We spent a small amount of time with it when I studied Tai Chi. Male and female practiced with it. Gunbai are usually the unfoldable flat ones right? I think the Tessen is generally a male and female weapon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_war_fan#War_fans_in_history_and_folklore

Essentially yes. There were 5 original Kwans or schools founded in the 1940s towards the end of Japan's occupation of Korea, (four more were founded in the 1950s). Most trained in some form of Karate as they'd been relocated to Japan (or Okinawa) at some point before going back home to Korea. It's a messy and muddled history especially as it is mixed in with Japanese-Korean politics but in short: 5 Original Kwans *Chung Do Kwan (Lee Won Kyuk), trained in Taekkyon, Karate with Funakoshi and Kung-Fu in China *Jidokwan (Chun Sang Sup), Karate under Funakoshi, *Chang Moo Kwan (Yoon Byung-In, trained Chuan-Fa and Karate under Kanken Toyama *Moo Duk Kwan (Hwang Kee), studied Taekkyon and Soo Bahk (?), later Kung Fu and some elements of Shotokan *Song Moo Kwan (Ro Byung Jik), studied Karate under Funakoshi Post Korean War Kwans *Han Moo Kwan (Lee Kyo Yoon), offshoot of Jidokwan, *Oh Do Kwan (Choi Hong Hi), offshoot of Chung Do Kwan, also studied under Funakoshi and some Taekkyon *Kang Duk Won (Park Chul Hee), offshoot of Chang Moo Kwan *Jung Do Kwan (Lee Yong Woo), offshoot of Chung Do Kwan http://www.martialartsresource.com/anonftp/pub/the_dojang/digests/history.html Most kwans started off using Karate Kata. The ITF hyung/tul came in around the 1960s (?) and then later the WTF poomsae and taegueks. Other groups like the ATA/Songham later devised their own forms. But some schools still retain the original kata they were taught. Tang Soo Do is the Korean pronunciations of 唐手道, the hanja for (China-hand) Karate Do. Kong Soo Do is the pronunciation of 空手道, (empty-hand) Karate-Do.

That's quite a nice analogy for it. However I'm of the opinion rank can't necessarily be taken away but you can be designated inactive if you don't actively train at the right level. In the normal world certain academic fields or professional bodies would require you to show you are keeping up with the latest in the industry for your status to still be valid.

I agree. A lot depends on the instructor, student and what they are both trying to achieve. Sometimes the drill sergeant approach is good, especially if you react well to having someone shout at you in that way. Some students will push themselves much harder if someone's bellowing in their earhole the entire time. But also instructors who are calmer can be beneficial too. Count yourself lucky you get to experience both types

Certainly the 1st felt very sparring like to me, especially the kicking combo and slide back sections. Looks quite complex with a high skill level needed. Although I'm not very familiar with the rest of the WTF poomse, these also had a more circular feel to me.