DWx

Welcome monk64 Looking forward to hearing some of your views, especially re. home study programs.

Welcome darksoul

Five?!? Maybe that's where I've been going wrong?

I kinda like it But its just soooo long! Not Karate but I hate having to do one of our 2nd dan TKD ones called Juche. Its the one that makes me feel like a white belt all over again.

Not to be a party pooper or anything, but what does it matter? Its unusual in that most schools/styles don't do it this way but seeing as ranks aren't consistent between styles anyway we can't really immediately jump to them being a McDojo. For all we know, their 1st dans could equate to a 2nd dan in a different style. To quote Shakespeare, "What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". Does it matter if they have a blackbelt rank and a 1st dan rank? As long as they're learning good Karate, who cares? In a way you could say that system makes more sense in that you get the belt and then spend years working to add more levels on to it. Seems a bit silly that we all get a blackbelt and immediately have a stripe or bar on it.

Most definitely yes! Got to fuel your body right.

I think this only happens in Tang Soo Do and related styles. In ITF TKD blackbelts have black edging around the bottom of their dobok and when you're 4th dan and up and an instructor you can have black stripes down the arms and legs.

Welcome to the forum bella666 Good advice so far. I also suffer from eczema which tends to flair up around my elbows and wrists although I've always worn a poly cotton gi. Definitely use the emollient (I also assume her doctor's given you some sort of corticosteroid too?). Cotton gi might be better but if you can't buy it yet, the leggings idea might work for her. Although try to use thin leggings as for me, the heat and sweat makes mine worse. When my wrists or elbows are really bad I sometimes use those thin elasticated supports to prevent my sleeves from rubbing so maybe try that? Just an FYI for the future, when and if she has to start wearing sparring gear, that always use to make mine worse so keep an eye on her. Best of luck and hope it gets better for her

I think there's merit in both. I've trained with non-English/poor-English teacher's before and the training just ends up being a lot more hands on with them demonstrating and manipulating rather than vocally teaching. The master coach who can't actually do the techniques will be able to give you explanations and reasons much easier but there's only so far words will get you. I'd imagine if anyone on here tried to teach me a technique verbal communication alone (no visual aids) it'd be a while before I grasped it and could perform it well enough. I agree with this reasoning and I think it makes sense too even when not talking self defence. If you're a sport MA competitor or if you're training MMA to compete, your coach doesn't necessarily have to have competed themselves or experienced that scenario to be able to tell you what's what.

I was thinking though, you'd think that with the coloured trousers there would be some consistency to it. Like females always wear blue bottoms and males wear black. Or if the colours did change they'd do so in a logical way. As it is, if you are a female, it goes red - blue - black (for poom, dan then high dan grades) and male goes blue - black - black. Seems a bit odd and random to me.

Good luck with your training Do you know what type of TKD you're studying?

I don't see a problem with it. It happens in my school at the lower grades. Our testing cycle is every 3 months so if you're advancing a faster rate then you can double test at the next grading. The people who do this are usually those that have prior training or were previously involved in some sort of other physical exercise because they pick the movements up quicker. Impossible to do at later grades though.

Well said. Compactness is what you should aim for but you still want a good technique. With colour belt students we emphasize big blocks and strikes because it does teach you the proper mechanics. Higher kup grades and blackbelts start making their movements more compact and efficient once they understand how to generate power.

Welcome vitaniya

Be careful not to burn out too fast You still want to be excited for every lesson and not get bored or frustrated with your training. Also if going so much is impacting on your school work or other commitments you may want to scale it back a bit. Being dedicated is good but if other areas of your life are suffering its not so good.

Welcome

Welcome

The type (and quality) of TKD will depend on the individual school. As bushido_man96 already said, the two main styles of TKD are WTF and ITF and you'll get good and bad schools in each of them. There are also numerous other types of TKD too. I'm no expert on TSD but from what I gather, its closer to Karate than TKD is although it is similar to TKD in a number of ways too. I'd go check out the school first before making any decisions

I always have. Nothing major, just a line or two saying I compete, teach and coach and responsibilities/achievements associated with that which are relevant to the job I'm applying to. Its what my uni careers service told me to do because as a new graduate I don't have a ton of past jobs and work experiences. But reading this, it categorical says no you shouldn't: http://www.24fightingchickens.com/2011/02/10/should-i-put-karate-on-my-resume/ So does anybody mention it on their resume? Reasons for putting it on? Reasons for omitting it? Obviously for certain roles it'd be a very good idea to i.e. something where you'd actually be using your training like a bouncer or security guard but I'm talking other jobs here.

How rooted in fact is the dyeing of the belt thing behind the choice of colours? Other than white-black it doesn't seem to be all that consistent across styles. I can see the dyeing working for white-yellow-orange-red and then maybe purple, possibly a very dark blue, but after that it probably doesn't work so well anymore. In the TKD I do, its: White-Yellow-Green-Blue-Red-Black We have it that order for a reason as there's this analogy of a plant growing = TKD skills growing attached it it. And they're linked to the Buddhist colour meanings.

Congrats

Ok ignore what I said then, must be a difference because you're in the US . The Dyna prices match up to what I can get them for over here in the UK. Is the Macho dipped foam gear the only type you can use? I don't really rate it all that good mainly because it doesn't last very long at all. If you have to use it, you will need to factor in having to replace the gear every year or so depending on how much you're using it. Mainly in the foot and hand pads the foam will start to rip where it creases and the underside of the foot will start to come away. A little tip to extend the life of them is to use superglue to mend the tears but that'll give you a few months extra use at the most. As its a common brand of sparring gear that you can get elsewhere, I would insist to the guy that you buy your own. Just be sure to check whether he requires the open or the closed finger Dyna glove and what colours are allowed and there really shouldn't be a problem. If you can buy it yourself, FYI a lot of places will sell the bundle of equipment for less than buying all the individual components e.g.: http://www.bytomic.com/detail.asp?c_urn=11&show=Combat+Kits&urn=294&pg=1 WRT the foot pad question, it'll depend on the school as to when they require it. In my TKD school foot pads are required from the same time you buy all your other gear but other places might not do so much kicking.

Nice video MasterPain. I like the way your one-steps kinda build up principles and concepts rather than just a whole load of techniques. In our school we do one-steps and step sparring but different to most in that we don't have any set combinations or sequences. We're supposed to use it as the bridge between kata and sparring. We don't have a concept of bunkai so I guess in a way it fills that role as you're supposed to be able to use whatever blocks and counters that you've learnt in fundamentals and kata training and apply them. At low colour belt level the attacker is just doing a front punch or kick, at higher levels it can be any strike or kick appropriate to your grade as instructed by the examiner or instructor in class. You have to come up with your own responses based on what techniques and stances you've been taught. Then for 1st dan and above its practised without you knowing what the attack is (kick or strike) so you have to read what's coming and react accordingly. On the whole you learn to classify attacks as linear, inward-to-outward, outward-to-inward, upwards or downwards then come up with a set of responses for each. Then it doesn't matter if the attacker throws a ridgehand, inward knife-hand, roundhouse or haymaker as they would all be outward-to-inward attacks and as soon as you see the trajectory you can react.

Initially do R.I.C.E: rest, ice, compression and elevation. Also take ibuprofen if you're doc hasn't already prescribed anti-inflammatories. When you do go back to training, wear strapping for a weeks even if it no longer hurts because its easy to do it again.

Surely being charged for a full session when they get only 3/4 is punishment enough. Being late for something that you want to attend and pay to attend is, after all, not wasting the Sensei time. Even longer if Sensei will not allow them to join the class until he allows them to. Got get me wrong, I don't disagree with you and see your point fully. I just have a bit of a problem with Adults being 'told off' in class. Its not even just missing 1/4 or 1/2 a class though. It does waste the sensei's time as ultimately they will have to cover it again even if they don't do it that lesson. Also when I take a class I like to build things up and follow on from what I said 15 minutes ago. If you miss the start of my class you won't get the full benefit of the rest of my class unless I repeat myself. I think its disrespectful too if there wasn't a genuine reason you were late. Being habitually late is like saying you don't care much for the sensei and his instruction if you don't think the first 15 minutes is worth turning up for. Nothing wrong with telling adults off if they act out. Its what they signed up for when they signed up to the class. I suppose if people objected to pushups I'd just kick them out of my class instead and refuse to teach the,.