YoungMan

I could see it if you stopped practicing in one style or organization in order to start practicing in another. Many Korean instructors back in the late 60's-early 70's who held ITF certification switched over to the WTF/Kukkiwon. But I question why there is a need to actively hold both? The saying "If you fail to stand for something you will fall for anything" holds true here. What side of the fence are you on? If you ae Kukkiwon, fine. ATA? Fine. ITF (whatever version), fine. But pick one and be loyal to it. The WTF and ITF are competitors, with a 40 year history of not always good relations. How can you possibly justify being a member of both?

Life does happen. Some circumstances you just can't help: new job, relocation, school etc. Sometimes, unfortunately, a school does close down for one reason or another. I had to stop to stop teaching due to new job and starting school. I'd like to resume after school is done. And you can't always rely on being able to find a school of the same style and organization that you left. You like to, but not always. You shouldn't shuffle from style to style in order to find the "perfect art", cause it ain't gonna happen. You find one that fits your needs, and has good chemistry.

I'd hate to think that the Kukkiwon would permit double active certification just to have members. My belief is: you cannot have active certification in two competing TKD organizations. You cannot be actively ATA and WTF, or ITF and WTF, just like you cannot be a member of two competing political parties. Kinda defeats the purpose. You must pick one.

One trend that has plagued Hong Kong-produced martial arts films for quite a while is a move away from aesthetically pleasing realism and towards the Crouching Tiger/wire work/flying through the air/Chinese opera influenced choreography. Keep in mind, Enter the Dragon was made for an American audience using an American director. Chinese audiences may appreciate the flowery, drunken monkey, Chinese opera-based choreography, but Americans like realism. The one thing Chuck Norris brought to the screen that I respect-realistic fight choreography. His technique was subpar, but he tried. Aesthetically pleasing, but realistic looking. Bruce Lee understood this, and this is one thing that separated his films from the crap that surrounded them. The techniques used in his films were very eye friendly, but solidly based in reality. Keeping this in mind, I think Korean-based kicking, with a healthy dose of Chinese style hand technique could work. Jet Li is possibly the one guy who could pull this off. Technically proficient with an attitude. I don't think a MMA or kickboxer would do it justice. Their technique is designed for the ring, not the camera. Why do you think Don Wilson's films were so awful?

Good luck. That would be like trying to remake Star Wars. Why mess with perfection? In practically every poll, Enter the Dragon is listed as the greatest martial arts film of all time. My opinions about Bruce Lee notwithstanding, he brought something to the screen that simply cannot be duplicated. I just cannot believe they would find someone who could duplicate that. Jet Li and/or Tony Jaa maybe. Anyone else, I think, would simply come across as a typical Hollywood actor trying to showcase themself and ruin it. And for God's sake don't get one of those Matrix or wire work choreographers. It will end up looking like a typical kung fu film with people stopping or flying through the air and look awful.

Ah, where to begin. Based on the uniforms alone I'd say forget it. If it's a WTF/Kukkiwon school why are students wearing blue uniforms? Why are the sparring students smiling at the camera instead of watching each other? How can you hold 6th Dan in Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Hapkido? 6th Dan in any of those takes a huge commitment.

As a side note, the WTF is sponsoring an essay contest for black belts that encourages them to write an essay talking about Tae Kwon Do's future (I think-I don't have the article in front of me). It does say explicitly ITF students are NOT eligible. Hmmmm.

As I stated previously, I don't have anything against the ITF (other than their misguided belief that Gen. Choi was the founder of TKD-but that's another forum ). However, I do believe in loyalty to your Instructor and organization. Unless your Instructor is incorporating some training from the ITF (or vice versa), it is flat out wrong to go behind his back and train in another TKD style without his express consent and knowlege. And no Instructor I know would allow that. If you train ITF, you implicitly agree to abide by their training methods and curriculum. If you train WTF, you agree to the same thing. If you train ITF, you must accept the fact that your organization will not be allowed to go to the Olympics. If you desire Olympic or some other Kukkiwon-recognized training, you must quit ITF and train WTF exclusively. You can't have it both ways. To do both is to (a) practice disloyalty to your Instructor and organization and (b) force your body and mind to accept two separate and competing training ideologies. And is training for Olympic gold (a longshot in itself) worth being disloyal and the troubles it would cause? I think not. Aside from the fact that Kukkiwon forms and training methods are perfectly adequate in themselves. No need to train another organization to make up for some imaginary shortcomings. Be happy with one or the other.

Jackson, Michigan. Affiliated with GM Tae Zee Park, 9th Dan Kukkiwon. I don't actually study there anymore. However, I am still with the organization which is based there. The Head Instructor is a good friend of mine. We tested together.

I have personally never found UFC exciting. In fact, to me it was downright boring. All I saw was two fighters who traded a few kicks and more punches (about 10/90) until they could get close enough to grapple. Then it was 15 minutes of attempted submissions. Why is that exciting? I would have loved to see a TKD fighter vs. karate or judo, in uniforms. At least then I would feel a little bond with the TKD guy and root for him. All I see is two guys in spandex shorts fighting pretty much the same way-Throw a few kicks to show it's not boxing, throw more punches, and grapple the rest of the time. It's boring.

You know, the more I read about these guys, the more I'm glad I study where I do. But that's another forum.

It is most important to go with the school that best fits your needs, not necessarily the one you started with. Any time before black belt, you are always free to make a new beginning. Stopping class to make a sale is a great way to bring an entire class down, and it sounds to me like he's putting money before all else. You gotta make a living, but it would be better to either have class after the shop closes, or put up a sign saying the store is closed during class hours. Other than that, it is best to go with the class and Instructor you feel most comfortable with, and it doesn't have to be in Tae Kwon Do, if the local TKD classes do not fit your needs. Ideally they would, but they don't always.

Unfortunately, it will catch up with him eventually in a way that he will not be able to control. And then he will have two Instructors angry at him and most likely not wanting him at either school. But this is not your problem. This something he will have to deal with. And yes, it is better to study two unrelated disciplines, and well after black belt. If one of my students were doing that, I would tell them pick one. If you cannot or will not decide, I will decide for you.

I caught the tail end of the Savate episode. The fight was disappointing. Just two big guys in a ring throwing subpar kicks, kinda like UFC. For a Savate champ, I expected better. I want to see them go to Korea and take on some of the Korean fighters. That would be interesting.

So what you're saying is that the ITF Instructor knows he's attending a WTF school, but the WTF Instructor doesn't know he's attending an ITF school. That's not very above board. In the name of loyalty and honesty, I would strongly advise your friend to pick a school and stay with it. Going to two different schools, regardless of the intentions, will only lead to conflict.

CTTKDKing, You mentioned your friend's other school, which is ITF. Is your friend going to an ITF school at the same time as a WTF school? If he is, does his Instructor know about this? I have nothing against the ITF, but you cannot and should not take WTF and ITF at the same time, whether sparring or forms. The techniques and philosophies are too different. Either WTF curriculum or ITF curriculum.

Because the founders of Tae Kwon Do decided that "Tang Soo Do" was foreign sounding, and they wanted a name that originated in Korea without implications of Chinese or Japanese influence (this was soon after WWII remember). Apparently, some Chung Do Kwan students had just done a demo for some high ranking government officials who wanted to know what the art was called. "Tae Kyon" was associated with street fighting and betting, and "Tang Soo Do" was associated with Japan and China. So the Chung Do Kwan students had to come up with a new, Korean-based name. Unfortunately, since many of them had been educated outside Korea, this was not as easy as it sounds.

Well, since the original question was "what is your favorite kick?", not "what is the best kick for knocking out an opponent", you are perfectly entitled to call the tornado kick your favorite kick. To each his own.

The tornado tends to one of many in a series, which means it doesn't stick out as much. Yes, it looks nice, but is not used as a finishing kick very often. The axe kick tends to be used by itself, and is often the last thing a fighter sees before he hits the floor. In other words, I've seen many fighters use an axe kick as the opponent comes in, and that's it. The fighter goes down.

I personally think a well executed axe kick, especially against an opponent, is an awesome sight to behold. Brings a smile to my face, especially when told "Taekwondo techniques don't work." Tell that to the guy laying there.

Good question. Ki Hwang did indeed decide not to ally Tang Soo Do with the Tae Kwon Do unification movement. However, a group of his senior students, led by Chong Soo Hong, broke off from Hwang's TSD and allied themselves with Tae Kwon Do and the KTA/Kukkiwon. Therefore, you have TSD Moo Duk Kwan under Ki Hwang, and TKD Moo Duk Kwan under Chong Soo Hong (Hwang's senior student). Chong Soo Hong would therefore be considered the Kwan Jang of TKD Moo Duk Kwan. I hope that helps.

Doboks remind us as a group that we are there for a singular purpose. It is not necessary to wear one when practicing alone. But as part of class, I strongly believe in using them and standardizing them. To that end, color belts wear one type, black belts wear another. I don't believe in letting each black belt decide for himself what type or color to wear. For me, there is only one color. You want to wear a non-standard dobok? Don't come to class.

Tang Soo Do is the martial art founded by Ki Hwang, who trained in Japanese karate and Chinese kung fu. He says he studied Tae Kyon, although this highly doubtful. He did, though, study under Won Kuk Lee up to green belt, from whom he received permission to use the name Tang Soo Do. Originally, Hwang's Tang Soo Do was pretty much Japanese karate with some kung fu thrown in. Over time, much like Tae Kwon Do, it evolved into its own identity. Unlike Tae Kwon Do, it never received the recognition from Korean society and the government that Tae Kwon Do did.

Americans really aren't into the finer details about what separates one style from another. To us, it's all karate, or kung fu, or kickboxing. How many years did we lump all Japanese styles into "karate", all Chinese styles into "kung fu"? To us, all fighting in a ring is "kickboxing".

Our classes use them when doing tournament-oriented sparring to better understand what they feel like. All fighters must wear them at our tournament, but we use WTF rules anyway.