has TKD gone downhill?

[Kicks]

Sasori_Te wrote:

I know a TKD school in South Louisiana in a town called Slidell that teaches very hardcore TKD

 

Do you know the name of the school and what style or organization they belong to? I'm in the New Orleans area, next to Slidell, and would be interested in looking them up.

[dear john]

okay seriously did someone change my topic name?

[jayak]

The school I go to is a "hardcore" TKD, and we are similar to the one you are talking about, we are about 50/50 feet hands, we study the traditional katas and one steps etc.....but as for the flashy kicks we do some but not so much since we accept they have no real use in real world applications....we also do grappling, ground fighting, throughs, and we started sparring as white belts to get us used to it.....and we go full contact, our master really belives that the only way to get used to it and good at it is to actually do it. I agree.....we also train weapons.....our school is almost what I would call TKD + Mixed martial arts.......he also teaches self defense, street fighting, and kickboxing.....

[47MartialMan]

There are reasons I dislike TKD, but those aren't the reasons. First off, what we now know as TKD was created in the 1950s by General Cho, a student of Funakoshi (Shotokan). I could go on and on, but what I want to say instead is that it is not a good idea to have a thread entitled "Why X is a sucky MA", where X can be anything.

 

I know you have TKD in the list of styles you take, and maybe this post was simply created to spark discussion on possible differences between TKD now and at its foundings...I just think a little more forum etiquette would be in order.

 

I informed him of this before.

[47MartialMan]

Okay, since you are so "bored", I'll be glad to pass along my theory...

 

TKD has gotten the impression of "going down hill" because of many different forces. #1: The Korean Government named it theitr national sport, and since then, the focus has shifted, in general, away from traditions. #2: The United States was introduced to TKD at a tie when MA's were really a strange and new idea. With the American Servicemen that were returning from Korea, armed with TKD training, and with the number of Koreans that came to America, specifically looking to expose the world to their art, an abundance of schools began. If there were only a handful of TKD schools, with the same dedicated practitioners that first began them here in the States, then you would see a completely different beast. But what you have is a growing number of people, growing exponentially, that want to open up their own schools... some are better at marketing than they are at TKD, and the art has suffered. And #3: Wright or wrong, the impression that people have has grown and become stronger over the years, because of statements like your opening comment. What you say does not have to be true in order to make people believe it.... just look at the rhetoric coming from the presidential candidates.

I informed him of this also.

 

But, TKD, like any martial art that becomes too popular. People "come out of the woodwork" without proper expereince and credentials to teach. And as those do that, the belt and ranking is the emphasis, thus making a belt factory, sales-marketing pitch, and finally a McDojo.

 

However, not all TKD schools behave like this.

 

And I believe, ALL MA schools have some type of benefit(s).

[47MartialMan]

Sasori_Te wrote:

I know a TKD school in South Louisiana in a town called Slidell that teaches very hardcore TKD

 

Do you know the name of the school and what style or organization they belong to? I'm in the New Orleans area, next to Slidell, and would be interested in looking them up.

 

Same here. What school might that be?

 

I have only one that comes to mind-but I wouldn't consider it "hardcore".

[longarm25]

im not even going there

[dear john]

MM47 i know that you already told me info such as thid but i wanted to know what other people thought on the matter

[gojuchad]

listen TKD can be just as effective as ANY other art. The reason that it may appear to be watered down is taht there are so many schools. It is by far the most practiced art in the U.S. . The more teachers you have the more "paper dragons" you will have, in other words people who say they are something that they are not. My point is it all depends on the teacher and how it is taught. Theres my 2 cents worth.

[Reklats]

listen TKD can be just as effective as ANY other art.

 

This is a very common fallacy among traditional martial artists. TKD was never especially uphill in the first place when it came to being effective. People say that a good martial artist can make any ma good, but that's like spraying perfume on a... well, you can probably use your imagination here.

 

It IS fun though, which is why it's so successful. The strength of TKD is it's amusement value, that's why it has thrived so much. Not because tkd practicioners have been using their deadly art to successfully survive for the past 2000 years.