Karate to Tae Kwon Do

[searcher]

I was in the same boat as you. Then about nine months ago I decided it was as good of a time as any to get my "fancy kicks" and so I started learning TKD- "ITF style". I still continue to train in my karate styles and the TKD has opened up a whole new world for me. As for the flexibility part you should look up Thomas Kurz and get his stretching tapes. I have never had any problems with my flexibility, but this guy has his ducks in a row. As for the promotion part of it I am at the red belt level right now, the basics are all the same, but you learn new forms and one and three stepp sparring that is just like the yakusoku kumite that is found in most karate schools. Now on the "giving up" of your rank CloudDragon is right you don't give up anything, it is a very humbling experience to enter into a new style, especially when you are already a BB. I am at fifth dan and have started over, so if I were you I would not worry about a little thing like belt color.

[Sam]

In most European based ITF Styles the following is true

 

White - Blue : 3 months between gradings [18 months total]

 

Blue - black: 6 months between gradings [2 years total]

 

3.5 years total.

 

in Tae Guk Styles [or most variations] a black belt can be attained in 2 years.

 

in BTCB style [small group] a black belt can be attained in 10months [belt a month] or quicker [they give them out if they need instructors, lol.]

 

It used to be that in ITF Styles training with M. Gen Choi would halve your grading time for the next grading but that stopped in 2002 when he died.

[Gloi]

I started TKD when I had just got my brown belt in karate. I started because there were classes being held on days when I had no karate class and I thought it would help with my fitness and with my kicking, which at the time was a bit slow and laboured. I think it has worked and my kicking has become a lot more relaxed.

 

I now have my karate black belt and all being well will be taking my TKD black belt next summer.

 

The biggest difference between my two classes is that of attitude. The karate class is a very traditional type class and the teacher is quite strict. His way of thinking is that he teaches a martial art and if people can't cope then there are plenty of other palces they can train. As a result there are many very tough and very good high grades there but a lot of beginners can't handle the hard training and go somewhere else. As a 1st dan I am still normally only 3 places above the bottom of the line.

 

The TKD teacher is a lot younger and very athletic, he does great kicks and is very impressive to look at(doing his kicks I mean . However although there are a couple of young men in the class who do sparring competitions and are quite good the class is also full of people with absolutely no sort of 'martial spirit'. They are so afraid of getting so much as a little bruise on their arm it's a joke, I wonder why they don't just go to aerobics. I'm not particularly tough, I'm a dumpy, asthmatic middle aged woman for goodness sake, but a lot of the people in the class seem to think I'm some sort of psycho just because I'm used to getting hit and it doesn't bother me much. I know that it takes a while for beginners to get used to things but I really think the teacher should try and build up the spirit in the seniors a bit more. We have a black tag that complains constantly ever time we spar and I have NEVER hit or kicked her. I did a few kicks round her head and chest with karate style 'sundome' distancing and she had a huffy fit and sat at the side and refused to fight.

 

The class does give me a lot of chances to practice stuff without stress and I often practice things there and take them back to try in the more dangerous sparring environment of the karate dojo.

 

All in all though I quite enjoy both classes and it seems to work quite well for me at the moment. In the long run though it is the karate that I want to take the furthest. I will be happy to just take my first dan in TKD and stay at that level.

[aefibird]

Great post Gloi!

 

Just out of interest, where abouts in England are you from?

[Gloi]

Cheers Aefibird

 

I come from Lancashire