tkd

[Sam]

Couldnt say it better - depends on so many things... just like any other MA you get more traditional and more sport based schools from some peoples perspective.... it just happens iwth TKD the difference is polarised and there are aLOT more sport orientated schools going about since the olympics hence the general impression people have of TKD

[y2_sub]

Okay , that was an interresting topic . My opinion is , sport TKD is just a sport and useless in real situation unless you came up with a lucky shot , traditional TKD is another story . As for competing with TKD guys ,my dojo sponsors an anual tournament where many martial arts schools compete under kyokushin rules ( full contact , knock down rules ) , each and every year top TKD fighters participate in the tournament and they loose big time .

[Sam]

I would say sprot TKD is useless by itself - but what you learn from it is fantastic..... fitness speeed, agility....

[Aodhan]

Okay , that was an interresting topic . My opinion is , sport TKD is just a sport and useless in real situation unless you came up with a lucky shot , traditional TKD is another story . As for competing with TKD guys ,my dojo sponsors an anual tournament where many martial arts schools compete under kyokushin rules ( full contact , knock down rules ) , each and every year top TKD fighters participate in the tournament and they loose big time .

That's not surprising, and by itself is meaningless. Take the same kyokushin top fighters and put them in a TKD ring under TKD rules and you would see a reversal, the kyokushin would generally fair pretty badly.

If you train in and for one style, it's extremely difficult to just jump into another tournament style and do well. Not a knock on any practictioners, pretty much just a simple fact.

Aodhan

[Sabumnim]

I agree with what Aodhan says on the tournament style front. Generalising like this is a bit foolish, to preconcieve an idea like that

will end up in a shock should you fight a talented TKD fighter in the future.

[y2_sub]

What i ment is TKD connot survive in a full contact environment , thats why we don't c TKD guys succefully competing in k-1 or UFC .

[Aodhan]

What i ment is TKD connot survive in a full contact environment , thats why we don't c TKD guys succefully competing in k-1 or UFC .

Well, you could say the same for most JKD, Judo, Okinawan Karate, Escrima, Wushu, Capoiera, Savate, Kung Fu, etc. Does this mean that the art is invalid? No, it simply means that they train differently.

I would expect that muay thai and kickboxers would do much better "Out of the box" so to speak. A TKD practictioner like 90% of the other martial arts out there would have to do some retraining in the specific style to be able to compete.

I hear this from a lot of people, and I always reply that it depends on the practictioner. There are some black belts in my school I would trust to defend against a chocolate pie. There are others that I would NEVER want to see if they were mad. Any art can be effective, and misplaced belief in any art can be deadly.

I am fully confident that against 99% of the people that I might meet that would intend to do me harm I could more than hold my own against. However, EVERYONE can be beaten, so for me to go around bragging that TKD is the be all end all of MA would just be foolish.

And as far as K1, there was a very large black guy (Forget his name, but he is also in the movie "Longest Yard" that was just remade, Bob Sapp maybe?) that I watched. He had almost no technique, got pummeled every time I saw him, but won because he could take an incredible amount of punishment until he could get in his one or two thunder shots. He was a football player, no real MA experience to speak of, just an ability to take punishment. Does this mean we all should play football?

Just because a specific art may not do well in a specific arena, doesn't mean that the art is invalid. I've seen some capoeira maestros that could wipe several floors with me, yet would probably get their heads handed to them in a K1 bout.

Aodhan

[mattyj]

Sorry my post definitely came out wrong.

I was in a rush - what i should have said is there are loads of threads on this, and the general gist is that there are 2 main types of school:

1. Sport

2. Traditional

Sport breaks into WTF Olympic Style sparring; and ITF semi contact style with some full contact in some rules.

Traditional has many variations, but you could consider the Sport and Traditional completely different arts, that happen to share a couple of techniques....

Again apologies if my post seemed rude before

i would hardly say itf is sport orientated? being the original tkd and rooting from the 'traditional' arts of shotokan and taekyon itd be one of the most traditional... atleast at the school i go to..

anyway, on topic, tkd (sport tkd) has become so commercial thats its all about flashy kicks that are ineffective in a street situation

[tsdtony]

cal worshem 6th dan tkd competed sucsefully in ufc.But i am tired of guys trying to say tkd depinds on which org.I tend to agrea most tkd is sport but thats what thay train for.I do belive if thay traned for defince thay would improve.But were tkd is today its not gunna cut it for selfdefince i dont care wich org your froum .yes there our older tkd instructor that will have great skill. But the art for the most part is sport not selfdefince no matter how you try and sell it.Its sad but the public will only see this side with all the media out there.Hopefully in the future the world will get to see the more tridishola side.SWich does have decit selfdefince that could be praticly used.But thats only a very small group in a great big ocean.

[Sabumnim]

tsdtony,

I study TKD and have studied TSD in the past, I find TKD to be a more applicable art. As for the self defence aspects, TKD has brutal dissabling techniques that include ankle, leg and neck breaks. This martial art was developed in the military so fobbing off its capabilities because of its fame is disgraceful.

I have fought in one multi-style tournament and won my age category, my art is in no way superior or inferior to another. I have won my sparring section in every competition I have entered.

In the street it is even easier, no rules means you can finish quickly. If you fight enough though your gonna get finished sooner or later.