Firt off I would like to say hello, I'm new to these great forums and hopefully I can contribute as well as everyone else.

I started taking Taekwondo about 2 months ago and the more I search these forums the more I hear Taekwondo is bad for self defense, and Taekwondo is just a sport. I believe this art is getting a bad rap. The school I attend is mostly geared towards self defense. As a whitebelt I have been taught six defenses against a front choke all include joint locks and strikes with the hands and feet. Not to say that is all you need to defend your self but its a good start, at each belt level there are usually 4-6 defenses against a variety of situations like front choke, rear choke, wrist grabs, and so on.

Another thing I have read a lot about is lack of hand striking. Also not the case in the school I attend, we perform a lot of boxing drills with the focus mits and with sparring partners.

Sorry about the rant everyone I just believe that taekwondo gets a bad rap sometimes.

p.s. gotta go practice belt testing is friday.javascript:emoticon(':)')

javascript:emoticon(':)')

Well hey thier, welcome to the forums. I agree TKD does get a bad rap, i think its because within the last 20-30 years its become more of a sport, and not so focused on self defense anymore. IMO.

Hi all,

TKD does get a bad rap, some of it is justified, some of it isn't, but then TKD is predominantly a 'sport', especially the WTF style.

The self-defence techniques learnt in TKD would be far better if they were taught and performed with 'energy' and 'liveness" and were Pressure Tested, but that is down to the instructor.

As far as self-defence goes, it's the fight in the dog, not the dog in the fight.

Take care,

Garth.

TKD is NOT predominately a sport..... might be where you train but in my experience its not....

secondly - learning scenarios (if he does this you do this) may not be the best way of learning SD.

I guess it gets a bad rap because it's into mostly kicks and high kicks 2,which high isn't a good idea in a real situation

mostly high kicks? i wouldnt agree.

Its bad rap is because of what people see of it, and assume thats all there is to it.

It all depends on the dojo, and the instructor. If it's a sport oriented school, that's what you're gonna get out of it. If it's a more traditional school, you won't have as much of that. Lately, and especially since TKD went to the Olympics, more sport-oriented schools have been produced, and what is usually the case is that they learn only to win points. That's why you usually see TKDers in the Olympics trying to kick each other in the head from three feet away to get points, and that's not really realistic in a street fight. So, like I said, it depends on the instructor/dojo.

Yes i agre... im just saying that the ART itself doesnt necessarily encourage that..... that generalising the art based on sport dojo's seems a bit single-minded.

Yes i agre... im just saying that the ART itself doesnt necessarily encourage that..... that generalising the art based on sport dojo's seems a bit single-minded.

It is. It's what people see in the majority: those sport oriented schools, stuff on the Olympics, etc. They're referring to this majority, but you're right. It is too often generalized as being inneffective.

Most people's impression of TKD is formed from the Olympic competitions. This particular style is WTF. The other style of TKD is ITF which is quite different from Olympic games.