Sports TKD vs Traditional TKD

[Steve_K]

I practice traditional tkd, chung do kwan, which is derived from traditional shotokan, although my school isn't very traditional, and we definatley use punches when sparring.

[Belasko]

My school is considered traditional but we have a bit of a leaning towards more military application. My instructor also holds a 3rd Dan in Olympic style so we get a pretty good mix. To the point though, we do use hand techniques in sparring and periodically to encourage this will designate a sparring round as hand techniques only. For practicality and giving sport TKD a boost, when properly practiced I've noticed ATA or WTA/WTF practitioners can be extremely effective at space control. This can be a truly invaluable asset in sparring, on the street or in the dojang.

[stonecrusher69]

I ask a TWD guy once do you ever kick low.he said we do but not in sparring.Its to dangerous.I thought that was the point of MA???

[granmasterchen]

there are two parts to martial arts....bujutsu=martial arts and budo=martial way

we learn to fight, but more importantly we learn to live, the inner, deeper philosophy behind it all is what we should all strive for, of course it takes many of us years to reach that stage....but never the less....we would all want to live in a society that doesn't involve violence....through our training we learn how to protect our self and others....but we should never use it for our own personal gain......it's kinda like the force in starwars....lol....we are jedi.....hmmmmm i think that thought just took a lot of meaning from my post.....but maybe george lucas was onto something.....i'll stop rambling now.....

[Goju_boi]

that was deep,except when you started talking about star wars.

[granmasterchen]

lol....yeah i thought so tooo.....then i don't know what happened....figures...

[Goju_boi]

I guess youre a big star wars fan,theres nothing wrong with that

[SenseiMike]

there is no traditional tkd, it was founded in the 1950's as a sport.

You may be referring to tangsoodo, which was developed from shotokan, but lacks much of the bunkai.

[y2_sub]

So we are the jedi , hmmmmm

[granmasterchen]

there was a very very brief period of time where tsd was actually known as taekwondo. This is what I am guess as the traditional tkd that we are speaking of. In all retrospects it is tangsoodo. Shortly after it was named tkd they said..."hmmmm no let's change this to tangsoodo...and make tkd a sport based art form." so for a very brief period there you had many people that were being trained in taekwondo which was really tangsoodo with was of course shotokan karate.....

since this brief period many of the instructors that were trained in the shotokan/tang soo version of tkd started to teach their art form as is and never changed the title of their art....they were more concerned with the art form to be taught than they were with international organizations...that is why this isn't a very public and well heard of issue.

My school.....taught by Tom Smith....was part of this "traditional tkd" it is very very very similar to tsd and shotokan. Many people though experienced this issue; Chuck Norris, Bill Wallace, Nasty Anderson, Tom Foley, Richard Stevens and Billy Blanks just to name a few, but they all went on to incorporate many other arts and start their own thing. It plagued my mind for years training with many of these individuals (we all came from the same instructors) and then moving off into the military, traveling the world and seeing a very different tkd...the itf and wtf.....and seeing a very similar tsd and shotokan......that baffled me for the longest time.....and I had to do some research and spend some trips back to the states talking to some of the above mentioned artists and having some of them come over and visit me here in Japan just to get everything in order as to what went on for that brief period of time, the organizations, the name changes and why we didn't change and why aren't we a part of this or that org.....and why does chuck norris teach this now....on his site it says he studied this....but he trained with us....the same with bill wallace....and ....wow....everyone else.....each person's site and bio says something different.....but twice a year we all get together and train in the old dojos....or dojangs....lol....yeah it raised some questions....lol

but we are all jedis and we study the light side of the force....or is it the dark side???? lol