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On 1 corner, an ITF school. The other, a WTF school......


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you have BB rank in each organization. You want to advance in rank because you've been asked to teach a class (free to students) At the local community center. Which do you choose?

This is similar to the situation I find myself in. Only the schools are NOT on the same corner. They are far a part. I'm looking into both avenues.

I'm not looking for a bash session. I'm wondering which did you think offers more in terms of help for the instructor etc.

Being a good fighter is One thing. Being a good person is Everything. Kevin "Superkick" McClinton

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That's a hard one. I tend to lean toward the ITF myself but the WTF is the most recognized. I would ask if you like the "sport" style sparring or the philosophy behind the ITF style forms most. And if that does not help why not advance in both styles?

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That's a hard one. I tend to lean toward the ITF myself but the WTF is the most recognized. I would ask if you like the "sport" style sparring or the philosophy behind the ITF style forms most. And if that does not help why not advance in both styles?

I'm a pre-Olympic WTF guy. I like the tradition stuff. The transition to ITF wasn't hard because of that. I'm not a sport TKD guy. The WTF folks I've started talking w/ are "old school". The ITf guys here don't teach anymore. I'm trying to encourage them to change that. (Or at least teach me to test me.) Ideally, I wouldn't have to choose. But I think it will come to that.

Being a good fighter is One thing. Being a good person is Everything. Kevin "Superkick" McClinton

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That's a hard one. I tend to lean toward the ITF myself but the WTF is the most recognized. I would ask if you like the "sport" style sparring or the philosophy behind the ITF style forms most. And if that does not help why not advance in both styles?

I'm a pre-Olympic WTF guy. I like the tradition stuff. The transition to ITF wasn't hard because of that. I'm not a sport TKD guy. The WTF folks I've started talking w/ are "old school". The ITf guys here don't teach anymore. I'm trying to encourage them to change that. (Or at least teach me to test me.) Ideally, I wouldn't have to choose. But I think it will come to that.

You can also look into an ITF spur (USTF) something that's not so "official".

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You can also look into an ITF spur (USTF) something that's not so "official".

I've talked w/ those folks too (I'm fairly sure). The ITF folks (of any type) are incredibly rare. One guy told me only about 10K practioneers in the USA. In my search, people have given me leads on individuals...not schools.

The nearest Chung Do Kwon TKD school to me is more than 2 hours away. The other TKD schools in my area are mostly McDojo's by reputation. I'm also too slow & too old for Olympic style sparring anyway.

I'm gonna see how this plays out.

Thanks for your thoughts on it.

Being a good fighter is One thing. Being a good person is Everything. Kevin "Superkick" McClinton

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After trainining in an ITF school for about a year and a half, I tried to make the switch to a WTF school once because the ITF school only had classes on Tues. and Thurs. and my job schedule sometimes conflicted with that so I found another TKD school that had classes 5 nights a week, but it was WTF.

I just could not make the transition. Once I learned to execute all of my techniques with the Sine Wave, I found it too hard to not do it and the WTF instructor did not want me doing the Sine Wave and in fact had never even seen it before so it kind of weirded him out. Not only that but the way the blocks and kicks were loaded were just too different and I found that my body and brain were just too wired into the ITF way of executing techniques to try and change.

RFB

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After trainining in an ITF school for about a year and a half, I tried to make the switch to a WTF school once because the ITF school only had classes on Tues. and Thurs. and my job schedule sometimes conflicted with that so I found another TKD school that had classes 5 nights a week, but it was WTF.

I just could not make the transition. Once I learned to execute all of my techniques with the Sine Wave, I found it too hard to not do it and the WTF instructor did not want me doing the Sine Wave and in fact had never even seen it before so it kind of weirded him out. Not only that but the way the blocks and kicks were loaded were just too different and I found that my body and brain were just too wired into the ITF way of executing techniques to try and change.

RFB

There certainly are differences between the two. (More so now than 25 years ago). The ITF (At least the folks I've met) is really into nailing down every detail of their forms. (The Sine Wave being a big part of that). My WTF school back in the early 80's, forms just were not as important.

I still think its sad there isn't knowledge of & appreciation for the differences. Sorry it was a tough transition for ya, RFB.

Being a good fighter is One thing. Being a good person is Everything. Kevin "Superkick" McClinton

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WTF is most leand to sport. I do ITF and in my opinion if your going to teach to community center I would do ITF. Because its mane focus is street fighting not just ordinary people but also other martial artist.

I think if that if your going to teach to a community center you should focus on ITF for street fighting not for any tournament :) of course thats just me :P

If you wash your hands in anger, you never have clean hands

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