Quitting Tang Soo Do: Good Idea?

[MizuRyu]

I think I'm quitting TSD for Muay Thai. The Muay Thai school seems particularly authentic. I'm judging this over combat efficiency. What's your opinion?

[h2whoa]

Muay Thai is a effective striking art, but not as complete as a jujitsu,aikido or hapkido style which teaches you to fight in all ranges of combat! Just my opinion, a muay thai fighter will tell you otherwise but do some research and go down to the class, and see if it FITS you!!

[IcemanSK]

I think I'm quitting TSD for Muay Thai. The Muay Thai school seems particularly authentic. I'm judging this over combat efficiency. What's your opinion?

How long have you been doing TSD?

[White Warlock]

Your call, but i won't steer you away from muay thai.

[danbong]

I would say that the way the school trains is more important that the style in this case. Seems to me that either TSD or MT combined with BJJ prepare you well for should self defense.

[TangSooGuy]

Well - I'm certainly not one to advise to to quit TSD, but it really depends on a lot of factors...I'll never advise someone to stay with an art or school where they just don't fit or feel comfortable, either.

If you want "combat efficiency" both styles will get you there, but it is true that Muay Thai will get you there faster, and if that is your only goal, then maybe you should consider it.

I do think , from my own experiences, that TSD offers more of a variety.. but it will also take you longer to become a proficient fighter...a more traditional approach is used in the training, and you are learning different things at a much different pace.

It also depends a lot on the school atmosphere, and the instructor...depends what you are looking for, and how you feel about each.

I think TSD is a great art...and it is "combat effective" ...but it will take you a lot longer to get to that stage, and in all honesty, there are certain instructors will never get you there, especially in schools where training is more sport oriented.

For me, the benefits of having become a well rounded martial artist, and having been exposed to training areas from striking to grappling, to joint locks, pressure points, knife fighting, flexible weapons, form interpretation, traditional weapons training, and too many more areas to list outweighed the benefits of becoming a great fighter quickly. I've been training for over 20 years, and only just know do I feel that all areas of my training are really starting to come together to a point where I feel comfortable in pretty much any situation....but I'm a little slower than some, so that pace was better for me. I have new black belts now that are light years ahead of where I was at their level...but that's the goal of any good instructor anyway.

Is my view a little biased? Probably. But I do acknowledge that TSD isn't for everyone, and if it isn't for you, find out what is.

[shogeri]

If they teach Muay Thai fighting, this will benefit you.

But some teach like the authentic schools do, and that means they are highly philosophical, and do tend to implement eastern spiritualism into their practice.

Just depends on what you feel is best for you.

Good luck!

[MizuRyu]

I've been in TSD for a little over 2 years now. What I see TSD lacking is a sense of aggression. I'm not entirely sure though... in the 2 years I've been there I think I've actually gained more in the 6 months I've been taking Wing Chun. It's really slow... that and $100 a month!

[IcemanSK]

The reason I asked how long you'd been doing TSD was to see what your investment in it was. I see it from boths sides, because I once left tradition MA for kickboxing & boxing. (Although MT is certainly traditional in a lot of places, still).

If your goal is purely self-defense &/or competition, rather than forms & belts, I'd go w/ MT. But depending on the school (as has been mentioned) there are a lot of religious aspects of MT, also.

[jdhunts]

I've been in TSD for a little over 2 years now. What I see TSD lacking is a sense of aggression. I'm not entirely sure though... in the 2 years I've been there I think I've actually gained more in the 6 months I've been taking Wing Chun. It's really slow... that and $100 a month!

Well, first off, many use the term "taking Tang Soo", "taking Wing Chun", "taking Tae Kwon Do", "taking Muay Thai", etc. So, where did YOU TAKE IT? You've heard it before, but it bears repeating, you get out what you put in. If you feel that YOUR Tang Soo is not agressive enough, then change it, after all it is YOURS.

Now that's out of the way, you will be better off choosing a sifu/sensei/teacher/instructor/what have you/ based on what you can learn from them, not based on their style/system. If the Muay Thai instructor shows skills that you desire, train with them. Just do it for the right reasons, not to become the next billy bad--- on your block.

Any martial art in modern society can only be used for self-defense purposes. Let's face it, you can go to jail for brutally assaulting someone. You may be mistaking what you feel is lack of agression with the normal self-defense attitude contained within a traditional art.

If you want to take yourself into the ring, that's another story, and only you can write the ending.

Good luck in your journey, there are many paths but the destination is usually the same.

Jeff