First post in a long time!

[Azmyth]

Hey everyone! Most of you don't know me, because I wasn't really around long enough to get to know that many people. I got to know white tiger pretty well since we are both from Ga though. Anyway, martials arts has always been a passion of mine for many, years. Since I could walk I wanted to do karate or some similar form of martial arts. If you checked the library cards on every single martial arts book in the library, you would see my name on almost every line constantly. As I would check them out constantly, wanting to learn more. I couldn't go to a school, because my parents couldn't afford it. Eventually though, a school opened right down the street from my house so it was in walking distance. They had an open house on grand opening and we went and checked it out. Finally my parents gave in, and let me join. I loved it. It was what I ate, slept, and drank for months. 2 classes a week were all the average student went to, and only 1 a week was required. I was taking Tae Kwon Do. Sometimes I would go Monday-Friday to 2 classes every night. I wound up passing my classmates, just due to sheer factor that I was there ALL the time. My teacher started giving me extra attention, and I even started going there when there were no classes and he would let me use the stretch machine, or whatever. I competed and won gold in all the tournaments I entered at the time. Then something happened... I lost interest. I wound up quitting after a year and a half. I had gotten to as far as green belt with a black stripe. Our system was: white, yellow, green, blue, red, rec. black, black. A month later, his school closed down. I had heard it was closing anyway, which is one of the reasons I quit. A year or so later.. I get the itch again. The Only school in the area is 20 minutes away, which is fine. The instructor is a 5th dan black belt, and he was the instructor of my previous instructor who was only 2nd dan at the time I was going. By the end, I think he tested for his 3rd dan. So, I start going here.. and he even lets me hold onto my rank. I was rusty, but before the first day of class I worked on all the forms up there where I had left off. He gave me about one day to let me show him I still knew the forms, and to get a grasp of how they did things, and I was right back doing my forms for green belt, with was Do san(sp) at the time. I wound up going up to blue belt with a black stripe and was getting close to time to test for red belt, when i just started getting irritated. My dojang was becoming a day care. I am 24 years old, and I was surrounded by nothing but 5-10 year olds. In every class. Every now and then, an adult or some teens would be in the class.. but a 24 year old can't really associate too much with a 13 year old on the level I want to. Some of the adults that did go, were annoying. I remember this one lady who was more annoying than the kids. Our instructor would also let them run wild, and not care too much. I also remember a time when if you forgot your uniform or part of it, you didn't participate. Now, u can just do it in your street clothes if u forget it. Whats that teaching the kids? Every class, at least 2 kids had no uniform, or it was stained up with all kinds of stuff. Sometimes the classes would get delayed due to kids being disruptive, and even when customers would come in to buy things from the store. The instructor would stop and tend to that for 15 minutes while we sat there. He didn't extend the class time out for another 15 minutes either. We just lost that time. At times it seemed like I was learning watered down stuff, and the 10-13 year olds who were 2nd and 3rd degree black belts but didn't even know how to be quiet in the dojang irritated me. It was funny, how I did more "assisting instruction" than any of the black belts who are supposed to be prepared for that did. The last straw was when I found out my instructor was selling stuff that allows you to pass a drug test, if u take this substance 24 hrs before. I was told this is used for other health purposes as well, but I witnessed a person asking him for it, for this specific purpose over and over and he seemed to know all about it. I just thought that was against the whole point we are trying to make as martial artists. So its ok to do drugs, as long as you can take these meds to cover them up. So now, months later. After getting alot of my life things under control and managing all my millions of hobbies. I want to get back into it. I don't have many options for schools, because his is still the only one within 20 minute drive. He puts everyone out of business that opens one, due to his being there for 25 years. I've been checking out a school thats about 30 minutes away, thats ran by a church. They teach pretty much the same style of TKD that I was learning, plus some Jiu jitsu I believe it is on the side for ground fighting. The main attraction, is that there is no cost other than uniform. I have 3 or 4 of those already and a full set of sparring gear. So all I am going to be paying is gas which will be far less than the monthly fee i paid a month at the other school. I have heard good things about the instructor, but the "free" thing worries me. Because the old saying goes, u get what you pay for. I am looking for a school with alot of adults, or at least an all adult class. I don't really have alot of options, as all the other schools are the in the same area as this one, and well I have heard good things about all of them. But I guess we will see!

[Sam]

Glad to have you back, ive recently started posting again after a break as wel...

Good luck with your training and i really hope your passion finds an outlet through a quality school and instructor...

[MasterH]

Welcome back. Take it easy bro!

[White_Tiger]

Keep the goal in site. Remember your tenents...Persverance and Indomitable Spirit come to mind reading your article. I have faith in you!

Good luck!

[AndrewGreen]

Welcome back (and can I reccomend the enter key? that is rather hard to read in one block)

[aefibird]

Welcome back!

Good luck with finding a school - I'm sure that there will be the right instructor out there for you.

Until that happens, keep on training and practicing on your own - don't give up!

[glockmeister]

I udnerstand your feelings about the one school and lack of discipline. I know in TSD at my school, forgetting your belt would cost you doing a lot of pushups. Also I ahve stopped by some TKD schools that were almost all kids and I was offered the chance to train there a but but it looked too much like a daycare. Finding the right school can br frustrating, especially if you have been taught the "old school way" with a lot of discipline and u walk into a school where it speaks of "self discipline, yet doesn't follow through. I have a hard time understanding how a teacher can accept or support drug use. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dirty people out there who teach MA's. They give alot of good instructors a bad name.

[MasterH]

I udnerstand your feelings about the one school and lack of discipline. I know in TSD at my school, forgetting your belt would cost you doing a lot of pushups. Also I ahve stopped by some TKD schools that were almost all kids and I was offered the chance to train there a but but it looked too much like a daycare. Finding the right school can br frustrating, especially if you have been taught the "old school way" with a lot of discipline and u walk into a school where it speaks of "self discipline, yet doesn't follow through. I have a hard time understanding how a teacher can accept or support drug use. Unfortunately, there are a lot of dirty people out there who teach MA's. They give alot of good instructors a bad name.

The message here TSD good, TKD bad? Kidding of course......