Tae Kwon Do, The Gateway MA?

[Enter the Spaz]

I was hanging out with some MA friends tonight and we got on the discussion of what was the first MA everyone studied. 8 out of the 11 people present all started with TKD and ended up studying other arts, some very diverse and weird arts too.

It just got me thinking, if some of these people had never studied TKD first, I wonder if they would've perused studying in other arts?

I know when I first visited a Dojang in my town, I was blown away by the flashy kicks and wanted to start right away. I don't know if I had visited the Shorin Ryu Dojo (second style I studied) first, would I have been so enticed by watching people shuffling up and down the floor throwing back fist - reverse punch combos for an hour and a half.

I just wonder how many people here were lured into the MAs by TKD's beauty (like me) and then seek to round things out in other arts.

[ninjanurse]

Good topic! I myself am the former...I got into TKD to round out the other arts I was studying at the time.

[username8517]

I have never taken TKD, however this is quite an interesting topic. So here is my two cents.

I wouldn't say most people are lured into TKD by the beauty and flash of some of the more difficult moves to execute. Rather, most people start with TKD for a combination of reasons.

First and foremost is the vast number of TKD schools (or schools that offer TKD as one of the many styles offered) across the country. Although I have no hard data to back this up, I believe that there are more TKD schools here in the US than any other style. Simply controlling a larger portion of the market share will give you more consumers.

Second is being word of mouth. When most people get into MA, they ask for recommendations from their friends, family, anyone who's taken MA for their opinions and what styles they took. And this kind of piggy backs off the first point. If more responses come back saying "I took TKD" over karate, BJJ, kali, TSD, etc., our inclination as humans is to go where the greatest numbers are.

Third is the structure of the class. Many TKD schools, at least the ones I've seen in my area, are sport/tournament oriented. Please note that I am not saying TKD is not practical if put into real application with proper training--it's all about how you train--just like all martial arts. However, when most parents sign their kids up for martial arts, they're looking more for a fun activity for the child rather than learning valuable self-defense techniques. In the three years I have been teaching, I have only had one parent come in and say that he wanted his son to take karate because he was having problems with a bully at school. The rest just come in because the kids are curious about MA in general, their friends are in the class, they need something to do in between football and basketball seasons, etc. But I digress.

When any sport/tournament oriented school displays trophies and medals and tells kids "you train here and we can help you win these" it will have a significantly greater pull on a child when compared to one that doesn't compete at all. Relating it back to TKD, once again, if the child is interested in sport/tournament related MA, then simply having a larger selection will generate larger results.

[bushido_man96]

Bearich has a great post there, and I think he pretty well sums it up in the first two paragraphs.

TKD is one of the most widespread arts in the world. General Choi went all over the world, trying to start TKD schools anywhere he could. The result is present today, with TKD schools popping up all around us.

I think that TKD has also done a good job of marketing itself as well, especially since it has become an Olympic sport.

BJJ has taken a step in this direction as well, with its early successes in the UFCs.

I guess if you want to call it a gateway art, you could. I don't really see it quite that way, but to each his own.

[Enter the Spaz]

I have never taken TKD, however this is quite an interesting topic. So here is my two cents.

I wouldn't say most people are lured into TKD by the beauty and flash of some of the more difficult moves to execute. Rather, most people start with TKD for a combination of reasons.

First and foremost is the vast number of TKD schools (or schools that offer TKD as one of the many styles offered) across the country. Although I have no hard data to back this up, I believe that there are more TKD schools here in the US than any other style. Simply controlling a larger portion of the market share will give you more consumers.

Second is being word of mouth. When most people get into MA, they ask for recommendations from their friends, family, anyone who's taken MA for their opinions and what styles they took. And this kind of piggy backs off the first point. If more responses come back saying "I took TKD" over karate, BJJ, kali, TSD, etc., our inclination as humans is to go where the greatest numbers are.

Very good points, I have to speak from my own experience and my experience only. I had the chance to go to either and I chose TKD because I really loved the kicks and that's all there is to it. I was young (11 yrs old) and highly impressionable. I wasn't at all that fascinated with Karate in general. I looked at books in the Library, stuff by Tegner and others and it just looked stiff to me, hey... I was 11 mind you.

My sister took me across town to visit the Dojang and I was impressed with the store front as well, the nearby (near my house) Karate school was dank and very little advertisement on the building. It looked kind of scary too.

Ah but Oh's TKD now, all the paintings on the front of the building with guys flying through the air kicking, Master Oh smashing a stack of bricks and the dragons, you cannot have MAs without dragons. I was taken by the flair! LOL

I'll have to ask my friends why they choose TKD first next time we're together. It's hard to get a word in when 11 people are all talking at once. I suspect your theories are the most accurate though.

[kangaroo]

As mentioned above, I think you have to take into account some odds. The odds are that the martial arts school around the corner is likely to be either TKD or Karate.

I think it's a fairly simple art to grasp and therefore is a good one for beginners.

I agree that this is a good way to start the MA journey

[ps1]

I must admit. I started in TKD when I was 6. I think that many of the TKD schools tend to attract children better. Look at ATA, many of their schools are actually called "Karate for Kids." That's how they advertise.

Great post Bearich. Interesting thread oveall.

[bushido_man96]

I must admit. I started in TKD when I was 6. I think that many of the TKD schools tend to attract children better. Look at ATA, many of their schools are actually called "Karate for Kids." That's how they advertise.

I will agree with you that TKD tends to be more attractive to children than some other styles.

[NightOwl]

I started in TKD because it was in a studio next to a gym class my sisters were taking, so it was in the area I guess . It really is all about exposure!

3/4 of strip malls, etc over here have a gym, and they are almost always TKD (it was hard finding something that wasn't). Sometimes they will go by 'Karate', 'American Karate', 'MA for kids etc though.

[stejitsu]

When i first did martial arts TKD was the martial art of choice for myself. I too got sucked in by the flashy kicks, the nice looking adidas gis. I was hooked but as i got older i moved on to karate and the kicks gave me a good base to work with my hand techniques which were also getting better. I think TKD has done a lot to promote martial arts in general and it keeps kids healthy and off the streets causing bother or general kids behavior, so this is a positive thing. TKD seems to attract children more than adults due to the limitations of older bodies v's young agile bendy bodies.