TKD as self defense

[potsie23]

I guess I wasn't as clear as I could've been. I believe that everything we do in our class is balanced with each other. I guess to say that we only learn a certain set of self defense tactics or moves is mis-leading. We do learn self defense tactics, but we learn how to balance them with our other curriculum. To say they should be the core of what you learn I believe is wrong. Martial arts is not only about self defense, for me, it is a path to better awareness, of both myself and of my surroundings. Maybe thats cliche or naive, but thats how I see it at this point in my journey, which as I said is a new one.

[isshinryu5toforever]

I think you're going to get a lot of resistance to this idea, because martial art implies something used in battle. At the core of nearly every striking style are a series of simple punches and kicks. These are the basis for the rest of your training, and learning to use them in a self-defense situation should be a top priority.

Taekwondo basics include straight punches, the side kick, the round kick, and the front kick. These things can be used very easily in a self-defense situation, and should be learned with that in mind. All other things you can do with Taekwondo come from these techniques, especially the front and rear leg round kick in modern Taekwondo.

There is nothing wrong with trying to get more out of a martial art, as far as a balanced life is concerned, but the purely physical aspects of the martial art should be centered around self-defense, unless you belong to a school that is clearly centered outside this idea.

[bushido_man96]

I guess I wasn't as clear as I could've been. I believe that everything we do in our class is balanced with each other. I guess to say that we only learn a certain set of self defense tactics or moves is mis-leading. We do learn self defense tactics, but we learn how to balance them with our other curriculum. To say they should be the core of what you learn I believe is wrong. Martial arts is not only about self defense, for me, it is a path to better awareness, of both myself and of my surroundings. Maybe thats cliche or naive, but thats how I see it at this point in my journey, which as I said is a new one.

Martial Arts should be about self-defense, first and foremost, in my opinion, or you aren't getting anything Martial out of them. As far as better awareness goes, improvement in self-defense will lead to better awareness, of your physical surroundings, of those around you, etc. If you are gaining a betterment of life through your training, then that's great. But at the heart and soul of Martial Arts training should be self-defense training.

isshinryu5toforever makes a good point. Its great if other things stem from MA training, but self-defense should be a big part of what goes on in classes. Otherwise, we see those black belts that can't defend themselves that come out of those lower-quality schools that like to promote and push students through the ranks.

[potsie23]

Well, I do see your points, really I do, but I still have to say, if you are not mentally prepared to train or fight then what? What came first, the chicken or the egg? And as far as my school goes, they don't promote rank just to get you to black belt. Ive seen students wait almost 6 months to be promoted from a novice rank. I respect your thoughts and opinions bushido, but I guess I would have to agree to diagree in this case. Maybe my opinion will change in the future after I have had more training. Thank you for your thoughts, it has given me something more to think about.

[isshinryu5toforever]

if you are not mentally prepared to train or fight then what?

A huge part of mental preparation is physical preparation. To make your body instinctually react under stressful circumstances it has to be repeatedly put under those circumstances through training. That's why any military special operations soldier goes through a brutal mental thrashing when they go through training. The trainers know they can't just toss them in a war zone, but they can challenge them psychologically to deal with hunger, stress, limited resources, and sleep deprivation.

We won't deal with those things in a self-defense situation, but you can train reactions. An untrained person relies purely on their in-born reaction. A trained person reacts in the way they've been taught to react. Teaching the reaction is part of being taught to defend yourself.

I think we're actually having a bit of mis-communication. When you say self defense, are you talking about a specific set of pre-determined one to three step self defense setups? Because, if that's the case, then we are talking about different things. I can't speak for Bushido, but based on what we've both been saying, I think it's safe to say, we're talking about the whole package. All of the training you do in your classes from basics to forms (learning new techniques) to sparring should help your self defense skill set.

[Akikazeninja]

I am not putting down tkd because my sensei is a black belt in it but I suggest that since you are most likely taught a lot of striking you should train in a martial art like judo or taijutsu for locks and thriws so you will reinforce your tkd training

[Montana]

I am very new to the martial arts, but where I take classes we cover self defense tactics as well as sparring combinations. Our instructor is very good in teaching self defense tactics that can be adapted to the moment, if and when they are needed, but I believe they should be taught as a seperate group of skills within the disipline. I hope this makes sense.

I disagree here. I think self-defense should be taught as the core of a style, and everything else should come out of that idea. That way, you know that the bulk of what you are learning is self-defense based.

Absolutely CORRECT!

[tshep1]

first off no tkd can be used for sd but its not very afective. Not saying there are not great tkd instructos out there who can train you in tkd in a practicul way. because there out there. Just 99 percent of tkd in states is not taught that way. Tkd ( i mean most of it not all) is taught as a sport or compatiton with rules and point sparring. Student are taught point sparring and light contactat. Now muscel memory comes into play tkd is very repeditve so you program your body to pull punches and kick. this is horable for sd also you realy on to many stances in tkd. in sd you wilkl not have time to make sure your in the ideal stance. to properly punch and kick. now with that said. you have to understand tkd was not invented untill what i think 1955 dont quot me on that. kore for some reason wanted to get all out side influnence out of there martial art. which was straing because kore martial arts have heavily been influnced by china and japan. so thay wanted to unife all korean ma unde one name tkd. now gm hwang kee and a few others remaned indapendent and that were you will find more self defance oreanted korean arts. now some of the members off the moo duck kwan joined tkd and tried to perserv the tradishonl hard sd side of it. but thanks to big assos it was evintuly bread out of tkd. to the sport of tkd we know today. Now if you can find masters with roots not more than 4th genarthons to the mdk i am sure you will find some usefulle sd. but if you want to stick with korean arts and have use full sd i would go with tang soo do and not world tang soo do. or i would try hwrangdo some kuk soul won or yudo whish is korean judo

[isshinryu5toforever]

first off no tkd can be used for sd but its not very afective.

This is a blanket statement. It's like saying everyone that boxes is a competent boxer. You're saying that not a single person who does TKD is good at self defense and not one person that teaches it can really teach you how to defend yourself, which directly contradicts your next statement.

Not saying there are not great tkd instructos out there who can train you in tkd in a practicul way. because there out there. Just 99 percent of tkd in states is not taught that way. Tkd ( i mean most of it not all) is taught as a sport or compatiton with rules and point sparring.

This is true of not only 99% of TKD schools, but 99% of all traditional martial arts schools. The rules of competition govern training. The truth of the matter is that competition in the US is largely a game of tag. Whoever came up with those stupid rules because they were afraid of getting sued, paying a huge amount of money for insurance, and upsetting mommy and daddy when little Johnny comes home with a broken nose is to blame. There's not a lot a single school can do about it unless every school instructor pushes for better competition rules that reward speed AND power, not just speed. That's another topic.

Student are taught point sparring and light contactat. Now muscel memory comes into play tkd is very repeditve so you program your body to pull punches and kick. this is horable for sd also you realy on to many stances in tkd.

Every traditional martial art relies on stances and muscle memory. Shotokan, Gojuryu, Isshinryu, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sool Won, all rely on stances. Most teach a more natural, less strict fighting stance as well, which is much easier to assume. I'd go to say that EVERY martial art relies on muscle memory. That's why an ippon seoinagi becomes second nature to a Judoka, or a guard break to side control to Kimura can look so natural for a BJJ player. This is really just trying to pick on TKD for no other reason than to pick on it.

in sd you wilkl not have time to make sure your in the ideal stance. to properly punch and kick. now with that said. you have to understand tkd was not invented untill what i think 1955 dont quot me on that.

The age of a martial art has nothing to do with whether you can learn it as self defense. BJJ isn't that old, neither is Judo really, nor Kyokushin, nor Shotokan. In reality, TMAs as we know them today, are rather young.

kore for some reason wanted to get all out side influnence out of there martial art.

That would be nationalism after being occupied by the Japanese for over 3 decades. Not much of an excuse for that. Still some historical context is needed to make an attempt at understanding why certain things were done.

which was straing because kore martial arts have heavily been influnced by china and japan.

Japan was influenced by Okinawa, who was influenced by China. Okinawan Kempo Jutsu moved to Japan and became what we know today as Japanese Karate do. More history involved in this, that is again, for another topic. It's true that modern Korean martial arts are heavily influenced by the Japanese, but certain things like the modern round kick, weren't native to Japanese martial arts, and there is still an ongoing argument, with Korean MAs as the darkhorse, as to what the origin of those kicks were. China, Korea, and Japan are three countries that have always been linked, and they have always influenced one another culturally.

so thay wanted to unife all korean ma unde one name tkd. now gm hwang kee and a few others remaned indapendent and that were you will find more self defance oreanted korean arts. now some of the members off the moo duck kwan joined tkd and tried to perserv the tradishonl hard sd side of it. but thanks to big assos it was evintuly bread out of tkd. to the sport of tkd we know today. Now if you can find masters with roots not more than 4th genarthons to the mdk i am sure you will find some usefulle sd.

Again, this is a difficult generalization to defend. There are many Taekwondo practitioners that I'm positive can defend themselves effectively in a real confrontation, some I know definitely have. I will admit that certain martial arts breed or attract less effective fighters than others, but we're talking self-defense, not ring combat. Different scenarios.

but if you want to stick with korean arts and have use full sd i would go with tang soo do and not world tang soo do. or i would try hwrangdo some kuk soul won or yudo whish is korean judo

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[bushido_man96]

isshinryu5toforever is spot on. TKD can be just as reliable as any other style. I know in my school we train to kick and punch hard, and when we spar at tourneys, some of them can be for KO. I've nearly KOed another classmate in class one night sparring. Any style can be good. Any stylist can be bad.