Thinking of Doing TKD!

[El Guerrero Loco]

Hey my brethren. I know what most ppl say about TKD, and i'm sure all of u do as well. But i have found that i am a natural foot fighter and that even tho my punching is good(i do Karate we punch alot,lol) i don't at all feel safe in that range. I like to either be out in long range or in grappling range so i can grapple. However, if i'm to do TKD i'd like to know how you guy train...like drills, forms etc. Also, how is ur full contact sparring is it realistic enough? ANy TKD ppl hear ever used it in a real fight? thx guys

 

 

[monkeygirl]

I train in TKD! However, TKD is a pretty varied sport. I don't know how Olympic TKD is, so I'll just tell you about my form.

 

We mostly do floorwork (moves with count up and down the floor) and forms, one-steps (artistic self-defense: the attack is a single punch and has many different defenses), self-defense (much more realistic) and sparring.

 

Not a lot of schools in my area do full-contact sparring, but we do!! I would say it's realistic enough. We fight like we mean it, and when it comes to upper belts, we don't beat around the bush.

 

I've had the great fortune of never having to use my skills in a real-life situation.

 

I love TKD, but then again I've never studied in anything else.

 

As far as your liking to kick, I understand that COMPLETELY!!!

 

Being short (and in the adult classes), I rely on my kicks almost entirely. While I do punch if someone happens to be in close range, I prefer to keep people in my kicking range, especially the 35-year-old men in my class that could easily wipe the floor with me. I find that while TKD encourages kickers to flourish, it works for punchers as well...it's pretty flexible.

[Venezolano]

I'd suggest you if it, if you want an impressive MA, and a cool sport, with a little of knowledge of self-defense.

 

BTW, if you want a really self-defense's system, don't take TKD, in a real fight, it's very limitated the things you can do with it.

[G95champ]

I am not a fan of TKD....

 

However you can learn for everything. If you think it fits you as a fighter and artist then go for it.

[sk0t]

I think that any martial art is better than nothing...

 

The most important thing is learning....we can learn in anything we do...

 

TKD and Thai practioners are the best kickers, and karate people punch, Judo and Jiu-Jitsu are best on the ground, Hapkido and Aikido for the locks, kung fu for the spiritual...

 

everything has a specialty...but that doesnt make it the only thing that it is good with...

 

It is just what people see...

[monkeygirl]

The great thing about my style of TKD is that my instructor doesn't stop at TKD. He adds in new stuff he learns from conferences and stuff, brings it in to the upper belt self-defense training. We do ground fighting, knife & gun defense, and defense from various grabs in a standing position.

[Red J]

Give it a try. Any MA experience can only be a benefit.

[Xtreme Fury]

take tkd if you want. But the thing is when I had no fighting experience i sparred a black belt in TKD. He's kicks were very fast and impressive, though he didn't use his hands even once. we couldn't grab, but i know that if we could I could have just grabbed his leg and pushed him down, at least i think i could have.. it just seemd so easy to beat him. i think tkd is good as long as you know it's more for sport, unless you take ITF or you have a really good instructor.

 

but it has cool kicks.

[sk0t]

Remember you cant judge the style, just the man!

[spinninggumby]

I've been studying WTF tkd for a while and I love it. I have also had prior training in Japanese (7 years of Aikido and some Shotokan) and traditional kung fu. Frankly, I don't really care whether or not one martial art will be likely to save my booty over another in a street fight. Taekwondo is friggin fun, gives you a great workout, and pretty much just gives me a rush. If i was so concerned with self-defense, I'd buy a gun and a retractable metal stick which I carry in my car.

 

Sorry to say it but martial arts are no longer (these days) the most efficient way to ensure one's safety on the street and in unpredictable situations anyways. Doesn't matter how high or how hard you can kick, doesn't matter how fast your reflexes are, doesn't matter that your hands have the ability to incapitate a man and his vital organs in a split second. Try blocking a bullet. Sorry if so many purists will disagree with me. Self-defense, in my opinion, is a waste of time and money if it is your sole reason of studying a martial art. I feel that you should also be interested purely in it because it is enjoyable as well as the notable increase in health, well-being, self discovery, and fitness aspect. You should not train for 10 years in the slight possibility that you may be attacked one day by a drunk in some subway about 30 years from now. In the olden days, perhaps the danger was more imminent, however, that is not the case anymore unless, like I've mentioned before, you live in south-central Beirut.