Went To A TKD Class Tonight

[MasterPain]

So I'm not sure if I'm going to go back there or not. I told myself I'd try it for a month and the month isn't quite up yet, but frankly I'm getting a bit sick of it. Today the teacher totally dissed my Isshinryu school and I bit my tounge, but I really don't want to go back there. First she tried to change my fist to some weak excuse for a fist and told me if I punched anyone with an Isshinryu fist, especially vertically, I'd break my hand. I wanted to tell her Isshinryu practitioners have been beating on Makiwara and other people with that fist for decades without breaking anything, but I didn't say anything. And then she started dissing on my school because we don't spar (insurance won't let us-- plus many traditional Okinawan schools don't) and pretty much implied I shouldn't be a green belt because I've only sparred once or twice. She asked how we could know that what we learned worked if we didn't spar and I wanted to make some jab about point sparring not exactly being the most realistic fighting in the world and then make a point about how when they do partner work they stop their punches six inches from their partner whereas we actually try to hit each other, but again I didn't say anything.

So yeah. I'm not all that sure I'm going to go back there. It might look a little weird because I just got my uniform today (they wear black and all I had was a white, but my Isshinryu school will let me wear the black one there, so I can still use it), but I'm still not sure.

We spar hard a lot. I do think it's a great reality check. There is nothing wrong with a vertical fist, it slips inside a guard nicely and is great in close. A horizontal fist is also great for longer range strikes, and going over someone's guard. I think that stopping a punch 6 inches from someone is a bad habit. I think there are valid arguments on both sides.

If you were my student, I would want you to learn my way, then later combine it with what you will. Being non-traditional, I'm sure I would not agree with some of what you've learned before. But here is what I must stress, I WOULD NOT DISRESPECT YOU AS A PERSON. If you feel an instructor is generally rude to you, it is not a good school for you.

From what I've seen of you on here, you are not an argumentative person, so I doubt that you are at fault.

[Adamo]

I'll back MasterPain on what he said. But then again, the people on this board normally go above and beyond in their research of the martial arts, hence the purpose of being here.

If they were dissing you based upon your past experience, that's not cool. But if they simply disagree, so be it.

Don't be concerned with your vertical fist, because we were doing some of that in my old TaeKwonDo school. If it works, it works, right? I've seen it used for jabs, Bruce Lee's One Inch Punch, Wing Chun, Boxing, etc. Sounds like they were uneducated.

As far as sparring goes, everybody has their own idea of how it should be done. Some go with point sparring for safety as do those who stop punches. Other argue that you have to going bare knuckled. But I see the purpose in all of them as well as the cons.

I think your gut instinct is right. It needs to be affordable, close, and fun. Sounds like it's not fun and within the very beginning you are already questioning the instructor. It's never a good sign when you begin to overcome the instructor in knowledge. That happened to me previously and guess where I am now? Elsewhere.

Keep us updated! I'm sort of this same camp right now as being as deciding what's right.

[bushido_man96]

I agree with MasterPain. It sounds to me like the instructor wanted to show off some knowledge that you didn't have, or just plain to try to make you look the fool. If they wanted you to do something a certain way, then they should tell like MasterPain said, just that they do it differently, and would like for you to do it that way in the curriculum.

Now, if you would stick it out until you get to sparring, then you could do some of your Isshin Ryu stuff, and see how it works out. Sparring is always more freestyle, and bad technique will show up, and good technique will, too.

That said, with the amount of disrespect you've been given, I wouldn't blame you if you quit. But, not all TKD instructors are that way. I know I appreciate someone's else's ideas and knowledge, and always like to learn. Unfortunately, egos abound, and it appears you've found one. I'm sorry to hear that.

[DWx]

Doesn't sound like a brilliant school tbh. And I don't get the whole vertical fist thing. Although in my style of TKD we prefer a fully rotated fist, we do use vertical fists too so seems stupid this teacher was totally disregarding it.

IMHO I think when people go on about other styles being bad or worse its mainly because they're just a little bit insecure about their own style. I think you just have to take stuff like that on the chin and ignore it. Its just makes them look ignorant.

[ramymensa]

If the instructor is disrespectful to your original style, this can say a lot about the school. Our instructor has a huge respect for other styles and, even if he'd correct people to have our stances and techniques, would never say "yours doesn't work, try ours", just that in Shotokan we do things this way and maybe give some technical information why this way is also a good one.

I wouldn't train there anymore after this. Your original style is not a bad one and no one should mock it. Time to search for another school, I think. Good it was a trial month.

[Lupin1]

Yeah. I didn't go to class last night and I'm pretty sure I'm just not going back. I knew I'd feel a little awkward with them asking me to wear my green belt the first night because I know they emphasize different things that my Isshinryu school didn't, so I knew I wasn't going to be very good at those things. But I wore it anyway and I tried my best to live up to it how I could, which was mainly putting focus and power into everything, even though the techniques were very different.

I did try my best to do things their way and wanted to learn things their way. The instructor was correcting my turning punch and sort of as an aside/explaination for why my turning punch wasn't very good and why I was making my fist the way I was I told her about the Isshinryu fist and the Isshinryu punch and stuff and then she got into all those questions and by the end of that conversation I felt like I was going to cry, I felt so disrespected. I wanted to walk out of there right then, but I stayed until the end of class until I got my gi which I already paid for. My friend who's a fellow martial artist pretty much forbid me from going back there after I told her what happened when I got home and I agree with her. So it's back to self-training for me.

[StuartA]

Taekwon-do is very fragmented these days, with many independant schools teaching watered down versions of the style.

Whether a school is independant or not is not an indication of what they teach, IMO, many ITF schools have watered down the syllabus!

Bottom line is.. if you enjoy it and its beneficial to what you want out of martial arts, thats cool.. if it feels wrong.. then it probibly is!

Stuart

Ps. I`m independant... hence my first sentence!!