Tangsoodo What do you focus on

[tsd1592]

I was just wondering how many of you out there actively take tang soo do from who and wear. Also do you guys focus more on sport or self defince. Light or hard contact sparring or a mix of bouth

[CTTKDKing]

I thought someone should reply to you since nobody has. I personally study TKD but we recently had a student come in to my school that just moved here and use to study TSD. I asked him a lot of questions about it because I'm just interested in martial arts in general and have never been to a TSD school as there are none that I know of in my area.

His school focused very strongly on practical self defense. He said they only went to about 1 tournament a year (where as mine does 3 or 4) and from what I understand they didn't compete in the sport divisions at all but did demo team type stuff to show TSD's strong defensive applications. That being said I don't think that all TSD schools can be categorized like his. It all really depends on the teacher and how he decides to run his dojang. Best bet is to go to a TSD school near you and sit in and watch a class. If it looks like what you would like to do ask if you can do a trial class to confirm that thought. If you are still happy after the trial class then I'd say it's time to give it a shot.

Hope this helps.

[Dobbersky]

I think Tang Soo Do is an excellent art but it has too many McDojo's involved in the art.

The Style itself is dare I say Japanese Shotokan meets Chinese Kung Fu.

In the UK it tends to be Non to semi contact and the syllabus involves Hyungs that seem to only used for grading purposes. Self Defence Techniques and a series of Basics up the grades.

I practice TSD for 4 years and would have loved to keep it up, and bring into the school real application of its Hyungs

Never mind

[Excoastie]

I started off in TKD, and achieved my green belt. T switched over to Tang Soo Do about 2 yrs ago,(There are numerous reason why, but here is not the forum for it). I'm scheduled to test for my 1st Dan in March.

In our school we do a combination of practical self defense and sport style training. I think the best description would be that it's a mix of both hard and light contact during sparring. The beginner ranks have very light/ no contact up to yellow belt, then dependent upon the student will move on to a little harder contact up through green belt.

Once the student has achieved blue belt the level of contact is usually up the individual students (up to a point). Control is stressed at all levels. The realization that some students (usually the teenagers) won't a little harder contact is allowed, provided control is used at all times.

When the student moves toward the advanced levels then the focus is more on techniques along with control. Being able to put everything together so that it works for each individual student We realize that one student can successfully pull off a spinning kicks while maintaining control where another is better off with a side kick or back pivot side kick.

I have obviously over simplified things, but I believe that you get the general idea.

My master instructor is Charles Chapman III, in Bossier City, LA at Pak's Karate (part of the national franchise and United Tang Soo Do Federation)

Exco

[Nihilistiskism]

Regarding the Hyungs:

Yes, TSD focuses on these a lot. It's not exactly a secret. However, where most instructors in TSD drop the ball, either because they are preoccupied, yes, with teaching the form, the lesson within teaching the form is what counts:

I had the great benefit (and still do) of enjoying instruction from someone who really took the time to explain the forms, as opposed to just "teaching" them. Every move, every step, every strike/block/kick...has a real-world potential for application.

The thing is, most TSD instructors know these potential applications, but forget to explain them because they are too focused on students learning the "moves." However, since they know them, it's a simple matter to just ask them. I reserve the term "bad instructor" for only one type of instructor: the type that doesn't respond to the needs of the student.

Ask a TSD Sam Dan to explain the Hyungs in a practical sense, and you will be amazed:

The traditional TSD Hyungs (forms) are choreographed "fights" against multiple (imagined) assailants. Seeing a hyung, even the most basic hyung, executed with grace and proper technique is a beautiful sight. I wish more instructors took the time to explain the "fight" to students. (sigh)

To the question at hand:

TSD is a Martial Art in its truest sense. The school of thought governing TSD (regardless of federation, organization, or affiliation) is that every person is different, and every person has his or her own individual strengths and weaknesses. I, for example, have some problems with my hips. I will never be flexible enough to kick someone my height in the face with a roundhouse. A good TSD instructor doesn't care about a student's weaknesses, however. The goal is to grow and nurture a student's strengths. I, for example, may not be able to kick you in the face, but that doesn't make me any less a true Martial Artist than the person who can. My strengths simply lie elsewhere.

TSD, I'll say also, is an extremely well-rounded Martial Art, on the whole. As with any Martial Art, the first handful of "levels" are simply building-blocks. Simple kicks, punches, etc. By the time you achieve Black Belt, however, you are versed in dozens of effective self-defense techniques against multiple-dozens of variety of attacks, both armed and unarmed.

Specifically, TSD is not a developmental tool for 1-on-1 fighting. Going back to what I said about the Hyungs, for example, I'll expound to say that TSD is a system for defense against multiple assailants, to take it to its purest form of physical technique.

When it comes to schools, well, schools are as different as the instructors who run them. Some TSD schools are no-contact, some are full-contact. Ideally, just like Goldilocks, the best schools are not too hot, nor cold. They are somewhere in the middle, i.e. "just right."

-nihil

[newbiekata]

Our school concerntates on a mixture of sparring,hyung(forms)blocks,kicks and of course self defence techinques which we feel is important that each individual needs to learn really.

[FangPwnsAll7]

I take TSD. My dojo usually does forms and sparring everyday.

[wagnerk]

While our association does all 3; patterns, sparring, basics. We tend to concentrate on practical self defense and pattern/form applications.

[chiliphil1]

Regarding the Hyungs:

Yes, TSD focuses on these a lot. It's not exactly a secret. However, where most instructors in TSD drop the ball, either because they are preoccupied, yes, with teaching the form, the lesson within teaching the form is what counts:

I had the great benefit (and still do) of enjoying instruction from someone who really took the time to explain the forms, as opposed to just "teaching" them. Every move, every step, every strike/block/kick...has a real-world potential for application.

The thing is, most TSD instructors know these potential applications, but forget to explain them because they are too focused on students learning the "moves." However, since they know them, it's a simple matter to just ask them. I reserve the term "bad instructor" for only one type of instructor: the type that doesn't respond to the needs of the student.

Ask a TSD Sam Dan to explain the Hyungs in a practical sense, and you will be amazed:

The traditional TSD Hyungs (forms) are choreographed "fights" against multiple (imagined) assailants. Seeing a hyung, even the most basic hyung, executed with grace and proper technique is a beautiful sight. I wish more instructors took the time to explain the "fight" to students. (sigh)

To the question at hand:

TSD is a Martial Art in its truest sense. The school of thought governing TSD (regardless of federation, organization, or affiliation) is that every person is different, and every person has his or her own individual strengths and weaknesses. I, for example, have some problems with my hips. I will never be flexible enough to kick someone my height in the face with a roundhouse. A good TSD instructor doesn't care about a student's weaknesses, however. The goal is to grow and nurture a student's strengths. I, for example, may not be able to kick you in the face, but that doesn't make me any less a true Martial Artist than the person who can. My strengths simply lie elsewhere.

TSD, I'll say also, is an extremely well-rounded Martial Art, on the whole. As with any Martial Art, the first handful of "levels" are simply building-blocks. Simple kicks, punches, etc. By the time you achieve Black Belt, however, you are versed in dozens of effective self-defense techniques against multiple-dozens of variety of attacks, both armed and unarmed.

Specifically, TSD is not a developmental tool for 1-on-1 fighting. Going back to what I said about the Hyungs, for example, I'll expound to say that TSD is a system for defense against multiple assailants, to take it to its purest form of physical technique.

When it comes to schools, well, schools are as different as the instructors who run them. Some TSD schools are no-contact, some are full-contact. Ideally, just like Goldilocks, the best schools are not too hot, nor cold. They are somewhere in the middle, i.e. "just right."

-nihil

You have hit the nail on the head! In your post contains the very reason why when I am financially able to get back into a dojo I will not be continuing with tsd. I don't want to paint a bad picture of the art because as you said it is a very awesome art to study, the practical applications of tsd are limitless, and in fact it is more useful then alot of other arts I have seen. By the time you reach Dan, you know tons of strikes, both with hands and feet as well as countless blocks and various means of defense against many different kinds of attacks, in truth you are well equipped with tsd training.

My problem with the art, comes from 2 things, 1 being that tsd, like tkd has been transformed into a sport instead of an art, the second comes from my school. You stated that instructors never explain why you are doing what you're doing and do not outline the practical use of it, this is absolutely true, there have been times where I performed a kata on a test, did moves in the kata and had absolutely no idea what the move was for, was it a block, a strike? I didn't know. The emphasis was on learning the" steps" but not how to use them.

My school seemed to concentrate on self defense more than anything else, there was some philosophy mixed in, but it was not traditional, it was more like "treat people nice, don't hurt anybody" red kind of stuff, but nothing deeper. Furthermore once I did make it to the Dan ranks it seemed like instructor participation stopped, and there really wasn't anything else to learn except a couple more kata to advance further. It seemed to me that rank was what it was all about, and not growth.

For these reasons I have decided to pursue either a traditional Chinese, or Japanese art. I feel that rank doesn't matter as much as how much the person with the rank has grown and developed,. I believe that the true training starts at Dan, so therefore I want to go somewhere that believ s this as well, in tsd its almost like Dan is the end, but for other styles it is the beginning, they feel that by the time you achieve this rank you have mastered the basics and now can begin the spiritual learning, as I've said before the spiritual portion doesn't seem to exist in tsd, at least not in my experience.

[bushido_man96]

I think the spiritual side of a Martial Art is more up to the person studying it than anything else. Personally, I have no use for the spiritual aspects of any style, because I already have my own outlook on such things. I'll listen to someones ideals or whatever, and then consider them if I like them, but overall, I'm my own person when it comes to such things and I don't really think I need to change much there. What I want is good self-defense stuff.