UK Taekwondo: AIMAA or BTC?

[pdbnb]

I want to take up TKD again, and am looking at two schools in my town, both within the same price range. One is BTC (offered by my Uni) and the other AIMAA. I talked to the AIMAA instructor and was a little worried when he started talking about how his classes incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo, and they do ground grappling, etc. Afraid this might be a McDojo. Although he did also talk about turning down people who wanted 'to be black belt in two days'...

For those of you who know UK Taekwondo associations, what is the reputation of each of these? They're both quite expensive for someone who is a full-time student, so I need to know it's worth investing in them.

[DWx]

The BTC or British Taekwon-Do Council is not a style or organisation. It is a collective group of the major associations in the UK and has representation from WTF ITF and independent associations alike. From the perspective of a student, the only bearing it has on your training is that they provide your insurance and lay down the Child Protection, Women's policies etc. that all BTC schools must adhere to. As a student it will have very little bearing on day-to-day training and it has no impact on technical or stylistic matters.

AIMAA or Action International Martial Arts Association is a little different. This group was initially formed by Hee Il Cho to cater to his students and his style of Taekwondo and provides both insurance and teaching. Now it accepts member schools from any stylistic background. AIMAA might have a little more impact on your training in the sense that I think it has some input to curriculum and testing standards. That said again as a novice student these things shouldn't be a major concern. The instructor and school are more important.

Pick the school based on how you feel after a couple of trial sessions. Which place feels more right and which instructor do you get on with better? Unless you really have some strong views on associations I really wouldn't worry too much.

[DaveB]

Uni clubs win everything. Usually subsidized, all adult membership, very social, usually connected to competition circuits etc etc.

No idea about the orgs, but as was suggested, it has little bearing on the club, less than the teacher and other students.

[guird]

I want to take up TKD again, and am looking at two schools in my town, both within the same price range. One is BTC (offered by my Uni) and the other AIMAA. I talked to the AIMAA instructor and was a little worried when he started talking about how his classes incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo, and they do ground grappling, etc. Afraid this might be a McDojo. Although he did also talk about turning down people who wanted 'to be black belt in two days'...

For those of you who know UK Taekwondo associations, what is the reputation of each of these? They're both quite expensive for someone who is a full-time student, so I need to know it's worth investing in them.

I don't understand why including elements from grappling arts makes it a mcdojang. try out classes from both and attend the one you like the most.

[wagnerk]

...I talked to the AIMAA instructor and was a little worried when he started talking about how his classes incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo, and they do ground grappling, etc. Afraid this might be a McDojo. ...

To be honest, I wouldn't be worried about this. TKD, like karate, does have grappling aspects to it. And like karate, it's not "codified" and taught uniformly across styles or even across organisations within the same style. In some organisations, they don't teach it, in others they do.

Getting back to "incorporate elements from jiu-jitsu and judo". Well, it's well known that those two are grappling arts, so it's easier to explain it that way, then to convince people that a striking and kicking art contains grappling. I mean just take a look at the forms that you do within each art.

However how well they teach or integrate it into the class it a different matter.

There are various books out there, like this one for example.

But like it's been said already, have a go at both, then decide which one you want to do

[bushido_man96]

Hee Il Cho was a big name for a long time, and he has produced some good students. His organization also holds an international style of tournament, I believe, either yearly or biannually. He is an original student of Gen. Choi years ago, and he has a different style to his kicking, and this could be different from other styles.

As suggested, look into both of them, and see what will fit you better. Let us know which way you go, and why you decide to go that way.

[Kwon_Artist]

I have never heard of AIMAA so I can't really comment on that, but my Taekwon-Do school when I was doing TKD was with BTC.