Azim Posted November 4, 2002 Posted November 4, 2002 Is anyone here a tae kwon doe blackbelt. I'm from the UK and I have a friend whose a TKD blackbelt and he's a fat, unfit and can't do any of the imppressive kicks a TKD blackbelt should be able to do. So what can a blackbelt from the USA do? "Hand to hand is the basis of all combat, only a fool trust's his life to a weapon"
ZR440 Posted November 4, 2002 Posted November 4, 2002 That question is way too generic for discussion. Most people have requirements to meet to receive any belt. Look at some of the threads on this site for a better idea. Sorry to hear about your chubby friend. He might be able to do all the flashy kicks anymore, but that doesn't mean that's what TKD is all about either. It's happy hour somewhere in the world.
KickChick Posted November 4, 2002 Posted November 4, 2002 (edited) "Tae Kwon Do" is a Korean martial art.... so I moved your post to this appropriate forum. I agree with ZR440 in that your question is way too general for discussion. I can tell you I am a second degree BB and female, blond, slender, rather fit .... but you will find all types of people with varying degrees of skill who are black belts in TKD and in other styles, here in US and worldwide. It just happens that TKD is very popular and with that you will find a plethora of controversy with regards to "obtaining a black belt" and the types of schools that "give them away". You might want to "familiarize" yourself with TKD by going through the threads here in the Korean Arts forum ... there are 2 disciplines of TKD also, -- sport and traditional. There is no descrimination in obtaining a bb in any style (and there shouldn't be) as long as you fulfill the requirements. Edited November 4, 2002 by KickChick
Azim Posted November 4, 2002 Author Posted November 4, 2002 What I mean is he's totally inept in defending himself and displaying any form of physical prowess. He's extremly unfit, unflexible, has no skills in martial arts and it really doesnt seem like he's a blackbelt. I was asking TKD blackbelts on this site what they had to do to become a TKD blackbelt, my friend aint got much to do with besides the source of why I'm aksing this question. "Hand to hand is the basis of all combat, only a fool trust's his life to a weapon"
KickChick Posted November 4, 2002 Posted November 4, 2002 How well do you know this guy? You sure he is one? Could he have "bought" that belt? A victim of a Mcdojo (and how I hate to use that word ... but in this instance sure sounds like one)
John G Posted November 5, 2002 Posted November 5, 2002 Cripes Azim, who needs enemies when they have friends like you I'm with ZR440 on this one... John G Jarrett III Dan, ITF Taekwon-Do
karatekid1975 Posted November 5, 2002 Posted November 5, 2002 I'm not a blackbelt, but I do TKD, and I just witnessed my dojangs BB test ...... eeekkkkkk. Talking about rough! I don't know about schools in UK, but to get your black belt in my dojang, you have to be physically fit. There's a "power camp" which is the physical part of the test. A one and a half mile run is REQUIRED for the test. And you have to do it in 13 minutes or fail. You have to do various other physical activities (sit-ups, push-ups, leg raises, stationary and jumping kicks .... the list goes on). That doesn't include the tech part of the test (which is sparring, breaking, forms, step sparring, self defense and free self defense). Most people at my school prepare months ahead of time, like run a mile and a half or more for a year before the test. So if someone was overweight, they wouldn't be for long. Laurie F
taezee Posted November 5, 2002 Posted November 5, 2002 a martial artist is not defined on wheter he/she has a chisled body in tae kwondo or any other style..we come in all shapes and sizes..all different levels of physical abilties..including chubby ones..i myself am a 'big boy"..still training hard to get the weight off to become the slender self i once was..im a heavyweight fighter but it doesnt stop me from being an elite martial artist..in fact most people dont expect me to be as fast and powerful as i am by looking at me but most cannot keep up with my endurance classes.they refer to me as "the monster" behind my back but locker room talk travels through the air ducts at my dojang and i hear everything in the main office..lol.alot of students even leave early when they know im teaching the last class of the evening..its usally the class where most of the black belts show up..and i kill them and they detest my classes i think moreso because they feel "why cant i keep up with the big guy"?? im 280 pounds of lighting..its a state of mind of training..i put on my dobok and just move..genetics is genetics so ive accepted the fact that i may never have a six pack stomach again because the lntensity of training i push myself through it hasnt given to me the body i prefer....I was once the physical fitness instructor of a naval base and a military martial arts instructor for the potsmouth naval hospital base in portsmouth virginia (1987-1990) and the extra weight hasnt really slowed me down..i actually like the fact that people lookat me and see my movments and are baffled..lol i catch alot of oppents both younger and much lighter then me off gaurd because they just dont expect someone of my size to kick so hard, high and fast..i dont even think much about it anymore..im a big tiger and move just as fast..another stereotype (big guys cant move quick enough) im one of the exceptions to that stupid rule!! a sumo wrestler who can move just as smoothly and fast and as graceful as a 100 pound wu shu artist.. ( see sammo the celeberty martial artist whos big and graceful moves created many martial arts movies as a comic relief ..hahaha look at how smooth that fat guy can move!!) im the puerto rican version of him!! dont judge a book by its cover!! you may be on the recieving end of a chapter you forgot to read!! i have plenty of "chisled' friends at my gym who dont want to work out with me because of the level i train at..im big but im bad and i take pride in that..the big bull who moves like a cat..thats me..theres plenty of martial artist who are "in shape" who wouldnt last fifteen minutes with me..who would throw up on the dojang floor and wonder what happened? size does not matter!! what matters is the skill of technique endurance and heart "wink" and the determination of an individual to overcome both physical and mental barriers!! to become a complete martial artist is to accept what one has and adjust..and work on strenghts of both physical abilities and character.. to work on both ..not to fit into the norm..and such is so in life... Javier l Rosario instructor taekwondo/hapkidounder master Atef s Himaya"whenever youre lazy enough not to train .someone, somewhere is training very hard to kick your *"
hobbitbob Posted November 5, 2002 Posted November 5, 2002 Black belt tests vary tremendously, also! (never end a sentence a preposition with ) My 1st dan Wado test was at the Dojo, and was just students from our school. My 2d adn 3d dan were at Gasshukus, with may students,a dn were real "endurance" things. My 1st Dan TKD test was brief, the idea being that the test itself isn't difficult, but that being allowed to test should be difficult. It does rather sound like your friend is the victim of a McDojo. I had, like many other americans thought that MA in teh UK was more regulated, more "honourable" than in the US. Unfortunately,a s I found out summer before last when I was playiig in the Archiveso f the city of London, McDojos are just as prevalent. Sigh. There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm!
Azim Posted November 6, 2002 Author Posted November 6, 2002 I'm sure he is a blackbelt, not a mcdojo. If people botherd to read my post's properly they'd see I'm not judgeing a book by its cover. He is extremly unfit, no chance he could run 1 1/2 miles in 13 minutes. Infact he failed to run 1500m (just under a mile) in our athletics lesson in school. And in reply to John G, he's not really a friend, more like a common aquaintance, thats dont mean I like dissing people. Just that I'm curious how someone with no skills in martial arts and on a low level of fitness can acheive black belt status. I beleive a blackbelt represents not just skill in the art but also phyiscal strenght and so forth. Maybe I'm wrong, dont really matter. The main question is what a TKD practioners learn on the way to a blackbelt, is it easy, is it hard? "Hand to hand is the basis of all combat, only a fool trust's his life to a weapon"
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