tae kwon do

[karatekid1975]

Amen, Paolung Well said.

[blitzcraig]

like they say, it depends on you and how you use it. You cant just expect to throw out a fancy kick and to have it land. You must be smart when using it.

[karatekid1975]

There is more to TKD than fancy kicks (except in the McDojangs). In my school, we might learn them, but we also learn when NOT to use them. We also learn self defense .... OMG!! Did I just put TKD and self defense together?!?!?!?!?!?! ....... Yes I did, and it's true. When we practice self defense, high kicks are excluded

[Venezolano]

IMHO, it does NOT.

 

You have to be crazy to begin throw kicks in the street, too dangerous...

 

i'd only do it if i have a very but very very GOOD chance...

 

However, Muay Thai low kicks are very good for the streets. (When i practiced TKD, my instructor said this to me).

[karatekid1975]

I was taught Muay Thai kicks when I did TSD. I would rather use them in a real situation. I'm just getting frustrated with people saying that TKD is all high kicking. In a REAL TKD school, it's not. Come to my dojang and you'll see.

[hobbitbob]

I was taught Muay Thai kicks when I did TSD. I would rather use them in a real situation. I'm just getting frustrated with people saying that TKD is all high kicking. In a REAL TKD school, it's not. Come to my dojang and you'll see.

there is the key. MOST martial art schools in the US are NOT "real MA schools."

[Tigerclaw]

I think that in order to defend yourself on the street,you have to TRAIN in self defense rather then training for some up coming tournament or competition.For example,sparring in class is not making you a better fighter..sure it teaches you timing,footwork,and a few other things,but keep in mind you don,t wanna be trading licks with some guy weilding a knife,your gonna get cut up!.Training in real self defense ,you must keep in mind that you wanna end the confrontation quick,so training to hit vital points of the body like the throat,eye,kidneys,temple,groin ect are but a few examples.When sparring in class..these vital areas are off limits,and therefore how you train is how most will usally react in a REAL confrontation.Keep in mind that if you wann have effective skills for the streets,you gotta train with the mentality that if attacked,that your assaliant will probably try and kill you,so you must train with that in mind cause unlike a competition,your attacker ain,t gonna bow to you after your match up,hes probabaly gonna take your wallet,purse,vechicle,ect.Let me share a story with you guys and gals on a situation where i had to fight off a attacker.I was parked in front of a grocery store a few years back,and a guy walked up to me who looked like he had a chip on his sholder.He basicaly started running his mouth and i tied to settle the dispute by trying to talk my way out of the situation.At first i thought i had things under control and he walked away.well i turned to get into my car and the guy turned around and started charging me.I spun around and i delivered a side snap kick into his upper torso that stunned him,then delivered a right handed goju ryu hook punch to the guys temple that dazzed him severly.Seeing that he was very determined,i immediatly took that oppertunity to grapple him since he was stunned and grabbed him by his ponytail and used a one handed jujitsu thumb choke wrapping my fingers around the cartoroid arteries of the kneck(forgive my spelling)while sticking my thumb into the soft spot below the adams apple.Basicaly i choked him intill he was knocked out.Once he was no longer a threat,i got in my car and drove away.The point i wanna make is 2 of the techniques i used would be severly illegal in a sparring match or a competition,and in the school i work out in we don,t even spar(we use jiyu kata,embu and renzoku ken) as our main training tools for self defense.The martial arts has to be trained in with one key element in mind..it is and never was ment to be a sport..it is a way of life..train in it with that in mind,and it might even save your life.

[wcnavstar]

TKD is full of usefull srteet techniques. Yet, how many of us have seen a TKD school not all about competition? Too many TKD teachers, mainly in the U.S. have watered down the art into some type of joke amongst the more serious martial artists. However, it still remains a valid form of self defense, I do not know how many of you have had the chance to visit a dojang in Korea or any where else outside of the U.S.

 

Walk into a South Korean Dojang and you will see TKD as it was meant to be and not what the American M.A. Community wants it to be.

 

In closing, though TKD can be an effective form of martial art, and it does not truly matter the style, only the preson. Not many people out there can learn a watered down fighting art turned sport and turn it into effective self defense! They simply are not given any of the tools needed to become fighters, only players.

 

Very Respectfully

 

wcnavstar

[karatekid1975]

I agree. My school is one of the few that teach TKD the way it was ment to be (Thank goodness), but they are few and far between in the US.

[Tigerclaw]

I would have to say that your extreamly lucky karatekid.Most Tae Kwon Do Dojang's are competiton based,and have no concept of self defense.Im glad you found a place thats gonna teach you what the art is truly about cause i have seen true Tae Kwon Do and i have alot of respect for the dedicated people who try to keep it strong.