Is Tang Soo Do a kicking art? If so, why? If not, why not?
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Is Tang Soo Do a kicking art? If so, why? If not, why not?
... and because there are more ways to kick someone than to punch someone.
If you're asking why kicks aren't more represented in hyung, well you know the answer. Many Japanese styles don't typically kick, except to the knee or inside of the leg. Do I think we should correct that? Maybe. I've toyed with the idea a few times, and there are some schools that have changed the hyung to include more kicks or even invented new hyung for kicking techniques, and, while I typically like to stay more traditional, I gotta commend them for recognizing that kicks are important to TSD, a lot more important than to karate.
My teacher invented a series of 9 kicking forms in order to teach kicking concepts up to black belt. I think they are great and I teach them to my students.
Is your instructor, or his, perchance GM James Saffold? I got to attend a seminar of his on kicking and balance drills in February. They were forms he had designed for his students, although I think there were 10. He had two sets, now that I think about it... Chu Mei and Choong Shim. "Fun" and "Balance." Great stuff. Loved the seminar.
As to there being more ways to kick someone than to punch them, name me a punch that TSD has that isn't either a straight punch or a jab. Sure, there are plenty of hand techniques - our art is replete with hand techniques, from blocks and deflects to grabs and locks and elbow strikes (one of my favorites for breaking).
However, since a lot of schools have a big focus on sparring, a lot of that isn't practiced beyond self-defense drills. The only hand techniques you can use in most sparring situations are center punches/jabs, which are usually only done when you see an opening and you're close enough in that the speed of a punch makes it the right tool for the job.
Anyway, all that said, TSD is an art where kicking is a primary tool. Not always the primary tool, but always a primary tool.