One small step closer...

[serietah]

Belt testing is Friday! For the past couple of weeks, we've just been reviewing everything to get ready. I'm confident in everything but spinning kick still. I do well when we use the rebreakable board, but with just kicking in the air, or even a target or foam board, I don't do as well. I think it's a mental thing. I did figure out that I have to stop overthinking it and just kick. I literally just focus on the center of the board, then say in my head "하나 둘 셋" and kick right away. That seems to work most of the time. I've been consistently breaking the board on the first try since I started doing that. I'm excited to start learning Taegeuk 6 hopefully Saturday!

 

[TrueJim]

I do well when we use the rebreakable board, but with just kicking in the air, or even a target or foam board, I don't do as well...

I think that's very common. I know it's true for me as well. It's a lot easier to get a nice kick when there's a real target to hit! Especially for spinning kicks, I find it hard to make kicks in-the-air pretty.

 

[JR 137]

Belt testing is Friday! For the past couple of weeks, we've just been reviewing everything to get ready. I'm confident in everything but spinning kick still. I do well when we use the rebreakable board, but with just kicking in the air, or even a target or foam board, I don't do as well. I think it's a mental thing. I did figure out that I have to stop overthinking it and just kick. I literally just focus on the center of the board, then say in my head "하나 둘 셋" and kick right away. That seems to work most of the time. I've been consistently breaking the board on the first try since I started doing that. I'm excited to start learning Taegeuk 6 hopefully Saturday!

I'm not good at kicking the air either. In line drills, I can barely get my roundhouse kick above my waist. I can however roundhouse people my height at at least shoulder height.

I'm a karate guy, so there's much less emphasis on kicking that high, which is fine with me.

 

[Jut]

Tonight I got my 2nd tip/stripe/whatever term you use on my white belt! It may seem like a small victory to some, but I am thrilled. My mom and I (I'm 32, and we're pretty much roommates, which is quite awesome) started taekwondo at a brand new school on Feb 18. The school opened the day before, but we were so in love with it after the first day of our trial, we signed up after our second class. Anyway, we got our first tips for learning the steps of the kibon poomsae. Not just going through the motions, but actually really doing the steps with correct form. We got our second tips tonight for doing the complete form with the low blocks and middle punches...plus maintaining the correct stance, not wobbling on turns, etc. It was AWESOME to get that second piece of tape on my belt, and I am even more pumped to keep going.

Everything hurts, and I'm exhausted, but this is awesome. I'm losing weight and actually developing some muscles already (the only shape I'm in currently is round, lol). My endurance is building, and I'm getting more flexible. And it's only been 3 weeks on Thursday.

Our first belt test will be in late April, and we have two more tips to earn before then - one for one step sparring, and one for board breaking. I am loving my school and look forward to being a part of its growth. I feel pushed to do my best at everything, encouraged when I struggle, and praised when appropriate. It's awesome.

Sorry for the long post, I am just so passionate about this already, and I had to share!

Welcome. Your enthusiasm says much about how we all feel about MA's. Not everyone does.. [too bad for them ] Sounds like you really found your niche. -so cool. Hope your mom can keep up with you.

 

[serietah]

And I'm now red stripe!!! I did pretty good, but took two tries to break with spinning kick. My holder didn't know what she was doing and it threw my focus off. But it's ok. I see red on my belt now!! Time to start learning Taegeuk 6.

 

[JR 137]

I'm not a TKD guy, so I have to ask so I know where you are...

What is the ranking order, ie white-yellow-blue-green-brown-black? Where are you now?

I really like your enthusiasm and determination!

 

[serietah]

At my school we go: white, yellow, yellow with green stripe, green, green with blue stripe, blue, blue with red stripe (me now!), red, red with single black stripe, red with double black stripe, black.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Congrats on passing your test.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

I'm confident in everything but spinning kick still. I do well when we use the rebreakable board, but with just kicking in the air, or even a target or foam board, I don't do as well.

I find in kukkiwon TKD, the hook kick tends to be different in "air kicking" vs breaking. When kicking a firm target, I tend to use a stiff leg, as in this video. In the air, I have much more of a hook. I started doing a stiff-legged version of the kick, and the master told me that it is good for breaking but not sparring, so I worked on variations for about a year by myself while taking a break between red and black belt.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I find in kukkiwon TKD, the hook kick tends to be different in "air kicking" vs breaking. When kicking a firm target, I tend to use a stiff leg, as in this video. In the air, I have much more of a hook. I started doing a stiff-legged version of the kick, and the master told me that it is good for breaking but not sparring, so I worked on variations for about a year by myself while taking a break between red and black belt.

If you impact a solid target with your knee flexed, you invite hyper-extension of the knee, with all the accompanying trips to the orthopedist.
Ideally, your leg should be straight until after your heel reaches the target with the hook being more of a 'follow through' than anything else. After the hook, your knee should be pointed at or slightly past your target. If your target is something that isn't going to move much, I recommend using the ball of the foot, rather than the heel. This lets your ankle bend and slide the foot past the front of the target, instead of putting all that pressure on your knee.
The only real exception to this is if you're in close and using the hook to reach around someones defense and kick them in the back of the head. That's about the weakest version of the kick, too.
If your Master is advocating a bent knee for sparring, he's reducing the power of your kick but trying to make it a little quicker. That's not a big problem, if you're mostly doing point sparring. The sparring hook kick is done using the ball of the foot and with an earlier hook. The fighting version should be done with the leg straight, using the back of the heel.

By the same token, a roundhouse done with the top of the foot is excellent for sparring. But for fighting, you should use the ball of the foot.

 

[serietah]

We are having our first full contact sparring class this week. I'm so excited and terrified at the same time. It's going to be fun!

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

If you impact a solid target with your knee flexed, you invite hyper-extension of the knee, with all the accompanying trips to the orthopedist.

If your Master is advocating a bent knee for sparring, he's reducing the power of your kick but trying to make it a little quicker.

Yes, he was talking about a bent knee to reach the target (opponent) sooner, in a WTF sparring context.

I was trying to say that a person may find kicking a target easier because they may be kicking differently in the air than on a target.

Finally, I should add that I find it easier to kick a spinning hook kick in the air with shoes, on a solid floor (vs. on a mat with no shoes). I find the weight of the shoes gives some momentum and makes it easier to kick through a perceived target. So a person learning the spinning hook kick may want to practise on a hard floor in shoes in front of a mirror...IMO.

 

[Earl Weiss]

If you impact a solid target with your knee flexed, you invite hyper-extension of the knee, with all the accompanying trips to the orthopedist.
Ideally, your leg should be straight until after your heel reaches the target with the hook being more of a 'follow through' than anything else. .

I disagree . With a Hook kick, kicking with the heel, or reverse turning kick, not having the leg fully straight prevents hyper extension. a 5% bend or so allows muscles, tendons and ligaments to absorb some of the impact before the knee reaches full extension and the impact tries to drive it past full extension.

 

[Dirty Dog]

I disagree . With a Hook kick, kicking with the heel, or reverse turning kick, not having the leg fully straight prevents hyper extension. a 5% bend or so allows muscles, tendons and ligaments to absorb some of the impact before the knee reaches full extension and the impact tries to drive it past full extension.

Opinions will vary...
However, having spent more than a few years studying physiology...
I also discussed this issue with an ER Dr, who is a Kenpo 3rd Dan, and an orthopedist, who is not a MAist.
They both agreed with me that flexing the knee, which inherently causes the muscles to relax, will result in a greater risk of hyperextention in the knee. Striking with a loose knee is analogous to punching with a loose fist. Not recommended. Locking the leg out straight, which is equivalent to striking with a tight fist, is safest.
Now, I try to be clear about this, but in case I wasn't...
I do not advocate using the heel when kicking the heavy bag. The heavy bag is too immobile. Use the ball of the foot and allow the ankle to absorb the impact. Use the straight leg on targets that will move, like kicking targets or an opponents head (although I personally prefer the ball of the foot for sparring, to lessen the chance of injury to my partner).

 

[Earl Weiss]

Opinions will vary...

I do not advocate using the heel when kicking the heavy bag. The heavy bag is too immobile. Use the ball of the foot and allow the ankle to absorb the impact. Use the straight leg on targets that will move, like kicking targets or an opponents head (although I personally prefer the ball of the foot for sparring, to lessen the chance of injury to my partner).

Same idea , different body part. Using the ball of the foot typically will have the foot "pointed" and then on impact it can flex toward 90 degrees lessening hyper extension issue. I disagree.
DISAGREE " flexing the knee, which inherently causes the muscles to relax" particularly since for the reverse Hook Kick muscles are in the process of pulling the heel to the hamstring so their is no relaxation involved. Just as the ankle is not relaxed in your scenario.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Same idea , different body part. Using the ball of the foot typically will have the foot "pointed" and then on impact it can flex toward 90 degrees lessening hyper extension issue. I disagree.
DISAGREE " flexing the knee, which inherently causes the muscles to relax" particularly since for the reverse Hook Kick muscles are in the process of pulling the heel to the hamstring so their is no relaxation involved. Just as the ankle is not relaxed in your scenario.

An overlooked but important element vis a vis the "Hook Kick" straight versus bent leg is that by definition (system dependant I guess) the hook kick bends the knee to facilitate speed. The leg is mostly straight at about a 15 degree angle off the target line which is when the knee begins to fold so that at impact the knee / leg is in the process of bending / folding as quickly as possible which cannot be done with a 'relaxed " leg. (always difficult to adequately describe 3 dimensional action in a 2 dimensional medium.

 

[serietah]

I'm enjoying the debate on technique, even though my issue with spinning kick is just getting my body to spin right now, haha. I've been learning Taegeuk 6 and loving it so far! We've only learned 10 steps, but we're focusing hard on making it right as we learn it rather than just going through the steps then fixing it later. Tomorrow is my second full contact sparring class. I am so excited. It was REALLY fun last week. My partner is a 12 year old black belt who is about my height. He makes a great partner, but he is so much faster than me so it's definitely challenging. I had no idea that contact sparring would be so much more exhausting than the non-contact sparring we do in almost every class. I guess a combination of wearing all the gear plus being forced to really move around is what makes the difference. My endurance is a lot better than it was a year ago though, so I'm fine with being exhausted after a couple of rounds haha. What I need to work on tomorrow during sparring is focusing on timing. I do better with that in non contact sparring, so I need to just relax and not be scared. It's a blast, even if I do suck for now haha.

 

[TrueJim]

I like the backwards steps at the end of T6. It feels like water falling back to its source. Enjoy it while you can though -- T7 and T8 are so very challenging!

I'm short so my sparring partners are often teens -- but I'm also old, so they get about 20 kicks off to my 1 kick; it's hard not to laugh!

Taegeuk Yook Jang

 

[JR 137]

I'm enjoying the debate on technique, even though my issue with spinning kick is just getting my body to spin right now, haha. I've been learning Taegeuk 6 and loving it so far! We've only learned 10 steps, but we're focusing hard on making it right as we learn it rather than just going through the steps then fixing it later. Tomorrow is my second full contact sparring class. I am so excited. It was REALLY fun last week. My partner is a 12 year old black belt who is about my height. He makes a great partner, but he is so much faster than me so it's definitely challenging. I had no idea that contact sparring would be so much more exhausting than the non-contact sparring we do in almost every class. I guess a combination of wearing all the gear plus being forced to really move around is what makes the difference. My endurance is a lot better than it was a year ago though, so I'm fine with being exhausted after a couple of rounds haha. What I need to work on tomorrow during sparring is focusing on timing. I do better with that in non contact sparring, so I need to just relax and not be scared. It's a blast, even if I do suck for now haha.

Contact sparring changes everything. Just the fact that you know you'll get hit when you make a mistake gets the adrenaline flowing, making breathing and focus harder.

Once you truly realize you're not made out of glass and won't shatter when you get hit, your breathing will calm down and your clear mindedness will return. That takes practice and experience. There's no substitute for experience.

Some will say your learning really starts at this point. Everything you've learned thus far is to prepare you to hit and avoid being hit. Now comes the part where you actually have to apply it, and truly learn to deal with things not going as planned. I wholeheartedly agree with this.

Stay clam, control yourself, and enjoy it. Now is when the fun begins! It may not seem like fun being a punching bag, but with some hard work experience, you won't be the punching bag for too long.

Edit: no matter how hard you work and how much experience you gain, there will always be times when you feel like someone's punching bag. They'll just get fewer and further between. And they'll remind you that you've still got work to do and knowledge to gain.

 

[serietah]

Wellll Friday's sparring class was fun! Last week's partner didn't come so my partners were....the masters. Two rounds with one, one with another, and one round with my aunt. I got my butt kicked on 3 of the 4 lol. Literally a couple times haha. It was REALLY fun but also quite intimidating. They kept telling me I could kick them despite them not wearing any gear. I was scared to but after getting rocked a couple times I got a little more aggressive. For the second round with one of them, he put on some gear so I'd feel more comfortable, then let me get a free kick in so I would know I'm not going to hurt him lol. Off the mat, these guys are my best friends, so it was both extra fun and extra intimidating to spar them.

Overall it was a successful night because I learned several things. Even if I spar with the masters, I'm not going to die. It might hurt...I slightly sprained my pinky finger and have a lumpy bruise on one arm, a regular bruise on the other, and a big bruise on my hip...but it's not that bad. It's FUN. It's exhausting. I'm bad at it, but I'll get better. I need to work on distance still. I'm so used to non-contact that it's hard to get close enough to kick, yet still try to keep distance to avoid kicks. I don't skip forward and back quickly enough.

After sparring class, we jumped right into adult class. We learned steps 11-13 of Taegeuk 6. FUN!!!! We are continuing to focus on "back to the basics" with this form. I think the next four steps we can probably learn one night this week, then probably will finish the form next week, but we'll see. I can't wait to learn the end because just from watching it, it looks so cool! But, I'm not in a rush. Next belt testing for us isn't until June.