Question About Tae Kwon Do

[Tames D]

Is this intended to be a serious question, or a troll? I can't help but wonder.

But, let's assume, for the sake of arguement, that this is a serious question.
Yes, there are plenty of adult TKD practitioners. If there were not, you'd not see them in the Olympics, eh?
From my experience commercial schools in general, regardless of style, target children.

Dirty Dog, I really wish you would stop referring to people as trolls because you don't agree with them. And RTM'ing them for style bashing for the same reason. You are a Senior Moderator. Act like one.

 

[wimwag]

Dirty Dog, I really wish you would stop referring to people as trolls because you don't agree with them. And RTM'ing them for style bashing for the same reason. You are a Senior Moderator. Act like one.

One poster calling another poster he disagrees with a "troll?". Naaaahhh...that kind of megalomania doesn't exist. Bwaahahaha!

Its amazing how we all go to our dojos and dojangs and respect our fellow students, whom we deeply hate, solely because of the tenets of martial arts (and the fear of sensei) and then come onto a martial arts forum and fight like middle school drama queens. I also love how the rep system gets used to harass people. I'm like 60 points in the hole. Gimme one more LOLMFAO. 😃

I truly and sincerely love you all.





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[Tames D]

One poster calling another poster he disagrees with a "troll?". Naaaahhh...that kind of megalomania doesn't exist. Bwaahahaha!

Its amazing how we all go to our dojos and dojangs and respect our fellow students, whom we deeply hate, solely because of the tenets of martial arts (and the fear of sensei) and then come onto a martial arts forum and fight like middle school drama queens. I also love how the rep system gets used to harass people. I'm like 60 points in the hole. Gimme one more LOLMFAO. 

I truly and sincerely love you all.





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Dude... Don't think for a second that I am on the same page as you. I fight my battles and I don't need allies like you. I have read your posts in the past and to be honest, I don't want to be associated with you.

 

[wimwag]

Dude... Don't think for a second that I am on the same page as you. I fight my battles and I don't need allies like you. I have read your posts in the past and to be honest, I don't want to be associated with you.

Who says I am trying to be your ally? I was mocking you. (For being a hypocrite.)



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[Kong Soo Do]

But to be honest, I like that about Taekwondo. It's an inclusive martial art. There's room for everybody from the hobbyist to the hardcore athlete.

I liked your post. It brought to mind a question; should there be some type of separate rank structure for those involved in the sport aspect and those in the self defense venue? Not that one is 'better' than the other, simply that they differ in training methodology, focus and overall goals.

 

[Rumy73]

Dirty Dog, I really wish you would stop referring to people as trolls because you don't agree with them. And RTM'ing them for style bashing for the same reason. You are a Senior Moderator. Act like one.

I would agree. He is very guilty of stated behavior but above law. Sigh.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Gentlemen, if you have an issue with a staff member, bring it up to an admin or myself, as it states in the sites TOS which you agreed to follow.
If there's a problem it will be taken care of. If you expect a report back on the details of any spankings, you're on the wrong site.
Now, there was a topic here, get back on it.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

Originally Posted by Tames D I really do understand the business need and TKD obviously is a kids style now. But I remember back in the day classes were made up of adults. Doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Pretty sad.

This may be true of some schools, but it's certainly not true of others, nor do I belive it holds true for TKD in general.

Dirty Dog, what do you base your belief on?

From talking to many that have visited/trained in Korea, TKD is mainly for children and the adults don't have time or their interests have changed to other pursuits. In this country the trend seems to be the same. Though adults do train in TKD, in my experience the ratio is heavily tilted towards TKD being geared for and populated by children. Not saying this is good or bad, just that it is the current state of TKD in general. I don't know of any TKD schools where the adults outnumber the children. Perhaps you do?

 

[Rumy73]

Gentlemen, if you have an issue with a staff member, bring it up to an admin or myself, as it states in the sites TOS which you agreed to follow.
If there's a problem it will be taken care of. If you expect a report back on the details of any spankings, you're on the wrong site.
Now, there was a topic here, get back on it.

Mr. Hubbard, I will do as you ask, as I am sure others will.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Dirty Dog, what do you base your belief on?

From talking to many that have visited/trained in Korea, TKD is mainly for children and the adults don't have time or their interests have changed to other pursuits. In this country the trend seems to be the same. Though adults do train in TKD, in my experience the ratio is heavily tilted towards TKD being geared for and populated by children. Not saying this is good or bad, just that it is the current state of TKD in general. I don't know of any TKD schools where the adults outnumber the children. Perhaps you do?

As I said before this isn't a TKD issue. It's an issue with the general commercialization of martial arts.
Calling it a TKD issue is like saying "gosh, pollution is sure a problem in Florida". It's not. It's a problem everywhere.

 

[Rumy73]

As I said before this isn't a TKD issue. It's an issue with the general commercialization of martial arts.
Calling it a TKD issue is like saying "gosh, pollution is sure a problem in Florida". It's not. It's a problem everywhere.

Since we practice tkd, it is a tkd problem. We are not going to sound off on shotakan or judo, we are here to address tkd. It is the name of the forum. But if we apply your logic to other parts of life, we can see its ridiculousness. Joe smokes too much, but so do Annie, Chris and Beth. Under your logic, Joe does not have a problem, the group does.

 

[Kong Soo Do]

As I said before this isn't a TKD issue. It's an issue with the general commercialization of martial arts.
Calling it a TKD issue is like saying "gosh, pollution is sure a problem in Florida". It's not. It's a problem everywhere.

I may have missed something as I haven't read every post in the thread. I was skimming through and a couple caught my eye, yours was one of them. I didn't say it was an issue for TKD or any martial art. Just wanted to pick your brain as to your comment because my experiences have differed and those I've talked with on other topics involving TKD and Korea have indicated that it was pretty much youth-based.

I was just curious as to your experiences based on your comment.

 

[drop bear]

Kids have more time and are more inclined to do after hours activities. Our kids class is bigger than our adults class.

The activities that are popular with children tend to have better adult practitioners.

In Australia kids all swim for example and for some reason we are one of the top contenders in the world in swimming.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Terry has a very big point here almost every commercial school has to have kid's in their program if not the major component of their program. Even the Filipino martial schools that I know that are commercial have a kid's class. Here in Vegas the big MMA schools have kid's classes. (not all but most especially the ones with significant rent)

 

[Tames D]

Terry has a very big point here almost every commercial school has to have kid's in their program if not the major component of their program. Even the Filipino martial schools that I know that are commercial have a kid's class. Here in Vegas the big MMA schools have kid's classes. (not all but most especially the ones with significant rent)

Without a doubt many MA schools have kids classes. It's been my observation that the TKD scools have an abundance of kids in the dojang and hanging out in front of the dojang. I'm just not seeing that with other styles. That's what led me to ask the question: Are there adults practicing this style of martial arts anymore? Because I really don't know. Not a slam on TKD or style bashing in my opinion, just a question for discussion.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Without a doubt many MA schools have kids classes. It's been my observation that the TKD scools have an abundance of kids in the dojang and hanging out in front of the dojang. I'm just not seeing that with other styles. That's what led me to ask the question: Are there adults practicing this style of martial arts anymore? Because I really don't know. Not a slam on TKD or style bashing in my opinion, just a question for discussion.

My instructor's classes were always filled with adults. This was of course because he taught at a College. In a commercial front school you are almost always going to have to have lots of kids. Yet, the ones I know also have adults.

 

[Jaeimseu]

[quote name=&quot;Jaeimseu&quot; post=1627037]But to be honest, I like that about Taekwondo. It's an inclusive martial art. There's room for everybody from the hobbyist to the hardcore athlete.[/QUOTE]<br />
<br />
I liked your post. It brought to mind a question; should there be some type of separate rank structure for those involved in the sport aspect and those in the self defense venue? Not that one is 'better' than the other, simply that they differ in training methodology, focus and overall goals.<br/>

I don't think a separate rank structure is necessary or even desirable. Martial arts rank is pretty meaningless to begin with. A 1st dan is a big deal at some schools and nothing at other schools. Not to mention the fact that I could print up a certificate and claim any rank I wanted.

In my opinion, someone who only wants to learn effective self defense has no need of belt rank. The taekwondo world has enough division (organizationally) as it is without creating more by dividing according to focus or specialization. That's my opinion, anyway.

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[WaterGal]

Without a doubt many MA schools have kids classes. It's been my observation that the TKD scools have an abundance of kids in the dojang and hanging out in front of the dojang. I'm just not seeing that with other styles. That's what led me to ask the question: Are there adults practicing this style of martial arts anymore? Because I really don't know. Not a slam on TKD or style bashing in my opinion, just a question for discussion.

There definitely are still adults that do TKD, but it does tend to be more popular among kids and teens. The same is true of TSD and some types of karate, too. I think it's really the whole sport-striking thing. I think a lot of adults, especially ones past their 20s, are concerned about their ability to do sports really hard without getting injured, about their ability to work.

In my experience, adults tend to be looking for styles that are either more practical self-defense oriented (BJJ, HKD, etc), or something that involves weapons like Kendo or Escrima.

 

[TrueJim]

Personally, my opinion is that it's a good thing so many kids study taekwondo, just like it's a good thing that so many kids play soccer. The only reason the U.S. has a credible team for the World Cup is because the past 20 years has seen a huge increase in the number of neighborhood kid's soccer leagues. Most of those kids stop playing soccer later in life, but some of those kids keep playing into adulthood...and those adults grow into excellent soccer players precisely because they've been practicing since childhood.

I think we all often hear criticism of martial arts schools that cater to children, but to me this criticism seems misguided, for the same reason that it'd be a misguided criticism about soccer. What are you afraid of, that the U.S. will become a nation where huge fractions of the childhood population have studied martial arts? That some of those students will stick with it and become excellent martial artists later in life?

I mean, what's the alternative? Imagine we didn't have the "McDojos" (as some people call them). What would that be like? There would be fewer martial arts schools in the U.S. Fewer adults who trained since childhood. Fewer adults who become truly outstanding martial artists. Plus, the fact that every strip mall has a martial arts school just makes it that much easier for adults (like me) to finally discover martial arts. Is that really so bad?

I think it's fantastic that the U.S. is developing a tradition of teaching taekwondo to huge fractions of our childhood population. There's no downside. There's only upside.

 

[Archtkd]

Personally, my opinion is that it's a good thing so many kids study taekwondo, just like it's a good thing that so many kids play soccer. The only reason the U.S. has a credible team for the World Cup is because the past 20 years has seen a huge increase in the number of neighborhood kid's soccer leagues. Most of those kids stop playing soccer later in life, but some of those kids keep playing into adulthood...and those adults grow into excellent soccer players precisely because they've been practicing since childhood.

Not to turn this into a soccer thread, but that's not accurate. The U.S. is doing well because it has a good German coach, who has done an excellent job of recruiting many American who grew up or play overseas. Neighborhood children's soccer leagues -- where many parents tend to interfere and stifle real playing -- have nothing to do with it. This five players are German-Americans, who speak English as a second language: Jerman Jones, Fabian Johnson, Timmy Changle, John Brooks and Julian Green. Another member of that team Aron Johannsson if from Iceland, while Mikkel Diskerud is Norwegian.