Shaderon
Master of Arts
Intersting, we're told that we wrap ours round twice, this signifies that our belt is the right length and we don't need to replace it.
Intersting, we're told that we wrap ours round twice, this signifies that our belt is the right length and we don't need to replace it.
Cirdan
Senior Master
A friend of mine told me he once asked his TKD master when his kicks would be good enough.
Awnser: "When you can kick a pencil standing on its end on a ledge ten feet above ground, moving it a foot to the side without knocking it over".
Now that`s useful!
Awnser: "When you can kick a pencil standing on its end on a ledge ten feet above ground, moving it a foot to the side without knocking it over".
Now that`s useful!
Well I teach Olympic style along with the ITF and the old Shtokon version so TKD can be and still be deadly in the right hands, I mean it is all about the instructor and Please it is about the instructor teaching and what he or she want from a school perspective.
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
I did find TKD to be more fun because we practiced more kicks. I actually adopted the TKD style of side kick over the karate style (shhhhh!). Have any of you guys been taught or practice leg blocks in TKD?
In 25 years of TKD I've never seen this or even heard of this in TKD or any other art. I wonder if this is purely your instructor's thing, Chris?
My 1st thought when reading that was: "Ask a silly question & you'll get a silly answer." The reality is, good enough for what? Sometimes we treat instructors as if they know the answers to the existential questions of the universe. It sounds like your friend was asking THAT type of question. The answer needs to come from within your friend. IMO.
I've never heard of a leg block in TKD. I've seen photos in TSD manuals which depict leg blockshorribly impractical looking affairs, they are!but in four years+ of TKD, I've never heard my instructor mention them, and I don't know of a single hyung which depicts a leg motion that is clearly a leg block. Have you encountered such a beast anywhere?
Sounds like it, Iceman. I like Shad's alternative version of this rule, myself!
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
When I say leg block it's basically a knee with the toes pointed at the ground used to catch a low or mid kick (chest if you're good enough), not a crescent kick used as a block or anything. Just wondering because as a reflex, it worked well in sparring TKD guys from my experience. My freind used to attempt leg blocks but always kneed me in the shin by instead. This makes me wary to do roundhouse kicks, that and breaking my toes. I'm a big fan of steel toes.
Shaderon
Master of Arts
I've not been taught them but I do use them a bit in sparring.... though I have been told not to do it as it unbalances you. :shrug:
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
Kicking can put you off balance as well. It's a matter of being taught all the mechanics. You have to compensate your allignment for whatever direction you recieve or deliver kinetic energy. If you don't practice something, you never get good at it. I reccommend anyone who does TKD to try it out.
I've learned several - but they don't come in until red belt, and aren't used very widely in free sparring, as they are often called as low kicks. They are, however, used in step sparring and hol-sin-sul (self-defense). Some of the ones I know are pressing kick (side and front), checking kick (side and front), waving kick, and hooking kick. Then there are the "unofficial" leg blocks, where you raise your leg so it is between your torso and the attacker - but that tends to be more static, and puts you more off balance.
Cirdan
Senior Master
Well the question may have been more like "when can one claim to have mastered kicking?" or "what should a master at kicking be able to do?"
Anyway the TKD obsession with high kicks baffles me. Evry poster and article about TKD seem to have guys in doboks trying to side kick holes in the ceiling. What is the point of this? Does it serve a purpose similar to breaking in being a confidence builder and test of flexibility? Or are you really training to kick riders out of the saddle?
Shaderon
Master of Arts
Yes this is the block I started using, I was told to put my leg down and just move more instead. I suppose it's so I don't get into the habit as your post just reminded me about leg sweeps... I'd be a target for one of them doing that.
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
That sounds kinda like the leg blocks I'm talking about (knee/shin blocks), not so much using a kick to block a kick (I refer to that as foot-fighting) but alligning your body to be stable when it absorbs the force on the shin. If I've jammed the other guy's kick and I can stall him and use a cross to the head but I don't know how acceptable that is in TKD. I think full contact is full contact though.
Hey, I'm ready for the four horsemen.
But really, high kicks score higher in sparring, so they tend to draw more focus.
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
Kicking someone in the head is like punching someone in the foot. That being said, even in a self defense situation, it's worth training in just in case the opportunity presents itself. Also, the flexibility required will minimize the resistance of the antagonist muscles, allowing you to kick at any level with more ease. I know I prefer low kicks but a kick to the head will often hurt a lot more than a punch, the problem isn't the accuracy IMO but more the time it takes or the way your body is positioned. In a "school fight" I've kicked guys plenty of times in the head. In a street fight, a couple times, and it was a reflex for the distance/timing I developed in sparring (watch that it doesn't become reflex though). The legs do have better range than the arms. I've done it. I don't reccomend it. It's a risk vs. gain thing IMO. Other than the GnP, at least in the MMA, I've seen more roundhouse kicks knock a guy out than a good punch. I don't watch ALL the matches though and I'm not comparing MMA to real life. There's mine. Yours?
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
Chuck norris would walk up to a guy, punch him in the foot and knock him out cold.
I don't entirely agree with that in the sense that if you kick someone in the head, you're potentially hitting a couple of off buttons. Punching someone in the foot would likely just annoy them.
They are impractical in SD for another reason though, there are a lot of stories in the news about people in street situations getting KO'ed by a kick to the head, then dying after they fall and hit their heads on the pavement. Even if the kick proves to be an effective stopping tool, the law could come down on you hard in cases like that.
Em MacIntosh
3rd Black Belt
Chuck Norris knows where the off buttons in the foot are!
Seriously though I agree completely, I was referring more to A-B mechanics (foot to head, hands to feet). You are quite right. Though I think it just as likely to knock someone onto the pavement and crack their head open with any strike, even if he stumbles himself. Catch a leg and drop him on the ground. I think it might be because a kick generally has a lot more power than a punch, but we've all seen things. Cheers!
Cirdan
Senior Master
Kicking against the head is one thing but was thinking about even higher kicks. These can`t be for scoring points can they?
